Gary The Boatie

Skipper School

2011-04-02T05:25:00.000-07:00

At the Pleasure Cruising Club we take training very seriously. To drive our sports cruisers you must attend a one on one training course with one of our Coxwain instructors. We cover topics such as :

Parking the boat safely at the Marina
Navigation Skills
Rope Skills
High Speed Boating

Weather Foecasting

The introctory course is 5 hours on the water instruction.

Sam Newman on board our Mustang 38 Sports Cruiser!

2010-12-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

MTR Radio 1377 did a broadcast at St Kilda Marina and Sam Newman did a live radio broadcast on board our Mustang 3800 Royal Sports Cruiser. It was 6:30am on a windy day and Pleasure Cruising Club organised to pick up Sam from Beacon's Cove Marina and drop him off at St Kilda Marine.

This is what Sam had to say.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHI0YvRTsvg

Never Launch a Boat Like This

2010-06-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

At The Pleasure Cruising Club we take training very seriously. We know of many stories that new boaties take their boat out for the 1st time and run aground or run out of fuel or have berthing accidents causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage. Before you can take one of our boats on a maiden voyage you must attend our boat school courses. On the water there is no RACV to provide waterside assistance to boat owners. We however provide fleet support and provide a number you can call if you have any questions while out on the Bay.

Quick Quiz: What is the correct fuelling procedure?

The Answer:

* Berth the Boat, have all your passengers leave the boat and stay well clear.

* Turn off all electronics

* Fuel the boat with the correct fuel in the correct cap. (Some caps are for water and its a common mistake to put water into the fuel tank)

* Fill up to the 1st click never overfill.

* Turn on the electronics

* Turn on the engine blower and remove the vapours from the engine bay for at least 4 minutes.

* Start your engines

*Invite your passengers back on board.

So attend our skipper school and join the club and enjoy safe boating.

Did you pass?

Out attached photo is an actual accident for a new boatie who had the wrong instructions to put the boat into the water!

A Nice Winter's Day on Port Phillip Bay

2010-06-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

This morning it was a sunny day with no wind, a perfect day to go boating. I went on-line and booked a stand-by day on the http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/ website, when its a great day you just have to be flexible and go boating. The great thing about a boat share arrangement you don't have to worry about cleaning, maintenance of the boats. You just step on and off and all is taken care of for you.

I contacted a few friends and descided to go to Sandringham Yacht Club for drinks and lunch. On the way we had a special treat. Just off Sandringham there was a pod of dolphins swimming about. We stopped the engines and enjoyed watching the dolphins play. After the show we headed into Sandy and had a great afternoon.

There is a perception that boating is something to do in Summer, however having a boat like a Mustang Sports Cruiser allows you to go boating all year round. The canopies keep the heat in and the cold air out.

Check out the youtube video we took today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cneVU39PxHQ

On Holidays in Venice

2010-04-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Arrived after a 30hrs travelling time from Melbourne to Venice. Venice is the closest thing to Boatie heaven. All forms of transport are by sea. To get any where around Venice is by ferry or by water taxi which themselves are a work of art. Our hotel is about 5 minute walk to the ferry station and today we took a ferry ride to Milano where the glass works are. It's amazing to sea how a city can function without any cars. All deliveries is by boat. All transportation is by boat and if you you think what we pay for petrol is expensive in Melbourne then you in for a shock in Italy, marine fuel is over $2.50 a litre!

Its a beautiful city and recommend a visit! My wife loves the shopping!

http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/

Sunday 14th March 2010

2010-03-14T03:28:00.000-07:00

We woke up at "Sandy" today to another sensational boating day. Its the best kept secret that the best boating days are late in the season, March-May. We headed off after breakfast to Queencliff Marina. The weather was perfect to take the Mustang Luxury Sports Cruiser for a run. I programmed the GPS to provide the most direct course between Sandy and Quenscliff and off we went!

The time we left was 10:00am and we arrived at 11:30am cruising at 21knots at 3100 RPM which is the optimal speed for the Mustang to get on a plane. We phoned ahead to make sure that a berth was free at the Marina. There is no cost staying during the day.

The marina has been recently been upgraded and there is plenty to do and lots of shops. There is a historic railway for the kids and is a 15 minutes walk to the centre of town. We met some friends at Queenscliff and had lunch. The kids played in the park and we visted the railway. We also visited the beach and had a great time.

We left Queencliff at 4:00pm and hit the mouth of the Yarra by 5:30pm averaging 21knot. It's a destination the family and I would like to come back to and spend more time at.

Friday, 12th March 2010

2010-03-13T02:47:00.000-08:00

Today was an amazing boating day. Winds were from the South less than 10 knots and not a cloud in the sky. We were off to Sandringham Yacht Club, called "Sandy" for short amongst boaties. It took about 50 minutes to arrive from Docklands and we phoned the Marina Manager and had a berth waiting for us. Our plan was to stay for Friday and Saturday night at the yacht club and sleep on board on the Mustang 38 Royal Sports Cruiser.

Friday night we invited the relatives over for dinner at the Club and had a great meal and had a few drinks at the bar. Being a member of "Sandy" is great. Its a brand new club house with sensational views and facilities and the staff are very helpful. We then crashed on the boat at night to the gentle sound of the wind through the rigging.

Next day on Saturday we stayed put at "Sandy" and my six year old said but dad what were we going to do today! The answer was simple, we asked lots of friends over to Sandy and the kids have a ball going playing on the boat. We had several of our friends arrive at different times and they all enjoyed themselves on the boat. Also is great to slow the clock down and spend actual quality time with your family and Kids. You get the board games out and play on the boat, but remember to switch off the iphone and put the laptop away!

At Sandy they had a fund raiser so we were also entertained with live music. We thought we should have our six year old go to sleep at 8:30pm but the music was still going. So our family decided to dance to the music on top of the Mustang's foredeck under the stars! How cool was that!

Today was a day well spent! Tomorrow, Sunday a new adventure, we head from Sandy to Queenscliff across the Bay.

www.pleasurecruising.com.au

Nick Riewoldt Joins the Club

2010-03-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

We are honoured to have Nick Riewoldt, Captain of St Kilda Football Club join us.

"Pleasure Cruising's walk on/off service gives me more time to enjoy boating with my family and friends" Nick Riewoldt.

Nick enjoys using the Sea Ray Sports Cruiser in the Bay for a spot of fishing and relaxing on the Bay. The boat is all prepared, cleaned and fuelled up ready to be taken out. When Nick has finsished boating for the day, the team at The Pleasure Cruising Club take care of the rest. The boat is cleaned and put back in the berth. Nick hands back the boat keys and has no further worries with the boat.

So to meet Nick at our next Club Social day, join now. Listen, see and experience what Nick has to say here

www.pleasurecruising.com.au

Celebrating the New Year 2010

2009-12-31T22:58:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated the new year , 2010 and we did not have to take the Mustang Sports Cruiser anywhere, the fun was to be had at New Quay Marina at Docklands. We invited our friends to join us and organised a BBQ on the boat. It was great to share the evening with our special friends. We has the excitement of having a electrical thunderstorm arrive which brought relief from the heat come with wild winds, however Docklands provides safe anchorage for most conditions.

We partied on and enjoyed the spectacular fireworks at 9:30pm and again at midnight. The kids enjoyed themselves and all of us had a wonderful time.

http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/

Melbourne Racing on the Yarra

2009-11-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

We are shuttling our Corporate client and their guests from Docklands to Flemington via the Yarra river. We arranged a pickup at 9:00am from Docklands and will drop them off on a floating pontoon on the river at the track. We organised the Luxury Mustang Sports Cruiser to be fully provisioned with drinks so they would be chilled for the right temperature for the journey back. Our client will be entertaining thirty of their guests over the comming race days. Deals were being negotiating and relationships were being forged between our client and their guests while the world floated by. The ladies are all dressed up looking very elegant in their spring attire. Everyone was having a great time. We arranged for our client to call us when they were ready to come back by mobile phone and delivered them back to Docklands at 5:30pm. The drinks were chilled and all was well.

Gary the Boatie

http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/

A Happy wife is a happy Life!

2009-10-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

Many people ask me about boating in Melbourne and what you can do. I am a member and owner of Pleasure Cruising Club (http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/) and get to use a Luxury Sports Cruiser's as part of timeshare arrangement. So I'll publish a journal of of the great times we have to inspire other boaties to do the same. "Once a boatie always a boatie"

Today Wednesday the 28th October 2009 I went on a date night with my wife on the boat. Just got back from overseas and we needed some quality time away together, "a happy wife is a happy life". We arrived at Williamstown Marina at 4:30pm and loaded up our gear and cruised down to Yarra's Edge marina on the Mustang 38ft Sports Cruiser. It only took about 30 minutes cruising down the Yarra river at 5 knots. The winds were gentle and the water was calm. We organised a booking at the Marina the day before which cost $50 for the night. When we cruised to the Bolte bridge we rang the Marina and they met us at the berth and gave us a hand to tie up the boat. We went to their office and registered in. A bag of towels and soaps were provided. We sat on the boat my wife read a book and I went about my business tinkering on the boat finding lots of things to do. We went to on of the cafes at the Marina and ordered dinner. The owners were great and brought the food to the boat and ate there. The boat is equipped with plates, pots and cutlery so it was great to have a dinner on the boat. After dinner its only a ten minutes walk up to Crown Casino where we saw a movie. After the movie we had a romantic walk back to the boat and stayed on board the boat overnight. We woke up to have magnificent weather conditions, no wind, no clouds and clear blue sky. Had a shower on the boat and found another cafe and had breakfast. Took about 30 minutes to have a gentle cruise at 5 knots back to Williamstown. We stopped at Pier 35 and filled up the boat which cost about $70.00 in unleaded fuel. Left the boat there and went to work the next morning. My wife had a great time and so did I. She is keen to do it again. Stay tuned for our next adventure.

Yarra's Edge Marina: Service was great, recommend them. *****