Aaaaah, audible sound of relief. I like Boxing Day. The big day is over
for another year, the crazy build up is finally behind us, no big feast to
prepare, there’s still plenty of leftovers in the fridge to feed a small army,
now comes some put your feet up time.
Going back quite a few years, I remember when we’d either sit down and
watch the first day of the Boxing Day Test Match on TV, or actually be there
while on one of our trips visiting family in Melbourne for Christmas. Or if not
at the Test Match, we’d head to the MCG for a one-day International game. One
of the boys would strip their Australian flag cover off their doona and we’d
use that as our flag to wave madly every time the Aussies took a wicket or
excelled with the bat.
So today, the MCG curator gets to show off how immaculately he can
crisscross mow the grass as the Boxing Day Test against India gets underway,
and to add to sporting drama, the fleet sails out of Sydney Harbour in a great
fanfare for the annual battle down the east coast and across the sometimes-treacherous
Bass Strait on its way to Hobart. Line honours have a certain prestige, but
when you see just how small some of the yachts are in comparison to the maxis
crewed by a cast of thousands, your level of respect rises markedly for those
mad but dedicated men and women who pit their skills against the elements.
We become armchair experts for a few days, both in cricket and sailing, watching
with anticipation as both cricket teams and yachts jockey for position, at one
moment gaining the upper hand, and then seeing it all fall away as fortune
favours the opponent. A battle royal is about to unfold….don’t miss it.
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| 2011 Sydney - Hobart winner |
the fleet sets sail for Hobart
Sydney Harbour gleams
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