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PREFACE. The following work first appeared in the Australian Yachtsman and Canoeist. The order in which the chapters appeared was that in which we were able to write them, and not the natural order t h a t they would follow were geographical requirements to be considered ; and, for mechanical reasons, it has been found necessary to retain this order in the republished edition. While we are conscious t h a t some little inconvenience may t h u s be caused, we have endeavoured to minimise it by the insertion of a somewhat full index. I n a work covering so large an extent, the experience of any two men must be incomplete ; and we are aware that there are deficiencies in our book. We shall be happy to consider suggestions or criticisms from our readers, as we wish, t h e Yachtsman's Guide to be the standard work on its subject. We have had great pleasure in the writing of the Guide; it has recalled to us many pleasant sails and cruises, and not a few little adventures, and these memories have served to lighten t h e heavy task of consulting charts, maps, and nautical directories. We have verified, either on the chart or by actual test, all t h e exact figures and directions in the book. We wish to express our thanks to Mr. H . L. H u n t for much valuable assistance in the compilation of the chapters on Brisbane Water a n d t h e Hawkesbury, and to many other gentlemen who have kindly helped us with their experience and knowledge. T H E AUTHORS. J u l y 9th, 1898.
AKeRR, Tailor to His Excellency ^ A ^ j ^ f f l * , - . Earl of Hopetoun, ^ j ^ ^ * ^ ^ ^ . Governor of Victoria. ^^~^*~^*tazz
Tailor to His Excellency Lord Hampden, Governor of N.S. Wales.
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IISTIDEZS:PAGE
Abbotsford Anchors Audley Ballast P o i n t Ball's H e a d Balmoral B a n t r y Bay Barometer Basin, T h e Beacons Berowra Berry's Bay Barrenjoey Big J i m Point Blue Pointer, T h e Blackwall Blue's P o i n t Blackwattle C o v e Blandville Bluff, T h e .. Brownie Boat, T h e Bottom-paint Bottle and Glass Botany Bay Brady's Bronzewing . . Bradley's Mead Broken Bay Brisbane W a t e r Brick Wharf B u r r a n e a Bay Bulbui Careening Cove Castle Rock Centreboards Chiswick Chinaman's Chowder Bay . .. Circular Quay Clark Island Clontarf Cljfbs ... Coal and Candle Creek Cobra Cockfighters Colo River . . Cobbler's B e a c h Cockatoo Island Cowan C r e e k Daisy Dandenong Gale Darling H a r b o u r Darling P o i n t Dangar Island Dawes Point Deepkeelers . . Distances, T a b l e of . . Dobroyde B u m b o r a h . . Double Bay . .
63 11 55 " 57 16,58 65 67 13 37 20 46 57 36 49 18 42,46 66 57 63 67 6 8 10 22 52 66 6 24,2832,35 39 42 54 57 24 66 4 25 56 20 66 14 47 7 68 51 65 20 45 6 13 16,57 24 48 56 5 68 30 23
PAGE
Drummoyne D r y Rot Easterly Gales E c h o Farm . . Eliot Island . . Elizabeth Bay E n t r a n c e Channels . E r i n a Creek . . F a r m Cove . . '. F e r n Bay F i g t r e e Point F i t t i n g Out . . F l i n t a n d Steel Bay . F l y i n g Squadron F l a t Rock .. F o r t Macquarie Garden Island Gear George's Head General Gordon, T h e . George's River Gladesville . . Glebe I s l a n d . . Goat Island . . Gore Creek . . Greenwich . . Grey Nurse, T h e Grotto Point.. Gosford Governor Head Half-moon Reaches . Hammerhead, The H a w k Head . . Hawkesbnry River . Haycock Reach H e n a n d Chickens Bay H o r n b y Light H u n t e r ' s Beach I r o n Cove Creek Islands
60 7 12 68 36 24 22 43 24 61 . 59, 67 9
44 15 67 . 24, 56 20 .8,10,11 25 49 52 63 57 . 20, 57 68 58 IS 21 43 55 51 19 40 44 51 63 22 65 . 59, 60 SO 46 J e r u s a l e m Bay 55 Jervis Bay . . 53 Jibbon Head.. 67 J o h n s t o n e ' s Bay 15 J o h n s t o n e ' s Bay Sailing Club 4» Kangaroo Point 43 K incumber . . Kissing Point Kirribilli Point Kuring-gai Chase L a d y Robinson's Beach L a n e Cove River L a n e Cove Sailing Club L a Perouse . . Limited Cla«s B o a t s L i g h t s h i p , The L o n g Bay Long Nose Point L o n g Island . . L o n g Reef • •
ea . 24, 56 '.
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. 16, 5S 14 62 6 22 67 68 48 34
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IlfcTDE^—continued. PAGE
53 Longueville . . Manly 21 Macquarie Light 22 Mangrove Creek 49 Macdonald River " . . 50 MacMahon's Point 56 Mann's P o i n t . . 58 Middle Harbour 64 Middle H e a d . . 25 Milson's Point 56 Milson's Island 49 Mooring-places 9 Mosman's Bay 24 Mooney-Mooney Creek 48 Mortlake 63 Mulhall's Flat 41 Mullet Creek.. 48 Myee, The 5 Native Dog Point 67 Neutral Bay .. 24 Neutral Harbour 16,24 Newport 38 North Shore Sailing Club 15 North Harbour 21 North-Easter, The 26 North-Wester, The . . 29 Obelisk Bay .. .. 22,25 One Tree Reach 50 Onion Point 58 Open Boats . . .. ' .4 Parramatta River 16,59 46 Pa tonga Pearl Bay 63 Peat's Ferry 49 Pittwater 36 Port Hacking 53 Point Piper 24 Pott's Point 24 Prince Alfred Yacht Club 14 62 Pulpit Point Putney 63 Putty Beach 41 Quaker's Hat 67 Quarantine . . ., 21 Reef Point . . 21 Refuge Bay 46 Rip, The 39 Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron 14 Rocks 24 Rodd Island 24 Rose Bay 23 RoselleBay .. 67 Ryde 63 Sackville Reach 51 Sails.. 7 67 Sailor's Bay St. Alban's . . 50 St. Hubert's Isle 42 Sandringham .. 62 Sans Souci 52 Scotland Island 38
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Season, The .. Sea-sickness .. Sea Reach Sentrybox Reach Sharks Shark Island Shark P o i n t . . Shell Cove . . Smith's Creek Simmon's Point Sirius Cove, Great Sirius Cove, Little Snail's Bay Southerly Bursters Soundings and Shoals Sound, The . . South Reef . . Sow and Pigs South-Eastfer, The South-Wester, The Southerly Current, The South-West Arm Spars Spit, The Spectacle Island Strains, To Tell Sugarloaf Bay Summer Gales Sydney Amateur Sailing Club Tarban Creek Tambourine Bay .. Taylor Bay . . Tennyson The Brothers Tides Tiuer Shark Trollope Reach Trysails Uhr's Point . . Varnish Vaucluse Volunteer Wabbegong . . Watson's Bay Waterview Bay Walker Hospital Weather Wheeny Creek White Pointer, The . . Whiting Bay Wiseman's Ferry Wiseman's Reach .. Woolloomooloo Bay . . Woy Woy Woolwich Woodford Bay Wright's Point Yacht Buying Yeoman's Bay Yowie Bay . .
3 32 44 49 17 20 23 24,66 47 57 24 24 67 12, 31 16 16 22 22 29 32 33 54 8 17 20,48 7 67 29 14 62 58 25 63 64 27 18 50 30 64 10 22 62 19 23 57 63 12 51 19 24 50 50 23 42 58 58 61 6 47 54
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THE
START-'INTKRCOI.ONIAI- 22-FOOT CBIMFIOKSHIP, SATURDAY, 23RD JANUARY,
1897.
C H A P T E R I. E have seen no place more suitable for yachting than Sydney and its neighbourhood. True, we have no Clyde, though our three little ones, P o r t Jackson, P o r t Hacking, and Broken Bay, would make a brave show alongside that famous estuary; but then we have no Clyde weather ; and Clyde weather is a torment to the soul. The Thames is to Sydney as a mud-heap to a mountain, in beauty at l e a s t ; the Solent, with its six-knot currents and tearing sou'-westers, is out of court. We have never been in America. The Mediterranean suffers from a superfluity either of calm or of wind, nor is there a Port Jackson in all its coastline. I n Australia there is no other place like ours ; and, seeing these facts, it is little wonder that two or three thousand folk disport themselves upon the harbour waters every Saturday. We propose to write a succinct account of the three estuaries we have mentioned, from a yachtsman's point of view. There are many little-known picnic resorts which such a hookas this may serve to bring to l i g h t ; and there are various hints and *' tips " which may fitly find a place herein. THE SEASON.
Yachting may be carried on throughout the year in Sydney. The coldest winter day here is no colder than it often is in the depths of a Scottish summer ; and we have seen Clyde races in blinding sleet storms—once, indeed, in the snow. Bub the Sydney winter has very little wind ; when there is any it blows half a gale. I t may be said that the wise man will get his boat into the •water in September, and out of it in April, Eight months of fperfeet yachting weather should satisfy most people. THE BOAT.
To many Sydney men sailing consists in hanging desperately •out over the moulding of a twenty-two-footer, clutching at a lifeline, his feet under a board, and another man's head in his stomach. Prom such a position he can see nothing but a plunging sail above and a green foaming abyss beneath ; and as t h e boat quivers and slashes along under her colossal sail-pressure he feels ever and anon a blinding flood of water come tearing along the close-packed crew, and he wonders for five seconds whether he is still above water, or whether he should strike manfully out for t h e shore.
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THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
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This is mighty fine sport, but it is a wee thing damp. Comfort lieth not in a twenty-two-footer. See I r e x smashing to windward against a black nor'-easter—there is nothing more beautiful in this world ; b u t see her mainsheet man five seconds too late in the jibe round Bradley's, and you will get a fine view of that famous boat's bottom, which is beautiful, no doubt, b u t b e t t e r out of sight. W h y the centreboard skimming-dish has attained such popularity in Sydney is doubtless because of our smooth waters and light winds ; it is also suitable for large crowds at picnics. None the less, many level-headed men do find pleasure in these craft; so we give a brief description of them. The main idea is to crowd as much sail on to the boat and as many men into her as wood and canvas will allow. The type is the same in the eight-footer and the twenty-four: broad, powerful, shallow, with colossal sail and centreboard. Take the great Sydney type, the twenty-two-footer. Her length overall is twenty-two feet, her extreme beam ten feet or so, her depth two feet six inches to three feet. She has a spring of six inches or thereabouts in her keel, and she would be faster if she were more cut away at each end than she is, because a t present she has too much dead wood, and therefore too much skin-resistance. B u t that is a thing for a year or two to develop out of existence. This boat will be built of cedar, and will have workmanship in her that the world cannot excel. She might be a drawingroom ornament if the drawing-room were big enough. She will have a small light deck forward, and six-inch waterways all r o u n d ; and the gunwale will project for four inches or more outboard, in what the learned call a " moulding," or sponson which is to sit on and to strengthen the boat. There is often a batten running the length of the boat to put your feet under when you hang out ; and you are not really very uncomfortable, though you get very wet. The centreboard is a huge sheet of galvanized iron or steel. Some boats have dagger-drop boards, but these have not yet come into general use. Probably they will, as they are the natural corollary of t h e cut away ends. The boat of the future will be a 'rater with powerful sections and no dead wood, and will be so quick in stays that her crew will need to be practised acrobats. The body of this boat has power in every line of it, from her great flaring bows to her broad easy run. H e r initial stability when weighted down is enormous ; her seaworthiness when ditto is nil. H e r sails are simply colossal. The boom is thirty to thirtyfour feet long, and projects about eighteen feet over the tuck ; a n d her bowsprit is eighteen feet over the stem. H e r mast is
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TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
well over thirty feet high, and all sorts of strange ideas have t» be brought in to set the mighty mass of canvas upon the diminutive hull. You must not make fast the sheets for a single instant, or a puff may put her " into the ditch." To the drescription as above add fifteen or twenty reckless dare-devils, mostly as consummate boat-sailers as you will get in the Seven Seas, a huge pump or baling-dish, and a minimum of clothing—and off she goes. F o r such a boat, new, you will give £100 to £150, according to the builder ; second-hand, anything from £25. As a racing-machine, she is perfect, and you will get some of the finest sport out of her that the world has to offer ; you can also neglect your usual morning t u b on Saturdays, as you may be pretty sure of getting a very thorough one when you are out in her. The main objection to the boat is the large and thoroughly trained crew it is necessary to have, as a single duffer may easily capsize her if he gets mixed up with the main-sheet or -spinnaker. If you clip her wings and put three or four hundredweight of ballast into her, you will find her a really good pleasure-boat for five or six hands, weatherly, fast, fairly dry, and as roomy as a hall. We don't say that she would beat up from Barrenjoey against a southerly gale, but she would do most other things. H e r e , again, however, you have the fatal objection to the skimming-dish—the constant risk of capsize. You can never dare to go single-handed in her ; there is always the haunting dread of a sudden hard puff, a wild scurry over the weather gunwale, and a comfortless seat on the keel. - You are always tied down to a minimum of three hands if there is more t h a n the merest zephyr ; and this it is that makes the finest and ablest of the twenty-two-footers dangerous boats in any hands but those of a consummate seaman. They are so deceptive— t h a t huge body, that tremendous initial stability, and many a man has been lured to an unaccustomed bath by them. Fortunately, sharks aside, a bath in Sydney harbour is usually little more than a bathe. Everybody is not a racing man ; and the staider among us will pine for something more comfortable and safer than a ** bathing-machine." There is a type of boat which is popular in the old country, Melbourne, and America, but which has not -caught on here to any marked extent. The deep-keeled halfdecker is a very suitable craft for a man who prefers dryness and snugness to billow-punching and terrific speed. Take such a little boat as Mr. Woolcott's Myee. An admirable little boat is t h e Myee—stiff, weatherly, handy, dry as a bone, will go through any sea and stand up to any breeze, though perhaps aieetiemore speed off the wind might do her good ; but surely one may sacriitee running powers for her other qualities. You will see tw«
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THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
hands out comfortably in Myee, when the twenty-four-footers have hard work to keep upright with a dozen and a half perched on their weather gunwales. But then the Myee has a mass of lead on her keel, and she draws four feet of water ; you want a dinghy to camp with her, and a dinghy is always a nuisance. However, no boat can have every advantage, and the question amounts to whether the comfort and safety of the lead keel more than counterbalance t h e extra draft of that contrivance. A wise man building a boat will assuredly bear in mind little Myee and her sisters. F r o m personal experience we can testify to the warm glow of comfort and satisfaction to be delivered from the knowledge that there is a ton of lead beneath one's feet. Then there is the class of small raters, not as yet popular. Undoubtedly these little boats have many good features. They are, perhaps, the handiest craft ever b u i l t ; you have only to see them threading their way in a regatta crowd to acknowledge that fact. They are stiff and seaworthy, but very wet. Daisy, Brownie and Bronzewing III. have bulbfins, and have the advantages of the lead, such as they are ;, b u t the others are centre-boarders. W e believe that two recently-built little marvels are good at the vanishing trick, as follows :—Puff comes ; over goes the boat. The enthusiastic owner scrambles out on the centreboard, and—hey presto ! —up she comes again, and goes on her way rejoicing. Such a boat is very convenient! Unless one principally wants racing, we hardly recommend a rater. They are small, expensive, and wet. Except for special circumstances, an outclassed 22-footer is cheaper and preferable. The new limited class (18 feet waterline, 260 feet sail, etc.), bids fair to be suitable for may people ; while the price (£60) is is certainly low enough. I t is well worth considering. When a man starts to buy a yacht, he usually knows what he wants before parting with so large a sum of money ; and it would be presumption on our part to advise him. There are always half-a-dozen yachts in the market, and by waiting and looking about one can usually pick up something to suit. Since t h e departure of the boom days values in yachts, as in everything else, have shown a woeful collapse : and many a man would jump at an offer now-a-days that he would have looked on as t h e ravings of a maniac six years ago. One may take the present value of a good yacht, well found, and in good condition, as from £20 to £30 per ton second-hand. Building a yacht is, of course, a very different matter ; and the cost will be very little less than £75 per ton. B u t a man who builds a yacht will be wise to depend on his architect; he can learn very little from such a book as this.
A (iRAND START ROYAL SYDNEY YACHT Sgi ADRON'S REGATTA,
1894
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TO SYDNEF HARBOUB AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
CHAPTER II. W H E N you have decided on the class of boat you want, advertise in Saturday's papers, and consult all your yachting friends. You will be wise not to take their advice. There are three things no man can choose for another—a pipe, a wife, and a boat. Your friend likes the damp excitement of a twenty-two footer, while you love to amble peacefully along on top of a lead-mine ; who can reconcile your views? Broad principles hold good in everything ; and in boats, as in everything else, the expensive is not necessarily good, and t h e low-priced is not necessarily cheap. You cannot buy a good twenty-two footer, with three suits of sails, for ten pounds -r and the most eloquent old shellback in P o r t Jackson should not persuade you otherwise, though assuredly many of them will try. You will never fathom the depths of guile i n the human heart till you go to buy a boat, except when you come to sell her again. Do not buy a boat in the water ; always see her up on the skids. A boat that has been much raced is sure to have been strained ; and, as a general rule, we should tight very shy of such a boat more than five seasons old. Straining first shows itself at the stay-plates ; if the screws of these have drawn the probability is that other fastenings have also drawn. As for dry rot, if such a thing exists in an open boat it means either that she has been shamefully neglected or shamefully built, and in either case she should be hurriedly thrust aside. She is fit only for the shellback to take as payment of an account, and paint and putty her up, and sell her at a five hundred per cent, profit ; to such as he we, need say nothing, but we should advise the novice to be very, very cautious in buying a boat from an honest British sailor-man. The curse of Australian waters is the cobra, a species of teredo navalis, which burrows into wood and rots it. Cobra is generally found around the centreboard box, and near the waterline ; but you may find it anywhere in a boat's bottom. I t appears as a slight, coral-like incrustation on the surface of the wood, which inside will be found to be eaten away and useless. We have seen a piece in a boat so bad that one could t h r u s t a stick through it. Cobra often means that a boat has been badly neglected ; but, if there is only a little piece of it in a boat otherwise sound and suitable, there would be no harm in considering the possibility of having a patch let in in place of t h e diseased portion, if you can persuade the vendor to deduct a sufficiently large sum from his estimate of her value. If, however, you detect it in the framework of a boat she is generally useless. She is a whited sepulchre.
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THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
I n judging of the sails, remember that because Lapthorne does not usually put his name in the corner, every sail without a name is not necessarily by Lapthorne. The stuff should not be too thin or worn ; it should have been carefully stretched, and above all it should have no mildew. F o r mildew means carelessness, and a careless man i& not fit to have charge of a b o a t ; nor should one buy from him, if possible. A good sail well taken care of is still serviceable after four seasons ; but the average life of a sail is probably within that period. A patch or two, if well let in, make no difference to the sail. Look out for tears at the reef-points and along the eyeholes. Spinnakers and other kites are very apt to mildew, owing to their thinness, and we may readily pardon a little in such sails ; but there is no valid excuse for bad mildew in working sails, and you would be quite justified in asking for a large reduction in price on such account, on the ground t h a t in a few months you will be put to heavy expenditure to buy new sails. The enormous sail-spread of the racing-boats must make one very suspicious of flaws in the spars, more especially as the said spars usually err on the light side. Longitudinal cracks are of no import, especially in spruce spars, but transverse cracks, or a generally crushed appearance at any one spot, are more serious matters, as they mean t h a t the spar has been strained. The bowsprit generally goes at the outer end, where the bobstay and jib pull in opposite directions and crush t h e spar between them. The mast is usually injured at the eyes of t h e rigging, where an enormous strain concentrates itself ; and also at the throat of the sail, where the working of the gaff may cut half through t h e mast in a few days. It is usual to put a copper band round the mast at this s p o t ; but such a piece of metal will certainly set up galvanic action with the iron bucket of the gaff, and thin ribands of hardwood are better. I n boats which have a jib-traveller on the bowsprit there arises a necessity to protect t h a t s p a r ; and here again the galvanic action between copper and iron is a serious matter, especially as in this position the metals are nearly always wet when under way. I n consequence of this action all modern boats have hardwood battens to take the wear of the traveller. These must be renewed every year ; but that slight trouble is far better than the risk of seeing your jib fly up into t h e air. See that the bucket of the gaff and the boom gooseneck are in good order. Examine the blocks, and see that they work well and are not split. P a t e n t galvanized iron miniature blocks a r e all t h e rage at H o m e now, and are necessary for wire rigging; but they cost a good deal of money. They are stronger than wood blocks, but must be well looked after, or they will rust. The running rigging is of little importance, as it will want renewing every year. Two or three pounds will fit out & twenty-two-footer comfortably if you do the work yourself.
BRONZEWING."
TO SVDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
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Many boats in Sydney, and all boats at Home, have flexible wire halliards. Certainly this material sets the sail beautifully ; b u t it is expensive to fit up, has to be renewed very frequently, is always getting messed up with other ropes, and necessitates a complicated system of falls and whips, which is hardly in place in an open or half-decked boat. We may be old-fashioned, b u t we prefer the ordinary Manilla halliard. If necessary, a standing part and purchase can be fitted to the throat and jib halliards ; these will set the sails very well, and are not much in the way. Many of the racing boats have them, and all yachts are so fitted. WHERE TO MOOR.
When you have got your boat you will look out for a place to keep her. All along the foreshores are snug little bays where live men who make it their business to take care of boats, with varying degrees of satisfaction to the owners. Rushcutters' and Double Bays are handy for cruising purposes, the cable tram having put them within a few minutes of the city ; but they are not so suitable for racing, as they are some distance from most starting points. The great advantage they possess, however, is, that when bound down the harbour you have not to thread your way through the crowded traffic around Pinchgut. Neutral Bay and Careening Cove are equally handy from the city, and are nearer to the starter's boat on most days. Berry's Bay, Johnstone's Bay, Snails' Bay, and all the multitudinous up-river bays, have many excellent sheds,' and the racing man may well pick one of these ; but for cruising purposes they are unsuitable, owing to the puffy winds, the strong tides, and the crowded state of the harbour in their vicinity. The usual charge for looking after a small boat is five shillings a week ; but before striking a bargain with a man find out how much other men pay him. F o r this sum you will expect him to provide moorings, dry your sails, set them on Saturday and Sunday mornings, keep your boat baled out and clean, and get her up when necessary. Odd jobs, such as painting, repairing, new rigging, & c , you must arrange for by mutu.il agreement. H e will, of course, give you a locker ; and most Doatsheds have a shower. Sydney is very well off in respect to such men ; on the whole, they are worthy, decent fellows, hardworking and obliging. They are not yet spoilt, as they are in the old country. FITTING OUT.
I n fitting out your boat, there are one or two little points worthy of attention. The risk of cobra is so considerable t h a t unless you are prepared to get the boat up every week she must be painted below water-line with some anti-fouling composition.
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T H E YACHTSMAN'S GDIDE
. I n Sydney it is usual to employ what is known as " copperpaint " for this purpose. This paint is cheap, fairly effective, and lasts about three months. I t is, however, in our opinion, inferior to the three great compositions used in the old country, and a few words about these may be interesting, as they have not yet taken any footing here. The most popular composition in England just now is Jesty's, which is of a salmon-red colour, harmonising beautifully with black topsides. I t is a fairly expensive paint, costing 21s. a gallon, if memory serves us right. Absolutely effectual against all marine growth, it is a common thing to see a boat painted in May and left in the water till S e p t e m b e r ; and at the end of that time one expeets to see her perfectly clean, save for a little " glut." I n Sydney it would probably last three months. Rathjens' composition is a neat brown colour, resembling that used on the men-of-war. I t is t h e cheapest of the three, and is very effectual. F o r some reason—possibly its appearance—it has not become so fashionable as Jesty. " Cramond " is a very beautiful composition, much used on the Clyde. I t dries a pure ivory white, with a hard, smooth surface ; and a yacht with top-sides black varnished and bottom painted with Crimond may safely be left to look her best. This composition, we believe, costs about 16s. per gallon ; it is not quite so durable as J e s t y , and therefore is not really cheaper. I t is, however, equally effectual. P e r h a p s it is a little more inclined to " g l u t " than J e s t y J or else one sees it more on the white surface. I n doing up the top-sides, it is well to remember a curious prejudice that exists in Sydney in favour of varnish. There is no question that a well-built cedar boat looks her best when varnished ; but of all coverings varnish is the least suitable to our climate. The life of a coat of varnish constantly exposed to the Sydney sun is six weeks ; and it is a serious matter to have to re varnish her three or four times in the season. Unquestionably paint is better for t h e boat, and is cheaper and more durable. But if you paint her you take twenty per cent, off t h e value when you come to sell her. The Sydney man toill not paint his b o a t ; you may argue with him till all is blue, but you won't change his ideas. I n Scotland, where men are economical, it is a common sight to see racing boats painted blue, pink, red, olive green, and various other colours ; and very pretty do they look, and very cheaply is it done. But the varnish has a firm grip here, no doubt because of the beauty of our woods ; and it is hopeless to expect any change. I n overhauling the rigging, most of the running-gear will want renewing. The standing-gear should last three seasons, but keep a bright look out for rust. If the galvanizing is once eaten through destruction proceeds rapidly, and a strong-looking
" Y V O N N E " AND " S T E L L A II.
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stay will often snap at a sudden strain. Although the metal may be quite sound, yet t h e rust will soon stain your sails. The wire rope should be closely twisted, and if the twist of the rope should appear to have been drawn out it is well to get new ones. I t is usual nowadays to canvas the topping-lifts, even in quite small boats. Rope gathers soot and d u s t ; and an ugly mark on the rail soon bears witness to this unpleasant propensity. The rigging-screws should be looked to, for they are apt to crystallise and give way with an appalling bang. The spiderband on t h e mast should clasp round a strip of varnished calico, else it will slip up by degrees, and you will be continually wondering why you cannot get your luff-ropes taut. Jib-sheets in Sydney are generally affixed to the sail by means of a shackle. T h e lover of the picturesque can obtain real enjoyment by listening to the language of the jib-sheet man who has just dropped t h e bolt of the shackle overboard; and in view of the demoralising tendency of this little bit of furniture, we would venture to suggest that the grommet and toggle, as used on the home boats, may fill a long-felt want. The grommet is made of soft rope, with a hard-wood toggle seized in one of its loops, and the whole t h i n g seized to the sheet. The other loop, passes through the cringle in the jib, and the toggle is then hooked through it. I t is undoubtedly quicker made fast than the shackle, it is softer on the sail, and best of all there is no risk of its dropping overboard. If anything should go wrong . with it another one can be fitted up in ten minutes. I n ground tackle, we would venture to think that a wise man will not trust his life to a new patent. These beautiful little inventions are handy enough as kedges, but when it comes to a matter of life, and death, that is quite another pair of shoes. Trotman's anchor (commonly known as the "pinch-finger ")has stood the test of time for seventy years ; and the old-fashioned, long-shanked fishermen's anchor for seven hundred. Seeing t h a t one's life may depend upon t h e grip which his ground-tackle takes, it is common prudence to sacrifice a little convenience and space for t h e eake of safety. After all, a thirty-six pound fisherman's anchor is not really very cumbersome, and it will hold a twenty-two-footer till the heavens fall. I t is, indeed, to many minds unnecessarily heavy ; but it is better to be safe t h a n washing about among the wabbegongs.
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CHAPTER III. T H E WEATHER.
The weather in Sydney is usually easily forecast, and is suitable for yachting from September to April. The prevailing wind at this time is the north-easter, which is believed to be a deflection of t h e south-east trade. This wind generally starts i n October, and blows four or five days a week throughout the summer, and is of comfortable full-sail strength. The typical cycle is three days' north-easter, one day hot nor-wester, and one day southerly. I n short, the wind goes round from east to west via north, or in the opposite direction to that of the hands of a clock. I n this respect the local winds only follow the great anti-cyclone system of t h e Pacific. A warm morning with slightly falling barometer foretells a sure north-easter, especially when there is a slight haze out to sea. As a rule the day is then clear and fine during the breeze, from about 10 a.m. till sundown, when the wind gradually falls and a l i g h t westerly soon springs up ; but on the third clay the sky often assumes a hard coppery glaring aspect, with fleecy clouds hurrying out to sea, and the temperature will rise to about 80deg. This often means a hot wind the next day, especially if the barometer falls very suddenly. A southerly usually gives an hour's warning, by a sudden rise of the barometer, which has been fairly low, 29*6 inches, o r thereabouts. A few minutes after this you will see a black cloud in the south, which hurries along with great speed until it covers the whole sky ; and the wind then springs upon you with extraordinary violence. There are few things more majestic in nature than the approach of a southerly. I t has been aptly compared to the spring of a tiger. The gale usually lasts for an hour or two, and then passes off in a drizzle of rain. N e x t day you get a light fine south-easter, and then the northeasters again. Occasionally, however, the wind works round to the eastward, and we get what the Pacific Directory calls " the curse of t h e Australian coast "—an easterly gale. These unwelcome visitors are fortunately not common in the yachting season. They sometimes last three or four days, and do considerable harm. Traffic on the coast is usually at a standstill, and there are often wrecks. The danger of them lies in the fact that they can rarely be foretold- You can time the most violent southerly up the coast practically within an hour ; but there i s no certain sign foretelling an easterly. The barometer is often useless. One of the most violent easterly gales on record gave no warning of its approach.
' • ' S A O " IN A CALM IJKTWEKN THE HEADS
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Practically speaking, one may expect the approach of a n easterly if the " b u s t e r " continues for more than a few hours, and works round to the eastward by morning, with violent squalls of wind and rain, each one increasing in violence and becoming more easterly in its tendency. Some of these squalls, as the full force of the gale developes, may reach sixty or even eighty miles an hour ; when the Dandenong went down it is said that the anemometer registered 153. The Observatory authorities are positive on this p o i n t ; but a mere mortal may be permitted to doubt a velocity so appalling. A very heavy sea then sets in through the Heads, and up North and Middle Harbours. On one occasion the great blocks of sandstone forming the Quarantine jetty were torn from their cement, and the wharf almost destroyed ; and the writer has seen t h e waves breaking all the way from Middle Head to North Head, in five or six fathoms of water. Very high tides occur in an easterly, as the exit through the Heads is dammed up ; and there is invariably a thick haze of rain out to sea, so that ships have great difficulty in making a safe landfall. Occasionally the north-easter freshens, blows all night, and gradually works itself up into an easterly gale. Now and again, in midsummer, the usual hot wind may not occur, but thunderstorms take its place ; on such occasions the wind will be westerly up above, but easterly on the surface ; a n d generally speaking backs round to the southward, and ends in a refreshing " b u r s t e r . " Accompanying the thunderstorms are very heavy rain-squalls, several inches frequently falling in t h e day. Broadly speaking, a low barometer means hot northerly weather ; a high barometer means cold southerly weather ; and in t h e summer a constantly high glass may meati a heavy gale from the eastward. Every old coaster knows that the baroÂť e t e r is of less assistance here for storm purposes than in the Atlantic and Indian oceans; but -it is by no means to be neglected on t h a t account. F o r yachting purposes the north-easter is the king of winds, steady, reliable, warm, and of pleasant strength. The hot nor'wester is puffy and occasionally too strong ; while the fierce glare upon the water is distinctly unpleasant. The southerly is too much of a leading wind at its best, and at its worst is drizzly, chilly, and kicks up a nasty chopple ; while outside it meets the current, and results in a very angry, breaking sea, which few boats would care to face. We need hardly say t h a t none but a maniac would go out tor pleasure in a real easterly gale ; while even a moderate blow from that quarter raises so tremendous a sea that outside work is pretty well interdicted. Races are constantly sailed in such weather ; but t h e racing man is usually, and quite rightly, careJess of comfort.
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The mention of racing brings us to the question of clubs for to enjoy that sport to perfection you must undoubtedly belong to a club. Sydney is well—perhaps too well—supplied with such institutions ; and none need fear that his subscription will be wasted through lack of sport. There are two yacht clubs—the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and the Prince Alfred Yacht Club. Of these the former generally appears to consider itself the more fashionable ; but both are delightful institutions. Hospitality is hardly the word to express t h e treatment that one meets with from members of either. The fleet of yachts is now somewhat out of date so far as racing goes, but probably there are as many comfortable fast cruisers in either club as one is likely to meet with anywhere out of Clyde or Solent. Coming to boating clubs, we find an extraordinary variety, and all flourishing. I t almost seems as if every little suburb will shortly have its own club. I n some respects we must think this a matter for regret. Although no one can deny that in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom, still there is equal t r u t h in the saw that too many cooks spoil the broth ; and too many clubs certainly appear to us to injure t h e quality of the racing. Three or four large and energetic clubs would do more good than a multitude of little ones ; butf we bar boat-politics beyond all other things. The Sydney Amateur Sailing Club is the oldest, and was for a long time t h e only, sailing club in Sydney. I t is a steadygoing concern, composed of quiet men, who do not care for careering over the harbour in racing twenty-two-footers. The S.A.S.C. is great on small raters, and on mixed races ; and you may see Bronzewing and Wee Won heroically struggling for the mastery with three or four miles of sea and thirty or forty minutes _of time between them. Lately the Amateurs have started a one-design class, thus effectually answering those who said the gallant old club was in its dotage. The B Class, sailed under the Seawanhaka rule, is productive of much sport among the Amateurs, and is an excellent means of bringing varying sizes of boats together. Like the Amateurs, the Lane Cove Sailing Club is perhaps, better known for its social, jolly-good-fellowship than for the intrinsic character of it sport. Leaving these two clubs aside, we come to two larger and richer organisations, which exist essentially for racing ; and practically the centreboard wave-smasher is t h e only class recognised. And truly the sport is of the best, and the enthusiasm is extraordinary. The number of entries is probably unsurpassed anywhere, and all, remember, are first-class boats, and all are sailed by first class hands. They need be, for they
IRKY
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would not keep upright ten minutes if they were not ! These are the Johnstone's Bay Sailing Club and the Flying Squadron. The subscriptions and entrance-money—indeed, all expenses— are small, and the prizes large. Whichever club the beginner joins he is sure to get as much sport as he cares for. A line to the secretaries will obtain all necessary information. The N o r t h Shore Club again has a character of its own, making a special feature of races for pleasure boats ; an excellent idea. We might here mention the great success which has attended the effort to bring about a series of intercolonial races. Undoubtedly much of the credit of this success is due to the Johnstone's Bay Club, which has spent money lavishly, and spared no trouble, to secure a fitting representation of the fleets of either colony. The prevailing winter winds are west and south-west; and occasionally one gets a furious blow from the latter quarter, accompanied by chilling rain or sleet. These are especially common at the spring equinox, and are a great argument for keeping t h e boat up till after September. Since writing the above, an old sea-captain tells us hat the very worst easterlies are those in which the wind veers instead of backing ; i.e., starts at north-east and goes via east to southwest. Undoubtedly this does result in some furious blows, and the barometer gives but slight warning.
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CHAPTER IV. P O R T JACKSON : SAILING DIRECTIONS.
To the racing man a little local knowledge is of great benefit in the beautiful harbour, though probably less necessary than on Clyde and Solent, and though it is hardly necessary to give any general description of t h e well-known estuary, still a few words may not be amiss. Entering between the heads, a channel about 1J mile across, one sees N o r t h H a r b o u r to the right, Middle Harbour in front, and the main channel to the left. T h e portion enclosed between t h e Heads, Middle Head, a n d Dobroyd Head is called t h e Sound, Passing up the Harbour for about two miles from South Head we come to Bradley's Head, with a little pillar erected on its p o i n t : t h e measured mile is from this pillar to F o r t Denison, straight up the Fairway. There are many minor inlets which we intend to pass over just now ; we shall only mention t h e larger Bays or "Harbours." • Neutral H a r b o u r is on t h e right abreast of Fort Denison. I t contains Neutral Bay and Careening Cove, and runs up for over a mile. Going up t h e channel now in crowded waters, there is no prominent feature till Darling Harbour opens out on our port hand, about 1 | miles past the Fort. I t runs up nearly two miles, and is t h e abomination of desolation, being given over to wharves and wool stores, and steamers. Past Goat Island and Cockatoo, we come upon I r o n Cove, running up two miles on our port hand, and soon see the entrance t o the beautiful Lane Cove River on the starboard. This estuary runs for about five or six miles, but is only navigable for sailing boats for about two miles, owing to t h e mud-flats. Beyond t h a t distance there is a channel between the flats, b u t as the wind generally draws along t h e river one way or t h e other, only an enthusiast is likely to explore it. As soon as we pass t h e Lane Cove, we see t h e P a r r a m a t t a River stretching away straight ahead of u s . This famous estuary winds westward with a breadth varying from a quarter of a mile to a mile, for a distance ef about ten miles to t h e town of P a r r a m a t t a , about 21 miles from t h e heads. We have now cleared the way a n d can get to business. SOUNDINGS, SHOALS, & C .
P o r t Jackson is quite deep enough for all practical purposes, The average d e p t h in t h e fairway, which is an arbitrary channel of six h u n d r e d yards in width, running from t h e heads u p to Sydney, is about six to t e n fathoms. F u r t h e r u p the river, where t h e scour is greater, t h e depth proportionately increases, and t h e deepest hole is at Ball's Head, a precipitous bluff opposite Goat Island, where there is 19 fathoms. As a
" A R C H 1 N A " AND " ELECTRA" PREPARING TO ROUND FORT DENISON IN A RACE OVER MANLY COURSE, MARCH 4, 1893.
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general rule the water is deep right alongside the shore all over the harbour, except at the heads of most of the bays, and oil Bottle and Glass and Shark Point, and along the south shore to P o t t s ' Point. There is here a sort of sandy bar, apparently deposited by the tide sweeping round Bradley's Head a n d - i m p i n g i n g on the eastern shore. Even here, however, there is seven or eight feet within a few fathoms of low-water mark. There is also shoal water near Hole in the Wall. I n Middle H a r b o u r there is a bar across the entrance, of which warning is given by the beautiful sandy beaches on either shore. The water shoals rapidly from five to six fathoms in the sound to one and a half fathoms westward of Grotto Point. T h e bottom can here be very easily seen. At the Spit the scour is strong and the water is deep, and up the various bays and inlets of Middle Harbour the average depth is twelve or fifteen fathoms till one approaches Echo Farm, seven miles away, where the water shoals rapidly, and sailing boats are checked. N o r t h Harbour is deep till we round the point near its head, when we come upon mud-flats rising suddenly from bottom, and bare at low tide. Quarantine Harbour is all deep, except at the beaches. Generally speaking, therefore, the water is deep everywhere along the foreshores except where there are beaches, and these can easily be seen. The few shoals, hereafter to be describad, are mostly marked. And here, before we proceed, we ask the reader's attention to a word of warning. P o r t Jackson has one great defect, and that is—sharks. The rapacity and fierceness of these monsters is incredible ; they are bad all through the summer, but probably November and December see them at their worst. The Sydney man is far too reckless about sharks ; you may see numbers of young fellows bathing along the foreshores and Saturday afternoon, and not a summer passes but we are appalled with some catastrophe by which some poor wretch is destroyed or maimed for life. The danger is real and everpresent, though our waters look so clear and beautiful and cool, and we urge upon the reader not to neglect the simple precautions necessary to render the sport safe. Firstly—If capsized, on no account try to swim ashore, even twenty yards. Stick to the boat, get on her keel if you can, and if not, trust to the great white sail to frighten the monsters away. Secondly—Bathe only in shallow water, three feet deep at the m o s t ; never leave your comrades ; and keep somebody on the look-out. Generally speaking, the shark shows his dorsal fin above water as soon as he gets into shallows, but this is not always t h e case, and he rushes his prey at such speed that there
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i t often no time to get into safety. T h e writers may recall an accident that caused some impression when it occurred. A boy was bathing over at Neutral Bay with eleven others, and was standing in three feet of water, not more, perhaps less. Three other boys stood outside him, in deeper water. . Suddenly a shark was seen hovering about, a few yards away, and before anyone could move, the monster had seized the boy by the leg, actually passing the three others nearer to him. So great was the force of his rush that t h e poor boy was knocked over, b u t he struggled so fiercely that the fish could not for a moment drag him out to sea, and this gave time for his comrades to rush to his assistance. They seized him by the arms, and succeeded in dragging him from the shark's jaws, but his injuries were so severe that he died in a few hours. Unquestionally there is great risk in bathing in open waters. The worst place for sharks is said to be in the Sound, and especially off Dobroyd Head ; Chowder Bay is a favourite resort of theirs, while the P a r r a m a t t a River and the neighbourhood of Glebe Island are badly infested. N o place is free from them, whatever current report may say, if there is more than three feet of water ; even in Darling Harbour, among all the steamers a little boy was taken not long ago. The chief man-eating shark of Sydney, the one about which probably nine-tenths of the stories are told, is the " Blue Pointer," Lamna glauca. This is quite a different animal from the " B l u e S h a r k , " Carcharias glaucus. The latter is essentially an ocean species, and is only rarely found close to land ; he will follow a fast ship for many thousand miles, and no other living creature, save the albatross, has such powers of endurance as the Blue Shark. But the Pointer is very different : he is about half the size, averaging from eight to ten feet long, he is essentially a longshoreman, living in estuaries and off sewers, and he does a great deal of damage. The Tiger Shark, Galeocerdo, is also an exceedingly ferocious a n i m a l ; not so big as t h e Blue Pointer—he may be told by his long and powerful tail, his brown colour and his thick-set savage head. H i s average length is eight or ten feet. The Grey Nurse shark is said by Mr. Philip Cohen to be harmless to man, and he relates weird stories of how fishermen walk unharmed among numbers of them. Perhaps the little dears will only come and be fed when they are called. All the same, pace Mr. Cohen, we prefer not to trust the brute. If a grey nurse will take a three-foot salmon we see no reason why he, or she, shouldn't take a three-foot leg ; and legs are too precious with most of us to squander them in rash experiments. We are not centipedes. The grey nurse is a very fat fish, about eight or t e n feet long, bluff about t h e bows, and powerful aft.
"BRONZEWING IV."
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The parlously-named Wabbegong is not an aggressively savage beast, but he is aggressively ugly, with a nice open countenance. He rejoices in the name of Crossorrhinus barbatus, is seldom more than six feet long, and looks something like a large thick flathead with feathery fringes about his lips ; goggle eyes, and rat-trap teeth. No doubt the amiable Wabbegong would take an arm or a leg if he could get i t ; he haunts t h e fore-shores, lying mostly on the bottom, where he looks exactly like a rock covered with seaweed. The Hammerhead of Sydney is a very emasculated edition of the savage Zygaena of the tropics. I n the Islands these creatures sometimes reach 25 feet long ; here they average about five. They have a broad prolongation sideways of the sides of the head, looking exactly like a hammer, with a dull dyspeptic eye set in either end. The Hammerhead is the terror of the Indian and tropical seas, so great is his ferocity and courage. Now and again a stray specimen of the great White Shark, the terrible Carcharodon of the deep seas, finds his way into the harbour, and is christened the " White Pointer " by fishermen. The Carcharodon is the fiercest, bravest, and largest of all the sharks ; specimens have been caught 36 feet long, and there is no reason to doubt that they even exceed this length ; teeth and fossils, which seem to point to a length of 70 feet, have been dug up from t h e bottom of the ocean. The average length of the White Shark is about fifteen to eighteen feet, and naturalists say that he is becoming extinct, probably because he cannot get enough food to support his enormous frame. When one of these monsters enters the harbour he is usually soon caught, but he often causes much perturbation of soul among canoeists and rowing men. Indeed the sight of a savage beast twenty feet by six suddenly rising from the blue depths of the sea like a great cloud, is quite enough to terrify a man striving to balance his canoe with his hair parted in the middle. Professor Stephens told the writer that he had seen a white shark off Bradley's Head, which came alongside his boat, and overlapped it by two feet each end ; this boat was 20 feet long. We believe one was caught some years ago near Pinchgut that was said to be 19 feet l o n g ; this may have been fisherman's measure. However, Carcharodon is a terrible monster, and it is fortunate that there are not many about. When the White Shark comes into t h e harbour the loss of his natural sea-food renders him incredibly ferocious ; indeed it was a Carcharodon t h a t seized the poor boy we have mentioned. You may tell the White Shark by his enormous size, hia grey back and white belly, and his cavernous mouth studded with triangular saw-teeth. Not so fat as the grey nurse, he is far swifter and more powerful in his movements, and is larger in every way than the blue pointer. But undoubtedly many
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alleged White Sharks are Grey Nurses. The Carcharodon is an ocean fish, and he hates t h e land. There is no question that these two species are often confounded, as to a superficial eye they are much alike ; and from a recent correspondence in the Herald it seems probable t h a t the grey nurse and the tiger are often mistaken for one another. ISLANDS.
Shark Island is a little plot of hill almost midway between P o i n t Piper and Shark Point, at t h e mouth of Rose Bay. I t is t h e outermost of the Sydney islands, and is a Government reserve. At the north end of it is the Pile Light, in two fathoms, marking a reef ; while at the south end the water is also shoal, and there is a buoy which one must pass outside. Clark Island is a very pretty little recreation reserve just at the mouth of Double Bay. The water all around it is very deep, and visitors may land at the j e t t y at all times. Garden Island is a naval arsenal, belonging to the Imperial Government, and has been spoilt, aesthetically speaking, by t h e gigantic stores and shear-legs erected thereon. I t is the largest island in Sydney Harbour, and lies at the mouth of Woolloomooloo Bay. Abreast of it is F o r t Denison, with its old Martello tower. The next island coming up the harbour is Goat Island, between Blue's Point and Ballast Point, on Balmain. I t is hot and hideous, being built over in parts, and containing a powder magazine. The passer-by will notice a cleft in the solid rock, spanned by a stone bridge, a relic of convict-labour. All round is deep water. At t h e entrance to I r o n Cove we come upon Cockatoo Island, with t h e Sobraon moored at its' eastern end. This is a large island, nearly, if not quite, as large as Garden Island, and upon it are the two great Government Docks. Everyone knows that the Sutherland Dock is the largest in the world. The proposed docks at Gibraltar are, however, to be still larger ; the next in size to the Sutherland Dock is at Halifax, N . S . A few yards past Cockatoo Island is the low-lying rock called Spectacle Island, and past the bridge up Iron Cove is Rodd Island, a little plot of land once given over to the hunt for bacteria. I t was here t h a t Pasteur's agents experimented with fowl cholera, which was to have exterminated every rabbit between The Leeuwin and Cape Yorke r and didn't. R O C K S AND BEACONS.
There is a very dangerous shoal ofF Hole-in-the-Wall, a little S. W. of Dobroyd Head. The bottom rises suddenly here to about three fathoms, and if there is any swell this conformation causes what is known as the Dobroyd Bumborah. A bumborah is a heavy break suddenly occurring in seemingly
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d e e p water and calm sea. Needless to say, this locality is dangerous for all boats ; one should keep well outside the line joining Dobroyd Head and Grotto Point. There used to be a large buoy showing the nearest limit of safety ; but it has been removed, and there is now nothing to warn strangers of the very great danger they are running in venturing close to this deceptive spot, Several lives have been lost here ; and this is not surprising, seeing the suddenness with which the bumborah rises, and that the locality is badly infested with sharks. Grotto P o i n t is also foul, a reef running out for fifty yards or more ; but this can readily be seen as a dark line beneath the green water, and there is no difficulty in keeping clear of it. T h e sea breaks very heavily on this reef in easterly and southeasterly weather. Past Grotto Point we come upon the Middle Harbour bar, with nine feet of water at low-water springs. The tide runs here at the rate of one knot ; and though current superstition says that there is a deep channel on the northern side of the inlet, this is not borne out either by the chart or by our experience. As a matter of fact, Middle Harbour is closed to yachts of more than nine feet draught, except at certain states of the tide. Another thing is that in heavy easterly weather the swell runs a long way up Middle Harbour, even as far as The Spit, and we have seen it breaking on the bar itself, in two fathoms. Past the bar, Middle Harbour is free from danger; but it will be more fully treated of hereafter. Northward from Dobroyd we come upon Reef Point, on t h e west shore, from which a reef runs out some eighty yards ; and there is foul ground all along that coast to the mud-flats beforementioned. We may here dismiss North Harbour with the remark that, though a pleasant camping-ground, it is to be avoided in omrti eastejrly weather. A heavy sea then sets in, and runs right hlmie to the head of it, sometimes breaking in a very angry and treacherous manner. The buoy near the Manly Pier belongs to the R.S.Y.S., and is in deep water. Seeing that this buoy is a turning-point for m a n y races, it is a matter of courtesy among yachtsmen not to hang on by it on Saturdays and holidays, when the racing-boats come round. Even if the wind is N . E . . and your boat is swinging to leeward, it is often an awkward thing for the racer to approach t h e buoy without losing ground, when anyone is moored there. The charming bays of Quarantine Harbour are practically closed to the public. A t the entrance to that Harbour, and around Flagstaff Point and the inner North Head, is a line of large black buoys, and though there is no objection to peaceable
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T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUIDE
people going within these under ordinary circumstances, yet, when the yellow flag is hoisted on Flagstaff Hill, it is strictly forbidden to do so. Of course, when there is infectious disease at the Station, it is a heinous offence to land upon the shore-line within the buoys ; and even if the intruder be not detained in quarantine, he will assuredly be visited with a heavy fine. Having now dealt with the dangers in North and Middle Harbours, we may proceed up the main channel itself. On entering the Heads the first danger is the South Reef, running some two. hundred yards from t h e inner South Head. On this there is usually a considerable surf, and as the water is deep all round, there is no difficulty in seeing its limits ; but in high tide and smooth water it is quite another matter. On the west shore of the harbour, in Obelisk Bay, are two pillars, which, when kept in line, take the boat well clear of the Reef. By the way, in calm water there is excellent rock-fishing oft the South Reef. Upon the inner South H e a d stands the Hornby Light, a fixed W&J&& line 90 feet above water-line, and visible for 14 miles between N . W : by N . , and S . W . | W . On top of the outer South H e a d is the splendid Macquarie Light, one of the finest in t h e world; it is white, revolving every minute, 344 feet above water-line, and visible for 21 miles seaward between N . by W. and S. by W . | W . Right in the centre of the passage up harbour is a shoal patch, known as the Bar and F l a t s , splitting up the entrancein a most unfortunate manner into east and west channels. To yachts these channels are equally good; but steamers usually take the eastern. At the north end of the bar lies the lightship, in three fathoms of water. H . M . famous old cutter Bramble used to occupy the position of lightship, b u t was broken up some years ago and her place filled by a vessel specially constructed for the purpose. She shows two vertically placed white lights. S.E. of her, distant a few yards, lies the beacon showing the Sow and Pigs, a nasty shoal of rocks awash at half-tide, with the surf always breaking upon them. As the Lightship marks the north end of the Bar, so the south end is indicated by a pile light, and all between these marks is shoal water ; that is to say not more than two or three fathoms deep. Yachts, of course, do not trouble themselves about such depths. A brief description of the mysterious beacons on the shore will be interesting. All ships entering the harbour get the two beacons above Obelisk Bay into line, and run right in on that line till they come to the line for the channel they wish to follow. If you are big, deep, a n d not in a hurry you take the east c h a n n e l ; if you are small, shallow, in a hurry and blessed with calm water you essay the west side ; b u t in heavy weather
A FAVOURITE RESORT. N o place is more favourably known or more thoroughly appreciated by the yachting fraternity of Sydney, than the handsome building facing the steamboat pier at Manly, known as the Grand Pier Hotel. Nor is this appreciation confined to yachtsm e n alone, for all classes of the mighty throngs of the general public who visit Manly every season, concur in the freely expressed opinion that it is one of the best institutions of the beach. The house itself is eminently suited to hotel purposes, the apartments comprising a splendid dining-hall, commodious drawing-rooms, many comfortable sitting and smoke rooms, besides apartments'en suite and singly. From the balconies may be enjoyed an entrancing view of sea and land. Comfort and every convenience, with excellent attendance, is at the guest's disposal, including a refined cuisine, at a moderate tariff. Attached to the hotel are superior livery stables, where open carriages and broughams, and four and pair horse drags may be secured at a moderate rate of charge. This necessary adjunct to a first-class hotel establishment is under the personal supervision of Mr. L. W. Biggs, who also assists the proprietress, Mrs. E. J . Latimer, in attention to the affairs of the house, as Manager. The location of the Grand Pier Hotel is famed as among the healthiest in the Colony, receiving the full benefit of the incoming breezes from the limitless Pacific, and also commanding the H a r b o r . Frequent boats to Circular Quay render it an ideal place of sojourn for the busy man of affairs, and special arrangements at favorable terms can be made for families and permanent boarders. The telephone call for the Grand P i e r Hotel is, Manly 27.
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MA/N i_y. Facing the Sea.
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The Healthiest Spot in N. S.Wales.
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Moderate Tariff. Splendid Dining Hall, Drawing, Sitting, and Smoking Rooms. Mrs. E. J. LATIMER, Proprietress.
L. W. BIGGS, Manager.
Pier Hotel Livery Stables Under the Personal Supervision of Mr. L. W. BIGGS. Open Carriages and Broughams. Four-in-Hand and Pair Horse Drags on Moderate Terms. Liveried Coachmen when required. Weddings and Balls a speciality.
ALL ENQUIRIES SHOULD BE MADE AT THE PIER HOTEL. TELEPHONE
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TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
23
all ships take the east channel, owing to the sea that runs across the western passage. Suppose you are going to take t h e east channel, you carry on along t h e obelisk line until you see t h e two m a r k s above Vaucluse Bay swing into one ; at night these are red lights. Following this line, you go along t h e deep channel, in about 27 feet at low water springs, until St. J a m e s ' Church swings clear of Bradley's Head, by which time you seem to be in perilous proximity to Graycliffe. You now port your helm and make a bee-line past the pile light along the new marks ; thence it is deep all up t h e harbour. The west channel is 21 feet deep at low water springs, and has t h e defect that it is swept by the sea in heavy easterly and N . E . weather. On the other hand it is a trifle shorter than t h e east channel, and is easier to get into, as it does not require so abrupt a turn. You steer straight for the Obelisks till St. J o h n ' s Church, Darlinghurst, is just touching Bradley's Head, then starboard the helm and steer on the new line. Once past the Bar and Flats there is deep water all along to Bradley's and thenee up harbour. These sailing directions are of little use to yachts, but we so often hear men asking t h e functions of the various marks t h a t we have thought it well to describe them ; and in doing so we have really shown most of the dangers in the harbour. We purpose now to begin at the S. Head, and note the particulars of the coast-line as far as they concern small boats. W e have already described the S. Reef. Passing Watson's Bay, where the deep sea vessels bring to for purposes of medical inspection, we come to the beautiful little Vaucluse Bay. T h e shores of this charming spot are private, and landing above high water-mark is strictly forbidden. The large buoys in t h e bay show no danger ; they belong to the R . S . Y . S . and P . A . Y . C . ; and though doubtless nothing serious would happen if a non-member hung on to them, one can hardly think it t h e right thing to do. From Bottle and Glass, the S.W. point of t h e bay, there runs out a nasty reef, culminating
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24
THE YACHTSMAN S GUIDE
in a large pulpit-rock standing some yards from the shore a t high tide ; the bottom is foul and shallow for several yards to the N. of this rock, and it is well to give it a wide berth. All along the foreshores as far as Shark Point there is foul ground, with a depth of not more than 1^ fathoms near shore, and here also the privilege of landing is stringently withheld. The point itself is faiily clear of rocks, and so is the shore of Rose Bay till we pass Hermit Point near the head of i t : and then we see by the low, flat, sandy shore that we are running into danger. All along the beach t h e water is shoal, and right along the foreshore to and past Point Piper ; and then we get a clear patch on the E . shore of Double Bay, giving place once more to sand and shoals, which now skirt the shore-line past Elizabeth Bay right round to P o t t s ' Point. N.VV. of Darling Point runs out a spit below water, the end marked by a black buoy in two fathoms. Broadly speaking the foreshores are shoal right from Rose Bay to P o t t s ' Point, no doubt from the eddy afore-mentioned. Woolloomooloo Day is now-a-days given up to w h a r v e s ; F a r m Cove, as always, to men-of-war, and Sydney Cove and Darling Harbour to shipping. Lady Macquarie's Chair is free of danger, and so are the shores of both the bays which it divides, except the extreme head of F a r m Cove ; but a spit runs out from Point Macquarie which is marked with a black buoy. Crossing the harbour, and going east once more, we come upon Kirribilli Point, with a beacon marking the end of a reet. Inside this lies Neutral Harbour, an old-fashioned name now, but too handy to be allowed to remain in oblivion ; it embraces Neutral Bay, Shell Cove and Careening Cove, all handy places for keeping boats, but not otherwise to be noticed here. W e might note t h a t there is a nasty little reef at the S. point ÂŤf Careening Cove, which runs out some thirty yards. The eastern point of Neutral Harbour is Robertson Point, and off it the water is very deep ; next to it we come to Mossman's Bay, containing Great Sirius Cove, Little Sirius Cove and Whiting Bay, in the order named. The purist might feel inclined to remark that what is usually called Mossman's Bay is really Great Sirius Cove. All these places are charming picnic resorts, though so close t o Sydney. The upper end of Great Sirius Cove is shoal, b u t otherwise there is nothing noteworthy, except a little rock sticking out of the water on the west side of Whiting Bay. Coming now to Bradley's H e a d we find the foreshore foul along the west shore of the point, and a reef running directly northward right across the entrance to Taylor Bay. This reef is distinctly matter in the wrong place. In many north-easters it pays to make a board well into Taylor Bay, and if we are not to lose .all the benefit of such a
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
25
board we must not stand out very far into mid-stream before putting round, so t h a t the problem resolves itself into squeezing past the aforesaid reef. We have seen two boats hung up on t h e tail of it, with serious damage to centre-board in each case, a n d no doubt many other accidents have occured. Even t h e harmless necessary sailing man is occasionally worthy of consideration, and we venture to suggest that the various clubs unite together and take steps to have this most annoying little reef marked. Running out as it does for about a hundred y a r d s , it forms a distinct menace to sailing boats, yachts and coasters, and a few pounds spent in anchoring a buoy at the end of it would not be wasted. Taylor Bay is another pleasant little resort, with a squadron buoy at the head of it. Once past the reef there is nothing worthy of note. Chowder Head and Chowder Bay—now called Clifton G a r d e n s , ye Gods !—are free from danger, except for extensive sand-flats at t h e bead of t h e latter, and need not be further mentioned. Coming to George's Head we find a short reef, upon which t h e sea breaks heavily at times, and a battery, whence our sr-,IIant defenders are prone to pot barrels. Then is George's Head indeed a parlous place, with sulphurous atmosphere, and shells whizzing over the blue sea, and the yacht which does not wnnt burning bits of wadding to come on board had better keep •out of t h e way. Obelisk Bay need not be mentioned further: but Middle H e a d requires a word. Although there is no reef running from it, yet so steep is it that the wind always fails beneath its frowning crags, from whichever direction it should be blowing ; and as a very heavy sea breaks at its foot it is dangerous to approach within any short distance. I n the open ocean the waves are t r u e waves in a physical sense : i.e., they have no forward movement of their own, b u t merely an up and down undulatory motion : but when they come into shoal water—and to an ocean wave six fathoms is shoal — they take on a forward movement, a n d hurry along at express speed. If the wave is now preparing to break, and has a crest upon it, however small, it will catch up a yacht and carry her along like a straw, and, as she will be helpless for want of wind, there will be nothing to prevent her being hurled on t h e rocks and dashed to pieces ; whereupon the Blue-pointer and t h e W abbegong will have a pleasant task set them. I t is therefore good policy to keep well clear of Middle H e a d even in calm weather ; and if there is any sea running, t h r e e hundred yards is quite near enough to go. Most people know and have seen Middle Head in a gale, and indeed it is worth going miles to see the torpedo-like shoot of t h e water up its sheer face. The writers have seen the spray flying far higher than t h e Head itself.
26
THE YACHTSMAN"S GUIDE
CHAPTER V. WINDS AND CURRENTS. I n this part of the harbour a knowledge of the winds and currents is of some importance if one desires to make speedy and comfortable passages. A common whole-day excursion, for instance, is up Middle H a r b o u r ; and if one works the east shore in, say, a northerly with flood tide he will find himself still plugging away at the chopple in the Sound while the hated rival who kept under the west shore is peacefully running past Grotto Point. Although we may be able to give a few broad lines for t h e navigation of the harbour, still it must not be forgotten that every day furnishes its own problem, and that nothing but experience can ever tell a man what is best to do in every set of circumstances. The common summer wind is, of course, the north-easter, and you will find that it is by no means constant in direction. Following the cyclone system to which we have referred, t h e first day of the north-easter may be really E . N . E . , or even E . by. N . ; the second day may be N . E . , and the third N . N . E . , or even N . Another point is that what is an E . N . E . wind in the morning may freshen up and back round to N . N . E . in the afternoon ; this frequently happens in J a n u a r y and F e b ruary. Speaking generally the wind is fairly steady from whichever of these points it chooses to blow, but of course it varies slightly, and under the influence of the bays one sees very great changes occurring. The broad rule in beating t o windward against the north-easter is :— If the wind is E . of N . E . work the eastern shore. If the wind is N . of N . E . , work the western shore. P u t shortly—work t h e windward shore. Let us take an instance. H e r e is a man bound down harbour, meeting a N . E . by N . wind. H e does not know the rule, and goes slap across the harbour from Bradley's Head, meeting a heavy curling chopple as he does so. This alone puts him back ; the more N . in the wind the bigger is the chopple. H e reaches say, Shark Point, and as soon as he, gets a little u n d e r its shelter the wind chops round to N . E . by E . , and he loses a lot of distance again ; seeing this he puts about, and spins merrily along, till he gets the wind again, and lo ! it is N . N . E . ! B u t why pursue the doleful tale further 1 H e gets broken off on each tack, and loses ten minutes on the thrash down harbour, if he is lucky enough not to lose more.
"IDA" AND "LOTTIE.'
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
27
Now, his rival knows the game, and stands out a few yards clear of Bradley's, meeting a fair-sized chopple, we grant you ; he then puts round, scrapes past the reef on Bradley's, swearing because there is no buoy thereon, and gets into the smoother water of Taylor Bay. H e r e the N, E. by N . wind becomes N . E . , and N . E . by E . , and E . N . E . , and perhaps—O joyful possibility,—E. itself ! and he goes slashing along straight across the b i y right under Chowder Head, having gained two or three hundred yards at one fell swoop. Now he puts about and faces a N . N . E . wind, which breaks him off a little bit, to be sure ; but as soon as he is clear of the head he gets the N . E . by N. again, stands on a few hundred yards, and goes into Chowder Bay, where he meets with a similar experience ; and so in Obelisk Bay ; and t h e n he makes a longer board out, and goes gaily round Middle H e a d while the other man is still wallowing about near the Sow and Pigs. If the wind is E . N . E . there is not the same heavy chopple, and he can venture right across to the E . shore without losing much ; and then what glorious leads out of Rose Bay, and Vaucluse and Camp Cove ; and what sparkling smooth water ; and what a spanking dash across to Middle Head, and what triumph over the ignorant one who is splashing and toiling away over on the W. shore ! If the wind is true N . E . what is he to do? That depends on the tide, for he will get fine leads out of either shore. With t h e ebb tide we generally work the W. shore, for the following reasons :—The chopple in mid-stream is very heavy, and o r e loses by going too far Eastward ; while the current is quite strong enough half way across. So that with an ebb tide one goes further across, so as to get the benefit of it, and yet not quite across, so as to lose in the chopple. But many men work right across harbour on each board, while a number prefer t h e E . shore. I n t h e flood, most people work the W. shore, making very sliort boards out into the stream. There is very little current in the W . bays. But there is a good deal to be said for the E . shore even then. Coming from the leeward of Bradley's with a true N . E . wind one can usually fetch near Shark Point even in the teeth of the flood ; and then one is in slack water until one gets the Sow and Pigs ; even then in a few minutes one reaches t h e current setting up Middle Harbour, and that helps considerably. But whichever side one works, the broad rule is :— I n an ebb-tide make long boards. I n a flood-tide make short boards. The choice of shore depends, as before stated, on the wind ; one works t h e weather shore.
28
T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUIDE
There is one more point about the north-easter. U n d e r Bradley's there is invariably a calm and fiuky patch, which must be shunned, whether beating or running. I t is so tempting tobe able to lay for t h e mile-pillar itself, and see a romping northeaster blowing just beyond, with its dark blue water and curling cresters inviting you to brave it. and only fifty yards of shining motionless sea between you and t h e g o a l ; but that sea is deceitful. I t may take you ten minutes to cross those few yards. We have been becalmed—flat becalmed, with t h e boat swinging; idly round and round—under Bradley's, when a strong n o r t h easter was whisking past the very luff of the jib. Similarly the wind does not blow home on t o Middle H e a d . Even to northward of the Head there is often a calm patch, varied this time by the heavy ocean roll ; and if the calm under Bradley's is annoying, that to windward of Middle Head is something more. The conditions somewhat change between and beyond t h e Heads. From whatever exact direction the north-easter may be blowing, one is almost sure %> get a strong draught inwards through the entrance, so that, by keeping well over to the east shore in the long board from Obelisk Bay, one may occasionally find oneself apparently able to lay the Manly buoy from t h e South Reef. This, of course, is really only a dream, because one invariably gets broken off as soon as the malign influence of Quarantine Harbour begins to make itself felt. As one passes Flagstaff Point the wind draws more northward, and still more as soon as Smedley's Point is abeam ; and when one nears t h e Manly buoy one may rind the wind almost true north. T h e Bailing directions thus stand when beating to Manly :— Work to the South Reef somehow, either by the east o r west channel, according to the exact tinge of t h e wind. Then make a long board on the starboard tack, so long as the favourable draught through t h e Heads continues ; as soon as Flagstaff Point gets in the wind's eye you will be broken off by a northerly draught out of quarantine. You then p u t about, stand in shore on port tack as far as possible ; then round again and on till t h e northerly shift out of Manly occurs. As soon as you a r e broken off thereby put about without further loss, and stand on towards Smedley's, until the wind begins to fail, which it does very rapidly hereabouts. And now you can lay the buoy from Smedley's, but you will not fetch it, for another northerly slant awaits you, and you may either go right across to leeward of t h e buoy and throw round just under Fairlight, when, if an adverse slant comes to you while on the port tack, you lose heavily ; o r else you may cannily put round before getting to leeward of t h e buoy, make a short board on the port tack towards the pier, then round again, and sweep round close to the buoy, easing off your sheet as soon as you are about. By the former route you lose
TO SYDXRV HARBOUR AND ITS XKIU11BOUHHOOD.
*9
no time in unnecessary tacking ; you stand either to gain or to lose a good deal. By the latter you will assuredly not lose; but if the other fellow has any luck under Fairlight—and he often has—you will find yourself left owing to your want of enterprise. But t h e main rule is always, keep to the eastward once past the Sow and Pigs. I t is hopeless trying to work the west shore then. F i r s t you get becalmed off Middle H e a d ; then you get boxed up wiph. the Dobroyd Bumborah, and are becalmed under the great cliffs of t h a t promontory; then you get a succession of adverse puffs that would drive a St. Lawrence to blasphemy. You may only work the west shore if the wind in the fairway is true north or west of north. So now we have finished the north-easter, and leave it with the hope that we may have saved a few minutes to our sailing friends every Saturday. Turn we to the light south-easter—the lady's friend, the racing man's aversion, (generally this follows a southerly burster, and seems to be commoner in early summer than in t h e main season, when tlie heat rather causes the northeaster to rush in and fill its plaec. This wind in our minds is one wherein you may set topsails and jib-topsails and all manner of gay kites, being steady and soft as t h e gentle zephyr. There is often a heavy tumbling swell, rolling between the Heads ; the sky is peculiarly blue and clear, with soft round white clouds ; the sun is bright and warm, t h e water sparkles, and for him who loves not " t h e storm and t h e stress of the reeling main " the conditions are idyllic Now and again a true south-easter backs eastward in the afternoon, b u t we have never seen a heavy blow on such a day. A weatherly boat may perhaps fetch George's Head from Manly in a south-easter, at least with an ebb-tide ; in flood-tide she might be swept on to Middle Head, and it is wise to go round before reaching that locality. A board eastwards now gives one a commanding position from which one can weather Bradley's with ease. I n beating up to Shark Island from Manly against the southeaster—as t h e racing boats sometimes do—the wisest coarse seems to be to work the east shore ; one gets many favouring puffs out of t h e various bays. On the whole, there is very little to be said about the southeaster. I t is a soldier's wind nearly everywhere in the harbour, and a little common sense and attention to the tide will take a man anywhere with ease and certainty. There is another aspect of the south-easter which is not so beatific. When t h e " b u r s t e r " lashes itself up into a southeasterly gale, with driving scud and rain, and the white horses galloping all over the harbour, little boats had better stop a t their moorings. Still, we have had many pleasant sails in such
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30
THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
weather, and if you do not mind getting wet there is no reason why one should stop idly at home during the ordinary summer gale. The wind, though heavy, is not unmanageable, seldom blowing more than forty miles an hour ; t h e rain, though thick,, is not so dense and blinding as in the easterly gales ; and though a big chopple is certainly raised in the harbour a well-found boat with plenty of free-board should be in no danger if snugly rigged. A two-reefed cruising mainsail will give you plenty of work in such weather, but there are few yachtsmen who care to reef their sails if they can possibly avoid it, a n d as a rule we may say that a storm trysail is the best rig for a summer gale. Some men glory in the fact that they never reduce sail for any blow ; but then we know a man who glories in the fact that he has a wart on his nose. The one boast is as senseless as t h e other. Where is the sense in driving a labouring little boat through a tremendous stress of wind under full sail, the crew drenched to the skin, and hanging flat over t h e water in t h e agonising expectancy t h a t any moment may see them on the keel instead of the moulding? The boat would go quite as fast under a snug little trysail well cut and well set ; and there can be no comparison as to the comfort and safety. As a general rule it is better to be slightly under than slightly over-sailed. I n our opinion the best form of storm-sail is a handy high-cut narrow-footed sail with a short yard on the head of it. Although such a sail is not so handy for stowing as the ordinary trysail, still the greater weatherliness and handiness of the boat under it far more than compensate for t h e few feet taken up by the yard. I n the summer gale it is-well not to venture beyond t h e Pile Light. There are some little anchorages in Watson's Bay, Parsley Bay, and Vaucluse, which are pleasant enough in default of Middle Harbour, and it is seldom that a snugly rigged boat cannot return thence. The west shore is too exposed in a south-easterly gale for comfort; and so heavy a sea rolls in through the Heads t h a t no small boat ought to essay that locality. I n beating up it is well to remember that you will get very good shelter under Shark P o i n t and Shark Island. Our own practice is to hug t h e east shore till under t h e lee of the Island, and t h e n square away and run up channel with a quartering wind. One can usually lay Bradley's from Vaucluse in a S.E. gale, but one gets very wet, while a succession of southerly puffs may put one badly to leeward into Taylor Bay, when, if t h e r e is an ebb-tide, one may have some difficulty in regaining lost ground. On the whole caution is best, remembering that gales are never so steady as ordinary breezes, and that the squalls may veer and chop anywhere from south to east.
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
31
N e x t in importance, perhaps, to these, two winds is the hot north-wester. This is unpleasant anywhere except in the icecheat, b u t probably one is less grilled on the water than on shore. Norlh-westers vary in strength from a light parching puffy breeze to a moderate gale ; but whatever the strength it is always uncertain both in force and direction, and there is always a fierce glare of sun from sea and sky. The one good point about the hot wiud is that it rarely kicks up much of a chopple, except in Rose Bay and the vicinity. I n working down harbour against t h e nor'-wester we have found it good practice to hug the west shore. Indeed one can often nearly lay one's course. Similarly, beating up channel from Bradley's, one often gets excellent leads and smooth water at the entrance to Neutral Harbour, and a board in towards Mosman's usually pays. I t is only right to say that in gales from the true W.r whether hot or cold, a very heavy chopple is raised in the reach between Kirribilli and Rose Bay. The wind then has a fair stretch from Goat Island right down the harbour, and a nasty breaking sea is kicked up against the flood tide. Whatever one does, however, it is wise to remember that the north-wester is always followed sooner or later by a southerly " b u r s t e r , " which may or may not come on in the afternoon ; and unless one is prepared to reef and to thrash four or five miles homewards it is well not to go much past the Sow and Pigs. Another point is that one should always take oilskins " and. warm sweaters even in the hottest north-wester, as one may bitterly regret their absence if the " b u r s t e r " comes u p and finds one unprepared. The " b u r s t e r " often comes very suddenly, and the first puff is sometimes of extraordinary violence. The " b u r s t e r " ' following the hot wind is not usually considered so treacherous as when it follows the north-easter, as happens early and late in t h e season. The most careful skipper may then be caught napping. The signs are, as before stated, a sudden fall in t h e wind and slight rise in the barometer, accompanied by the rapid growth of a black cloud in the south. We wish to insist upon t h e fact that occasionally there is an interval of not more than two or three minutes in which to prepare, and a heavily rigged boat may easily be capsized, while a lightly-clad crew may catch bad colds or worse. Usually one has from a quarter of an hour to an hour, and it is wise to spend that period in reefing. If one sees the water by Point Piper all white with spindrift immediately the north-wind drops, one has no time to reef, and it is well to lower all sail in case t h e wind may be overpoweringly heavy.
32
T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUIDE
An unpleasant wind is the strong sou'-wester, which occasionally sets in early and late in the season; more rarely in midsummer. This is a heavy, cold, angry wind, blowing in fierce squalls, sometimes out of a hard blue sky, and at other times out of dull white lowering clouds with showers of cold rain. I n our experience it often follows heavy north-easterly and easterly weather, and, though we do not think it can be locally foretold, -still the weather telegrams from the southern districts give a reliable indication for its approach. The sou'-wester is hardly sailing weather, at least for pleasure, unless one wishes to catch one's death of cold. The main indications are, as hinted at in the section on t h e summer gale, not to go far to leeward and t o rig snugly. To this must be added, dress warmly, because if the sun becomes overcast in a south-wester the air becomes very keen, and in any case one is sure to get wet. The south-wester, light or strong, is the great winter wind, blowing probably four days out of six, and he who sails in t h a t season must lay his account to have a good experience of it. CHAPTER VI. B R O K E N BAY. If ten Sydney men were asked to name the pleasantesfc cruising ground within their reach nine of them would probably mention Broken Bay and its inlets. There indeed is yachting perfection. An ocean t r i p , a great expanse of indented water, innumerable sheltered nooks, glorious scenery, abundant fishing, steady winds—what more can the keenest yachtsman desire ? Broken Bay lies about eighteen miles north of Sydney Heads, and can only be reached in a boat by an ocean voyage of t h a t distance. This ocean voyage is not an undertaking to be •entered upon lightly. The boat must be seaworthy, the weather m u s t be picked, and—a point too often overlooked—there must be at least one competent member of the party who is not subj e c t to sea-sickness. We say emphatically that a 16-foot open boat is not fit to go round to Broken Bay, though such boats have often performed t h e passage, and will no doubt often do so again. But the risk is too considerable for a wise man to take ; a n d with regard to t h e sea-sickness it is all very well to say t h a t t h e trip lasts only two or three hours and that no yachtsman would get seriously sea-sick in that short time. Things wear a very different aspect when the wind falls light and the boat is heaving about in the swell off Long Reef with all the crew lying helpless in the bottom*of her. Suppose a southerly " burster," were to come up and find such a state of aftairs, we fancy that not many of those adventurous mariners would ever s e t foot on land again. T h e strongest will is helpless before mal-de-mer, and it is common prudence to take no unnecessary risk when one's life is at stake
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" THALIA.'
TO SYDNEY HAEBOUE AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
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F o r the trip to the Hawkesbury the sail must be moderate in size, and easily handled and reefed ; and the boat should b e well provisioned in case of calm. Undoubtedly the best wind to take one to Broken Bay is. the light south-easter, in which pleasant and rapid passages may be made. If one can pick one's time the choice will, therefore, fall on the day after a hot wind, when either the south-easter or the north-easter, whichever happens to be blowing, will generally be light, the sea smooth, and the weather at its best. Next to the south-easter the north-easter is perhaps the best wind during the day-time ; b u t we do not think it justifiable for a centreboard boat to essay the passage in a strong wind from.any direction. Even when blowing off the land a nasty sea is often raised at the offing necessary to clear Long Reef ; while at t h e mouth of the Bay itself the westerly wind causes an exceedingly heavy chopple, especially in a flood-tide. I t is always risky to start for Broken Bยงy in a hot wind,, seeing how suddenly such a wind is apt to be followed by a southerly burster. Again, t h e third day of a north-easter is often followed by a burster, and we do not recommend small boats to set forth in such circumstances. To a large and wellfound boat the burster is merely a fair wind, which will run her up the coast before any serious sea can rise ; but to a smaller boat a burster out a sea is a serious matter. A favourite plan is to beat up to Watson's Bay against, t h e north-easter in t h e afternoon, anchor there and have tea, and set forth with the morning westerly, which usually sets in soon after midnight ; and on a clear moonlight night nothing can be more pleasant than the run up the coast with the ballooner and topsail spread to the cool breeze. The ordinary morning breeze will take one up in three or four hours. Heads to Heads, and one may reach t h e Basin in comfortable time for the early morning swim and breakfast. Taken all round perhaps this is one of the best ways to go to Broken Bay, but one should know t h e coast fairly well before starting on an all-night excursion. A noticeable feature of t h e E . coast of Australia is t h e great southerly current, which is more or less constant at an offing of about two miles. I n northerly winds this current may run from two to four knots ; b u t in southerly winds the speed rarely exceeds one knot, while there may be no current at all, or even a slight northerly eddy. I t can easily be seen how hopeless a business it would b e for a small boat to attempt to beat twenty miles against a strong north-easter and a current of this description. On account of this powerful stream of water boats going northward always keep as close inshore as safety permits ; coming southward it pays to go well out to sea. We may now give a short Description of the coast between South H e a d and Barren joey. The main features are, as is wellknown, a succession of long sandy beaches, with enormous
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headlands jutting between them. From these headlands there are usually reefs stretching' more or less' out to sea, and occasionally there are bumborahs ; so that in no case is it safe to go d o s e inshore. The chief danger on this part of t h e coast is Long Reef, -about six miles to the northward of N o r t h Head. In heavy weather the sea breaks in one continuous line of foam for more than four miles off shore ; indeed, the bumborah off Long Reef is perhaps the worst on t h e whole coast. I n calm weather at low tide Long Reef appears a low line of rocks running eastwards for about a mile or a little more, with surf all round it, and surf beating some distance beyond t h e actual visible rock ; a n d under water there is shoal ground for some three miles beyond the end of t h e reef. We do not mean that yachts need usually go so far as this out to sea ; but in heavy weather an offing of four miles off shore is absolutely necessary to clear t h e bumborah. , To avoid .Long* Reef t h e Macquarie Light must be kept just clear of North Head ; this will take one beyond the farthest bumborah. Needless to say, except with a fair wind, yachts seldom stand so far out to sea, as the c u r r e n t is very heavy at such an offing. Once past Long Reef there is no danger all the way u p t h e coast, and an offing of twq miles is quite sufficient t o keep. A t such a distance one obtains a fine view of t h e beautiful coastline, the shining white beaches and magnificent headlands, with t h e white surf incessantly thundering at their f e e t ; while t h e southerly current is not too strong, and one has a constant and Sj^ady breeze away from t h e influence of t h e cliffs. Past* Long Reef one covers the Macquarie Light behind N o r t h Head, and gradually begin to edge towards t h e land ; n o lights are then seen till t h e red light on Barranjoey swings into view. W e thus see that for some miles a t n>ght the course must be set by the compass ; and our opinion certainly is that a careful man will take his compass with him when setting out for an ocean trip. One might easily b e blown out to sea, or it may fall calm and one might be caught in a dark night, with no o t h e r indication of direction than t h e ominous roar of t h e breakers. T h e sailing directions for t h e voyage will, therefore, stand thus:— On a clear day, with a fair wind, stand on, keeping t h e Macquare Lighthouse j * s t visible till one is quite able to make o u t t h e end of Long Reef. If there is much swell running one should keep on this course till t h e reef is abeam ; but this means stemming t h e whole strength of the current, and if there is not much sea one may go considerably inside t h e above line with perfect safety. T h e fisherman will note that under t h e lee of Long Reef there is abundance of fish—including sharks — a n d a n hour or two spent in fishing may b e well repaid.
TO SYDNEY HABBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
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Clear of Long Reef one loses no time in hiding the Macquarie Lighthouse, and then one stands on till Barrenjoey comes into view round t h e South Head of Broken Bay. With the north-easter one may prepare one's self for a seven or eight hour thrash, and one will be very tired at the end of it. T h e usual practice is to work close inshore till under the smooth water to leeward of Long Reef, and then to make a long board out to sea till well clear of the bumborah, then put about and stand on as far as possible again on the starboard tack. T h e principle is to work always close inshore except at Long Reef. One hears weird stories of gallant souls standing inshore until they begin to feel t h e very heave of the breakers ; but this is mere foolishness, and not to be copied. A miie offing is •quite small enougli for minimum. The outward board may also be about a mile in length.
CHAPTER VIII. B R O K E N BAY. I n general conformation Broken Bay somewhat resembles P o r t Jackson. Entering one finds a great Sound between Barrenjoey, Lambert Peninsula, Middle Head, and Hawk Head. T o t h e northward of this Sound runs Brisbane Water ; to the westward runs the Hawkesbury River, to the southwest is Cowan Creek- -by the way, why is it considered fashionable to <jall itCowann?—and t o the southward runs Pittwater. Al^ these inlets are beautiful, and all different. For pure sailing | perhaps Pittwater is t h e b e s t ; but nothing can exceed the picturesque beauty of Cowan and t h e Hawkesbury. We may here digress for a moment in order to explain t h e nomenclature we intend vto adopt. F o r some reason the chart names have not caught on in Broken Bay ; and as there are a number of local names used by the fishermen, the result is a certain amount of confusion. Many experienced yachtsmen always use t h e local names—some because they obtained their knowledge from the fishermen, and others, it is to be feared, because they feel a certain assumption of superiority to be implied by t h e possession of local knowledge. Unquestionably knowledge gained from the chart is more likely to be accurate than knowledge gained from fishermen, who are at best uneducated and ignorant men, and who are necessarily bound by very stringent limitations. A fishermar only knows exactly those things which he himself has experienced ; and he is apt to be intolerant and incredulous of those things which lie outside the bounds of his own knowledge.
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I n this book, however, we are not writing for those who already know Broken Bay, but for those who are strangers t o that locality. Such men, if they are wise, will spend two shillings in an Admiralty Chart, and will study it along with our descriptions. Since that is our scheme, we therefore purpose to use the chart names where possible. Barrenjer or Barrenjoey is a great rock standing out of t h e sea at the S. side of the entrance, and joined to the mainland by a narrow spit of sand. I t is about 350 feet high, and upon it stands a fixed red light, 370 feet above sea-level, and visible for fifteen miles. To seaward Barrenjoey is clear, save for a short reef on which tlie sea breaks ; but N . N . E . of trie lighthouse begin those shoals for which the head is notorious. These extend completely around the point, at a distance northward of fifty yards, N . W . of 100, and W. of about 300 yards ; S,W. it is shoal for about three-quarters of a mile from the shore. Well-known though these shoals are, it is extraordinary how many yachts, even in experienced hands, manage to run ashore upon them. No doubt the temptation to shave Barrenjoey close is considerable, when one remembers the furious tide that runs a short distance off shore ; b u t even then, skippers should exercise more caution. The safe plan is not to go anywhere near the dangerous place. Eliot Island (Lion Island) is a great barren rock just off Middle Head. I t has clear water all round, but a tremendous sea runs in its neighbourhood during S.E. and E. gales. Pittwater is the southerly arm of Broken Bay, and is perhaps the most suitable for pure yachting purposes. I t is 4 what is called in Scotland a sea-loch, about eight miles long, and two to three miles in width ; on t h e whole it is very deep, and is much indented, while the tides are gentle. The scenery is, to our mind, among the most beautiful on the coast, the high ground on the west shore forming a pleasant contrast with the undulations and white beaches of the east, while the great mass of Eliot Island stands lion-like on the north. The entrance of Pittwater runs between Barrenjoey on the east and West Head on the west. West Head contains t h r e e points, called First, Second, and Third Heads, counting fromnorth to south, and this promontory is not to be confounded with Cape Threepoints, the North Head of Broken Bay. The Flats.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Between West Head and Barrenjoey there is unfortunately a shoal patch or bar, known locally as the Flats, which runs right across t h e entrance. On the west shore this shoal begins at the West Head, and ends at the North Head of the Basin, and on the eastern side itstartsas before remarked, 50yardsto the north of Barrenjoey, and runs continuously along the whole shore of the low sand spit as far as Sand Point (Sandy P o i n t ) . The whole area between these four points is shoal, being;
4 (aims Steam Pr<
Hunter's
Paw Paw.
TO SYDNKY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
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nowhere more than 2 j fathoms deep at low water springs. T h e deepest part is on the west side, where there is a channel for vessels of twelve feet draught at all tides : this channel is from About fifty yards to a quarter of a mile from the west shore. I t is, however, advisable to avoid the West Head, as with an E . wind one is becalmed under its tremendous cliffs, while with any W. in the wind one receives furious squalls down the gullies. The bar is not an unmixed evil, however. The finest flathead near Sydney are to be caught by drifting over it with the flood-tide. Heavy tackle is required, and gimp snoodings. We have seen some fish caught here nearly four feet long. On the flats at t h e east side black bream used to be abundant, but t h e ruthless netting of t h e fishermen has sadly reduced their numbers ; inded this is true all ovet Pitt water. The Basin.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Past the bar, one no longer sees bottom beneath t h e clear water, and one enters the P i t t Deeps, averaging ten to twelve fathoms. The deep inlet on the west shore is the famous Basin, one of the most beautiful places on the whole coast. The Basin runs S. W. for about a mile, and near the head of it a lonf sand-spit runs out from the north side right across almost to the opposite shore, leaving a narrow channel that one might throw a biscuit across ; beyond the spit is a charming little lake, called the I n n e r Basin, a few hundred yards square, with deep water overshadowed by lofty hills. The Basin is, unfortunately, directly open to the N . E . , and in an easterly gale a heavy swell rolls in ; but from every other -direction one obtains absolute shelter. Indeed, the shelter is so perfect that one frequently has difficulty in getting wind enough to reach anchorage. At t h e spit the water is quite deep till within a few yards of shore ; but it is more shoal at the little beach over in t h e S.W. corner, while the northern shore is also rather foul. Anchorage may be obtained off the middle of the Spit in six or eight fathoms, fifty yards ofl shore. The red buoy belongs to Mr. Jackson, of the Violet. F r e s h water is to be obtained from a little stream at the shore end of the Spit ; and we have never thrown a line from the Spit itself without catching some tine red bream. We hear, however, that recently the nets have been at work, with t h e usual deplorable result. T h e channel into the I n n e r Basin is about six feet deep at low tide, the deepest part being on the Spit side ; so there is no difficulty in taking an ordinary boat in with the north-easter, though there might be some in getting her out. We need hardly say that perfect shelter is obtaiued here from all winds, and in easterly gales and hard north-easters, many boats go into t h e I n n e r Basin. The current at the entrance runs very
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T H E YACHTSMAN'S
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strongly, especially at spring tides ; and it is impossible to beat either in or out, though with a favouring tide one might drift through in the teeth of the wind. At flood tide in the evening, a boat moored head and stern near the entrance, would, once upon a time, get splendid bream and whiting ; indeed, with fine tackle the sport was really very good. These delights are, however, now of the past. The nets have done their work. We must not leave the Basin without reference to Mrs. Morris, alias Sally, alias Peggy, who lives in a little house on the Spit. Many a hungry yachtsman has blessed the old lady, and many a tale has she to tell of the wild doings at holiday season. Southward of t h e Basin lies Rock Head (Soldier's Point), and then one or two more beaches and we come to Long Nose Point, E . , from which there is a small shoal patch. Rounding the corner we see a broad and beautiful Sound opening up, with P i t t Island (Scotland Island) in the middle. To the right lie Morning Bay (Towler's Bay), Night Bay (Lovett Bay), and P i t t Inlet (McCarr's Creek)—the later behind the island. Straight up the passage is the Island Inlet, with Newport and Bay view at the head of it. I n Morning Bay lies a powder-hulk, and in Night Bay there is a stone jetty for the convenience of visitors to Kuring-gai Chase, the new National P a r k . From this jetty a walk of a few minutes along a cleared track brings one to a charming creek, surrounded by very lovely scenery ; a perfect picnic spot. McCarr's Creek, or P i t t Inlet, is also very charming, with deep water right up to t h e flats at the head of i t ; over these flats at high tide boats row up for a very long way. Pitt Island, or Scotland Island as it is universally called, is a beautiful wooded hill in the middle of the sea, with a little glen and cleared patch on the north aspect of it. The water is deep all around it except at the north-east point, where there is a nasty reef, and the south shore, where you have the narrow channel between the island and Church P o i n t . I n the centre of this channel there is three fathoms of water, and shoals run out a long way on each side. On the Church Point side a post has been erected in about l £ fathoms low water. Newport.—The channel to Newport is narrow and perplexing. The first note of warning is sounded by a large black buoy, apparently right in mid channel. Following the uniform buoyage rule, this must be left on the port hand going in ; it marks the end of a very long shoal j u t t i n g out just below water from the point opposite which it lies. This buoy is not in t h e chart.
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SS' None need despair, as in every case undertaken by Dr. Gibbons A PERMANENT CURE IS ABSOLUTELY ASSURED. DR. G I B B O N S uses none but the very purest remedies, and never under any circumstances prescribes mercury in any form. Patients are reminded that their letters are destroyed by fire immediately they have been read and answered, and that their cases and names remain a secret between the Doctor and themselves. D R . G I B B O N S has documentary evidence of having thoroughly cured thousands of cases during the extended time he has practised as a specialist in Australia. All communications should be addressed
DR. GIBBONS, 137 Elizabeth St, Sydney Or, if preferred, "The Proprietor" Box 230, G.P.O., Sydney. Comsulting H o u r s -Daily, 10 till 5; Evenings, 7 till 9. C o n s u l t a t i o n F r e e .
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THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
Soon after passing this we come upon flats'on both sides, well marked by black-topped posts to eastward, and red-topped posts and ballast-heaps to westward. Flagstaff Point has a beacon on its reef. Abreast of the Newport wharf the channel is extremely narrow, not more than forty yards in width, as a certain large steam-yacht once discovered. At the head of this bay is a charming little place called t h e Maze, up which rowing-boats can go at high water. The visitor should not leave Newport without seeing this. Newport itself is a charming little village of four or five houses. Scott's famous Sanatorium is by the water-side, opposite flagstaff Point, and there is also a n hotel. There is a telephone from the Bayview Post Office, just across the water, for which the charge is one shilling. The Mast Shore. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Going north along the east shore we reach several pretty bays ; then we come to a deep indentation, opposite t h e Basinâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Evening Bay, or Careel Bay. This is very shoal, except in the middle ; but good fish can sometimes be caught here, or could, before the netting killed them off.
CHAPTER IX. BRISBANE WATER. The northern arm of Broken Bay, known as Brisbane Water, is a large shallow expanse hemmed in by steep wooded hills. Across the entrance is a bar of sand, allowing the passage of small draught vessels only, a mile or so above which is a narrow channel of the width of 100 yards or so, locally known as " T h e R i p , " through which t h e tide rushes with great velocity. Above t h e " R i p " the estuary widens out, and we see t h e village of Blackwall on the left. On t h e right-hand side is the entrance of Cockle Creek, leading to the small town of Kincumber. The town of Gosford is at t h e extreme northern end of Brisbane Water, at a distance of five miles, or thereabouts from BlackwalL
M KTEOR.
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Brisbane W a t e r has always been a favourite fishing ground* and the shoals and channels abound in black bream, whiting, flounder, flathead, and those other members of the finny tribe which are generally met with in shallow waters. I n the days before t h e advent of the railway a fishing trip to these grounds involved an ocean voyage from Sydney in the trading steamer, and the number of enthusiasts was limited ; but many a splendid catch is on record. Now, however, since the railway has brought the place within a couple of hours' journey from Sydney, large numbers avaU themselves of the facilities provided for visitiug these celebrated fishing spots. F o r this reason, and on account of the way in which the place has been scraped out by netting, the fishing has of late years much deteriorated, and although we occasionally hear of good catches, we know of our own experience that in very many cases people do not scruple to count in the basket small fish t h a t in the former days would have been set free. Brisbane Water, we believe, is now closed for netfishing above the M R i p , " but there is no doubt that a good deal of it goes on in defiance of the regulations. However, attractive as they may be to the votaries of linefishing, the broad shallow waters, abounding in low mangrove islands and mud flats, do not exactly suit the taste of the s:\i3ing man on pleasure bent. I n the Broadwater, near Gosford, however, there is a very fair sailing course, pretty free from shoals, where the Gosford regattas are held, and the local boats sometimes prove too many for the Sydney cracks. Although it is generally conceded that the scenery all round is picturesque in the extreme, the high abrupt hills that rise from the shores giving a beautiful lake-like effect, nevertheless the difficulties of navigation, the necessity of keepisg the channel, and the risk of going aground, are disadvantages which cannot be ignored. Below the R i p , however, there are lots of delightful spots and pleasant camping grounds, the clean sandy beaches forming a pleasing contrast to the mud flats in the upper portions. The fishing, too, is very good, and just below the " Rip " is a wellknown ground for schnapper, red bream, and other deep-water fish. The entrance of Brisbane Water is just inside Hawk Head, which is the inner N o r t h Head of Broken Bay, and a shallow bar extends across the mouth, but there are channels leading in with a depth of from 10 to 12 feet of water. T h e following directions may be of use in finding the channel, but we do not recommend any one to attempt the passage without the assistance of some one who has had previous experience in crossing.
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THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
When coming in from seaward, and rounding I n n e r H a w k Head, the channel skirts the shore, which trends in a northerly direction, until Lobster Beach is reached. I t is necessary to keep a little clear of this beach on account of a sandbank between the channel and the shore. The shore then takes a turn westward a n d the channel still skirts it, passing behind the bar, until the next point is reached. The point ends in a reef of submerged rocks, and here it is necessary to be cautious, or disaster will result, since the flood tide comes in over t h e bar and across the rocks broadside to the channel, and would take the boat on the rocks if she went too close ; and on the other hand too wide a b e r t h would land the unwary mariner on a submerged bank. After clearing the rocks the boat is in smooth water and safely inside the bar, and the navigator can now pick his own way clear of the banks. There are other channels across the bar made use of by the steamers and ketches, but the one we describe is generally used by small boats and is much the easiest to follow from a written direction. About a quarter of a mile or so up the inlet, which runs about north-east, we come to a favorite camping place called Mulhall's Flat, covered with grass and with a steep sandy beach, where there is a good well of fresh water. Above Mulhall's Flat the inlet widens out into a bay to the eastward, at the end of which there is a house known as the " Frenchman's," where wine from the owner's vintages was obtainable on our last visit. From here there is a track leading over the hills to " P u t t y Beach " (sometimes called P r e t t y Beach), on the ocean side, of schnapper and lobster fishing fame, about half an hour's walk from the " F r e n c h m a n ' s . " After leaving Mulhall's F l a t the inlet passes round a low sandy point on the left, where the old coaster " A l l S e r e n e " lies aground, high a n d dry, and takes a north-westerly direction towards the " R i p . " There is a bay on the left, between the " All Serene " and Webb's Point, one of the points between which the " R i p " passes. This bay is a well-known ground for schnapper, jewfish, red bream, & c , and a good place is close under Webb s Point, in an eddy just clear of the rush of the tide. The tide runs so strongly through t h e " R i p " t h a t t h e water is sensibly heaped up, and the only way to get through in a pulling boat is to keep close in round t h e rocks of Webb's Point. Murray's accommodation house, well-known to holiday excursionists, is also situate on this bay below Webb's P o i n t About three quarters of a mile past the " R i p , " Black wall is reached, a point of call by the trading steamer.
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
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At Blackwall is situated the shipbuilding yard and sheds of Mr. Rock Davis, one of the largest builders of ketches and coasting vessels on the coast. The channel now turns northward, with level, low-lying country on the left hand side, and the mangrove-fringed St. Hubert's Isle on the right, on which is built the residence of Mr. Brown, at the back of which is Cockle Creek, the entrance to Kincumber. About a mile from Blackwall we arrive at Brick Wharf, so called because the bricks for the building of the Woy Woy railway tunnel were landed there ; and there was formerly a tramway to the railway from here, but it is now dismantled. Just below the wharf is a pretty cottage fronting the water, formerly the residence of Mr. Cox, who has now built himself a new house at Webb's Point. Brick Wharf is the nearest point in the channel from which to reach the Woy Woy railway station, about 15 minutes' walk. About a couple of hundred yards above Brick Wharf is a channel leading to Woy Woy on the left, on the other side of which is A low mangrove island ; but at low water this channel is dry, with the exception of a narrow gutter, through which it is possible to pole only the lightest of pulling skiffs, the only other way in being by t h e main channel to Woy Woy, some considerable distance up Brisbane Water, necessitating a detour of some miles. This channel, near the Brick Wharf, takes us right up to the railway embankment, close to the station, near which is Mr. Fred. Couche's accommodation house, the starting point of many a boating party. Woy Woy creek is on the other side of the railway, but we have to skirt the embankment for about half a mile before we find a bridge to get through, .and it is here we meet the main Woy Woy channel coming in from the north east. Between the embankment and the mangrove island is a good place for black bream, the first of the ebb being the t i m e ; b u t if the fisherman stays too long he will be left aground till next tide. J u s t inside the bridge is Mr. P a r k e ' s boarding house. Woy Woy Creek is a broad sheet of water, to the westward of the railway, extending back towards the tunnel, indented with numerous bays and shut in by bold hills. There is a wharf at the station, and in one of the bays across the water, about half a mile to the westward, are prettily situated two cottages, belonging to Canon King, and a cottage the property of Canon Taylor, backed by steep wooded hills. Returning now to Brick Wharf we find the main channel to Gosford trending in a northerly direction, passing on the left the mangrove island, and several ballast heaps, round the last of which is the main entrance to WToy Woy before referred to. On t h e right hand above St. Hubert's Isle is another entrance to Cockle Creek, and a high promontory known as Anderson's Point.
â&#x20AC;˘
I
43
T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUIDE
Before proceeding further we will endeavour to give an idea of the way to Kincumber. As before stated t h e mam channel to Cockle Creek t u r n s off to the right between t h e R i p and St. Hubert's Isle, the channel on the other side near Anderson's Point being only available at high tide. About a mile from the entrance Davis Town is passed on the left, t h e general direction of the creek being easterly. At Davis Town,, which consists chiefly of a post office and a few scattered houses, the creek widens out. We again pass through a narrow creek which opens sharply to the left in a northerly direction, and after about a quarter of a mile enter the Kincumber Broadwater, a large sheet of open water between one and two miles in length, t h e channel following the left or western shore. At the upper end we again enter a narrow creek, about two miles up which we arrive at the village of Kincumber, and a shipbuilding yard. T h e village is very prettily situated, and well repays a visit. If you are fond of a walk it is about 2J miles across to McMaster's Beach, on the ocean side, or, if you care to go a longer distance, it is only about 7 or 8 miles to Terrigal Head. To return once more to the main channel of Brisbane Water, after passing Anderson's Point on the right, and t h e main Woy Woy channel on the left, we fairly open up t h e Gosford Broadwater, t h e western shore of which is skirted by the railway. Before reaching Gosford the railway crosses Narara Creek, immortalized by Kendal, navigable for some distance by vessels capable of lowering their masts to negotiate the railway bridge. The Government nurseries are situate near the bank of this creek. The town of Gosford is too well known to need description. There is a good wharf situated at the bottom of the main street, a few minutes walk from the railway station. All sorts of supplies, both solid and liquid, which the yachtsman is likely t o require may be obtained h e r e ; but there is sometimes a difficulty in obtaining fresh meat, as it is generally all ordered beforehand. The tradespeople we have always found most obliging, and they make no trouble about sending the more perishable provisions periodically, if required, to any place where there is communication. The butcher makes his rounds of Brisbane Water on certain days in a pulling boat, when h e can be intercepted and a supply obtained or ordered. The eastern portion of the Gosford Broadwater is a large open bay, between Frederick Point, near Gosford, and Anderson's Point, before referred to. E r i n a Creek runs into this bay, and is crossed near its mouth by a swing bridge allowing the passage of coasting vessels visiting this creek for timber and produce. This bridge is on the road from Gosford to Kincumber, which skirts round the shore.
A
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" VIGILANT " ( W I N N E R OF THE J B.S.C. 22-FOOT CHAMPIONSHIP, 1897.)
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TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
44
Although, in the usual sailing and camping season, there i s not much shooting to be done, nevertheless those yachtsmen who are enthusiastic enough to make a winter cruise, will find it well worth while to take a shooting iron. In the month of May there are any quantity of gill birds all over the place, â&#x20AC;˘ especially about Woy Woy and Erina Creek. The country about Erina, and the gullies between there and Kincumber, a r e visited about J u n e and J u l y by large numbers of flock pigeons* but a knowledge of the feeding grounds is necessary to enable the sportsman to make a bag ; wonga's are met with occasionally in the scrubs, wallabys are fairly abundant, and are generally hunted with dogs. We hear of ducks being shot on t h e swamps at t h e back of Blackwall. Some of t h e coastal lagoons round Kincumber are also said to be the haunt of the wild duck. Black swans and ungainly looking pelicans are frequently seen in the open waters, numbers of blue cranes frequent the flats and ballast heaps, where also large flocks of sea curlews often congregate. The land curlew is plentiful, and proclaims his presence at night by his weird scream. If nothing else presents itself, one may keep his eye in and do good service to t h e fisherman, by practising on t h e cormorants or black shags, which are always on hand. C H A P T E R X. HAWKESBURY RIVER. Having already given some account of P i t t Water and Brisbane Water, the two main arms of Broken Bay, we now propose to treat of t h e Hawkesbury River itself. Should the reader happen to have a map of the County of Cumberland handy, which shows t h e river with all its windings, he will be better able to follow this description. The entrance to the River, locally known as Sea Reach, opens from Broken Bay, directly opposite t h e Heads, between West Head on the south, and Middle Head, behind Eliot Island, on t h e north, and is about a mile in width, t h e land on both sides rising abruptly to a height of about six hundred feet. Vessels of small draught need not trouble themselves about t h e depth of water in this reach, t h e shallowest place on the Middle Bank, already described, showing over two fathoms ; but in bad weather, of course, t h e wise skipper will steer clear of t h e shallower spots, which will then be shown by broken water, and keep, for preference, along the southern shore. About a mile or so from West Head is Flint and Steel Point, round which we open up Flint and Steel Bay, where we find good anchoiage in five or six fathoms, with an occasional swell. Still following t h e southern shore, we arrive a t Challenger Head, distant about two miles from Flint and Steel P o i n t , this Head being one of t h e points guarding the entrance to Cowan Creek.
45
T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUIDE
Patonga.—On the other side of Sea Reach, about two miles from Middle Head, is Brisk Bay, with shoal water all over, at t h e back of which is a long, sandy beach. A t the western end of this beach is t h e entrance to Patonga Creek, between the rocky shore on the one side and the sand spit on the other. T h e channel is almost dry at low water, but a small boat can get in at almost any tide by making for the beach about fifty yards from the entrance and following the sandy shore until inside, keeping a good look-out for sunken rocks jutting out from the opposite shore in the narrowest part. Once inside, behind the spit, the creek widens out, but the channel keeps along the sandy shore. J u s t here is a favourite camping place, the only drawback being t h a t in summer-time mosquitoes and sand-flies are very much in evidence. I t will be found necessary to moor head and stern owing to the narrowness of the channel, or the turn of the tide may leave the boat high and dry. F r e s h water may generally be obtained in the creek on the opposite shore, but in dry weather none can be obtained without going some distance up Patonga Creek. At the back of the beach there is a large extent of level ground covered with ti-tree scrub and honey-suckles, where, in the season, gill birds will be found plentiful. Flathead and black bream can generally be •caught inside the spit, but a trial off the outside beach often results in the loss of tackle, as the sharks abound in great numbers. A scramble up the hill opposite is well repaid by the splendid panoramic view of the whole entrance to the river and Broken Bay, including Barrenjoey and the other headlands. I t is a most enjoyable pull up the creek, which is navigable for some two or three miles ; first passing by mangrove flats, t h e n opening up a deep basin between the hills, and finally along a narrow creek till we reach a level grassy spot, where are t h e remains of an old shanty and other signs of former settlement. Close here is a very pretty nook with a variety of foliage and profusion of ferns, t h e tree ferns especially being plentiful. About a mile above Brisk Bay is J u n o Head, round which the river turns in a north westerly direction, while on the other side is Eleanor Bluff separating the main stream from Cowan Creek, coming in from a south-westerly direction. Cowan Creek.—Cowan Creek, which,. by the way, is not a creek in the ordinary acceptance of the term, is a broad and deep inlet, with numerous bays and branches, whose picturesque grandeur affords many attractions to the pleasure seeker. There is good fishing of all sorts to be obtained by those acquainted with the best spots, schnapper especially being sometimes caught in good numbers. The best places for schnapper are not off the points, as may be supposed, but up t h e bays just clear of the flats and close to the rocks, a man on shore with a rod having as good a chance as anybody.
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
46
Cowan Creek is well known to excursionists by the ocean trips of t h e H u n t e r River Company's steamers, which land their passengers on Kuring-gai Chase, the new National P a r k extending from this creek across to Pittwater. I t is also accessible by railway from Berowra Station, from which a steep track leads to the water in one of the upper reaches, near to Mr. Windybank's boat-letting establishment. F r o m a yachtsman's point of view, Cowan Creek is well worth a visit, there being plenty of room in the lower reaches for yachts of considerable size to cruise with comfort, although t h e high land on either side, as one proceeds further up, necessarily prevents one from getting a true sailing breeze. T h e best plan is, perhaps, to cruise in t h e yacht, say as far as Coal and Candle Creek, a distance of about four miles from Challenger Head, and making this your headquarters, explore t h e upper reaches and various branches in the dinghy or a skiff if you a r e fortunate enough to have one. Befuge Bay,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;We will now give a short description of the principal points of interest. Immediately on passing Challenger Head, before mentioned, we open up Refuge Bay on the left. This is a very favourite rendezvous at holiday time for yachts and boats of all sizes, on account of its good anchorage in 2-3 fathoms, and its perfect shelter from almost all winds except the north-west, which blows into one side of the Bay with great violence. The Bay is divided into two arms by a steep point, the more southerly being the most patronised, At the head of this there is a nice bit of sandy beach, covered at the top of the tide ; and almost immediately behind this beach there rises a cliff sheer up to a considerable height, over which a little waterfall tumbles almost on to the beach itself. This affords a never failing supply of fresh water, and is also much appreciated as a shower bath after a dip in the briny off the beach. Though usually this is quite a small stream separating into mere drops before reaching t h e bottom, after heavy or continuous rain it assumes quite imposing proportions, and hurls itself on to t h e beach below with a Toar like thunder. A climb up the rocks at the back of this cliff, or to the top of the point mentioned above, will be well rewarded by a splendid view of the surrounding country and up the river. From the point there is a rough track leading across to the Basin in Pittwater, distant about three miles as the crow flies. Leaving Refuge Bay, the channel widens out on the left, and we notice several beaches before coming to the next point, distant about a mile. We have already passed on our right Shark P o i n t , once the landing-place of the excursion steamers, and famous as a fishing spot; and a little further on we come to Cowan Point, round which the main channel turns in a southerly direction, while Jerusalem Bay runs up in a westerly direction for a mile or more.
' 47
T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUII>E
Following t h e main channel again, we find on t h e western shore, almost opposite Cowan Point, Little Jerusalem Bay, a p r e t t y little basin inside a narrow entrance, with nice camping ground on its southern shore. On the opposite shore, a little further on, Yeoman's Bay branches off towards the south-east; while the main arm trends away again south-westerly, the right shore being rocky and steep, while on the left the rise, is more graduab. The n e x t branch is Coal and Candle Creelt, distant about half a mile from Yeoman's Bay, and running up also in a south-easterly direction for a distance of about three miles between high hills. The head of this creek is separated from the waters of McGarr's Creek, P i t t w a t e r , by a dividing range, the distance across being only a couple of miles or so. Passing Green P o i n t , appropriately named, on the left, we next come to Smith's Creek, branching off also towards the south-east, and navigable for small boats for some two miles or more. Continuing along the main arm, still in a south-west direction, we see on our right Mr. Windybank's boat-letting establishment beforementionecl, distant about two miles from Green Point. The Creek here trends away more to the southward, and runs between high hills on either side, with more and more picturesque scenery as the valley becomes narrower for some three miles or more, and the explorer and lover of nature will find many spots to interest and admire ; but, as a description of these would far exceed the limits of our " G u i d e , " we will leave them for our readers to go and see for themselves, with the full assurance that they will not be disappointed. As we before remarked, the wind is so fickle in these upper reaches that no limits can be put upon the duration of an exploring expedition thereto, if conducted under sail. We should, therefore, advise our readers to rest content with t h e slower and less exciting, but more certain, progress of the dinghy or skifl. The scenery will well repay the exertion. W e need hardly mention that Cowan Creek is,,perhaps, the most notorious district for sharks on the whole coast. T h e so-called " s c h o o l - s h a r k " is very common, and may occasionally be seen leaping high out of the water like a porpoise. These are too small, generally speaking, to be very dangerous to a swimmer ; but we have seen many other and larger sharks in the neighbourhood. King-fish are frequently seen, and t h e man who has live bait and drops upon a school of them will have an hour or so of the finest sport Australia has to show.
"BETTINA " (JS TONS REUJSTKR.)
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND IT.S NEIGHBOURHOOD.
-18
Alter our somewhat lengthy digression up Cowan Creek, we now r e t u r n to the main river. I t is not our intention to describe the whole river, bub simply to note the main features which have attracted our attention when cruising up and down its course. After rounding J u n o Head, before mentioned, it is necessary to keep well out towards midstream, as there is a shallow flat extending some distance out from this shore, till we come to Croppy P o i n t , about a mile further on. Opposite Croppy Point is Oporto Bay, which is too shallow for anything but smalldraught boats. The southern point of this bay is called Oreen P o i n t , which does not belie its name, the grassy slopes just inside making a good spot to pitch one's tent. W e n e x t come to F l a t Rock Point, on our left, just inside of which is Hawkesbury River railway station and settlement, formerly known as Brooklynâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;consisting of the Brooklyn Hotel, a store or two, a butcher's shop, and a few scattered homesteads ; also, two or three boat-letting establishments, who cater to the wants of t h e numerous fishing parties. Passing Flatrock P o i n t , we come to Dangar Island, t h e main channel passing round on the r i g h t ; but the channel on the left is most generally used by vessels drawing less than nine feet. I t was here that the great spans of the Hawkesbury River Bridge were put together, and afterwards floated into position on huge pontoons. Subsequently, the island was t h e sice of a n hotel, but is now used by Mr. Dangar as a country residence. Above Dangar Island, the river takes a westerly direction, passing under the railway bridge, stretching from the eastern e n d of Long Island across to the right bank of the river, just above a shallow arm named Mullet Creek, along the shores of which t h e railway runs. There was, formerly, a shallow channel between Long Island and the left bank of the river, but this is now completely blocked by the railway embankment. Long Island extends up the river for a couple of miles, its shores rising precipitously from the water, in some places, to a height of three hundred feet or thereabouts. On the left bank of t h e river, just inside the western end of the island, is situated Mr. Lenehan's Sanatorium Hotel, about a mile and a-half by road from Hawkesbury River station. Opposite Long Island, on the other side of the river, is another island of considerable height, known as Spectacle Island, standing right in the entrance of the picturesque, but shallow, Mooney-Mooney Creek, the main channel to which is on the lower side of the island.
49
THE
YACHTSMAN'S
OUIDE
Next, above Long Island, is Kangaroo Point, one of the landing-places of Peat's F e r r y on the old northern road, the other landing-place across the river being about half-a-mile distant, where there are the ruins of the ferryman's house. About a couple of miles above P e a t ' s Ferry is Milson's Island, nearly a mile in length, on which is situate the private residence of the Milson family, of N o r t h Sydney. The main channel is on the right of the island, t h e southern channel being only navigable by small boats. Past Milson's Island, the river takes a sharp t u r n to t h e south until Bar Point is reached, a magnificent headland on the right bank of the river, nearly eight h u n d r e d feet high, the hill rising abruptly from t h e water. Opposite Bar Point is the entrance to Berowra Creek (of which more anon), navigable by small boats to within four or five miles from Hornsby railway station. After rounding Bar P o i n t , to which a wide berth must b e given, on account of the foul ground off the point, the river again takes a sharp bend to the northward. On Fisherman's P o i n t , which is the point on the upper side of the entrance to Berowra Creek, opposite to Bar P o i n t , is situated the establishment of Mr. Melvy. Green Point, locally known as Big J i m Point, is t h e next point on the right-hand side about two miles up, before reaching which we must be careful to keep well over to the other side, as the mud-flats below t h e point extend well out towards midstream. I n the bay opposite Green Point at slack tide is an excellent place for flathead, fish being hauled in as fast as one can get a line down. About a couple of miles further on we come to a remarkable horse-shoe bend, the river taking a long round to the left and coming back almost on itself, the neck of t h e isthmus being very narrow. Opposite the toe of t h e horse-shoe is the entrance to Mangrove Creek, fringed with mangroves as its name applies, which we will refer to later on. Round the bend on the up river side of the isthmus is a wharf, which is a point of call of the river steamers, and here also are landed t h e excursionists who take advantage of the cheap river trips in the stern wheel steamer General Gordon, arranged by our Railway Commissioners. This point is about ten miles distant from the Railway Bridge. Beyond this t h e river trends in a north-westerly direction for a mile or more, and then round a low-lying mangrove fringed point almost at right angles towards the south-west into Haycock Reach, about two miles in length. We next sweep round t o the right again into Sentry Box Reach, so called from a peculiar rock standing out high up on the side of the hill on the right bank. This reach runs nor-nor-west and extends about
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD
50
two and a half miles, when we come to another horse-shoe bend sweeping round to t h e left and immediately afterwards round again to the right. Next we come to One Tree Reach, the general direction of the river now being about north-west for some three miles and a half, until we come to Trollope Reach, turning off to the west for about two miles, at the end of which we t u r n almost due north into Wiseman Reach, about a mile and a half in length. Here again the river doubles back on itself sharply to t h e left for some distance, and on the point soformed lies the village of Wiseman's Ferry, about twenty-six miles above the Railway Bridge. At Wiseman's Ferry there is a hotel, post-office, general store, &c. Bread is obtainable at the store, and is actually brought from Sydney in the trading steamer. There is also a butcher just across the river, from whom fresh meat can generally be obtained. The ferry itself crosses from just below the point to the opposite bank where the main road to Wollombi and northern districts continues u p the side of the hill to the left. Off this shore there is great depth of water (and how does the tide sweep down, especially when there is a fresh in the river), while the shore itself rises precipitously to a great height, from the top of which a most magnificent view is to be obtained. There is at Wiseman's F e r r y one of the longest spans of telegraph wire in t h e world, stretching from a post rigged with a top-mast near t h e post-office, which is nearly half a mile from the F e r r y , right across to the top of the high hill on t h e opposite side of the river. Opposite t h e point is the entrance to the Macdonald River between low lying banks on either side ; on the left bank, a little distance from t h e mouth, is the residence and orchard of Mr. Wilson. The river is more or less shallow, and, therefore, only navigable by small draught vessels, but very picturesque with its banks generally hidden behind tall reeds, sometimes changing into white sandy beaches, while all along is the background of high hills. About twelve miles up is the village of St. Albans, but we have to land about a mile below as there is not sufficient water right up. There is a good road from the wharf at this point to t h e village. T h e village consists mostly of a public house, registry office, store, and post-office connected by telephone with Wiseman's F e r r y , and a few scattered homesteads. Here during the dry season there is scarcely more than a trickle of water down in t h e river bed beneath the bridge, which, by the way, is regarded with great pride by the residents, but this is not always so, for the locals never fail to point out to you with pride the high-water mark of the last great flood, some two feet u p in the store loft.
51
THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
Returning once more to the main river, and leaving Wiseman's F e r r y , we come to Milkmaid Reach stretching away south-westerly for about three and a half miles, thence on through the windings of Lower Half-moon and Upper Hdfmoon Reaches till we come to Liverpool Reach, some two miles in length, and about a mile and a half further up to the entrance t o the Colo River, distant in all about twelve miles above Wiseman's F e r r y . Although at Wiseman's Ferry the water is brackish, some three or four miles higher u p it is perfectly fresh and drinkable, and it is here that beautiful willow trees commence to fringe the stream. This in our opinion is the most beautiful part of t h e river, the hills are not so high as lower down, and stand further back, while the level country and slopes behind t h e osier clad banks are all under cultivation. Many an orchard is also passed where in the summer time clouds of gaily plumaged parrots may be seen in •quest of the ripening fruit, their incessant chatter mingling with the note of t h e leather-bird, and t h e shrill whistle of t h e black magpie. The Colo River, which branches off to t h e right, is a limpid stream of fresh water, navigable by a skiff for about ten miles. Wheeny Creek, coming from t h e direction of the Kurrajong, runs into the Colo some eight miles up, but t h e mouth is blocked up with reeds and, other vegetable growth, and cannot be navigated. Above these obstructions, however, it is very deep, and t h e water has been analyzed and found to be the softest in the world—at least, every native we met about here strove to impress this information on our minds. About six miles above the Colo we come to Sackville Reach, from where it is only ^ibout a ten-mile walk into W i n d s o r ; while the river winds so much that it is 20 miles by water from the same point. Above Wiseman's F e r r y there are no general stores where bread and provisions may be obtained ; but the settlers are generally only too willing to do what they can, and home-made l>read, fruit and other supplies can generally be had by paying a •visit to a riverside homestead. CHAPTER XL T H E SOUTHERN YACHTING RESORTS.
South of Sydney lie Botany Bay, P o r t Hacking, and, far afield, Jervis Bay. Inferior to the Hawkesbury as all these undoubtedly are, yet there are many beauties and charming places in them, and men jaded with frequent trips to Pittwater and Cowan often wander southwards to Como or Burranear. Since we are writing for men of all tastes, we think a chapter o n the Southern resorts would not be amiss.
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INCOME ASSURANCE During 1898,
In Force 1st January,
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1898,
£198,150,549 PAID POLICYHOLDERS, ASSETS
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52
T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUIDE
So far as regards the voyage to Botany or Port Hacking, wa have little to add to what we said when beginning the subjec of Broken Bay. Of course the north-easter is now a favourable wind, and will take you down in a very short time. There are no outstanding dangers like Long Reef, and an offing of two miles is ample all the way down. The voyage to Jervis Bay is a more serious matter, and not one that any open boat should ever essay. Such long voyages in the open sea, off an iron-bound and pitiless coast, should be left to decked yachts. A compass will of course be taken, a n d a sufficient supply of food to last at least three days, in event of a calm or light head winds. Botany Bay is an open inlet of the sea, thirteen miles S. of Sydney Heads, in length, roughly speaking, six miles by four. T h e natural features of its shores are not beautiful, consisting mainly of low sand-hills and desolate scrub, with long lines of wind-swept beaches, and as the water is very shallow and the easterlies blow straight in without the vestige of shelter, Botany Bay can hardly be called an ideal yachting resort. We therefore intend to dismiss it with very short notice. The Heads are called Cape Banks and Cape Solander—S. for south—and the entrance is little more than a mile in width. Cape Banks should be given a fairly wide berth, owing to the bumborah some distance off shore. Turning round the corner, we come upon a pretty little hamlet, consisting of two hotels a n d one or two houses, nestling among the trees over a white beach. This is La Perouse, and necessaries may be purchased here ; while the voyager will find shelter in two or three fathoms of water from every wind but the W. and S.W., which raise a very angry and breaking chopple, especially with flood-tide. I n S.E. and E . gales, also, a terrific swell rolls in through the Heads, and though the little point to southward of La Perouse somewhat shelters the bay, still the force of the swell is occasionally violent and even dangerous. Due west from the Heads is Lady Robinson's Beach, where flathead and bathers disport themselves. We may recall the tramline that runs from the baths to Rockdale station on the Hlawarra line, whence the mariner may easily reach Sydney if t h e necessity should arise. Sandringham and Sans Souci lie near the end of the next point—Rocky Point, and a tramline runs from these resorts to Kogarah station. ' R u n n i n g westward from Rocky Point, we open up George's River, very pretty, and much frequented by trippers from Sydney. The fishing here is not b a d ; our trnn sport has mostly consisted of whiting and bream on the flats. The river is navigable for some distance past the bridge ; but there are numerous flats and a fairly strong tide, while the profuseness with which ' A n y has begun to spread himself in
"KFFIE" ( W I N N E R OF THE S F.S.
22-FOOT CHAMPIONSHIP, 1897.
T H E PROPERTY OF M R . J .
MCMURTRIE.)
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boats over its surface, render it less desirable than formerly as a camping ground. Still, George's River is not to be despised, though generally considered inferior to the Hawkesbury. I n some respects t h e voyage to Botany is more interesting t h a n that t o Broken Bay. The charming views of grave-yards and leprosy hospitals, and t h e elegant and refined perfumes ejected from the Bondi sewer, lend a pleasing variety to the journey which more than compensates for the absence of any natural features such as Long Reef. Passing the dreary waste of scrub, called Cape Solander, and seeing in t h e distance the low, flat land about Cronulla Beach, we see Jibbon Headâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the S. Head of Port Hackingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; looking quite attractive with its trees and clean, white beaches. Outside J i b b o n is t h e J i b b o n Bumborah, a dangerous and deceptive spot, b u t we need not mind it till we leave to go southward of P o r t Hacking. J i b b o n Head is somewhat sickle-shaped, and in t h e bay under its lee there is anchored a large buoy, to which many yachts make fast. We venture to think that this buoy is a little too far out for t h e smaller boats. I n heavy weather the ground-swell running round the point is very considerable at this buoy, and while we quite see the impossibility of shifting these moorings inshore, as large beats would not then have space to shoot for it against the north-easter, we thiak t h a t a smaller buoy should be anchored about a hundred yards nearer t h e beacb, more perfectly under shelter of the point. A t t h e Jibbon buoy one gets very fair shelter from all winds save a n occasional hard northerly, though the swell in heavy 'gales from the eastward is occasionally severely felt. The fishing all round is first-class. Schnapper and jewfish are often caught from the buoy itself, and a little inshore, on the flat of t h e beach, fine black-bream and flathead are to be found. P o r t Hacking can hardly be called a suitable yachting resort for deep-draught boats, as these find themselves confined by t h e b a r to the lower reach, the attractions of which are few. I t must, therefore, be understood that in the following pages we refer merely to light-draught centre-board boats, which alone -are suitable for navigating the upper waters. Turning westward from t h e Jibbon buoy, we soon come upon t h e flats, which can easily be told by the green colour of the water. W e do not care to recommend any channel in, as it seems different t o us every time we go there ; and when we say that a man we know went ashore five consecutive trips, after he had already crossed some thirty times, it will be seen how little is to be learnt from a mere book description. We propose to give more general advice, and we trust more to our readers' caution than to anything we can say.
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One should not attempt the entrance if the ocean-swell i s breaking on the bar ; and one should choose a fair wind and ayoung flood tide. We recommend that t h e centre-board should be lowered a few inches, which will not materially increase the boat's draught, while it will render her very much more handy should you mistake the passage and suddenly find it necessary to haul your wind. A man should be stationed forward to look out for the sand banks, and, if the boat is not going too fast, h e may be able to pole her off ticklish bits with an oar. The channel works its way over to the northern shore, beside a bluff, forming the east head of Burranear Bay. Past here the tide runs with considerable speed, and there is a deep channel worn between the point and the large sandspit on the opposite shore. Burranear Bay is a pretty little inlet running up some distance, with a deep channel on the west shore ; there is a mudflat jutting out some distance under water from near the end of the east point, and when we were last there, some old stakes had been put in to mark it ; but these were in the last stages of senile decrepitude, and looked as if a fresh breeze would blow them away. On this mud-flat fine bream are to be caught in t h e young flood. At t h e head of Burranear Bay is Mrs. Gannon's cottage, which is let to visitors. Thence there runs an occasional coach to Sutherland Station. The Spit has deep water off its extreme end, with a strong tide ; but fine jewfish and schnapper are often caught just a boat's length from the opposite point. One requires a heavy sinker. Along the west shore of the spit runs a great sand-flat, upon which scores of noble whiting and hungry fishermen are wont to disport themselves at the young flood in the evening ;. and with fine tackle, a trusty rod, and good worms, no man could desire better sport. We have caught thirteen ourselves in twenty minutes, everyone pulling like a steam-engine, and requiring nearly as much play as a Loch Leven two-pound trout. N o doubt with coarser tackle one might brutally haul more fish out of the water ; b u t there can be no comparison in the quality of the sport. Past the Spit, we come to South-West Arm, whose shady pools are navigable for a couple of m i l e s ; and very beautiful they are. Some of the holes here are very deep ; and the fishing is first-class. Black bream abound at evening, and the jewfish are usually numerous and hungry. We have seen a tenpound black rock-cod caught up this arm. Nearly opposite t h e South-West Arm is Yowie Bay, where the fishing is also very goodâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;red bream, squire, occasionally schnapper, and in appropriate places black bream, being caught by those who have skill to catch them.
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P a s t Towie Bay the sailing becomes uninteresting from -want of wind and excess of shoals ; and soon we come to the embankment and training-wall, built to preserve a decent channel as far as the dam at Audley. I t is a delightful row up to this dam. We cannot recommend P o r t Hacking for deep-keeled boats, but for t h e centreboarder it is a pleasant change from Broken Bay. The main objection to the place is the long thrash back against the north-easter ; the shallows do not matter very much to a light-draught boat. On the other hand, the fishing is excellent. The rodfisherman, with fine tackle, a well-greased reel, and good bait, will find sport of the very best on the lower river ; while above the dam, if permission is obtained beforehand, he will find the perch quite ready to take the salmon-fly when alluringly cast. The best time for such sport is in the evening, especially during t h e autumn, when the flies are dying. A few trout were p u t into the river some little time ago ; but we understand that their enemies the perch have accounted for the vase majority. A friend told us that he had seen a few small burn-trout in the shallow pools of the upper river, where the perch are not so numerous. Perhaps the sport there might be tried by some enterprising fisherman. Deep-sea fishing is, of course, mostly to be obtained on the lower reaches. The best time is, as usual, in the evening, especially with a flood tide. JERVIS BAY.
W e have not had the pleasure of camping in this distant locality, and can say nothing about it from personal experience. T h e best anchorage is said to be uuder the southern headland, in a little bay sheltered by the island ; we believe the point is called Governor Head. We are told that a heavy sea is raised here by all westerly winds, and that the north-easter sends in a nasty roll. The whole bay is very much exposed to the eastward, and is so large that wind from any direction gets up a sea in it somewhere. F r e s h water is to be found in a little creek and natural harbour on the western shore. The fishing is said to be first-class. Beyond these few notes we can say nothing about Jervis Bay. W e hear that it is by no means an ideal camping ground ; anyhow, it is too far away.
â&#x20AC;˘
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CHAPTER XII. PORT JACKSON.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;THE U P P E R RIVER. I n our previous chapter on P o r t Jackson we went no further than Kirribilli P o i n t ; we now propose to continue our journey and describe the upper portion of the harbour, noting chiefly the items of interest from a yachtsman's point of view. W e would not recommend these waters as a cruising ground for deep-keelers of any size, not on account of any shoalness of water, as there is any amount of depth everywhere in the fairway, but because of the large proportion of comparatively confined spaces and necessarily calm patches under the highlands, and fluky nature of the breezes. F o r small boats, on the other hand, and for large ones, too, when t h e weather is rough and wet down the harbour, t h e various bays and inlets of the Parramatta a n d Lane Cove Rivers, the two branches of t h e upper harbour, will afford a pleasant change from the usual downharbour cruise. Starting from Kirribilli Point on t h e northern shore, where stands a small baitery and Admiralty House behind it, with its dock and wharfage accommodation for man-of-war boats, ÂŤfec, and passing the large store premises and wharf of the Pastoral Finance Association, we next come to Milson's Point. On the Point itself, is the wharf of the horse and cart ferry from F o r t Macquarie, and in t h e bight of the little bay t h e dock and workshops of the North Shore F e r r y Co. J u s t beyond the Point is Milson's Point wharf and the railway station beyond it. Here we open u p Lavender Bay, with the railway line following its eastern shore, and crossing its head on a viaduct before disappearing into the tunnel. The western shore is most picturesquely occupied by villa residences with terraced grounds down to the water as far as McMahon's Point. H e r e are Holmes' boatshed and the Canoe Club's quarters, while further up the bay areGreen's boat-building sheds a n d Warbrick's, right in the corner. Round McMahon's Point we come to a little bight, where Thelma's moorings are, and also her slip and man's quarters, and then we reach Blue's P o i n t , the western point of Lavender Bay. Let us now follow the south shore, starting from F o r t Macquarie, which forms the eastern point of Sydney Cove, more commonly known as Circular Quay. On the extreme point is the horse and cart ferry wharf. The cove is entirely given u p to wharfage accommodation for the mail steamers, including t h e P . and O., Messageries Maritimes, and Orient Company on t h e east side, and the N o r t h German Lloyd's, Germ an-Australian and E . and A. Co. on the west side, and for the ferry steamers; plying to North Shore and down the harbour. Dawes' P o i n t isthe western point of the cove, and in a little bight just inside it,,
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are the Mercantile Rowing Club shed and the sheds and slip connected with the Custom House and Water Police boats. R o u n d Dawes' P o i n t we pass a succession of wharves to Miller's Point, and then see before us Darling Harbour, crowded with intercolonial steamers' wharves and ferry companies' wharves along its eastern shore for almost a mile, as far as the old-fashioned and almost worn out Pyrmont Bridge. The western shore here is occupied by the railway yards and goods sheds. On the western shore Johnstone's Bay branches off round Peacock's P o i n t , running up to Bald Rock and Glebe Island, of Abattoir fame, and past Glebe Island Bridge, which is only a low level, and can only be negotiated by lowering one's mast, to Black Water Cove, Glebe Point, and Roselle Bay. It is hardly necessary to say t h a t no yachtsman cruises up Darling H a r b o u r for mere pleasure; only business or necessity would bring him thither. J u s t off the mouth of Darling Harbour is Goat Island, separated from the mainland at Simmons' Point by a narrow channel only, through which the tide runs at a great rate. Round Simmons' Point we enter Waterview Bay. Close round t h e point we come to a familiar spot to most Sydney yachtsmen, that occupied some few years back by the building sheds of Mr. George Ellis, famous alike as builder and skipper of yachts and boats ranging from 40 tons to 16 feet. Era, Iduna, and Thelma were all built here, while amongst the many open a n d half-decked boats launched from the yard we might mention Mr. P . W. Creagh's 24-footer Aileen and Mr. Cameron's 20-footer Genesta, as perhaps the most celebrated. J u s t beyond the yard is Rountree's Floating Dock, where we remember having seen in the palmy days of yacht-racing E r a and Volunteer side by side for cleaning before a match. I n the far corner is Mort's Dock and Shipbuilding Works, covering a large area of ground, and from which is borne a ceaseless din of rivetting-hammers and caulking irons all day and sometimes all night. Ballast Point, or Perkins' Point is the next point, and between this and Long Nose Point is Snails' Bay, of scarcely any interest, except, perhaps, as the home of the Iduna, and as the birth-place and home of the 5-rater, Herreschoff. Having followed the South Shore thus far, let us now r e t u r n to Blue's Point on the North Shore. Round this point we enter Berry's Bay. Along the eastern shore of the outer Bay we pass several boatsheds, notably Stevens', where the 22footer Figtree was built for the Intercolonial class-racing, also Eaton Bros', large timber yard. I n the inner Bay are Dunn's and Ford's building yards, and also Cubitt's, where Mr. Fairfax's 2^-rater, Bui Bui was put together from designs sent out by Fife. Mr. T. A. Dibbs' steam
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yacht Ena, is moored off here, and wonderfully neat and trim she always looks, too. The western arm of the Bay is occupied by the sheds for the two torpedo-launches, Acheron and Avernus, and here, too, are the -buoys used by the ocean-going steamers for swinging compasses. Leaving Berry's Bay we come to Ball's Head, a fine, bold headland rising precipitously from the water. Between here and Goat Island there is a strong tide, marked on the chart 2 knots, but off the extreme point it is probably stronger. There is great depth of water clear of this point, too, the chart showing 10, 12, 15, and even 19 fathoms. Ball's Head Bay is the next, and contains nothing of any interest beyond that it seems to be designated for the laying-up and subsequent burning of antiquated hulks. Gore Creek is the name of the western arm of the bay separated from it by a peninsular with a very narrow and low-lying sandy isthmus, almost covered at high tides. Mann's Point is the western point of the bay, and is almost directly opposite to Long Nose Point on the south shore of t h e River, the distance across being less than two cables. A little further on we come to Greenwich Point, round which we t u r n to the entrance of Lane Cove River. West from Gree.nwich, across the mouth of the River, is Woolwich Bight, where t h e Atlas Company's Floating Dock and engineering Works are situated. Lane Cove River.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Entering the River we t u r n sharply to t h e left round Onion Point. On t h e opposite shore is Gore Cove, or Gore Creek, a very shallow but pretty little creek running up for half a mile or so. Next to it is Woodford Bay, broad b u t shallow, with pretty grassy slopes leading up from its western shore. Longueville Wharf is the next point on the north shore, about half a mile from Onion P o i n t ; and about half a mile further we come to Alexandra Street Wharf, in a beautifully picturesque little bay on the south shore. Beyond this, mud-flats are more or less abundant, and navigation is attended with a certain amount of risk, except in a light pulling-boat, although t h e ferry-boats, by following the channel, are able to proceed about a mile further, past Tambourine Bay and St. Ignatius College, and Burn's Bay on the right shore, and " The Avenue " Wharf and Recreation Grounds on the left, to Fig Tree Wharf just below the Lane Cove Bridge. Beyond the bridge the River soon narrows and becomes little more than a creek. Years ago it used to be a very favourite trip, to t a k e a pulling-boat from Fig Tree, or from Sydney, if one is fond of a good long pull, and make an all day excursion to the head of Lane Cove, a considerable distance above the bridge. I t is always well, when contemplating this trip, to arrange a date on which the tide will serve to the best advantage, i.e., so that you may go up with the flood tide a n d come down with the ebb.
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After our excursion up the Lane Cove River, let us now return to the main arm, resuming our journey at Longnose Point. Above this point we see before us quite an extensive lakelike sheet of water, about a mile and a quarter in length, westward, and almost a mile across at its broadest part. The entrance to Lane Cove River is, as before stated, round Greenwich Point to the r i g h t ; Iron Cove Creek branches off from t h e south-west corner of the lake, while the Parramatta River continues upwards from its western extremity. Almost in the centre is Cockatoo Island, about a quarter of a mile in length, rather less in breadth, and rising to a considerable height. The north-eastern shore is partly occupied by the swimming baths and gymnasium in connection with the Nautical Training Ship Sobraon, moored off here, and the Government Reformatory, Biloela, while the remaining portion is taken up with Government wharves and engineering workshops. J u s t round the south-east point is the entrance to the older and smaller Fitzroy Dock, while the great Sutherland Dock ia entered at the western point and extends inwards parallel to the perpendicular face of the cliff so conspicuous from the southern side. Barely a quarter of a mile beyond Cockatoo Island ia Spectacle Island, a low-lying rocky islet occupied by Government stores, and to t h e left, about the same distance away, towards t h e entrance to I r o n Cove, is Schnapper Island, a small rocky mound, with a nasty reef jutting out from its northern point. Following the left shore from Longnose Point, in a southwesterly direction, we pass the home of the 20-footer Victor, owned by the veteran skipper. Mr. Geo. Fletcher, and a little further on we pass Mr. Fitzhardinge's good old 24-footer Adelphi. I n the fairway between here and Cockatoo Island the flagship of t h e Balmain Regatta, held on the 9th November each year, is always stationed, and the scene of animation and enthusiasm, both on the water and the shores in the vicinity, would gladden the heart of any lover of aquatic sport. I n the bight before reaching the next point are situated the Public Baths. White Horse Point is the name of this point, and there is a notice thereon cautioning masters of vessels and others against anchoring or otherwise running the risk of fouling the telegraph cables laid across the channel to Cockatoo Island. Fig-tree Point is t h e next point, and in the little bay between White Horse P o i n t and this are situated the Enterprise Rowing Club shed and the Balmain Rowing Club shed. There are also two or three private boat-letting sheds. One cannot pass this little bay without noticing with admiration the beautiful cottage residence of D r . Elliott, with its dark-red tiled roofs
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standing out in perfect contrast against t h e green foliage and* wonderfully green lawns, and a picturesque Japanese pagoda and entrance gate and porch, the whole forming a most charming picture. Round Fig-tree P o i n t and wharf, we come to Mr. " Billy " Golding's sheds. H e r e he built, for the last intercolonial races, t h e 22-footer Vigilant and Mr. Abraham's 18-footer Thalia, both, boats performing, t h e latter especially, perhaps the most consistently of any during the series, though not successful in. winning either of the test races. Yvonne, Mr. Golding's own 18-foot flyer, may also be seen here, and amongst other boats built here in t h e past we might mention t h e 20-footer Nereua and the 16-footer Our Own, as two of the most noted. Here, also, the Naiad was built for D r . Newmarch from designs by Mr. E r n e s t Thomson, t h e first a n d , we regret to say it, t h e only 1-rater built in P o r t Jackson. Passing Elliott Bros', chemical works, on the left, we now enter I r o n Cove Creek, and a little further up come to t h e I r o n Cove Bridge, a fine iron structure, some 300 yards in length, carrying the main road to H u n t e r ' s Hill, Gladesville, and Ryde. I t is only a low-level bridge, and as such effectually bars t h e further progress of yachts and sailing boats of any size, unless fitted with lowering masts. Besides this, there is hardly sufficient depth of water for deep-keelers, the chart showing two fathoms only in mid-channel, shallowing towards either shore. Iron Cove Creek itself is quite a little lake, about a mile long, but less than half a mile broad, and is rather pretty in parts, its shores rising in very gentle slopes from the water's edge. There is a little islet, called R o d d Island, right in midchannel, about half a mile above the bridge. Entering beneath the bridge, we pass t h e grounds of Callan P a r k Lunatic Asylum on the l e f t ; then beyond the baths we pass Leichhardt P a r k , till we reach the steamers' wharf at the head of navigation in Long Cove. Returning round by t h e western shore, we find I r o n Cove Creek running south-west out of Long Cove, with mud-flats and mangroves along one shore, and round t h e next point, I r o n Cove, a little semi-circular bay, also lined with mangroves at its head. Half-Moon Bay and Sisters' Bay are two little inlets passed before reaching the bridge. Birkenhead wharf, a little further on, marks the extremity of the western shore of this, arm. Rounding this point, t h e shore runs about north-west p a s t Birkenhead and Drummoyne P a r k till we come to Drummeyne wharf. All along this shore t h e water is shoal, as the character of the shore plainly suggests, not more than two fathoms being, shown right over to Spectacle Island.
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In the bight, just before reaching Drummoyne wharf, is " o l d " George Barnett's boat-building shed. "Old George" is not so busy nowadays as he used to be in former days down at Blue's Point, for he was and still is a famous builder, more especially of the fast cruiser or pleasure-boat type, than of the modern racer. The old Sea Breeze was, until quite lately, a floating memorial of his early skill, while Sappho, Curlew, Xarifa, and Mr. Paul's first Varuna, are all samples of fine weatherly craft, fit to beat up from Manly or Middle Harbour against any ordinary southerly M burster." In his Drummoyne shed he built Mr. Paul's new Varuna, the present Sydney amateur champion, from designs by Mr. Walter Reeks, and Mr. Hunt's famous little ^-rater Taipo, by the same architect, while Mr. Thompson supplied the designs for Dr. MacLaurin's ^-rater Brownie. Wright's Point is the next point, round which the Parramatta River turns rather sharply to the right; and here we must stay for a while, until we have followed the northern shore and reached a similar point. Across the mouth of the Lane Cove River, opposite Greenwich, is, as before-mentioned, Woolwich ; and just inside the point is Atlas Wharf and the Atlas Engineering Company's Works and Floating Dock, and round the point, on the Parramatta River side, are still more workshops. Further along, almost opposite the western end of Cockatoo Island, is Mr. Fred. Doran's boatshed, where for a long time his champion 16-footer Sophia used to be kept, but now the 18-footer Inez has taken her place, atid is almost, if not quite, as successful. Fern Bay is the name of the next bay, where the oldsteamers of the Parramatta River Company are laid up. Here also lies Mr. C. Newman's yacht Mabel, which old yachtsmen will call to mind racing under Mr. W. J. Trickett's colours somefifteen or twenty years back. [In our description of the Lane Cove River, last week, weomitted to mention one or two items of some little interest, which this reference to the Mabel has reminded us of. Soon after rounding Onion Point, we see two yachts lying at their mooringsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the cutter is Mr. Râ&#x20AC;&#x17E; J. Cameron's lone, one of the old 5-tonners before the Sao came on the scene ; the yawl is Mr. P. London's Athsena, well-known in the old days as the 10-tonner Guinevere, racing under Mr. J. H. Want's flag against Mr. E. W. Knox's Sirocco and Mr. F. J. Jackson's Violet. On shore just here, too, is Mr. A. Crane's fine boatshed, where his new 22-footer Wonga is kept, and his old 22-footer Guinevere, built and raced by Mr. Jas. McMurtrie, the present owner of Eftie, under the name of .<Eolus, years ago. A little further on, we find the old clinker-built 22-footer Buttercup, now, and for
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m a n y years past, owned by Mr. H a r r y Carpenter, and raced by him with great success some years back. In a little bay on the northern shore, almost opposite Alexandra Street wharf, is a spot on which a monument might well be erected, for it is the last resting-place (to the best of our knowledge) of the famous old 6-tonner Australian, familiarly called '* Old B e a k i e " or " L e m o n a d e r , " so frequently and so justly referred to in yachting reminiscences as " the most wonderful yacht of her day " in point of design.] Pulpit P o i n t is the point next arrived at, and on it is the new wharf, where passengers are landed for the F e r n Bay Recreation Grounds ; and a little further on, at t h e next point* are the remains of the old wharf used for the same purpose. Trending somewhat to the right, round this point, we pass several nice water-frontage residences ; and a little further on, almost directly opposite Wright's Point on the southern shore, we arrive at H u n t e r ' s Hill wharf. Above H u n t e r ' s Hill Wharf we see Tarban Creek branching off to the right, running up some little distance to Villa Maria and St. Joseph's College. Tarban Point, or Huntley's Point, is the name of the point dividing the creek from the main river. A little way back, half hidden among the trees, is the residence of Mr. Stafford H u n t l e y , a gentleman well-known as an enthusiastic amateur yacht designer and boat builder. The Pixie, the well-known 33-font half-decker, was built by him up here, and we can well remember how she raced away from everything in her first race at Balmain Regatta. Off the wind, with everything set, nothing could look at her, and it is said, â&#x20AC;˘on this point she was even faster than the Manly steamers. Above Tarban P o i n t there is nothing of interest on this shore till we reach the Gladesville Bridge, but on the southern shore, J u s t below the bridge, are Dudley's sheds and slips. The 30rater, Volunteer, judged by many yachtsmen to be the fastest and most graceful of Mr. Walter Reeks' creations, was built here. She went to Melbourne at the same time as the Era and raced against her and the I d u n a , then owned in Melbourne, at the Centennial Regatta over there. She was not quite in form at t h e time, and E r a beat .her, but after their return to Sydney Volunteer often turned the tables on the 40 rater. Alas < we can only look backward and sigh with regret that such things arc no longer, for E r a has been out of commission for some time, and Volunteer has gone to New Zealand. The Archina, at present owned by Mr. N . M. Cohen, was also built here. Messrs. Geo.,Ellis and E r n e s t Thompson took over the yards for a short time, and among others, built the \rater, Car i ad, so successful this season under Mr. George's â&#x20AC;˘colours.
LAH LOO."
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Tht? Gladesville Bridge has a swing at it's southern end, so that sai'ing vessels and steamers with high funnels may pass t h r o u ^ i , but the river-steamers can pass underneath with safety, i nd so can most sailing boats by lowering their peaks, unless they have a particularly long mast-head. "^he Bay on t h e left immediately above the bridge is Five Dock Bay, and the point above it Black wall Point. A little further on we come to Chiswick Wharf, built out from the cliff with steps cut out from the solid rock leading down to it. .The ner J little bay, with Lysacht Bros.' Wire-netting Works at t h e head of it, is Fig Tree Bay. Crossing from Chiswick Wharf over to the southern shore we pass The Brothers rocks, a nasty reef running out some distance. On the outermost of these is erected the column to the memory of Searle, perhaps the most briil : vnt of all Australia's champion scullers. The beacon here used to mark the finishing point of the Championship Course, and* 'e have seen, in the days of the Beach-Hanlan contests, this part of the river, as far up as Gladesville, so crowded with excited spectators, in boats of all descriptions, that it was only with the greatest difficulty that a course could be kept for the competitors. J u s t above the monument, on the very point, is Blandville Whaifj and round the point is the Mercantile Rowing Club's branch shed, and further on, at the head of the bay, are the baths a n d grounds of the Gladesville Lunatic Asylum. On the opposite side of the river, above Blandville, we come to Abbotsford Wharf. H e r e are two boat-letting establishments, catering for t h e general public on pleasure bent, while round the point is t h e branch shed of the Sydney Rowing Club. Above Abbotsford, on the northern side, is Gladesville Wharf, while opposite this again H e n and Chicken Bay looms broad and deep away up towards Burwood. Above Gladesville we cross over to Cabarita Pbint, where passengers are landed for Correy's Gardens, a very favourite holiday resort. Tennyson Wharf is on the north side, and above this we pass, on the south side, Mortlake Gas Works and jetty, and a little further on we arrive^at Mortlake Wharf slid Hotel, and picnic grounds, extending right out to the end of t h e next point. P u t n e y is opposite this point (called Breakfast Point), round which we see a deep bay (locally known as Walker's Bay), divided at its head into two arms, > On the point between these two arms is the residence of the late Mr. Thomas Walker, to whose munificence we are indebted for the beautiful Hospital erected on the up-river point of this bay, which, with its well laid-out grounds and artistic little entrance lodge and wharf, forms quite a feature in the landscape. We have already passed Kissing Point, on the northern shore, and from the Hospital Wharf we pass another bay, and cross over to Ryde Wharf, also on tha northern shore- A little further up we
'64
THE YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE
come to R y d e Railway Bridge, carrying the Great Northern "Line from Sydney to Newcastle and Brisbane, etc. This is the starting point, as The Brothers is the finishing point, of the Championship Course, and from it, past Uhr's Point to Kissing Point, the greatest struggle takes place for the lead ; beyond this it very often becomes little more than a procession. We will, with our readers permission, make Ryde Bridge our terminus, for above it we soon come to the flats and beyond them the River is merely a canal for the river boats as far as Parramatta wharf, from which a steam tram runs into the ancient town of Parramatta. We have never ourselves made the Parramatta River a cruising ground beyond one day's trip up to Mortlake and back, but we venture to tliink t h a t the River from Gladesville Bridge up to Ryde Bridge would afford many days pleasure in exploring, especially to canoeists, in the milder weather about Easter time, or before the summer sun gets too hot, and the mosquitoes^too attentive. CHAPTER XIII. MIDDLE HARBOUR Middle H a r b o u r opens to the westward of the main Sound of P o r t Jackson, and is a n arm of considerable extent with many miles of deep water frontage. Unfortunately, hdwever, for its value as a shipping port, the entrance is blocked by a bar of sand, the chart giving a depth of only 9 feet in the channel, b u t even if this difficulty were surmounted the steep nature of the shores which everywhere, almost without exception, rise abruptly to a high elevation do not offer any facility for commercial enterprise. F o r this very reason it is the boat'ng man's beau-ideal of a pleasure resort. The busy shipping -and bustling ferry-boats are conspicuous by their absence. No stores or jetties disfigure the shore, nor, indeed, is there anything, save, perhaps, t h e occasional sound of the electric tram on the Military Road, or the boom of the one o'clock gun, to suggest the close proximity of a bustling city. On Sundays and holidays boats and yachts may be seen in all directions, the sailing craft for t h e most part coming round from Sydney, while t h e pulling boats chiefly hail from some local shed easily accessible by land from North Shore. Excursion steamers may also be seen with their crowds of merrymakers bound for Clontarf or some other landing place, where they let loose their living freight with disastrous results to the wild flowers and ferns, which are fast disappearing before the onslaught of the crowds who patronise these trips ** roun the a 'arbour and 'ead of Middle 'arbour for 6d. f " as the noisy tout on the Circular Quay express it.
TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
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The fishing to be obtained, as is t h e case all over the barbour, is not u p to much. Redbream may generally b e •caught in fair numbers, flathead and leather-jackets are fairly plentiful on the bar, blackbream are not too numerous, which is not to be wondered at, as we hear of them being meshed at every known ground, while in the upper reaches they are dynamited. As its name implies, Middle Harbour opens from the centre of the P o r t Jackson Sound, between Middle Head and Grotto P o i n t , the main and north harbours opening to the south and north respectively. J u s t inside Middle Head, and close to the back of the fortifications, is a little bay with a sandy beach, called Cobbler's Beach, once a favorite camping place, but since the wharf for t h e use of the batteries has been built, the privacy of the place has gone. T h e next beach on this side is Hunter's Beach, a beautiful long stretch of sand for a mile or more, divided about the centre by a rocky peninsular. This beach is n»w generally known as Balmoral Beach, although in former times this name i n l y applied to the pleasure grounds near the peninsular. Balmoral has always been a favorite watering-place, and the J beautiful white beach a playground for boys and girls, and on a fine day numbers will^.be seen—some engaged in collecting shells, some in building forts and castles of sand, others with bare feet and clothes half-mast paddling about in the clear water. At the back of the beach, too, are pleasant grassy nooks and glades to accommodate any number of picnic parties. Balmoral is fairly easy of access by land by the electric tram, either from Milson's Point or Mosman's Bay, which takes •one *-<•> the junction of the Military Road and Spit Road, about fifteen minutes' walk from the beach by a good road. With so many attractions it is not surprising that on Sundays and holidays large numbers of picknickers resort to Balmoral, which, at such times, presents an animated appearance. There are one or two balls to be engaged, and a very popular form of enjoyment takes the shape of a " g i p s y t e a " a n d dance, with t h e beach and grounds for a " conservatory." One of the features of Hunter's Beach or Balmoral is the n u m b e r of permanent camps, with gardens, fenced in, and, in our opinion, for a young fellow without a home, this life, with its fresh air and sea bathing should be in some ways preferable t o living in " diggings " in town. W e cannot leave Balmoral without calling attention to t h e baths, which have lately been built there by the Mosman Council, and although at low tide their extent is somewhat small, t h e beautiful clear water and lovely white sandy bottom make a deliciously tempting invitation for a dip in the sea.
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T H E YACHTSMAN'S
GUIDE
« After leaving H u n t e r ' s Beach, and passing a rocky point, the next bay on the southern shore is Shell Cove,.with another " nice sandy beach—generally known as " Chinaman's Beach,"— well patronised by the boating fraternity ; and further on, in the same bay, another little beach, generally well lined with pleasure craft. The western point of Shell Cove is called Pariwi, on rounding which we arrive at the Spit, stretching well over towards t h e opposite shore, along which passes the road to Manly, the passage to the other side being effected by a fine steam punt travelling along a wire cable. The point at the entrance of Middle Harbour, on the northern side, is called Grotto Point, terminating in a short reef of hidden rocks. The bar stretches from this point across towards H u n t e r ' s Beach, and extends for about half a mile, or nearly as far as Clontarf Point, the n e x t point on the northern side, and across towards " C h i n a m a n ' s " on the other shore. Between Grotto and Clontarf Points is a shallow bay, with two or three sandy beaches, known as i { Castle Bock Beaches," a very popular resort for sailing men. The deep-keelers must, however, take care to moor well out in the stream, as it is by no means an unusual thing for a yacht to get aground by venturing in too close. A One reason for the popularity of " Castle Rock " is not far, to seek, since, owing to its isolated position, it seems by tacit consent to be given over to the sterner sex as a bathing place,* and numbers may be seen on Sundays and holidays splashing about in the lovely clear water, clothed as Nature made them,; altogether disregarding t h e risk of sharks and water police. . The fishermen haven't much show when the boats are about ; but on week-days a man may be seen perched up on the rocks at the back of the beach, on t h e look-out for the shoals of fis^ which work along the shore, ready to warn the boats below when to shoot their nets. On rounding Clontarf Point, we come to the well-known Clontarf pleasure grounds, notorious for t h e attempt on the life of Prince Alfred, D u k e of Edinburgh, by a fanatic named O'Farrell, on the 12th of March, 1868. A half-grown Norfolk Island P i n e marks the spot where this occurred, and can be seen from the water through a narrow lane cut in t h e bush. Clontarf is a really beautiful spot, with a large extent of level ground behind the beach, hemmed in by the hills at the back, with pavilions for dancing, swings and other attractions for the crowds brought down by the steamers. The next point on this side is known as M Brady's," a wellknown ground for black and red bream fishing; and further qn, t h e landing-place of the Spit ferry, just beyond which is tike well-known black-bream and schnapper ground called " Blackwall," from the steep nature of the shore.
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TO SYDNEY HARBOUR AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
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Above Bantry Bay the main arm is only navigable by steamers for a mile or so, and after passing up a long reach and rounding Green Point, generally known as " Cockfighters" (needless to say, so named from certain choice spirits resorting here in former times to witness the cruel sport), the deep water terminates in a circular basin. Above this, however, t h e river is navigable by skiffs for some 5 or 6 miles, provided one knows the channel, until the fresh water is reached. About half a mile above " Cockfighters" is Echo F a r m , lately used as a home for inebriates. A trip to t h e head of Middle Harbour is well worth anyone's while, and there are many delightful picnic spots and lots of pretty scenery, creeks to explore, ferns and flowers to gather, « n d many other attractions to repay one for t h e journey.
m
THE YACHTSMAN S GUIDE.
APPENDIX
TABLE
OF DISTANCES.*
Circular Qaay to Fort Denison ... Fort Denison to Bradley's Head ... Fort Denison to Shark Island Bradley's Head to Middle Head ... Middle Head to the Spit South Reef to Inner North Head... Fort Denison to Manly Beach ... Manly Beach and Shark Island Coarse Lightship and Shark Island Course Sydney to Outer North Head Outer North Head to Barren joey .. Curl Curl Course Long Reef Course Sydney to Jibbon Head ...
1,700 yards. 1 mile. 1* »» 2 >>
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M
1,600 yards 5£ miles. IS 10 6 » 13 19 n 23 19 i t
HEIGHTS OP BRIDGES.T
Distance of headway from H.W.S. tides to underside of girders on said bridges as stated :— Pyrmont Bridge— Fixed Span to underside of Girder 5 feet Swing Span to underside of Girder 3 inches. 5 Olebe Island Bridge— Raised Span to underside of Girder 12 6 ,. Swing Span to underside of Girder 7 4 ,. Iron Cove Bridge— Fixed Spans to underside of Girder 19 Parramatta River Bridge, Drummoyne— Fixed Span to underside of Girder 20 Swing Span to underside of Girder 17 Lane Cove Bridge— Fixed Span to underside of Girder 18 Swing Span to underside of Girder 20 * In sea miles. t We wiah to express our thanks to the Secretary of the Marine Board for nls courtesy in furnishing us with this information.
I