All activities / Sailing / Sydney
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Sailing in Sydney
Australia's harbor city, with the Opera House and bridge as daily backdrop and, each winter, the Southern Hemisphere's biggest festival of light.
Why here
Sydney Harbor is one of the few places where a complete beginner and the start of the hardest ocean race in the world share a postcode in the same fortnight. The Rolex Sydney Hobart leaves from the harbor on December 26, and in the weeks before it the water is full of boats working up. For a learner the appeal is simpler: a deep, sheltered, buoyed harbor with a reliable afternoon northeasterly, and two RYA training centers running the full ladder alongside the Australian Sailing keelboat courses. This is the southern summer, so it is in season exactly when Europe and North America are not.
Best months
The northeast sea breeze fills most afternoons at 12 to 20 knots through the summer, which is enough to sail properly without being intimidating. Sydney sits well south of the cyclone belt, so there is no seasonal weather shutdown. Mornings are often light, so schools generally run practical sessions into the afternoon. Southerly busters arrive with little warning and can bring a sharp wind shift and a short steep chop, which is the one condition worth understanding before going out.
Getting there & around
Sydney Airport is 20 minutes from the eastern suburbs marinas. The two schools are on opposite sides of the harbor and this matters: one is at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Rushcutters Bay, the other at Middle Harbour Yacht Club in Mosman, roughly 30 minutes apart by road. Pick the school before booking accommodation. The Sydney Hobart start on December 26 fills the city and the harbor foreshore, so book well ahead if your dates cross it, and expect the harbor itself to be busy with spectator craft that day.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Flying Fish Australia
SchoolRYA centre delivering Day Skipper through Yachtmaster Ocean plus superyacht and professional crew training, powerboating and gap-year programs.
Pacific Sailing School
SchoolRYA and Australian Sailing centre at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Rushcutters Bay, running daily beginner keelboat courses and the full RYA ladder to Yachtmaster on a fleet of J24s, catamarans and an offshore racing yacht.
Also good for sailing in October:
Torn between Sydney and La Maddalena Archipelago for October?
A plan settles it for your skill and budget, same-day.