I have been a long time lurker, but first time poster in this forum looking to get back into sailing with a view to longer term cruising once retired.

Before buying my boat, I thought it would be a good idea to do some sort of refresher course.

By way of background, I have been involved in boating since I was a young child, having learned to sail in a Sabot many years ago. From there I graduated to racing in Corsairs, followed by a stint in the Navy. (GLEX)

My family has always owned power boats and I have likewise owned a number of powerboats myself. But it has been a few years since I have been on the water and many years since I have done any significant sailing.

My most recent sailing experience was a week spent as skipper chartering a Seawind 1160 in the Whitsundays with my family. BTW I had no issues with this experience over the week.

I am comfortable with general boating, navigation, knots, rules of the road, maintenance, safety at sea, etc. but my sailing skills are probably a little rusty.

Going forward I will be buying a sailing monohull between about 28 and 34 feet to sail single-handed on Sydney harbour. The boat will be moored in Five Dock Bay and my interest lies in cruising around Sydney harbour on weekends, rather than any form of racing. The majority of my sailing will be single-handed, but at times I may have a crew of one or two with absolutely no boating experience at all.

Longer term I will be moving out of Sydney to Mooloolaba and have a goal of sailing single-handed around the Pacific. Typically around the New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands region.

I have done a lot of research and am in no rush as I will be in Sydney for another three years, but do have a few specific questions I will post to the forum, hoping to tap into the significant amount of knowledge held by the regulars here.

So my first question relates to getting back into sailing by doing some sort of course on Sydney Harbour.

From my research I have found the Keelboat Skipper Program at Pacific Sailing School.

pacificsailingschool.com.au/services/p4-sail-offshore/

This course is $2,500 and covers the Australian Sailing Start Crewing, Start Helming, Start Skippering and Essential Navigation & Seamanship courses.

If desired I could continue onto the RYA Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster certifications.

So to my question; given my background experience would the Keelboat Skipper Program be suitable? Are there any other options on Sydney Harbour?

I am concerned this might be too basic for me, but am thinking it might be a good way to ease back into sailing on Sydney Harbour as the majority of my previous experience has been gained in QLD between the Capricorn Bunker Group and the Whitsundays. So Sydney Harbour is new to me.

Any thoughts on my approach to get back into sailing to become competent to buy a boat with a view to eventually cruise the Pacific?

Ramona said..
The best way is to just crew for someone on a casual basis. Maybe Morningbird will take you for a test sail on his SS34! Ex navy as well but he had a fairly long stint.

Thanks Ramona. Good point. MB was a Muppet right?

I am aware of MB's boat for sale. Have looked at it from the shore near Birkenhead Point. I am also very aware of the S&S 34 reputation and accomplishments. Specifically MB's Lord Howe trips.

Might be too much boat for me to start with though.

saltiest1 said..
hi mate.
im in cronulla if you ever feel like jumping on for a friday twilight on an s&s39 with the sailing club.
you'll find a bigger boat to still be agile and i think you shouldn't be worried about a bit of size under your feet. My first boat was an Olympic 40 and was a steep learning curve but the best thing i had ever done.

Thanks saltiest1.

Ramona said..

Reef Knot said..

Ramona said..
The best way is to just crew for someone on a casual basis. Maybe Morningbird will take you for a test sail on his SS34! Ex navy as well but he had a fairly long stint.

Thanks Ramona. Good point. MB was a Muppet right?

I am aware of MB's boat for sale. Have looked at it from the shore near Birkenhead Point. I am also very aware of the S&S 34 reputation and accomplishments. Specifically MB's Lord Howe trips.

Might be too much boat for me to start with though.

He was a senior naval officer. Bit of a muppet though!

Ignore Ramona. A good bloke but getting a bit senile in his old age.

I'll PM you with my contact details. I need a reason to go sailing, you might be it.

Hi Reef Knot
As others have indicated just go & crew with others to re-familiarise- the school options are for if your a starter or really want those style of qualifications for some reason, they're barely recognised besides the implied marketing of the providers.
Invest in some books, charts, parallel rules & dividers & do your own study(this is required with the exxy courses anyway- the instructors are there to assist the study but cant "teach" unless there's a learning attitude applied... trust me on this one;)) & get some hours up- even try & do the amsa task books ( www.amsa.gov.au/forms/purchase-task-books-record-books-and-log-books ) for pro quals like coxswain or master under 24 metres & med3 or 2. Maybe do a GPH with tafe or SHF- heritage fleet will get you out there for a low membership though can be hard for the shy to infiltrate. I've worked in the sail training area though a couple decades ago & while supportive of former employers there's potentially better ways- if someone was single & looking the one you mentioned used to have a great B:G(1:3) ratio but not sure about now. The "Seaschool" style outfits will get you through once you've got hours to a real qualification with coxswain much easier than days gone by- task book give a big discount to hours required.
You said you went fine in the Whitsundays which in some regards can be tough at some times breeze wise- sydney harbour you really need to keep a good lookout and be able to apply colregs particularly on weekends as crowded & overlapping race courses & ferries- the smaller faster ones make looking behind extremely important as very quick and quiet.
All the best from Jeff.

Reef Knot said..

waikikin said..
Hi Reef Knot
As others have indicated just go & crew with others to re-familiarise- the school options are for if your a starter or really want those style of qualifications for some reason, they're barely recognised besides the implied marketing of the providers.

[SNIP]

All the best from Jeff.

Thanks Jeff. Appreciate the feedback and after spending a couple of hours on the water Saturday, due to a friendly Seabreezer, I don't think I will have much trouble getting my sea legs back!

Good to hear, if you stay switched on it's all going to come back.
Regards from Jeff.