I am going to Australia in October and my wife and I wanted to rent a small sailboat, around 25 ft and sail around the harbor our selves. Where can you rent such a thing in Sydney harbor? I went online and there did not seem to be anybody renting boats without a captain that would be the one sailing the boat. In most US cities that are on a body or water there are many companies that will rent sailboats of that size, but on the web it seems that all the rental places in Sydney include a captain that will be doing the actual sailing of the boat.
So the question is: What are some good places to rent a small keel boat for an afternoon in Sydney?
There may not be many: Sydney Harbour is famous for being busy rather than relaxing and most charter yachts are found in quieter more relaxed waters. There is much more cruising to the north, so make sure what you are looking at is actually on Sydney Harbour. I can see one on that site which is 30 feet. Nothing smaller. Most are much bigger.
If you actually click on those links you will find that there is a lack of companies the rent small sail boats that you can sail yourself. Hence the reason for my question. The boats that you can hire and drive yourself are motor boats.
Try my link, it has self drive sailboats, though I agree with you that 95% of the links that our facetious friends helpfully pointed you at were no use.
I don’t want to be ungrateful but your link was not created by someone that is interested in connecting boats for hire with people who want to hire boats. I have been playing with that like and get connections like the following. which offers no useful information about the boat, where you pick up the boat how much it costs etc. It seems mainly created as a way to get $55 from boat owners.
I’d be looking for somewhere a bit quieter than Sydney Harbour – perhaps the Hawkesbury River, which can be reached in about an hour from Sydney by train. The scenery there is spectacular, and relatively unspoiled, and from my frequent trips through there in the past it seems that there are boat-hire places close to Hawkesbury River Railway Station. (Other parts of the river can be reached by road if you want to hire a car.)
The site just gives you contact details. You have to email people yourself.
Abbotsford, Balmoral, Manly and Rose Bay are harbour locations.
Newport, Terrey Hills, Bayview and Brooklyn are Pittwater/Broken Bay, which is about 30km north of Sydney Harbour. Very beautiful, but much quieter, pretty well surrounded by National Park.
If I didn’t make it clear originally, that’s exactly what I meant. Yes, they’re private clubs, but they could possibly put you in touch with people offering the service that you want on Sydney harbour.
And I agree with **Giles **and Weedy. You’re probably better off going to a much less congested waterway than Sydney harbour itself.
