Ready for an adventure?

Learn to sail in Auckland,
New Zealand!

Sailing Away offers sailing courses and lessons for all ages and all levels of experience aboard ‘French Connection’: a modern, tiller-equipped, 32-foot Beneteau Oceanis yacht.

We offer:

Learning to sail is made easy with small classes with a maximum of five participants, and a range of options from single sessions to three-day courses. Our courses cover all practical aspects of helmsmanship, seamanship, personal safety and navigation.

Proudly affiliated with Yachting New Zealand, Sailing Away School of Sailing provides a range of courses, suitable for first-timers through to seasoned sailors, including recognised Yachting NZ qualifications.

Gift vouchers are available! Contact us to purchase these, or for more information.

DISCOVER OUR SAILING COURSES
BOOK A SKIPPERED CHARTER
A sailboat with several people on board sailing on the ocean, with a partly cloudy sky above.
Sailboat named 'French Connection' with four people on board at a marina filled with other boats under a partly cloudy sky.
Woman sitting on a sailboat looking at a marina with numerous docked boats and sailboats under a partly cloudy sky.
Group of people on a white sailboat with red life jackets, sailing on water with a hilly landscape in the background.
Three women sail on a boat under a partly cloudy sky, wearing life jackets and sunglasses.
Group of seven people wearing red life jackets on a sailboat, with one person steering, on a sunny day with blue sky and water.
A white sailboat with several people on board sailing on the water under a partly cloudy sky.
A sailboat with multiple crew members sailing on the ocean under partly cloudy skies.
A red life buoy on a boat, with a marina and multiple boats docked in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
A woman operating a winch on a boat, wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a red life vest, with a city skyline and blue sky in the background.
A sailboat with white sails on the water with a hilly island in the background under a clear blue sky.
Person wearing a red life jacket and blue gloves working with ropes on a sailboat in the water.
Four people sitting on the edge of a white sailboat, with two of them hanging off the side over the water, sailing on an ocean or large lake on a sunny day.
Three people on a white sailboat named 'French Connection' sailing on blue water with cloudy sky, all wearing life jackets and sailing gear.
A person standing on a sailboat with a blue sky and water in the background.
A group of five people wearing life jackets and sunglasses, steering a boat on a sunny day with a clear blue sky.

Your instructor

Suzanne Bourke has spent a lifetime on the water, sailing everything from dinghies to keelboats.

With more than 26 years of classroom teaching experience and five decades devoted to sailing instruction, she has guided people of all ages and nationalities in mastering the art of sailing. Suzanne is a qualified Yachting New Zealand instructor, has served as sailing master at two Auckland yacht clubs, and was a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor for 21 years.

Sailing Away School of Sailing is proudly affiliated with Yachting New Zealand and offers courses for beginners through to advanced sailors, including Yachting NZ qualifications.

With Suzanne’s patience, expertise, and passion, you’ll feel completely at ease sailing aboard ‘French Connection’.

An older woman with short brown hair, wearing sunglasses, a striped navy and white shirt, a watch, blue gloves, and a red life jacket, holding a red rope on a sailboat on the water under a blue sky with clouds.

Get in touch!

Whether you’re curious about our charters, want to have a chat about your first lesson, or just keen to find out more, we’d love to hear from you.

Please use the contact form to get in touch with us, or head straight over to our booking form if you’re ready to get on the water.

  • "Sailing Away offers an assurance of competency for our members. Suzanne is raising the level of professionalism in sailing."

    Laurie Lowther, YachtShare