FEBRUARY 11, 2005

February 11, 2005

   We had an absolutely wonderful time on Sunday, February 6th, at a 90th birthday party at the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Rose Bay. We expected to be there for drinks and maybe a few appetizers, and lo and behold, it was a formal dinner. We didn't know a soul except for the son of the birthday man and he introduced us to quite a few people at the beginning of the party.    We met some wonderful people at the dinner table. Our tablemates were from a variety of places and backgrounds in Australia - from professional dancers who had traveled the world and now live right in Rose Bay where we were, to a woman who owns a design school in Sydney, to a woman sheep farmer from the countryside and her daughter who helps work the farm. The conversation never stopped all night and our table was the last to leave the party. We exchanged contact information and hope to get together again.

February 13, 2005

   What excitement it was for Paul to catch our first fish. We've been here almost a month and things have been so busy that Paul hadn't even unpacked the rods and reels until just Saturday evening. That only happened because Mary's cousin, Bill, and his wife, Brenda, from Brisbane (that's about an hour long flight to where we are at in Sydney) were spending the weekend aboard. So we left the dock Saturday afternoon and went to a gorgeous cove near the entrance to Sydney Harbour to anchor off a beach for the weekend. It's our first real relaxing weekend on the hook.
    They are keen fishers and Brenda shamed Paul last evening into getting the rods and reels unpacked and doing some fishing. We tried a bit of still fishing with make-shift bait with no luck that first night. The next morning we saw schools of fish breaking the water all around the boat. At that time Bill was trying more still-fishing. Paul could see that the fish were feeding on the surface so he took out a 4" trout, floating Rapala and starting casting. By that time there were no more schools showing themselves around the boat. On his fourth cast he saw the fish not 30 feet away come up and hit the lure. What a thrill to see that happen. The fish took it and ran like hell, then dove deep. The fight lasted a full 20 minutes before Bill could net him. A gorgeous silver coloured fish that looked a lot like our bows (rainbows). Paul had to estimate the weight at about 12lb. because in the rush of it all he couldn't find the scale. Bill had brought a fish identification book aboard and they call it "Tailor". The book said that it needed to be bled as soon as possible. That wasn't the end of it. We sat down to have breakfast with all sorts of conversation about the battle with the GREAT fish. After breakfast Bill saw another school breaking the surface near the boat. In only a few casts, with Mary's trusty old "Wonder Bread" lure, Bill got another one but lost it quickly. A couple more casts and he got a second hit. No loss this time. A shorter battle but he landed his, almost identical in size to the first.