Sailors not welcome at sailing Mecca.

[Huggy98]

Hi all. The Whitsunday Islands, Australia, is one of the best sailing locations on the planet. Airlie beach is the hub of the Whitsunday Islands. In northerly winds it is too dangerous to anchor at Airlie beach so you have to anchor at Shute harbour a few miles down the coast. Unfortunately the harbour master and Whitsunday council don't want you to visit Airlie beach. The other day they put infringement notices on the dinghy's that were moored at the dinghy pontoon. If you leave your dinghy for more than 30 minutes your dinghy will be impounded and it will cost you $1300 to get it back. It takes about 20 minuets driving one way to get to Airlie beach. This makes it impossible for you to visit. There is a small beach here but for some people that can be very restrictive on when and how long you can stay and there's always the chance of being eaten by crocodiles. I have arthritis and I am unable to drag my dinghy up and down the beach. Of course there is a marina but as many of us can't get insurance or afford it, so that isn't good for everyone. This is just another example on Australia's attitude to sailors and that's one of the reasons many cruisers sail right on by.

[JPA Cate]

We have anchored off Airlie Beach and taken the dinghy around, found a place to anchor it, and gone ashore at Cannonvale.

It has been a while since we were there and this is obviously new legislation. There's a sailing club at the south end of the beach, is it their pontoon you're speaking of? or is there another one?

I'm wondering what happened to cause such legislation?

Ann

[Huggy98]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

We have anchored off Airlie Beach and taken the dinghy around, found a place to anchor it, and gone ashore at Cannonvale.

It has been a while since we were there and this is obviously new legislation. There's a sailing club at the south end of the beach, is it their pontoon you're speaking of? or is there another one?

I'm wondering what happened to cause such legislation?

Ann

You can't anchor there with northerlies. You have to go down to Shute harbour. At Airlie, you can use the sailing club pontoon but now they want $300 full membership. It was around $30 a couple of years ago.