Beware…cowboys! We hired a 40 foot yacht for 48 hours with East Sail through a UK brokerage. East Sail mandated that we were not permitted to come alongside away from their moorings, so the plan was to sail around the... read moreBeware…cowboys! We hired a 40 foot yacht for 48 hours with East Sail through a UK brokerage. East Sail mandated that we were not permitted to come alongside away from their moorings, so the plan was to sail around the wider Sydney harbour and stay overnight at anchor or on a buoy if we could find one. In order to do this, we had to hire a tender and outboard at additional cost. Issues began as we arrived to take over ‘Leeward’, the yacht we had been allocated as the company representative conducting the handover was unable to confirm the vessels draft, and whether the depth gauge was corrected, and not all of the bedding and towels we had ordered were aboard. We set off and sailed for 2/3 hours as a shake down before pulling into a bay for lunch. Whilst manoeuvring towards an anchorage the throttle lever fell off and took several attempts to re-position/re-engage. It was at this stage that we discovered the windlass did not function. We ended up spending about 30 minutes ‘troubleshooting’ the windlass problem trying various switch positions and eventually discovered that the engine ignition had to be switched ‘on’ (contrary to the handover brief and the vessel ‘manual’) in order to allow the windlass to function. Before moving off, we noticed that the service battery had not been charging and was down at 9.9V. We spent a further 15 minutes troubleshooting and eventually established that the throttle lever failure was probably the issue and after repeated adjustment we were able to get the charger working again. We sailed again in the afternoon and found a buoy in a different bay for an overnight stop. It was at this stage that we discovered that the gas stove did not work. After a further 15 minutes of troubleshooting which include changing the gas bottle (despite the first sounding and feeling half full) and repeatedly functioning the valves we were able to make it work. On the second day we sailed during the morning and elected to anchor in a bay and motor in the tender for lunch. The tender engine we were told was “brand new” and we motored about 100m ashore for lunch. After lunch we boarded the tender to return to Leeward only to find that we were unable to engage any gear. This would not have been a major issue were it not for the fact that the tender had deflated and one of the rowlocks was broken so that we were unable to row even the 100m against the prevailing wind and tide. Since we were only one bay along from the East Sail marina we telephoned and they send out a dinghy to ‘fix’ the tender. It transpires that the tender motor had failed and East Sail towed it back allowing us to sail for another hour or 2 in the afternoon. However, given the state of the yacht and the fact that we now had no tender to get ashore from a buoy or anchorage, we decided to return to the East Sail marina at around 1600 and tie up to stay overnight for the second night. We had planned for/envisaged around 20 hours (1000-1800, 0800-1800, 0800-1000) available to sail during the 48 hour hire. As it was, with the boat issues, we lost around 5 of our 20 hours available. We went into the office to hand back the yacht on the final day and to debrief the issues we had with the Business Manager (Joe). During the course of the conversation, Joe said that East Sail would refund the cost of the tender (the engine was terminally broken) and would look at awarding compensation for the loss of sailing time due to the other issues. After 5 weeks, and numerous e-mail exchanges, we finally received the refund for the tender however the promise of compensation has proved to be a bare-faced lie…presumably to fob us off until our return to the UK. In sum, East Sail proved a highly unprofessional outfit offering an inferior/substandard vessel. Avoid at all costs! read less

Great place to learn to sail on the harbour, with really knowledgeable instructors. Once you've passed one of their courses you can crew in their twilight races and practice your new found knowledge! EDIT - three years later,... read moreGreat place to learn to sail on the harbour, with really knowledgeable instructors. Once you've passed one of their courses you can crew in their twilight races and practice your new found knowledge! EDIT - three years later, and my opinion hasn't changed - just done another excellent five day course with them. read less

We did the Sydney NYE Fire works with Eastsail and it was magnificent. Highly recommended

Greta is a very capable sailor and made the experience very enjoyable, all the while learning about sailing on Sydney Harbour. I have already registered for the next East Sail course!

Outstanding experience! A brilliant combination of active sailing - winching on the sails, taking the helm under the excellent instruction of the skipper, and relaxing with a few beers and nice wine. The best way to truly experience... read moreOutstanding experience! A brilliant combination of active sailing - winching on the sails, taking the helm under the excellent instruction of the skipper, and relaxing with a few beers and nice wine. The best way to truly experience the harbour! 4 hrs recommended! read less

What an amazing 5 days out on the water with Eastsail. I can't thank them enough for the training and experience delivered in a structured and easy to follow manner. I will be using them again

Recently completed a 5 day on-board Day Skipper course with Eastsail. Fast 40 ft Beneteau (surfing at 12.8 knots to Pittwater?), Katy was an exceptional instructor and kept the theory component very funny.
Despite a lot of rain it was a... read moreRecently completed a 5 day on-board Day Skipper course with Eastsail. Fast 40 ft Beneteau (surfing at 12.8 knots to Pittwater?), Katy was an exceptional instructor and kept the theory component very funny.
Despite a lot of rain it was a great experience, learned a lot. Highly recommended.
Bart read less

Destination NSW shoot - February 28th Hi my name is Marc Rogerson and I was one of the actors involved in the shoot yesterday. I just wanted you to pass on my thanks to the skipper George that took us out yesterday. I didn't get to... read moreHi my name is Marc Rogerson and I was one of the actors involved in the shoot yesterday. I just wanted you to pass on my thanks to the skipper George that took us out yesterday. I didn't get to say it in person as we all got off the boat. He was a man of supreme patience, professionalism and enthusiasm. He made the day less lile a film shoot and more like a fun crash course in sailing. He has a genuine love for his work and is a credit to your business so please thank him from me. read less

Shouted the family a cruise on the harbour, my wife especially was absolutely thrilled with the experience , even though it was a wet day she stayed on deck the whole time enjoying every minute.
Daan gave us a great... read moreShouted the family a cruise on the harbour, my wife especially was absolutely thrilled with the experience , even though it was a wet day she stayed on deck the whole time enjoying every minute.
Daan gave us a great introduction to sailing, I learned a few things, enough for us to want to come again to learn some more. read less