Hey all, I have absolutely zero sailing experience but am very keen to learn, I have found a Hutton 28 I'm about to buy to learn on, the only problem is it's in wollongong and I'd like to get it to Sydney harbour. Is it a bad idea to try to sail it myself with my only experience a few YouTube videos, cheers in advance

Very bad idea imho without experienced guidance and some knowledge of your boat's integrity. I suggest you pal up with an experienced sailor to join you on a couple of shakedown day-sails out of the Gong to make sure everything works, then get him to help you take it up to Sydney.

And of course welcome to sailing! This forum will stand you in good stead as the contributors are very knowledgeable and well-meaning, with none of the carping rubbish on some other sites.

Cheers, Graeme

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dmf2095 said..
Hey all, I have absolutely zero sailing experience but am very keen to learn, I have found a Hutton 28 I'm about to buy to learn on, the only problem is it's in wollongong and I'd like to get it to Sydney harbour. Is it a bad idea to try to sail it myself with my only experience a few YouTube videos, cheers in advance

Yeah agreed very bad idea. Take someone with you who has experience. Also you can p.m. me if you like because I owned a Hutton 28 for 15 years after I had it built in 82

Awesome work! Enjoy! Having just moved from Sydney to Melbourne I have to say it's an ideal place (Sydney) to just buy a boat and get out there. You will have a great time on the harbour. Although there are a few things to hit having plenty of people to hit it's also very well setup for boating. Being able to work up to short coastal passages and further is also great.I did something similar and found crewing on boats also a great way to get exposed to different situations I wouldn't haven't taken myself out in on my boat.

This is a classic scenario for yachtpersons lost at sea. Not only, the weather is not the best. Follow the advice from others here, and get the boat checked out thoroughly. Unfortunately Wollongong harbour is not a safe estuary to gradually learn to sail. Get an experienced skipper to get the boat to a quiet mooring, and then you can slowly learn the tricks in relative safety.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that the majority of the reports of rescues or worse that I read concern new owners on delivery trips.

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wongaga said..
Maybe it's just me, but it seems that the majority of the reports of rescues or worse that I read concern new owners on delivery trips.

Yeah, if the boat is well found and the new owner is even vaguely competant there should be no problem, however I support your reluctance and you should go with your instincts. The trip north is relatively easy, there is Jibbon beach where you can pull into, Botany Bay also thence on to Sydney Harbour. If you are unable to find someone to assist send me a message and perhaps I can help.

Yes Wollongong Harbour is very small, and once out your straight into the ocean obviously. We sailed the inaugural Coal Classic WYC to Port Hacking 6 Oct 2019 in a 20-30kt NNE breeze with 2-3m swell and the teeth are still rattling. Fantastic hospitality for the 5 Oct onight stay at WYC by the club, superb paella. And mooring alongside at RMYCPH onight 6 Oct was greatly appreciated. We planned to get back to Kogarah Bay straight after finishing but were too knackered. Watch the reef and Bombora off Jibbon Head it extends a fair way north. Good that PH is being dredged now. If you can sail up in a 15-20kt soueaster you could make it to the harbour reasonably easily given an early start. But as above not by yourself.

Thank you all for your replies. You have all just confirmed what I though, I was hoping to sail up with the previous owner but that may not be an option now. Thanks again