The 'Interim Period' - Annual Holidays aboard Lucey Blue

We returned to Lucey Blue at least once each year for an extended family holiday on Sydney Harbour during the 'Interim Period' as we saved up funds and prepared the boat for another adventure.

The kids were always excited to return to the boat and we spent many happy times pottering about on the water, exploring the harbour and enjoying what the big city had to offer. The amount of sealife around Sydney Harbour is amazing - Fairy penguins, seals, dolphins and even the turtles became regular interlopers in our annual holiday.

We also had regular human visitors and enjoyed sharing all that Sydney has to offer with family and friends...

2012/2013:

2013/2014:

2014 / Early 2015:

The Journey’s End - Mid 2011 to Early 2012.

Our last few weeks aboard Lucey Blue were spent swimming, playing and generally enjoying life before we had to return to work and school.

The time we spent together as a family sailing along the East Coast of Australia was amazing. While this journey had reached its end we loved watching the kids grow up aboard Lucey Blue and we resolved to return to the sea for another extended adventure…

Christmas and New Year’s Eve – 2011

We spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve aboard Lucey Blue. I don’t know how Sam managed to hide all the presents, but everyone was pretty excited – Ryan was especially over the moon with his space Lego.

New Year’s Eve on the harbour was busy as usual. However, in typically cruising style we arrived off Taronga Zoo a few days early to find a good spot. 

Everyone enjoyed the firework display and the passing harbour night lights…

The sail home to Sydney 2011...

We spent a few days anchored behind Seaworld on the Gold Coast exploring and waiting for a suitable weather window to sail south to Sydney.

On the 17^th of December we left the Gold Coast and after a 36-hour spinnaker ride down the east coast we were located just north of Port Stephens. While our plan had been to sail to Sydney we decided to stop to avoid a southerly change that was on the way up the coast.

I am glad we made that decision, because on the last night at sea, close to the entrance of Port Stephens, we were privy to a spectacular lightshow generated, surprisingly, by a pod of dolphins. 

The dolphins zoomed into the stern of Lucey Blue in the pitch black as thick low clouds blocked out all the starlight on the moonless night. They played around the boat for over half an hour and looked like ghosts - invisible apart from their silhouette of speckled green phosphorescence. When the dolphins leapt out of the water they completely disappeared only to reappear moments later in a streamline splash of green. 

We had never seen anything like it before and unfortunately we completely forgot to take any photos, but the memory will last a lifetime.

We departed Port Stephens on the 22^nd of December in perfectly still conditions and motored the last ninety nautical miles back to Sydney on glassy seas. 

Eric really enjoyed his freedom on the front deck watching the world go by - albeit with his safety harness firmly attached to the boat – and the kids stayed up to watch the Spit Bridge open to welcome us back home.

All aboard Lucey Blue slept well that night - dreaming about the last few weeks aboard and the adventures ahead...