One of our favourites is Bantry Bay. Located deep into Middle Harbour on the western side of Spit Bridge, this is a beautiful, idyllic spot where one feels truly removed from the bustle and bedlam of city life.

Leaving from our Lavender Bay base you can enjoy a stirring sail ‘up harbour’, enjoying the sites of Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Fort Denison, Bradley’s Head, Chowder Bay and up past Middle Harbour Yacht Club.

Once there you’ll have to wait for the Spit Bridge to open (if you find you have a while then why not nip ashore for a coffee at the Spit) then motor through to the tranquillity that is Middle Harbour.

Bantry Bay was an ammunition storage site from 1914 to 1973. Now long since decommissioned, the storage buildings are still out-of-bounds.

There are eight courtesy moorings available for visiting vessels. Often busy in summer, this is a particularly quiet spot in the winter. The mornings often see a low-hanging mist in the early hours before the sun burns it off – a very beautiful sight indeed.

You can read more about Bantry Bay in Alan Lucas’s article in Afloat Magazine here.

Contact us to discuss an overnight Sydney Harbour yacht charter.

Bantry Bay - tranquillity itself. Enjoy an overnight sydney harbour yacht charter with SailCorp

Yep – we’re now putting a whole bunch of news, updates specials and stories on the news page and feeding it through to our social media pages. We would love it if you jumped onto our Facebook page and liked us and skipped across to our Twitter feed and followed us.

To say thanks (and offer a bit of an incentive) we’ll have a prize draw for a free sailing trip in Sydney Harbour once we hit 250 likes on Facebook and again when we hit 500. So whaddaya say?

The more of your friends that like us, the more chance you have of one of them winning and inviting you!

SailCorp Facebook pagee
SailCorp Twitter feed

(Conditions apply)

We'd love it if you liked us!

Sydney Harbour Bridge 80th birthday – Monday March 19. That’s right, it will be 80 years since our, dare I say it… iconic Harbour Bridge was opened. If there was ever a day to get out on the water and celebrate the bridge’s birthday, that is it!

Earth Hour Saturday – March 31 8.30pm – 9.30pm. This has got to be one of the coolest things to do – sit in the middle of the harbour and watch the lights go out.

Keep an eye on our Facebook page, Twitter feed and news page to learn about future specials for the Bridge’s birthday, Earth Hour and more.

A fantastic annual event, it’s a great way to get out on the water and have a bit of competitive fun. All you have to do is bring your own yacht, borrow a mates’ or better yet, charter one form SailCorp!

SailCorp has assisted in the running of this event over the last few years and this year has a range of yachts available for charter. Why not get your clients, team and associates out of the office and onto a charter yacht to enjoy the race.

There’s nothing better than getting close to the elements, pulling some ropes and challenging others in your field to beat you over the line!

Here are some useful links:

Strata Community Australia Sailing Day


Middle Harbour Yacht Club


Contact SailCorp

At only $95 pp it’s a wonderful way to ‘chillax’ and while away a Sunday afternoon. Picture yourself aboard a yacht, under sail, meandering around the beautiful harbour, in good company… You can also get involved & trim a sail or two!

Come with friends or come by yourself and make new friends!

1pm - 4pm from our Lavender Bay base.

Contact us to grab a spot – info@sailcorp.com.au | 02 9955 2537

Social sailing at its best!

One of the many events of this festival is the Harbour ’12 CoolChange dance party. Held ‘al fresco’ at Mrs Maquaries Point, CoolChange is styled as “… an unforgettable party experience filled with amazing DJ talent, sensational performances, cocktails al fresco … the world’s most iconic outdoor party and it’s right here on our doorstep.”

Scheduled to go off on Saturday February 25 (its first time on a Saturday) and also including a fireworks display, you can make your own sideshow and party the evening away on a SailCorp yacht anchored off the point.



To learn more about CoolChange click here.

Enjoy the Sydney Mardi Gras from the water

Why not take a romantic two hour twilight sail, enjoy dinner on the harbour and a dreamy night under the stars in view of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Impress your loved one with a gift voucher and a beautiful, uncrowded and exclusive evening with SailCorp Sydney Harbour Yacht Charters.

With a fleet of luxury yachts to choose from, you can have a memorable night with that special someone…

Please contact us 02 9955 2537 or info@sailcorp.com.au

Enjoy a romantic twilight on Sydney Harbour for Valentine's Day

Cruise ship season is upon us – you can get out and see the spectacular Queen Elizabeth on your very own private cruise on a Sydney Harbour yacht charter with SailCorp.

Arriving at the end of February (currently scheduled to arrive on Feb 28 and leave on Feb 29 – hmm, it’s a leap year!), you won’t miss her at a massive 294m long.

Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, or ‘QE’, is the newest cruise ship in this famous fleet. Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in October 2010, this will be her second visit to Australia. The last visit was the historic meeting of both the QE and QM2 (Queen Mary 2) in Sydney Harbour back in February 2011.

Meet the Queen Elizabeth in Sydney Harbour

Today the QE, tomorrow The World!

Imagine this – you can see the world on your Sydney Harbour yacht charter with SailCorp!

‘The World’ is the largest privately owned ship in, er, the world.

With 165 residences aboard, all privately owned, this vessel follows an owner-inspired itinerary around the world and has been continuously circumnavigating since 2002.

Designed to feel like a community at sea, features on the 196m ship include a golf course, full-scale tennis court, a marina and a yacht club.

The World comes to Sydney Harbour on March 3 and departs on March 5.

Sail around The World on a SailCorp yacht charter (sorry, couldn't resist...)

Instead, maritime authorities define shipping channels and waterways with fixed and floating marks that help let you know where you should be.

The first rule of being at sea is to avoid collision. Seems simple enough. And to ensure its effectiveness, there are rules telling vessels how they should pass each other, whether passing in opposite directions, from left to right or when overtaking.

In order to understand these rules, it’s vital to know your ‘port’ from your ‘starboard’. These are nautical and aviation terms used to determine left from right.

Port is the left side of a vessel when facing the bow; Starboard is the right side when facing the bow.

So how did these terms come about? Good question. And to answer it, we took to a well-known site on the internet! (So please tell us your version if it differs from below).

Starboard

The origin of the term starboard comes from a time before ships had rudders on their centrelines. Back then, ships were steered using a specialised steering oar, held by an oarsman towards the stern (back) of the ship.

As the majority of oarsmen were right-handed, the oar used to be mounted to the right side of the ship.

The word starboard itself comes from Old English steorbord, meaning the side on which the ship is steered.

Port

Prior to the adopted use of “port” was the term larboard. It is suggested that larboard, when shouted in the wind, was probably too easy to confuse with starboard and so the word port eventually came to replace it.

Port comes from the practice of sailors mooring ships on the left side at ports in order to prevent the steering oar from being crushed against the wall.

The term ‘port’ was apparently not officially adopted by the Royal Navy until 1844. Robert FitzRoy, Captain of the famous HMS Beagle (you know – the one that fellow Darwin was on), is said to have taught his crew to use the term port instead of larboard, cementing its use in naval parlance.

Port and starboard in use – right of way

So now you know your port from starboard, you can use it at sea. For example, when two vessels approach each other head-on, they should each alter course to starboard and pass port-to-port. In other words, the other vessel should pass down your left-hand-side and you theirs.

For other rules of the road, there are some good reminders on http://www.sydneyboating.com.au/page/boating_safety

Sydney Opera House - to starboard of the SailCorp Jeanneau 40 charter yacht

From day to day, as we meander around the harbour, we often gaze at the bridge in wonderment. So here are some interesting things about how it was built that we dug out of the wonderful world wide web…

Sail under Sydney Harbour Bridge on a SailCorp Yacht Charter

The girders are made from steel – 79% imported from England and 21% of Australian origin.

The pylons are made of concrete faced with granite that was quarried near Moruya, 300km from Sydney. In all, around 17,000 cubic metres of granite went into the construction of the Bridge.

Around 6 million rivets were used to join the 52,800 tonnes of steelwork together – all hammered in by hand!

And did you also know that the Bridge was opened in Sydney Australia on 19 March 1932? We must all save that date for a ‘Happy 80th Birthday Sydney Harbour Bridge’ message on the 19 March this year!

SailCorp Yacht Charters - the closest sailing boat rental company to Sydney Harbour Bridge?