Pittwater - The ideal cruising ground

by Helen Hopcroft on 23 Jul 2007 Every year people hop on planes or bash their way up the NSW East Coast in search of the perfect cruising ground. Some cover thousands of miles in their search for beautiful landscapes, tranquillity and great fishing. Ironically they may be overlooking an area that has all these virtues in abundance: Pittwater. Less than an hour’s drive from Sydney’s CBD and flanked by National Parks, the area is often called ‘Sydney’s best kept secret.’

Englishman David Biddle recognized the potential of the area as soon as he saw it. The keen sailor cut his teeth racing in the Solent, later cruising in some of the world’s most lovely waters: Greece, the Caribbean and Brittany. Late last year he took over management of the well established Pittwater Yacht Charter business and is now expanding the operation further.

David Biddle’s vision for his business is simple: he wants to ‘give more people more ways to go boating more often.’ He believes that many people get turned off boating because they think it is elitist, overly time consuming or too costly. He wants to change this perception by offering more ways to get on the water that suit most budgets, lifestyles and levels of experience.

With the charter service as his foundation business, he now operates 6 distinct marine businesses under the banner of ‘The Smart Boating Group.’ Each of the 6 businesses offer a way for people to take advantage of some fabulous cruising grounds, on a boat they like and at a price that suits.

‘First we have the charter business’ he explained ‘which is the foundation of what the business has been built on. We offer both bareboat and skippered charters on Pittwater.’

Bareboat charters are available on a range of vessels including Bavaria 44, 42 and 34, Seawind 1000, Beneteau Oceanis 393 and Beneteau 373, and a Hanse 34: there’s something to suit groups of all sizes and experience.

Skippered charters can accommodate between 2 and 20 people with the option of all arrangements such as transfers and provisioning taken care of by charter staff. It may be a good option if you are an experienced sailor but with less experienced crew on board, want to entertain colleagues or staff or have limited time and would like to rely on the skipper’s local knowledge to guide you through Pittwater’s best sights.


‘We then have our syndicate business which is currently operated exclusively with Hanse Yachts. We now manage a fleet of seven boats ranging from 37’ to 47’. Each boat is owned by up to ten syndicate members and we manage it on behalf of the owners.’

Boat ownership via syndication is becoming an increasingly popular way for busy people to access luxury vessels without the financial burden of sole ownership or the time demands of maintenance. Running costs are shared amongst the owners and it’s a walk on/walk off system: management takes care of all repairs and maintenance. You have the choice of purchasing one or more shares in the syndicate, which gives you a corresponding stake in the boat, depending on how much time on the water you want.

For each share purchased in the Hanse syndicate, members are allocated 9 weekend and 1 public holiday days per year, as well as 24 mid-week days. Days can be taken individually or in blocks with the annual maintenance budget allowing for up to 15 ‘uses’ per year to encourage overnight and longer bookings.

‘The reason we picked Hanse is because they’re a boat that ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of people. They have a self tacking headsail which makes them very easy to sail if you’re single handed or maybe just a couple on board.’

‘They’re modern and contemporary in their design. They have an epoxy hull which makes them light and strong, so from a safety point of view they’re a good boat to have, and the lightness gives them good performance too. People really appreciate that whole mix of benefits: modern styling, safety, performance and a boat that really does give good value for money.’

‘For those who prefer power to sail, we are about to launch a Fjord 40 Cruiser syndicate – manufactured alongside Hanse Yachts these stylish cruisers offer a radically new design and great styling and have already been tagged as the 'coolest motor boats on the water'’.

The third arm of the Smart Boating Group business is a sailing school with YA qualified instructors offering training for everyone from complete novices to highly experienced sailors.

‘It’s everything from Introduction to Sailing, Competent Crew, Inshore Skipper, Day Skipper, but we can also do tailor made courses if a particular person wants to do a private lesson on marina berthing, anchoring or offshore navigation for instance.’

‘We also run what we call ‘A Taste of Sailing experience’ for people who have always fancied getting out on the water and just want to have a go and see what it’s all about.’

The 4 hour experience has proved to be a very popular option for people who have always wanted to try sailing, who have sailed in the past and are keen to get back on the water or who are considering doing a YA course.

‘It’s $99. We need a minimum of four people and maximum of six. It’s basically a bit of a lesson, but it’s designed for fun and the opportunity to see what it’s all about. We run it around school drop off and pick up times, so it’s a great opportunity for a group of girls to get together and go out on their own without their husbands.’


Team sailing activities make up the fourth arm of the Smart Boating Group. Activities are tailored for specific groups: friends may want to get involved in team racing or activity days with treasure hunts and rallies. Corporations can make team sailing part of a business workshop or training ‘where we’ll work with a business coach to put together a program.’

‘It maybe a corporation that’s facing a change or a challenge in the workplace. We use operating the boat as a team as an analogy of the business world in order to help corporates overcome those changes facing them.’


David Biddle is about to launch the fifth arm of his business: a Yacht Club with annual membership that gives people an opportunity to sail boats from the charter fleet at discounted club rates.

‘They’re advantageous rates anyway, but they’re also further discounted for off peak/mid week use. People who want to sail on a regular basis can basically charter the boats for some very attractive rates. It works well for the owners because the boats obviously get used more, through the off peak as well as the main peak period. And it’s just another way of getting people out on the water. The annual membership will be $6,999.’


The final arm of the Smart Boating Group is a program for charter boat owners.

‘It’s for people who are looking at investing in charter boats. By putting a boat into our fleet they get the benefit of generating an income from their boats, as well as the lifestyle returns of having access to a boat whenever they want it.’

If you like boats and want to get out on the water more often one of these options: charter, syndicate ownership, sailing school, team sailing, Yacht Club or charter ownership is sure to have the features that you’re looking for.

Contact details
Address: Smart Boating Group, Bayview Anchorage, 1714 Pittwater Road
City: Bayview
State: NSW
Postcode: 2104
Country: Australia
Phone: 02 9997 5344
info@smartboating.com.au

http://www.smartboating.com.au