Charter Chatter

December is an ideal time to entertain business associates or get together with friends on a charter boat on Sydney Harbour. The following events are on the harbour in December.

- Dec 5-8 - Sydney International Regatta – top sailors from Australia and around the world compete in this Olympic class event.

- Dec 6 & 13 - The Australian 18 Footers League charters a spectator ferry to follow their races on Sydney Harbour. The ferry leaves Double Bay Wharf at 2.15pm and all visitors are welcome. Tickets are $15.00 per adult and can be purchased at the office on race day. Kids under 14 are free. w18 Footers.com.au.

- Dec 16 - SOLAS Big Boat Challenge – about 20 of the largest boats in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race race around the harbour. Individual places are for auction on ebay.com.au, and spectator boat tickets are on sale with all proceeds going to SOLAS Trusts. Or you can charter your own boat and watch the racing. CYCA.com.au.

- Dec 26 - Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race start – People line the shores of Sydney Harbour, others watch it on TV, but you can be on the harbour watching the start of this iconic event. Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

- Dec 31 - New Year’s Eve - Spectacular fireworks are fired off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, barges, and city skyscrapers at 9pm and midnight. Over 50 charter vessels will participate in a themed parade following the 9pm fireworks. A special area is set aside for charter vessels in the Harbour. Check out the following link for more info: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nye/.

EastSail in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney is offering a 25 per cent discount on all bareboat charters in November. A new Beneteau First 40 has joined their fleet and is available for skippered charter for up to 17 guests. Next March it will become EastSail’s primary offshore sail training vessel and will head north on a Seven Sided Sail to compete in Hamilton Island Race Week in August.

Coral Princess has announced a special 2010 Christmas cruise through Melanesia, including a traditional Christmas lunch in the remote Solomon Islands and New Year’s Eve on Champagne Beach in Vanuatu.

The ice-breaker Le Boreal will be launched in May and in contrast to many boats that sail to the Antarctic it is luxury all the way, with an outdoor heated pool, theatre, lounge with dance floor, Turkish steam room, spa and fitness centre. Le Boreal comes with the latest technology relating to water and waste. It also has a positioning system that eliminates the need for dropping anchor in fragile areas.

A new day trip is available from Rosslyn Bay, near Rockhampton, to Great Keppel Island. The day includes tea and coffee on arrival, a tube ride along Fisherman’s Beach and free use of snorkel gear and fins, kayaks, catamarans, sun suits and life jackets. Situated just 30 minutes by boat from the mainland, Great Keppel Island, with 17 beaches, is situated on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

Further south is Lady Elliot Island where the Eco Resort has reduced its diesel consumption and carbon emissions by at least 75 per cent since 2005 through a range of initiatives including a new solar hybrid power station. Daily boat trips for divers and snorkelling tours on glass bottom boats allow visitors to see the manta rays, turtles and tropical fish which call this part of the Great Barrier Reef home.

Oasis of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world with 16 decks carrying 5,400 guests at double occupancy. The ship, which is five times bigger than the Titanic, had to lower her smoke stacks to pass under the Great Belt Bridge as she left the Baltic Sea. While crossing the North Atlantic Ocean on its way to Florida, Oasis of the Seas encountered strong winds and high seas, delaying her arrival until November 13.

The 2009 Kalia Cup in Tonga, conducted by Mariner Boating, was won by a Robertson Cane 4000 catamaran chartered for the rally by a crew from Japan. The skipper, Toru Inoue, struggled early in the rally because his prior sailing experience had been exclusively with monohull yachts. By the fifth and last race of the series he and his crew had mastered the art of tacking a ‘small house.’ He won the last race and the rally’s trophy, a hand-carved Hump Back Whale. 

Photograph by Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex: Wild Oats XI going through Sydney heads at the start of the 2008 Rolex Sydney Hobart