For Mark Dalgleish and his daughter Elodie boating is in the blood – and the family business. They both grew up boating on Sydney Harbour and the business is an extension of their love for the water and the wonderful cruising the harbour has to offer.
The local people often tell the best stories and share their personal recommendations that you would easily have missed on your own. As visitors, we trust that the locals give their best advice so that we can experience the true culture and character of the city and sometimes these recommendations become the highlight of the trip that makes our visit feel complete.
"It was actually my daughter Elodie who came up with the idea for the business having worked as a qualified skipper driving RIBs in the South of France,” says Mark.
“There are plenty of choices of Sydney Harbour tours on big boats, but we offer something more special: a chance to see the less well known and more beautiful parts of the harbour," Mark Dalgleish explains. The private cruise will not only take you to stunning waterfront suburbs and secluded beaches, you will also see all the favourite harbourside hotspots and must-see landmarks.
Sydney is built on the world’s largest natural harbour with more than 240 kilometres of coastline and plenty of hidden gems to discover. While Syndey’s most iconic landmarks, the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge are both worth a visit, the city has so much more to offer. Just a little further up the harbour, you’ll find picturesque views, unspoilt beaches, and secluded bays that only locals know of. If you like to explore off the beaten track and having a more authentic experience, getting in touch with the local people and culture is a great way to go.
Spectre, their Axopar 37 Sun Top is perfectly suited to this job, especially given the adaptations that Mark has made to the boat's deck.
“For us, seating capacity is everything so I opted to fit two aft-facing seats where the wetbar would usually be and, after Axopar sent me two spare seats, I had a local shipwright make detachable mounts so I can fit them just forward of the engines if needs be,” Mark explains.
With mid-range performance and reliability his biggest concern, the boat is fitted with a pair of 250hp Mercury Verados but even with a full complement of passengers, the boat will comfortably cruise at 25 knots. “We have seen 40 knots out of her with a lighter load,” Mark adds, “but we’ve done 1,000 hours in two years so it’s the ease of maintenance that is most important to us.”
