Before you book with a sailing school ask them if they have the following 

Safety & Comfort

Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Yachting Australia Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor:

I've been a professional Trainer since 1985.  My 35,000 mile offshore log as skipper includes three Atlantic crossings , one Trans-Pacific, two Tasman Sea crossings and in 2006 I took the yacht down to the Bass Strait. I've not yet rounded Cape Horn but it's in the diary! 

Back to Top

A lot of shouting on board is a sign of a skipper who's not in control. History shows that the great naval captains were the ones who planned ahead and thought calmly.  Aggression is strictly verboten on this boat, sailing is for fun.  If you ain't enjoying it, you shouldn't be paying for it! 

Back to Top

Undertaken in a properly controlled environment, sailing should be very safe.  As with any sport, there are dangers, but your safety always comes first.  

Winches - We have a rule on board that no-one is allowed, or even asked, to use any winches, ropes or equipment, until they've been shown how to use it safely and are confident about doing so.  If that takes a little while, no problem. Safety first!

The boom - The size of our training vessel means that she heels less than smaller racing yachts and the boom swings safely past, 6 feet away from where you'll be standing.  On most yachts - training and racing - the mainsail boom swings dangerously low, often at head-height over the cockpit. This can be a source of major injury on training boats - hence the old joke that it's called the 'boom' because it's the last thing you'll hear before they take you to hospital.  Not if your standing in the cockpit of this yacht!

Life-saving equipment - Life jackets, man-overboard buoy with light, flares, harnesses: The equipment we carry is the same as for a voyage to New Zealand - more than enough to be safe in Sydney Harbour. 

Back to Top

Peter Edington Sailing :  Never!

There's a proper toilet, washbasin and even a shower. 

Back to Top 

Peter Edington Sailing :  No!

You can do as much or as little as you want.  Of course, you'll learn more if you do more, but you'll never be asked to do anything you don't want to do.  My youngest student so far is 12 and my oldest in their eighties, so come along and give it a try.  

Back to Top

Peter Edington Sailing :  No!

There's drinking water on tap, tea, coffee, cordial, snacks and fruit all freely available.  And breakfast, lunch and dinner if you're on board when it's that time of day. Even a hobbit wouldn't go hungry. 

Back to Top

Our training vessel is an ocean-going thoroughbred.  She has clocked over 14 knots at sea for hours at a time and regularly clocks 10+ knots in the harbour (for those who don't know, 14 knots is about as exciting as you need!)  Regarding racing and things, I have worked on Sydney 38s match racing in Pittwater, dozens of times and enjoy hard sailing as much as anyone - so long as my crew are enjoying themselves! 

Back to Top

Cancellations due to personal circumstances or weather

Peter Edington Sailing :  No!

Because our training vessel is a fully equipped ocean-going yacht, we have lots of choices (no drifting under a baking sun for us!)  Our 70 HP motor will take you to an anchorage where you can have lunch or tea then switch to some essential theory - there's VHF radio, radar, ropework, charts, the opportunities are endless. And if there's too little wind, there's the inflatable dinghy to learn to drive, the rigging aloft to inspect (er.. that bit's voluntary).  Or maybe try a swim - to enhance your understanding of the boat's underwater geometry, of course - and then there's more tea, coffee, cordial, cake. 

Back to Top

Peter Edington Sailing :  No!

These things sometimes happen.  So long as we've kept in touch as plans change, if you've paid in full, I will always offer you a future date, mutually agreed, when you can try again. 

Back to Top

Peter Edington Sailing :  No!

You can be taken ashore (met ashore if need be) and I will always offer you the chance to rejoin a course at a future date, mutually agreed again, to complete what you've started.

And if you simply don't get on with sailing - maybe you're one of those unlucky people who gets sea-sick in the bath - I'll put you ashore somewhere near a bus or train station and let you transfer the unused part of your course to a friend - how's that? 

Back to Top

Privacy and Gender issues

Peter Edington Sailing :  Yes, possibly with another woman.

We never put women and men in a shared cabin (well, not unless they're happy to share, of course!)  Bookings are always scheduled with this in mind. There are two twin-bunk cabins and a double-berth cabin, with it's own shower-room.  When you book, you'll be asked to stipulate if you want to share with a friend.  Sometimes, if the numbers stack up that way, you may be asked to share with another woman. 

Back to Top

There are two twin-bunk cabins and a double-berth cabin, with it's own shower-room.  When you book, you'll be asked if you are coming with a friend and bookings are always scheduled with this in mind. Sometimes (very, very rarely) the mix of women, men and couples means that a couple may be asked if they'd sleep separately - that is to say each share a twin-bunk cabin with another person of the same gender. 

Back to Top

I've crossed oceans with all girl crews twice: the Atlantic with only my two daughters aged 11 and 15 as crew and New Zealand to Sydney with two French women and a Canadian teenager.  They all  handled sails, steered, kept watch - and my wife and daughters still enjoy sailing with me now!  Everyone has the chance to do as much as they want and, as with any proper team, if you get tired someone else will come and give you a hand - female or male is of no importance. 

Back to Top

Poverty Action

If you ask about Operation SightSail when you book, you can arrange for $150 of your $360 to go directly to the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Alternatively, if you ask about Sail4Africa when you book, you can arrange for $150 to go directly to an Australian registered charity directly helping orphans in Africa.

I am happy to help these excellent organisation.  You should be aware that you may not be able to reclaim this money against tax, since you may be deemed to be getting benefit in kind in exchange for the donation. 

Back to Top

I am happy to set up days when I could teach groups of 6 to 8 on a weekday as a fund-raiser.  There are some pre-requisites laid down by NSW Maritime, the Tax Office and by NSW fund-raising authorities which we have to observe, for example, the charity has to be Australian Registered.

While not forming any part of a contract at this stage, but as a guideline, my usual arrangement is that it will be a formal Yachting Australia sail-training day, leading to YA accreditation, where the cost is $1 per head with proof of a donation of $150 per head to the charity agreed.  I prefer to arrange fund-raising days where there objective is the alleviation of poverty for women and children living in developing countries.  Please contact me to discuss your plans. 

Back to Top