Whitsunday charter

jamesjermain

jamesjermain

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Next year, taking advantage of recent retirement, SWMBO and I are planning an extended visit to Australia. During the trip we hope to charter a boat in the Whitsunday Islands. We have the option to do the trip in February/March/April or October/November.

If anyone has experience of the islands which is the better time and is there a 'no go' time? Any advice would be appreciated.
 
I will pass this on to Aussie daughter but first thoughts are (a) the southern summer is the 'wet' in Queensland. (b) at some times of the year you need to wear 'stinger suits' when snorkelling. I'm told the diving/snorkelling is very tame after the Caribbean.

If you need any other suggestions on where to go in Oz....
 
Hi James
I chartered in the Whitsundays in July some years ago and we had a great time. We went with an outfit based in Airlie Beach and spent about 3 days working upwind to Goldsmith Island and then the rest of the week around Whitsunday and Hook Islands. Very enjoyable, almost as good as the Western Isles but with better weather! When we were there we found a lot of the anchorages particularly in the smaller islands quite open to a bit of swell making for less than ideal overnight stops but there are places where that's less of a problem. I think as long as you avoid the cyclone season the weather is pretty consistent; my brother lives in Oz and he makes the interesting point that the rainforest is much more interesting in the wet than the dry season.
 
hi look here www. totaltravel.com.au, will answer all you need .just go to where you wish to holiday here. places to stay charter what ever . if you need to know anything or you dont understand anything ,p.m me i will help in any way i can dave
 
Hi James
We are currently anchored off Magnetic Island just up the coast from the Whitsundays.We sailed through the Whitsundays 3 weeks ago and the weather was hit and miss with sun half the time and rain the other half (not tropical showers but proper English rain with a gale thrown in).
I believe spring (October/November) is the best time for cruising the islands just before the Cyclone season arrives but like anywhere else I guess luck has alot to do with it.
Either way I am sure you will enjoy your trip.

Andrew
 
Definitely Oct/Nov. Feb/Mar/Apr are part of the official cyclone season. From personal experience Feb will be very hot and sticky with showers many afternoons. The threat of a Cyclone is not so much getting caught in one, as the warnings are usually far enough ahead to easily get to safety, the real problem is potential disruption of long awaited (and travelled) holiday. Sept, Oct & Nov are considered the BEST months. Not too hot but warm and sunny.
Islands and anchorages will depend upon size of boat and whether you want to eat ashore or anchor in a bay surrounded by nature (and a few other boats). You will probably leave from Airlie Beach, this is the main source of victualling in the area. The next is Hamilton Is which has a thriving restaurant/bar/small shopping area around the marina. You can get most of what you may want but the choice is smaller and the prices higher. This is one of the only islands where you can get water AFIK. There are a few other islands with holiday resorts which welcome yachties (and others which don't) where you can eat ashore. Other than that you enjoy a huge range of bays to anchor. Smaller bareboat charter boats (less than 10m I think) may not be allowed around to the East side of Whistsunday and Hook Is. That is the way it used to be. Check if you will be restricted because it would be a shame to miss some of the sights that side.
The "bible" for the area is "100 Magic Miles" by David Colfelt. If you will be there for more than a few days it would be worth buying one before you go even though the boat you charter will most likely have one aboard. The information is wide-ranging and it is a great souvenir to keep (marked up with your own pilot notes of course) but it will answer many questions and raise a few more as you start your plans.
There will be others who have more up-to-date info than me, I was last there in 2000, but feel free to ask.
 
September / October best IMHO. Before the cyclones start and before marine stinger season (although the charter companies do recommend stinger suits for snorkelling all year round, but really the risk is low - the only time one of my family got stung was December). December through Feb can be really wet (like ruining a whole week's charter) even without a cyclone.
I chartered a Sunsail boat three weeks ago and really it was a bit grubby. In the past I have used the smaller comanies based in Airlie Beach and each time I have been impressed. Sunsail are based on Hamilton Island (which has an odd theme park feel - if they ever remade the series "The Prisoner" they could set it there) which has direct flights from Brisbane, Sydney. Airlie Beach a little more difficult to get to - I have driven up from my home in Brisbane but it's a fair hike at nearly 1000 kms. On the ther hand you can fly from Brisbane up to Townsville or Mackay, hire a care and it's a couple of hours along the coast.

The sailing is brilliant and it is beautiful. On our recent trip, excellent snorkelling up at Blue Pearl Bay, whales all over the place (Whale song audible through hull at night a bit eery), wind 15 - 20 knots 5 days out of 7. The must read book is "The 100 Magic Miles" by the Colfelts. In terms of boats, I think cats are the way to go for a WhitSundays holiday, even though I am a monohull sailor - you can get that much closer in to the beach, drinks don't spill etc. Hope you enjoy it.
 
jonf confirms my view and adds some. To add to his comments, you can fly to Proserpine (PPP) which is connected by 30-45min coach to Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour where most of the charter companies are located if your charter starts form the mainland.
 
I'm a teacher and so confined to UK school hols so I went last summer late July early August. Fantastic area. You MUST get hold of a copy of "100 Magic Miles" before you go - planning is half the fun and there's so much information about the area etc. We were a little unlucky in that there were strong wind warnings for 5 of the 8 days we were sailing. Apparently the following week there was hardly any wind at all. I don't know if this was because of the time of the season. We went with Whitsunday Escape and were very satisfied with their organisation - in fact I've just reserved my boat with them for next July.
 
Sorry not to respond to all these very useful responses at the time - having posted I was called away for a few days. Anyway, thanks for the info and the suggestions for follow ups - Scuttlebutt triumphs again /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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