Portland Roads

My first trip on a sailing catamaran - the Ruby Sunday - was much anticipated and lived up to all my expectations. Even though the weather was showery and windy, it made for a great sailing experience, and we'll be back next year to try out some sunny weather. The boat had everything we needed and the pre-briefing by Mike really helped us get familiar with all the features and safety aspects. Can't recommend highly enough!

Just finished a 6 day sail on " Lucy " around the Whitsundays. Just the best thing I've done, it was amazing. With no experience in sailing Brad showed how easy it was. Fantastic boat, very stable & with Brads great knowledge & daily support made this adventure easy. This has to be everyone's bucket list.!

Fantastic week spent o. Lucy. Fantastic Loy supported by Brad during the week giving great trip suggestions and always available for any questions. Spent the week exploring beaches, snorkelling, whale, dolphin and turtle watching, swimming and exploring. Will definitely be returning. Our only complaint was that the coffee machine didn't work.

We chartered Ruby Sunday for 6 nights. Best holiday ever!
John was out skippering another yacht but managed to appear with gems of knowledge just when we needed it. Mike was the best instructor and a wizard with our daily schedules. Even a complete novice would be sweet sailing with these guys. Portland roads are nailing the Whitsundays and you'd be mad to charter from anyone else.

Whilst natural wonders always take my breath away, this time it was the operator who made me breathless. I am so impressed that I'm penning my first ever review. To everyone at Portland Roads thankyou. Your passion, knowledge and respect for the Reef is inspiring. I'm home now with every possible emotion of happiness. They say the world is too big to go back to the same place twice. I'm bucking that theory as l'm back again in 5 months time. I CAN'T WAIT.

We had an absolutely fabulous experience when we had our week away on board Portland Road's Lucy last week. Lucy is an incredible craft - luxurious, well maintained, and extremely comfortable, whether at anchor or under full sail on a windy day in choppy seas! We had an awesome time and thoroughly enjoyed sailing, motoring and living aboard her. Deano was our briefer and he too was exceptional. Highly recommended - WE would LOVE to do it again!

Great holiday. Reccomend 6 people maximum for 8 berth trip, just to have more personal space. Accomodation is great. Everything is provided in just the right amount for living onboard. Good showers. Good coffee. Plenty of information provided for planning your daily activities. Appoint a Hatch monitor and a recycling monitor. Spent our nights up on top and and stargazing for hours. Feed batfish. See iguanas and swim with Giant Maori wrasse. Fabulous.

Had a wonderful trip. The ˜Lucy was a great Cat, plenty of room and well equipped. We had a great instructor in Dino, who explained everything we needed to know. We got some great sailing in, saw some dolphins & turtles, and colourful coral fish. Weather was mostly perfect, aside from one squall that left a couple of us green for a short time. Perfect thing to do with your favourite bunch of people, plenty of rest and fun to be had, in a beautiful part of our country.

WOW - what an amazing experience! Went away with a couple of girlfriends for 5 nights and cant believe how simple navigating around the islands was. I boarded a very exhausted mum of 3 and disembarked refreshed and rested... my husband thinks it took 10 years off my face Ÿ˜‰ John and his team are consummate professionals and awesome to deal with. Best holiday ever and will be back again!

WOW - what an amazing experience! Went away with a couple of girlfriends for 5 nights and cant believe how simple navigating around the islands was. I boarded a very exhausted mum of 3 and disembarked refreshed and rested... my husband thinks it took 10 years off my face; *** and his team are consummate professionals and awesome to deal with. Best holiday ever and will be back again!

Due West, what can I say... Sensational in every aspect! The amenities aboard are second to none from the appliances and decor, through to the instrumentation and sail quality. The boat was immaculately presented and a joy to be aboard. As for the lo action, how could anyone ask for more than the Whitsundays. If I had to give a score out of 10,11 would seem a little too low! Great job by all at Portland Roads! We will be back for more.

If you're longing for wide, open spaces, blue horizons and wind in your hair, then this holiday is for you. Be a true master of your own destiny with helpful tips and instructions, and a practical lesson before you depart. You'll become Old Salt in no time at all! Soak up the sun, the scenery and good company for life long memories. I certainly did... Thank you Portland Roads.

Ruby Sunday and Skipper John gave us a trip of a lifetime. Our week onboard was filled with adventure, sunshine, snorkelling, sailing and bloody great fun. We can't express enough gratitude to John and his constant professionalism, supportive guidance, daily feasts, humour and confidence in our new boating skills. He is a total legend and we can't wait to get our sea-legs back again and return to the beautiful Whitsundays with Portland Roads.

Brilliant experience, Great intro by Deano who taught basically how to sail in a couple of hours. The itinerary suggested by Deano worked perfectly with the weather especially the predicted wind changes. Spot on. Boat was really well set, comfortable, easy to use.We sailed for 4 out of 6 days, Great weather, great snorkelling, great food, Would thoroughly recommend Portland Roads to anyone thinking of sailing Whitsundays.

Immersing yourself into this experience left us in a holiday state never experienced before. To learn how to skipper the boat Portland Roads in itself, was so rewarding. To meet such passionate people in business and to learn so much became an added bonus. Our kids loved john's stories about the Ngaro and the marine park. We've joined the Big Blue Army and we will be back, very soon. Thank you from the Needham crew.

Thanks John for another amazing sailing experience on Lucy! We love that girl!
What more could you ask for, excellent skipper, smooth sailing, blue waters, & wonderful Island walks,
Great crew to sail with and very enjoyable food & wine. Thanks to Whitsunday Provisions for looking after our needs so well.
Look forward to our next Adventure in the not too distant future.

Best holiday ever couldnt recommend *** and his Catamaran more highly, we as a group had so much fun. The catamaran was very well equipped with everything we could possibly need. We mainly sailed but also motored around the islands and everything worked smoothly. If there was ever a problem *** was only a phone call away. We definitely hope to be back sailing the Whitsundays on œSouthern Man in the very near future.

Why has no one told me about this before?

Between the six of us it was the best value holiday possible. I thought nothing much before the charter, I'm not really sure what I was thinking. Thanks to *** for helping everything run so smoothly- you're a natural. And what happened once we arrived was purely magic, great boat, *** was amazing and sailing is my new passion. *** to captain in one week. I even like Rod Stewart singing sailing on high rotation

We sailed for 5 nights on Portland Roads in October this year. It was honestly the best holiday I could imagine, and I will be back to do it again as soon as I can. There is nothing that can describe how perfectly relaxing it is... the only way to see the Whitsundays! The boat is beautiful, spacious, comfortable and easy to operate even for novices like us. Thank you very much for such a perfect experience!

What an experience, we had the most amazing time on Portland Roads! Whitsundays are an incredible part of Australia and what better way to explore them on such an awesome boat. The beautiful boat was equipped with everything we could have possibly needed from a Nespresso coffee machine to comfy beds to board games. John and Mike were so friendly and helpful! They made sure we had a safe and enjoyable trip and offered their knowledge. I already want to do it again! Thanks Portland Roads!

Platinum package is the way to go! Biggest decision I made all week was where was the best spot to sit and soak up the wonderful views. Our skipper was fabulous - friendly, professional, competent, encouraging, a great chef and a wonderful host! Everything was organised for us and we had nothing to concern ourselves with. Thank you John and Portland Roads! Just perfect in every way!

On Southern Man sailing around the Whitsundays was Paradise. Marks briefing was perfect to help us feel ready for our 5 days adventure. Southern Man had every thing we needed for the perfect relaxing holiday. Sitting on the comfortable outdoor chairs watching the sun rise & set, gazing at the clear night sky with beautiful stars was amazing. Recommend this boat with the 4 cabins & bathrooms its was perfect for our adventure. Thank you

Thanks you for an incredible experience. The Southern Man was a very stable and beautifully appointed boat! Great engines when you needed it against tides and stormy sees but sailed beautifully and last but not least great hit showers. An unforgettable experience. Thanks Mark for the itinerary planning that helped us see most of the islands and their beauty. Your local knowledge helped our Travelling under sails a success