Sailing in Sydney Harbour

The RA at Sydney University Village organized a little sailing trip. I was one of the lucky 14 that emailed quick enough to book as spot. There were about 45 more who wanted to go, but couldn't.

We met on the Green which is the big rectangular patch of grass in the centre of the Village and we took a bus into the City and then a train to Edgecliff. We walked to the Yacht Club and sat through some introductory/safety schpiel. I was in a boat with Charlotte from Colorado and Christine from the Bronx and our coach Luke. We got onto to the boat and were immediately put to work. We unfolded the sails and got them ready. We slowly pulled away from the dock and put up our sails. Soon we were cruising toward the Harbour Bridge!

I was first on the main slip which guided the main sail and boom. Charlotte was steering for a bit and many time our boat was high up on a 80 degree angle. We were clenching tightly so as not to slip off. It was quite the thrill. I though the boat would surely capsize, luckily it didn't. Then we switched roles and I was steering. I got the hang of it. Maybe time the boat would start going up on an steep angle but we kept our cool. We passed other sail boats and ferries and had some clost calls! At one point Christine steered us right into the wake of a ferry so we crashed through a few waves.

We sailed under the Harbour Bridge and past the Sydney Opera House and past Luna park. It was just incredible to see all those sights from that point of view. Most of the time we were concentrating on steering the boat, but there were moments where I just looked around in amazement. I was sailing in the Sydney Harbour!!

We learned our to 'jive' and to do something else, which i already forgot what it was called. Bascially we learned how to move the sails in the right direction along with the boom and switch sides so that the boat would pass through the eye of the wind.

Unfortunately, we couldn't take our cameras. They would have surely ended up in the water or damaged. Suzie, the head instructor, kindly followed us in a jet boat and took pictures for us.

Afterward we had a BBQ (susages and white sandwich bread!!) and then headed back to Newtown. It was a great experience. ONly $30 for a good 2 hours of sailing. There were thrills and laughs and our lives flashed before our eyes! Overall, it was a great day and a fun experience and I think I'll go back and do it again.

Enjoy the pictures!Christine, Me and Charlotte

I was steering at this point

We saw the most beautiful rainbow, end to end. Then there were two!