Too early in the morning, the phone rang, “45 minutes from the pilot station”.  I could have willingly gone back to sleep, instead I reluctantly fell out of bed and prepared myself for arrival Sydney.

Still pitch black, the lights of Sydney and suburbs glowing in the distance.  Ahead of us was the “Rhapsody of the Seas”, also making for the pilot, 15 minutes before us.  A briefing with the Bridge team and we go onto full manning, or ‘Red’; everyone has an assigned task for the approach, the transit of the harbour and the docking.

It’s windy and the spray from the pilot boat’s bow can be seen in its bright deck lights as it approaches; it swings under our stern and comes alongside our sheltered, or ‘lee’ side and the pilot climbs a ladder to board. He is escorted to the Bridge, arriving with torch, (flashlight) in hand, as do all pilots in the dark hours.  We have a briefing; our intended tracks, speed and docking procedure are discussed, so that we all are aware of what is going to happen and when.

Through the ‘Heads’ and a sharp turn to port, into the harbour approach proper now and the wind eases; down the buoyed channel and another turn, this time to starboard and ahead of us is the vista of the skyline of skyscrapers, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.  There is the first glimmer of dawn light creeping up and the flashes of hundreds of cameras on our decks pierce the gloom.  No ‘flash’ for me, aperture control and high ISO, my camera clicks away when the opportunity arises.

It is a magnificent time to arrive, the lights, the dawn, the majesty of it, there’s nothing quite like this time of the morning and it strikes me that so few see Sydney from this perspective.

Past the Opera House and her sails, past the “Rhapsody” and under the Bridge; all the cameras are now pointing up and back, pointing towards the bridge span and then a turn into Darling harbour.

We used to berth here, however it is now in the process of ‘urbanisation’; what appears to be a park and walking area and what I am told, the foundations of a casino.  Barges and cranes populate the area, no chance of us ever docking there again….

Here we swing, I have to ‘back’ in towards the berth and thus we do so, our first time on White Bay cruise terminal, but certainly not our last, I’m sure.

Guests have a rigorous Immigration inspection within the terminal. The quay is bustling with lorries, (trucks) full of stores for us, road tankers and fork-lifts.  Our Australian Port state inspectors board and we go through a rigorous inspection of our Safety Management system, everything from fire and evacuation drills, our technical plant, certification and personnel requirements; they board at 9:45 and it is not until almost 4 p.m. that they leave satisfied.  We are thankful, for they have the power to prevent us sailing, should there be anything amiss.

Henk Mensink, Hotel Director, Mark Best and myself.

The evening is taken up with the induction of Mark Best into our Culinary Council.  He has closed his restaurant for the night and brought his team aboard, preparing dinner for an invited group of media from around Sydney.  A presentation from him in our Culinary Arts Center, (sic) and questions from the media.  Thankfully, although I am present, there are no ‘questions’ for the Captain, just a request for a photo or two with Mark.  This I can manage, for I am feeling the effect of being awake for so long, looking at a camera is relatively straightforward.  The guests leave to savour Mark’s cuisine and I, having taken a photo of the night skyline of Sydney, will post this and call it a day.  We sail at 6 p.m. tomorrow for Brisbane.