A Private Sydney Harbour Cruise Charter

A private Sydney Harbour cruise with Ucruisesydney is all about sunshine, salt water and good food. Find out what chartering a catamaran to sail on a weekend in Sydney Harbour involves, what it is like and what is included!

After watching the weather forecast for weeks, our sailing day in Sydney Harbour is finally here. Sydney's unpredictable weather can be fickle and when I wake up, I get a message from the team at Ucruisesydney who we have a harbour cruise booked with. Because of the westerly that is coming in in the afternoon we have been switched from our floating lounge boat to a luxury catamaran which is actually even nicer and better suited to the conditions. Safety first!

Ucruisesydney has a range of different boats with nearly 200 boats available for hire. They range from floating lounge boats for around 12 people for $325 an hour to luxury superyachts from $2,200 an hour. The Elysium II catamaran comes from the Whitsundays and is a Seawind 1160. The cost is $500 an hour for up to 30 guests with a minimum of 3 hours. Today we're celebrating Laura's birthday with Laura, Lima Lima Delta, Mr NQN and I.

We arrive at Sydney Aquarium wharf and Ian the skipper pulls up at 12 o'clock on the dot and we board the boat. Mr NQN is a keen sailor and used to sail competitively before discovering wing foiling while Lima Lima Delta is in the Navy, so he's also a sailor of a different kind.

The boat can fit up to 30 people and has a full bathroom including shower and a kitchen. There are bedrooms on board but these are only accessible for overnight hires.

There's a compact kitchen with a mini fridge and drinking water. There are paper plates, cups and cutlery provided and there were also proper glasses and plates in the kitchen too and a bluetooth speaker to play music.

Guests have the option to BYO food and drink or they can also pre-order some catering packs. We tried the cheese and charcuterie pack which has a minimum of eight people for $25 per person. It has a nice range of items from salami, cheese, olives, pickles, and a taramasalata dip.

If you had eight people eating this this would be enough to pick at. You also have the option of ordering from Nick's seafood in Darling Harbour. There's also a barbecue on board where the skipper will cook for you if you bring the food.

Because Laura and I overcater, we brought our own food along to eat with the charcuterie and cheese platter. She sent Lima Lima Delta on a trip to the fish markets that morning where he picked up some sushi tacos and sushi while she baked focaccia and peeled prawns for some prawn focaccia sandwiches.

I made some salads like Japanese potato salad and rocket and pear salad. I also brought the ingredients for a limoncello spritzes and condiments for the prawns and oysters.

As soon as we board we are off and start off by cruising around the harbour and nibbling on the cheese and charcuterie board and sushi with limoncello spritz. It's gorgeously sunny with a mild breeze we make our way out of the harbour towards towards the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. Laura and I climb onto the trampoline and feel the salt water splash us as we near the bridge.

Because these are private charters, they are completely flexible and they can go wherever you want. We played it by ear because of the weather and with the westerly coming in we decided to head to a protected area of Taylor's Bay.

It's a very popular bay with very calm waters and lot of people swimming off their boats. Before I know it Lima Lima Delta has cannonballed into the water followed by Mr NQN.

Then Ian brings out the lily pad and Laura dips her toes in the water. The water has a chilly edge to it today so she climbs up on the lilypad. There's also the option to stand up paddle board included in the tariff. All you need to do is bring your swimmers and a towel.

After a swim it's time for lunch. Laura makes us some prawn sandwiches with chips based on one that Laura had at Uncut Seafood delicatessan in Bondi. She woke up at 6am to make the focaccia and peel the prawns. She spreads the focaccia with plenty of soft butter and then piles on prawns, mayonnaise, lemon juice, lettuce and potato chips on the side. They're delicious especially with the crunchy chips in each bite. As the westerly comes in we close the windows and are ensconced in the main saloon area.

This is followed with birthday cake - a classic marble cake with pink icing just as the birthday girl requested. Four hours passes very quickly when you're on the harbour and before we know it, we are making our way back to the Sydney Aquarium wharf past the laughing face of Luna Park.

So tell me Dear Reader, what food would you bring on a cruise? Or would you order food? Would you swim in the harbour, do stand up paddleboarding or float on a lilypad?

Ucruisesydney