Dec. 2024 – Jan. 2025.

Downwind run to Sydney Harbour – more later.

We emailed our Christmas greetings mid December and received many in reply – good news from all around the world! Another year over and an exciting 2025 ahead of us! This year we plan to visit the USA and Cuba in July and August. At the end of the year we plan to sail down to Tasmania and cruise around the island for a month.

The Schady-Muller mob on Warriewood beach.

December, as for most of us, was a busy month. Michelle came back from Fiji and is staying with us until she has lined up her next project. We spent time with the girls on the beach as well as attend various events with our sailing friends.

Stumpy the lizard visits the Sail Cruising Division Xmas lunch.

It was good catching up with old friends from South Africa and local friends over lunches, as well as our neighbours at 153 Garden Street, in Warriewood.

Dec. 2024; Reini, Lynne, Annie and Dirk.

Dec.1983: Reini, Lynne, Annie and Dirk.

To work off all the festive food and drinks, I did a lot of cycling, Annie a lot of gym and together, we did walks and swimming along our local beaches.

Annie doing her laps in the Narrabeen rockpool.

Annie and Michelle enjoying the sail down the coast to Sydney harbour.

The girls asked us to sail down to the harbour for the New Year fireworks and we had the pleasure of meeting a lot of their friends. We ended up spending 10 days on Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson), before sailing back.

The extended family anchored in Rose Bay for the fireworks. Welcome Evan!

Another spectacular show, viewed from Esprit. Also, midnight ringing in Annie’s 70th birthday! (looking good and many more birthdays, my love!)

We celebrated our friend Gavin Birch’s 80th birthday for lunch and music on the Zephyr charter boat, cruising on the Pittwater.

The excellent duo performing on Gavin’s birthday cruise.

Dusk- Zephyr returning to Newport wharf.

Our friends Jim and Gail Petrie arrived at their apartment on New Year’s Day. Over dinners, we caught up with their Cape Town news. We visited Pretty Beach for two nights, did a coastal walk to Maitland Bay and attended a Joe Camilleri and the Black Sorrows concert in Gosford.

Gail, Jim and Annie on the Maitland Bay walk.

Joe Camilleri and the Black Sorrows at full tilt.

Australia Day on the 26th January fell on a Sunday, with a public holiday on the Monday. We started the festivities with champagne and canapes at the RMYC and ended with the SCD members at Bonny Doon beach.

Part of the Australia Day crowd.

Michelle, in the meantime, discovered that some of her frequent flyer points were about to expire. So off she went to Sri Lanka on a two week surfing holiday – evidently, the new Bali for surfers and yoga lovers. Latest news is, she was having a whale of a time.

View of the surf from Michelle’s accommodation.

Annie is getting excited about the prospect of becoming a grandmother on or about the 5th February. I have asked her to hold back until the baby has arrived. We will report back with the deets on gender, weight and name in our next post.

Cheers for now

Annie and Dirk