Five ways this boat club delivers the ultimate on-water lifestyle

Have you ever looked at a shiny, smiling and sunny gathering of people swanning around on a big, glorious boat on Sydney Harbour and thought, ‘I wonder if that’s as much fun as it looks?’ No, of course you haven’t, because you know, deep down, that those people surely are having a ball. What you might not know, unless you’ve done a bit of it yourself, is that it’s actually even more fabulous than it looks.

Having your own boat on which to entertain friends and family, sinking back into a luscious leather couch with a prawn in one hand and a champagne in the other as the setting sun turns spectacular Sydney Harbour various vermillion shades, it’s almost impossible not to sigh the words, “How good is this?”.

The problem, of course, is that owning a boat is expensive – even just mooring one in Sydney costs no small amount of money. And then there’s the cleaning, the upkeep, the maintenance, and on it goes. As one wit (and famous owner of several luxury boats) once put it, “If you want to know what it’s like to own a nice boat, it’s easy – just stand in a cold shower and rip up $100 notes for an hour!”

Which is why there’s another pertinent saying: “The best kind of boat is someone else’s”.
Fortunately, gloriously, there is another way to live your best boat life without buying one, and all at a cost that adds up to less per year than what it would cost to moor one – by joining a boat club, like Pacific Boating in Sydney.

You simply pay a monthly fee and Pacific Boating provides access to a fleet of 14 (soon to be 18) spectacular Sea Ray cruisers at two Sydney locations: the Rozelle Super Yacht Marina and the stunning still-water setting of Pittwater.

If you’re dead set on buying one yourself, of course, it’s also a great way to try it out before you do. And, best of all, if you’re not experienced, Pacific Boating will provide expert training, help you get your boat licence and teach you everything you need to know.

There are plenty of reasons to give a boat club like this a try, but here at our top five.

A day out on your boat is a wonderful and hugely memorable experience, from plunging into the clear and beautiful waters of Sydney Harbour to exploring the tucked away beaches and waterfalls around Pittwater, but, at the end of that day, the last thing you feel like doing is cleaning up and packing up.

Fortunately, with Pacific Boating, you don’t have to. The walk on/walk off system means that when you turn up in the morning your boat is pristine clean and ready to go, and at the end of the day the staff will be ready and waiting for you to jump on and do all the cleaning and maintenance for you.

The bonus of Pacific Boating’s two locations is that if you want to spend the day on the Harbour, you can, but if you want to experience the very different conditions up at Pittwater, you can do that too, without the hassle, and expense, of going out Sydney Heads and tackling the Pacific Ocean all the way up the coast. You just get in your car and drive to Pacific’s Pittwater marina, where a separate fleet of boats is ready to go. And in either case, you can also choose to spend the night on the boat if you want to. The 44-foot Sundancer, for example, sleeps up to six people in comfort.

Pacific Boating’s fleet of Sea Ray Sports Cruisers comprises ten 44-foot Sundancers, four larger and even more luxurious 52-foot Sundancer cruisers and, very soon, a selection of four smaller 320 Sundancers as well.

This means there’s a boat to suit your lifestyle, and your confidence levels. If you’ve never tried boating before, this is the perfect way to get started, as Pacific Boating will provide expert training, and even help you to get your licence.

And if that sounds like work, it’s not. A day on the Harbour learning to skipper a fantastic boat feels like the best kind of schooling you can imagine.

Until you’ve tried it, it really is hard to express just how much fun a day out on a glorious, big Sports Cruiser can be, but you can be assured you’ll be making memories that will last you, and your family and friends, a lifetime.

While Sydney Harbour is one of the biggest and most glorious spots for boating in the known universe, with its spectacular locations, wide and easily navigable waters and many beautiful beaches, it’s also just a whole new, undiscovered world. You might not have seen a coffee boat or an ice cream boat before, but they’re out there to serve you on the water when you’re living your boat life.

Similarly, you can moor at Darling Harbour and discover that many of the restaurants have Marina Menus, which can be delivered to your boat as you sit back and enjoy the city skyline.

At the other end of the scale is Pittwater, a quieter, more laidback boating experience on calm waters with hundreds of kilometres of waterways to explore – including seal families that you can only see from the water.

Better yet, everything you need is provided on the boat, from cutlery and plates and glasses to a barbecue, microwave oven, an outdoor and indoor shower, two toilets and no fewer than three televisions (on the 44 Sundancer).

Buying your own Sports Cruiser involves a huge amount of money up front, and then plenty of maintenance, and mooring fees, from that point on. Indeed, someone once described it as being like buying a Maserati and then dropping it in a pool of acid. Sea water is hard on mechanical things and being able to leave the upkeep to someone else entirely, as you can with a boating club like Pacific Boating, is almost priceless.

The biggest saving, of course, is not having to front up the entire cost of a new boat; you just pay your monthly fee and enjoy the experience of being a boat owner – without all the hassle. And there’s no minimum time frame, so you can easily opt out if your circumstances change.

So, are you ready to dive into the boating lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of? Visit the Pacific Boating website for more information or call the helpful Pacific Boating crew on (02) 8765 1067.