Summer Photo Comp... and the winners are...
Junior Category
Open Category
Well done and thank you everyone who entered.
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Sailtime - the best way to have a boat
I first came across the concept of Sailtime when I had the option of buying a sizeable powered boat second hand at about 60% of its value and did some research on the annual costs of having such a boat.
Darrell at Soldiers Point Marina was wonderfully helpful in providing the information I needed and when he sensed my concern over the costs of holding a boat, he asked whether I had my heart set on a powered boat or whether I would be interested in a sailboat and explained to me the concept of Sailtime.
Very soon afterwards, my friends and I were on a “test sail” with Darrell at the wheel. The size of the boat, its creature comforts and beautiful finish were very impressive and soon my friends were urging me to take a more detailed investigation of the arrangement as they could see how much I enjoyed the experience.
I chose the more expensive option when joining the club because I felt it gave me more options to suit my lifestyle, however, if I lived close to or in Port Stephens, then this option would be without a doubt the best option because of its flexibility providing more options to use the boat.
After joining the club, I was given excellent training on how to take the boat out and bring it back without damaging it, as well as anchoring and navigating around the bay so that I could feel confident. This was so successful, I was able to be confident sufficiently to take the boat out myself with some friends the next day.
It is now over a year since I have been a member of club Sailtime and I look forward to each time I have the opportunity to go for a sail around the beautiful Port Stephens and improve my sailing ability and for the feel of the wind through the sails. My favourite anchorage is at Shoal Bay for lunch and a swim as well as cruising along being in the situation where I used to see others with envy.
The Port Stephens staff have been wonderfully helpful at all times and willing to help with the boat every time they are available. Nothing seems to be too much trouble for them.
