Boxing Day in Sydney
The stores in Sydney are open at 5 a.m. this morning and the customers are lined up around the block to take advantage of huge savings on after Christmas Day sales. Boxing Day is the biggest retail sales day in Australia.
I have asked several people, “What is the derivation of ‘Boxing Day’. They all give me a blank look and stammer about a bit. They are polite, but their demeanor says, “What is wrong with you? We just call it ‘Boxing Day’. We don’t care why. We just know it is a holiday that gives us another day off the day after Christmas. Why can’t you just accept that and let it go.”
I guess it is just like when someone in the U.S. asks, “What does ‘La Quinta’ mean in English” and we can’t translate it, but we all know it means that hotel next door to Denny’s.
Susan can’t pass up a chance for a retail opportunity, so she elbows into the mob and does a little light shopping just to keep her skill level up.
Under overcast skies, we grab a cab down to Rose Bay wharf to catch our ride on the good ship Sydney Sundowner for a harbor cruise to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. This is an annual event on Boxing Day where sailboats depart Sydney Harbor and race across the open seas to Hobart, Tasmania. It takes from 2 to 5 days, depending on wind and weather.
We arrive on the dock a few minutes early and mingle with others who are there to board their boats to see the race. A light rain is falling, but we paid our money, so we are going to take our ride.
While we chat with our dock mates, I notice a familiar face. It is an attractive woman carrying a small child across the parking lot. I smile at her, she smiles back. You all know how bad I am with names, so to avoid being embarrassed when she gets up to us, I ask Susan to look at her and tell me who it is. She punches my arm and excitedly says, “That’s Naomi Watts. I’m going to say hello.” She leaves me standing there.
After several boats come and go the Sydney Sundancer, a 56 foot sailboat, cruises up to the dock and our cluster of about 20 couples steps on board. Captain John Boyce and his wife Lynne welcome us and we head out into the mob of sail and power boats in the harbor.
We cross the choppy waters and Captain John maneuvers us right up to the starting line and edges out other boats that are trying for the primo position to see the start of the race. At 1 p.m. sharp, a cannon fires and the 86 sailboats in the race come sprinting across the starting line. First come the mega boats with professional crews. Then come the smaller boats until the last racer has crossed the starting line. Captain John chases them down the harbor until they make the turn out past North Head (the mouth of the harbor) and into the Pacific headed for Tasmania.
We turn about and cruise back to a protected cove and drop anchor. We quickly discover that Susan and I are the only two non-“Sydney-Siders” on the boat. Some couples have been on this same cruise on Boxing Day for over 20 years. They quickly welcome us as long lost friends and make us feel right at home. Soon we are trading stories and family histories.
Lynne lays out a gourmet lunch and a singer/guitar player starts a serenade performing everything from Roy Orbison to Jimmy Buffet. The clouds part and the sun pops out to make the day even more enjoyable. After lunch several of us decide to go for a swim in the clear water. Yes it is clear, but wow is it cold! After the initial shock we paddle around and find it is nice to be cooled off from the hot Sydney sun.
We spend the afternoon getting better acquainted with our new found friends. We find Australians are a lot like Texans. They are welcoming, outgoing, funny and unpretentious. We find we have a lot in common. Soon we have golf game set up for later in the week with one couple at their club. Another woman is going to meet us in Santa Fe next August. Yet others pledge to stay with us in Ft. Worth next time they are in the states.
When we get back to the dock, Jennifer insists everyone must come up to her house overlooking Double Bay for a drink. We make that trek up a steep hill and enjoy the spectacular view from the roof of her penthouse apartment.
We never did learn the significance of Boxing Day. But like our new Aussie friends, we don’t know and we don’t care. We had the day off, we ate, we drank and we had a good time.
No comments:
Post a Comment