You'll Soon Be Able to Hire a Pet-Friendly BYO Picnic Boat to Sail Along the Geelong Waterfront

With summer on the horizon, we'll soon have another excuse to get out there and hit the water, as GoBoat finally splashes into Geelong.

Since 2014, the Denmark-born company has been busy launching its eco-friendly picnic boats all over Europe, as well as in Canberra, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney's Parramatta River. And now, from Monday, November 21, it's sailing along the Geelong waterfront as well.

Aimed at making the whole boating caper more accessible for everyday folk, the Scandinavian-designed vessels are slow-moving, a breeze to operate and don't require a boating licence, making for some fun, fuss-free sailing sessions. In a win for the planet, they also run on silent, pollution-free, electric engines, and are crafted from a mix of reclaimed timber and recycled PET bottles.

Each of the contemporary GoBoats clocks in at 18-feet long, boasting a central picnic table with room for eight people (and all the necessary snacks and booze). And despite what you might be thinking, they're even affordable enough to fit your budget — simply BYO food and drinks, find enough eager sailors to jump aboard and a GoBoat session will you less than $13 per person, per hour. A one-hour session starts from $99, with a five-hour sail setting your crew back $329–409.

GoBoat's Geelong fleet will be setting sail from Wangim Walk in conjunction with the Royal Geelong Yacht Club — and before you hit the water, you'll receive a safety briefing and demonstration. All boats are speed-limited, too, and obviously decked out with safety equipment including life jackets.

The vessels are family-friendly and, in even more exciting news, they're also pet-friendly. Surely you've got a very good boy who deserves a river jaunt this summer.

Lean Timms

Find GoBoat Geelong at Wangim Walk on the Geelong waterfront, from Monday, November 21. For more information or to make a booking, visit the service's website.