In March 2020, we were days away from completing our annual maintenance at Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard in preparation for the busiest charter season we had booked since arriving in Australia two years prior. The announcement was made that Queensland was closing its borders to New South Wales, the home of our charter guests. It would have rendered our charter season null and void.

Fortune favours the brave and, looking at the long-range weather forecast, I could see we had some exceptionally beautiful weather ahead of us. We contacted the charter guests scheduled for collection on Hamilton Island in mid-April and suggested they come early before the border closure, joining us for the full cruise up the Queensland coast. They agreed and our crew set to work provisioning, arranging activities, and preparing the yacht for what would become a six-week charter.

Heading out

The guests joined us at the Southport Yacht Club a matter of days later and we had a short cruise on the Broadwater with their Gold Coast-based friends. The following morning, we headed out through the Southport Seaway into the Coral Sea and headed north to the tip of Moreton Island. This route can be exposed to the prevailing southeasterly winds of South East Queensland, yet the winds and swell were mild, making it a pleasant journey.

With light southeasterly breezes, we were able to anchor at the very northern beaches of Moreton Island (Five Hills 27°01’53.5″S 153°24’37.2″E). This is a relatively unprotected anchorage and is best in conditions of limited swell and winds with a lot of south in them.

From there, we spent a couple of days exploring the western coastline of Moreton Island and the Tangalooma Wrecks anchorage, which is very popular with the local cruising fraternity. This anchorage, like many others in this itinerary, has not featured on yacht charter itineraries yet are charming, and can offer something different to guests.

We departed Moreton Island late at night to cross the Wide Bay Bar (25°48’02.6″S 153°05’13.5″E). This Bar sits at the southern end of Fraser Island (indigenous name K-gari) and marks the entrance to the Great Sandy Straits, the shallow protected waters on the south-east coastline of the island. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and its land and surrounding waters are protected as a national park.

I’m not sure I would recommend usually crossing the Wide Bay Bar with guests on board, yet we were lucky to have good weather and a smooth crossing.

After 18 years as a mariner in Australia, this itinerary has reinforced to me that there are many places as yet undiscovered by the yachting community.

However, many require specific weather conditions and the time constraints of a yacht charter make it difficult to include them. With all the challenges COVID-19 has placed on the yachting fraternity, time was one thing we had and we could therefore pick and choose when to passage and when not to.

The guests loved the Sandy Straits and the pristine environment of the national park. We stopped at the bay adjacent to the Kingfisher Bay Resort for a night before heading to Rooney Point (24°49’16.0″S 153°07’24.4″E). Rooney Point was amazing and a total surprise for the guests. It is on the northeastern section of Fraser Island and sits on the edge of Hervey Bay.

This area is well known for witnessing the migration of humpback whales each year. So much so we could see and hear the whales from our anchorage position off the point. Although this is a national park, you are permitted to fish, and the fishing was superb.

The crew took the opportunity to undertake provisioning at this point in the itinerary. They took the tender across to the Urangan Boat Harbour (25°17’35.3″S 152°54’45.3″E) where the marina staff were very accommodating allowing them to tie up and arranged a taxi to the local supermarkets in Hervey Bay’s township. The coastline of Australia is extensive with sections without suitable provisioning for a yacht. Planning the provisioning stops is as important as planning the itinerary and Hervey Bay was successful from that point of view.

From Fraser Island, we cruised to Lady Musgrave Island (23°53’31.4″S 152°24’30.2″E) and spent three days there. Lady Musgrave Island is a small island surrounded by coral reef and is the southernmost island in the Bunker Group. You approach the lagoon through a small channel on the northeast side of the fringing reef. Once in the lagoon, guests can easily access the island and coral bommies.

After ten days of charter, it was now mid-April and the weather was still wonderful resulting in astoundingly good underwater visibility. Our charter guests were fitness-focused so many of our destinations were selected on how active they could be. For divers and snorkelling enthusiasts, Lady Musgrave is ideal.

Next stop

After three days, we continued north through the Bunker Group to Fitzroy Reef (23°37’13.5″S 152°09’12.4″E) to some excellent fishing. We spent one night here before the weather began to close behind us and we cruised to the Percy Island Group and its star, Middle Island.

More commonly known as Middle Percy, it is an iconic destination for cruising boat owners. Our primary charter guest was an accomplished sailor and had cruised this section of coast in his younger years with his father. It was a very nostalgic return.

Middle Percy has an interesting history. West Bay (21°39’06.5″S 150°14’34.3″E) is probably most well-known for its Robinson Crusoe style Yacht Club. It is a great place for sunset drinks.  Yet we anchored in Rescue Bay (21°40’16.2″S 150°15’06.1″E) – ideal in northerly winds – as it has extensive sandhills which the guests used for their morning exercise and access West Bay by tender instead. There are also several walking tracks on the island for those active guests.

I had never taken guests to Middle Percy before, yet it was successful and I would consider it again.

From Middle Percy, we headed to Keswick Island (20°55’18.1″S 149°24’47.1″E) and from there it is only a half a day there then onto the Whitsunday Island Group. The Whitsundays are arguable the jewel in the Queensland coast’s crown and we spent a good ten days cruising the area. Aside from its clear natural beauty, the Whitsundays are so attractive as a charter destination because of the wide choice of anchorages offer. A total of 74 islands make up the group, many with narrow inlets and protected bays. There is always somewhere to anchor in shelter.

At the centre of the Whitsunday Island Group, is Hamilton Island (20°20’48.8″S 148°56’50.0″E) and another reason which makes this region an excellent charter destination. Hamilton Island has an airport that accepts private jets. This was invaluable to us as we had guests coming and going; one jet even landed at midnight. Within 15 minutes of the jet touching down, the guests are on board. Hamilton Island provides luxury transfers via their Beach Club or qualia vehicles to and from the airstrip.

The IGA Supermarket on Hamilton Island is very well stocked and even if they do not have it, then they will order in and items usually arrive within two days. Additionally, the Fishy comes to the island to deliver fresh seafood and the Prickly Pineapple is an excellent provisioning service to yachts berthed at Hamilton Island. It is hard to explain the remoteness of this area of the world so to have a destination as developed as Hamilton Island right in the middle of this cruising destination is invaluable to a busy charter yacht.

Divine weather

A charter in Queensland wouldn’t be complete without cruising out to the Great Barrier Reef and, with a good weather window, we cruised to Little Black Reef and Black Reef (19°45’59.4″S 149°25’02.3″E). We spent four days out on the reef and if you have the chance, you must go. From there we continued to Hook Reef (19°48’46.6″S 149°11’02.5″E) for more diving and snorkelling before heading back to Hamilton Island to let some guests off.

Oneworld then headed north of the Whitsunday Island Group to Magnetic Island off the city of Townsville. I had not been to Magnetic Island since I was younger with few memories of it so it took me by surprise as a destination. We predominantly anchored in Gowrie Bay (19°06’56.8″S 146°52’57.4″E) and Florence Bay (19°07’22.2″S 146°52’55.4″E).

The guests loved this section of the itinerary. There are a lot of walking tracks on the island including those to the remnants of the World War II forts. From the forts, they walked into the township of Horseshoe Bay on the northern coast of the island and had dinner. It was a very successful destination, however, you should be wary of the shark populations around the island.

Next was Orpheus Island, best known for its luxury resort. Although we did not go to the resort, we spent some time snorkelling and relaxing around the island. Then it was on to our northernmost destination in the itinerary, Hinchinbrook Island. Hinchinbrook Island is protected by national park, like many of the places we visited yet it is the only destination World Heritage-listed. It is a stunning location of majestic mountains covered in thick rainforest.

The guests had always wanted to climb to the Zoe Bay Falls.

We anchored up in Zoe Bay (18°23’28.2″S 146°20’00.8″E) and headed off for the walk. From our anchorage, the tender could access the natural springs at the southern end of Zoe Bay which we cruised up before walking 500 metres to the lower falls where you can swim.  It is amazing, the guests did not want to leave.  From there it is a bigger hike to the top of the falls but well worth it.  The views are expansive and more than impressive.

The Zoe Bay falls are considered day-access and you do not require a permit.  However, as the island is World Heritage-listed, there are sections where only allow a very limited number of people at one time. With permit, you can continue inland from Zoe Bay Falls into the island to follow the stream.

Next was Mission Bay (18°12’33.3″S 146°13’09.0″E) on the north side of Hinchinbrook Island.  This area is heavily forested with mangroves so not the prettiest of destinations but great fishing. Shephard Bay (18°13’12.1″S 146°15’23.9″E) is close by and is very beautiful yet impossible to anchor close in with a draught more than two metres.  We anchored offshore and enjoyed it, yet it is an anchorage very exposed to the east. Next was Dunk Island, just a little further north, where the snorkelling was quite good.

The original plan was to continue up to Cairns and Port Douglas however with northerly winds in the forecast, it would have meant day trips rather than full cruising. It was a shame as it would have completed a 1000-nautical mile expedition of some of the best and lesser-known destinations on the Queensland coast.

However, we turned east heading out to Britomark Reef (18°14’01.9″S 146°40’06.8″E) for some marvellous snorkelling and fishing.  Side note, it was a little alarming to hear not two months later there had been a shark attack at Britomark Reef so caution is advised.  Then we headed south back to the Whitsunday Islands and its many walking tracks and protected anchorage.  We even spent some time at Coral Seas Marina Resort at Airlie Beach where the guests walked the famed Honeyeater Track.

In total, the charter went for six weeks and was by all accounts a raging success, although the crew were exhausted. There were some key takeaways from the experience that simply would not have happened if it were not for COVID-19 and adventurous charter guests.

1. 1. It is unlikely a charter of this nature would ever happen again due to time constraints. We were lucky to have the backdrop of COVID-19 and a sublime weather window. What would be possible, however, is for a private yacht to sit on the Gold Coast with the owner on board waiting for the weather window ready to take off and recreate this itinerary. It would need to be at the start of the southern hemisphere’s winter but is well worth it.
   2. There are many destinations that are well known to the coastal cruising community that are often overlooked by yachts yet they have much to offer. Again, many of them require certain weather conditions and, therefore, time but research them as they will add something new and different from what is becoming the Australian milk run.
   3. Finally, plan your provisioning. The logical stops up the coast were Hervey Bay and Hamilton Island. Magnetic Island was also good for provisioning and those locations should get you through to Cairns.

parks.des.qld.gov.au
gbrmpa.gov.au