By: George Houghton
In the words of Kenneth Grahame “There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
Sydney Harbour is one of the best yachting playgrounds in the world. Buzzing with boats of all shapes and sizes from spectacular superyachts to streamlined skiffs; cruise past the stunning Sydney Opera House, glide under majestic Harbour Bridge and see Sydney in style from the water. Truly this has to be one of the most exciting places to learn to sail.
Learning to sail is easy. You can get to grips with the basics in a matter of hours and then it’s just a question of deciding where you want to go and working out where the wind is coming from!
If you just want a taster, hop on board with a Sydney sailing school offering “Try Sailing” sessions. You’ll get two or three hours on board a sailing yacht where you can pull a few ropes or sit back, relax and enjoy the view.
If you’re looking for something a little more dynamic, consider a Competent Crew course. This liveaboard course teaches you everything you need to know about the basics of sailing and can be achieved in a mere five days – or three weekends.
If you’re already an esteemed member of yacht crew, you might want to step up a gear to Day Skipper which will give you the freedom of yacht charter. Again this is a liveaboard course over five days or three weekends and once qualified, it means you can skipper a small boat by day in familiar waters.
Sydney Harbour is a great boating community. The beautiful cruising yachts tacking across the bay, the distinctive green and yellow ferries dashing from Circular Quay to Manly, the fastcats, the powerboats, the skiffs and the tall ships - not to mention the kayaks and windsurfers!
Dodging in and out of this fabulous fiesta are the twilight racers and weekend regattas. With twilight racing on Wednesday nights and a yacht club regatta most weekends, yacht racing is big business on Sydney Harbour and heaps of fun.
One of the best ways to get into this sport is to first get established as a member of competent crew, so you’re familiar with pulling a rope or two. Then you can confidently sign up to a crew list at one of the many yacht clubs – Middle Harbour Yacht Club for example – you’ll soon get a place on board. A slab of beer may also be required!
Once you learn to sail you’ll quickly get bitten by the sailing bug. If you want to go pro and turn your passion into a career, Yachtmaster is the goal to set and the passport for jobs on boats worldwide. You can get the Yachtmaster syllabus from most of the good Sydney sailing schools.
Whether you just dip a toe into the water, or end up as a fully fledged Yachtmaster, learning to sail will change your life – your only regret will be that you didn’t do it sooner!
