First-time charter in the Whitsundays

[metamark]

Hi all,

My wife and I are planning for a week-long charter in the Whitsunday islands as part of a longer trip to NZ/Oz. We both have a little sailing experience, though - living in landlocked Switzerland - most of this is on lakes. The current plan would be to travel up the coast from Sydney in around mid-April. I understand this will put us at the tail-end of the cyclone season, but am hoping the worst weather will have passed by then. Is this realistic or overly optimistic?

I've also done some research online and have found a number of places offering bareboat and skippered charters from Hamilton island, Airlie Beach or Shute harbour.

- Which companies are the most reputable to charter from? Any recommendations?
- Also, any recommendations as to which base to start from (e.g. Hamilton Island vs Airlie Beach, etc.)? Where is provisioning going to be easiest?

I was also surprised to learn that it is possible to charter vessels without a license. While I'm not sure we feel confident enough to take advantage of this (though we're both licensed), is this indeed the case and why?

Any info or advice is much appreciated

Thanks in advance!
Mark

[xbillaroo]

I would charter from Airlie as good shopping centres near by for provisions. Chartering in the Whitsundays is supervised twice a day with radio skeds. Anchoring has to be achieved by 1600hrs. It is a very safe area with multiple good anchorages and plenty to see. We have been using the area for 30 years now and still love it. That said we are halfway through our second circumnavigation of the world and so have visited many other areas as well.

[Compass790]

Charter companies only set up in areas that aren't too taxing on seamanship for obvious reasons. They normally give you a briefing & restrict where you can go & what you can do. I would say as long as you know how to anchor, reef the sails, use a chartplotter/depth sounder, vhf radio & operate the engine you should be right. Anyway you will get a briefing on all that.
Great part of the world for a yacht charter IMO,you'll luv it

[UFO]

I did a charter there last September with Charter Yachts Australia


https://www.charteryachtsaustralia.com.au/


I highly recommend them - A couple of small issues with the Boat (BBQ and Coolant Line) were sorted immediately.


Just be aware that there are sharks in the Whitsundays - There were a few attacks in CID Harbour last year - Just don't swim Dawn or Dusk and you should be fine.

[metamark]

Thanks for your answers! Really looking forward to the trip

Cheers,
Mark

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Mark,

I don't know if you're interested in SCUBA or not. Just to say I got my dive ticket in Airlie Beach, and if you're interested in the sea life, you'll be amazed who and what you can see. The price was reasonable, much more so than places with less competition. Jim was already a diver when I met him, so my getting my certification meant more neat experiences for both of us.

Ann

[RaymondR]

Hamilton Island has an airport used by commercial airlines and if you wanted to maximize your time afloat and not have to bother with hotels you might look at entry and departure from there.

[kitrob]

6 of us from NZ chartered a yacht out of Airlie Beach. It was about 5 years back. I think the charter company was called Whitsunday Charters. Leaving from Airlie was ideal as we could fly into the local airport and catch the bus into Airlie and do vice versa on leaving. Also Airlie B was good for provisioning.
We set off heading north East and completed a big loop. The best thing we did was to pull into the marina at Hamilton Island where you can rent a berth for a couple of nights, which we did. We then walked the island and spoilt ourselves on the marina side restaurants and bars. Great walk there which takes you up to the highest point on the island. Then it was an easy sail back to Airlie.

Easy sailing. You will be fine in a bareboat. Remember if you are nervous about putting up the sails you don’t have to. Just use the engine.