NRMA Member Barry Husking finds there’s more to sailing than watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race with a Boxing Day hangover.

I should start by describing my life-long passion for the sea. Days spent staring at sailing boats, yearning to be on board. Cruising between exotic island ports, tanned and carefree. Bravely taking the helm through stormy swells, squinting through  salty wash as the bow smashes through the waves. But I won’t, because it’s unfulfilled.

Now on the grey side of 45, I’ve been giving some serious thought to all those things that I might like to do, and how I need to get on with them before the energy to indulge myself passes. Cheaper than a Harley, sailing looked like just the thing for a bloke in a hurry for some excitement. So I signed up for lessons to have some fun.

An Internet search revealed several sailing schools in Sydney Harbour, with a choice of classes for beginners through to experienced sailors. I chose eastsail at Rushcutters Bay. The beginners’ package seemed good value, the lesson times flexible and I liked the idea of spending a weekend afternoon on the harbour in one of their 31ft Beneteaus.

The course consists of four three-hour lessons on-board, one three-hour classroom session and one three-hour club race. There is a maximum crew of five for the practical lessons, including the instructor.

I spent the first 45 minutes of the first lesson in the yacht’s cabin with the other tyros, notes in hand and ears primed, as our instructor explained most of the nautical terms and manoeuvres we’d need to stay out of trouble. The instructors emphasise safety and being prepared for all the things that can go wrong. ‘There’s no better bilge pump than a scared man’ is an aphorism of sailing folklore that has stuck with me.

The weather on the first afternoon was warm and bright with a testing 15-knot breeze to ensure we were in for some fun and games on the water. If ever an instructor should be paid more, it should be for lesson one. There we were, four hopefuls thrashing around the harbour on a picture-perfect day when it seemed as though every other yacht, skiff, powerboat and dinghy in Sydney was out there too. Somehow, with a fair slab of encouragement, reassurance and active intervention from our instructor, we sailed for a couple of hours and made it back again — heads spinning, adrenaline pumping and boat intact.

With a basic grasp of the theory and a few more lessons, my confidence grew. And so did the thrill. Over the four on-board sessions, we’re taught the points of sails (the angle of the boat to the wind), sail trimming and different knots for different occasions. I finished each class with the feeling of having learnt a little of what others (Drake, Cook … Crowe) had to master to take their place in the annals of seafaring history. All right, that’s stretching it a bit, but it does give you that sort of buzz.

The personal experiences of the instructors, all of whom are well-seasoned sailors, vary from stories of a lazy 12 months sailing around the Caribbean Islands to spending some ‘anxious’ moments lying on the ceiling of an upturned yacht during the tragic 1998 Sydney-Hobart race.

The club race comes at the end of the introductory lessons and it’s a competition where we got to learn from the experienced sailors. Just the jolt you need if you’re feeling a tad cocky after graduating from the beginners’ course. I reckoned I understood about half of what happened, and the other half was done at about 10 times the speed I was used to. The race experience confirmed I’d need to take the next course if I was going to get at all serious about sailing.

Eastsail manager Trent Wilson says around 1500 people enrol in their introductory course each year, the majority of whom are female. “Most people join for social reasons. Many of the ladies, in particular, have been guests on yachts cruising around the harbour sipping champagne. It’s that experience that inspires them to learn more,” he says.

About half of those who complete the introductory lessons go on to thecompetent crew course, and about half again to the more advanced inshore skipper classes.

If you think sailing might be for you, don’t leave it too late to find out for sure. Courses cost around $465 and are run regularly. If it turns out you’d rather chase a golf ball on the weekend, then be satisfied it hasn’t all been a waste of time and money. At least you’ve had 15 memorable hours on Sydney Harbour. And how bad could that be?

Sydney Sailing schools

There are several sailing schools operating in and around Sydney Harbour. Here’s a selection: