After a super first ever Southern Hemisphere Sessions and Sail voyage in 2025, we will return to Australia in February 2026!

Join us as we set sail aboard the iconic 45-metre Brigantine 'Søren Larsen' for a week-long voyage out of Sydney Harbour; learn to sail the ship under the expert guidance of Captain Marty Woods and his crew; and join sessions led by musicians based from Scotland and Australia.

You may be familiar with Sessions and Sail's famous Scottish musical sailing voyages already! 

If not, know that we've been sailing around the Scottish Coast since 2018, from the north of Shetland, to the Hebrides, to Skye and to Islay, with the occasional cheeky crossing to Donegal, bringing the tunes and the festival to the islands and communities we visit.

Since 2025 we've been bringing the experience to Australia, and in February 2026 we'll sail out of Sydney again aboard the beautiful square-rigged ship Søren Larsen - we'd love you to join us!

Musicians of all ability are welcome; no sailing experience is required. We will be celebrating folk music of all kinds and origins - but we are particularly well placed to offer tuition and sessions in Scottish Traditional, Americana and Songwriter styles. 

So, sign up and come along - join the shanties as we hoist the Søren Larsen's main sail; play some tunes in the sun as we sail the coast; sit in on a session in the ship's saloon learning a Scottish March; pick up some Shetland music and sailing lore with Barry; and help Marty and the ship's crew operate this incredible sailing ship as we leave Sydney Heads behind, get the sails set and watch the coast unfold before us.

Background of the Ship - Brigantine Søren Larsen:

• Built in Denmark in 1949, the oak-hulled brigantine is now based in Sydney.
• The ship has historical and musical significance with Sessions and Sail.

Experience & What’s Included:

• The price includes all food, accommodation, sessions, and workshops.
• Music: We provide an encouraging environment for music sessions, suitable for all levels, from beginners to professionals.
• Sailing: Opportunity to engage with the ship’s crew, handle sailing activities like steering and working the sails, or just relax and enjoy the views.
• Workshops & Sessions: Music workshops with experienced tutors aboard who have been part of Scottish sailing voyages.

You will be allocated a berth in one of Soren Larsen's seven double cabins - or in one of her two four-berth cabins. For solo travellers, cabins will be allocated on a same-sex basis; if two people travelling together wish to share a cabin, we recommend booking early to ensure availability.

There are three shower/toilet rooms below decks; these are shared.

Cabin space is small but cosy, and evocative of an earlier age of travel. if you like an adventure you'll love it.

Meals are prepared in the deck house galley; these are of a high standard and prepared by the ship's full-time cook. Meals, tea and coffee are included in the price of the trip.

The lower deck saloon is warm and evocative, providing an ideal place for everyone to eat together, and a great session space. In good weather, we will spend the bulk of our time on deck, eating and playing tunes in the open air.

Please note that the Soren Larsen is a ship built in 1949 - getting around the ship and above and below decks requires a degree of mobility and ability to negotiate stairs. 

If you have mobility issues it is best to check your suitability for this voyage - please send us a message and we'll be happy to advise!

Sessions and Sail recognise that, in voyaging in Australia, we are visiting lands and waters that were the sovereign homelands of the original people of the Australian continent, and that this sovereignty was never ceded.

Sessions and Sail originated in Scotland, travelling to islands and coastal communities and often playing music that is deeply connected to our own region. In bringing our project and music to Australia, we are open and keen to collaborate and share with folk music and traditions from Australia and from other parts of the world.

On this voyage we are likely to visit lands that belonged to the original nations of the Kuring-gai, Awabakal, Worimi, Eora and Tharawal people. 

Sessions and Sail acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country in the regions we will be visiting, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present. 

The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Nisbet Marine Services/Sessions and Sail, Member Number 5533, and in the event of their insolvency,  protection is provided for:

 -  Non-flight packages

ABTOT  cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Nisbet Marine Services/Sessions and Sail.

In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.

You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here

You can find out more about ABTOT here

Head for Campbell's Cove, Sydney harbour - right next to the famous bridge! - where the beautiful brigantine Søren Larsen is ready to welcome you aboard.

We'll board at 10am; a cup of tea and a chat on deck, you'll fins your bunk and stow your gear, then captain Marty Woods will gather the crew and welcome everyone aboard!

After a safety chat and an introduction from the crew, we'll have some lunch on deck, and the chance to have a chat with your musical tutors for the week.

Then, with lunch cleared away, we'll get the Søren Larsen ready for sea.

Our itinerary for the week will depend on the weather - we want to get this ship under sail as much as possible! But it's likely we'll stay inside the Sydney Bay area for this day. You'll see stunning views of the harbour and the city; and a first opportunity to help get the ship under sail.

We will keep a close eye on the weather forecast; if conditions outside are less than ideal, we may spend more of our trip in Sydney Bay - there are thousands of anchorages in this, one of the World's largest natural harbours.

By evening we're at one of these anchorages, in time for a drink before dinner; then it's time for our first group session on board; we gather on the aft deck and play some tunes together.

We wake at our anchorage, enjoying the morning sun and the view of Sydney Bay.

After a breakfast on deck, we get the anchor up; we're headed to sea!

Depending on the wind forecast, we may have decided to head North; or it may be better to head South. Either way, we get the Søren Larsen sailing. This ship is famous for her shanties, and hearty halyard songs ring out as the sails go up; we sail out beyond the Heads of Sydney Bay and into the Pacific Ocean. Our tutor Barry Nisbet has sailed over 60,000 miles in the Pacific abord this ship; there will no doubt be some stories to be heard from him and Captain Marty, who is a shipmate from those days!

As we sail along, our tutors will encourage some music; whether it's a smaller session on the foredeck, a big session near the wheel, some one-to-one tuition in the ship's office or a workshop in the saloon, there will be something for everyone.

If we've headed North, it's a five hour sail to the Hawkesbury River; or we may have headed South where a 10-hour sail takes us to Wollongong. If it's Wollongong, those among us who are still up for more head ashore to a Wollongong Irish bar and play a few tunes!

If we've headed South, we have the morning ashore to explore Wollongong, a city of 300,000 and Australia's tenth-largest; backed by forested hills and boasting some stunning beaches, the fishing harbour is also well worth a stroll, and the breakwater lighthouse is one of Australia's oldest.

Back aboard for lunch, we sail on in the afternoon. If the breeze suits, Jarvis Bay may be a good destination. It's a 50-mile passage, so we instigate the watch system aboard Søren Larsen, with the 12-4, the 4-8 and the 8-12 all getting a shot. It's likely to be midnight by the time we make our anchorage at Jervis Bay.

(If we've headed North instead, we will instead spend today exploring the Hawkesbury River and Kuring-gai Chase National Park area, a forested, hilly area of stunning natural beauty, with hikes, wild country and hundreds of anchoring spots.)

If we've headed North and are in the Hawkesbury River area, today we start the day with a music workshop, after breakfast - learning a tune that we can all enjoy for the rest of the trip. There's then time for breakout sessions - a bit of individual work with your tutors, going over this or other tunes.

Today it's also worth considering a piece of music you  might like to play - either solo or with a shipmate - at our final evening on board, back in Sydney Bay. This will be an informal and supportive evening, just for ourselves, with the emphasis on fun - but can give a nice focus to the music we will play along the way.

After lunch we raise Søren's anchor and sail for Dangar Island, home of a vibrant creative community. We anchor up, and head ashore that evening aboard the ship's dinghies and play tunes with some local musicians.

The true sailors' stories come out on the night watches! Barry, Captain Marty and the crew all have fond experiences of nights aboard Søren Larsen under sail, no sound except the whoosh of the wake, sails puling gently, white-lit in the moonlight. Maybe tonight will be one of those!

We'll depart our anchorage after lunch, and get the ship sailing as a crew; once underway, watches will be set - the whole ship's company, except those crew members designated as 'idlers' - the Engineer, Cook, Carpenter - will be assigned to one of the three watches.

We have quiet time after dinner as the night watches rest up; sailing through the night on our way back towards Sydney Bay, we steer, keep lookout, trim the sails as necessary, and attend to the ship's work under the leadership of the Captain, Mate and 2nd Mate.

As the day breaks, the sun appearing over the Eastern horizon, we will be getting close to Sydney. We sail back beween the Heads, then find a nice anchorage to spend the rest of the day at.

At Manly Cove, Balmoral Beach or any one of a dozen anchorages in Sydney Bay, we may head ashore for a stroll, visit the beach, or work out some music on board. 

In the evening, after dinner and ideally on the open deck, we gather all together and perform to our shipmates the music we have been preparing!

We have a breakfast together as the ship heads back to Campbell's Cove; once alongside, we say our farewells and look ahead to the next adventure!