We had an absolute ball and cant wait to rebook ›µï¸Ÿ Ÿ´˜ ︟Œ´š"︟»Ÿ¥‚Ÿ"Ÿ"œŸ'¯
The best the Whitsundays has to offer, excellent boat, extremely well maintained.
Beautiful and to my expectations, wouldn't change a thing. Coming back is definitely on the cards
One of the best experiences of my life... Where to start... The Whitsundays, Portland Roads, of the Portland Roads team... all were outstanding!
The Portland Roads team, especially ***, have been the friendliest and most knowledgeable (and entertaining) tourist groups Ive ever met. As a keen newbie to sailing they patiently guided me on all aspects of the boat (and helped me pay attention to what was important and what was critical) and left me feeling with a sense of confidence that I could keep my family safe on a million dollar / 13 tonne vessel. More importantly somehow they managed to instill the same degree of confidence in my wife. I can also highly recommend the knowledge and story telling capabilities of *** and Master Reef Guide, Josh. Their respect for history, nature and the reef in general was highly commendable (and entertaining).
Portland Roads the boat was everything they said on the label. Comfortable, spacious (which is important for those who like a bit of quiet time), safe and solid. At one stage on passage between two Islands I looked over to see my sleeping soundly on the couch... not passed out from *** but rather relaxed like nothing Ive seen in years (since before the now teenage kids were born). I cannot recommend Portland Roads highly enough.
As for the 74 Islands... well, I can tell you that Timmy the Turtle does pop up for air around breakfast time, goannas get pretty big and the collective noun for stingrays is a fever... and when you see 20 or so stingrays in a channel only 2 meters wide its quite a site). We didnt have nearly enough time to really explore the Islands and their natural beauty cannot be described in words... but when you next look at that photo of Whitehaven Beach. Imagine being literally the only people on it. Surreal!
I must also add that a visit to Palm Bay (not Palm Cove) is highly recommended. That little tropical oasis, with a fantastic bar, made for an excellent pit stop.
All in all I have been recommending Portland Roads to anyone who will listen since we got home and I cant wait to go back.
The only downside is I am still rocking a little a few days later (not quite used to boats) and I am having trouble getting back in to work, with visions of sun beams dancing on the ocean constantly filling my mind... oh, and a silly grin that makes people wonder what I have been up to:-)
Awesome adventure aboard Southern Man sailing the Whitsundays
The experience of bareboat charter has offered my wife and I the closest feeling to owning our very own Luxury 42 foot Catamaran. With a fraction of the investment, compared to buying one of these expensive yachts, we were rewarded with the freedom of choosing where to sail, and the sense of accomplishment of getting to our destination for the night and anchor in a picturesque inlet surrounded by nature. This is by far the highest return you can have with that amount of $$. As The ˜Captain, as I was referred to during the three night sail around the Whitsundays, I had the assigned responsibility to lead a small group of four people and ensure everyone and the boat was safe. I spent a few hours, I must admit in the weeks that anticipate our most anticipated adventure, googling ˜how to sail and watching tutorials online to ensure a high level of confidence that must accompany the ˜Captain when the time to untie the lines would finally come. Also, I wanted to look good and have a bit of fun with the powers allocated to get people to scrub the deck, tell them to batten down the hatches and saying one does not simply call me without saying Captain first! We followed the tips from John (Portland Roads) and pre ordered all our provisioning from online Coles and picked everything on the way from the Airport to the Marina. Thanks for the valuable tip, the time we saved shopping were spend actually on the boat and getting straight into business as we arrived. The Marina, Abel Point is well appointed with clean and well look after facilities and super easy to navigate through. Portland Roads have their own trolley next to the drop off zone where we loaded our gear, food and drinks and headed to the boat for the start of our sailing adventure. The Portland Roads is by far the best yacht in the charter business, the size of the boat and the luxury details were impressive and we were stunned by the high standards of interior finishes and the quality and comprehensive list of technology of navigation equipment, entertainment options and comfort provided. Huge water tank with fresh water, power on demand, hot water, air conditioning, Bluetooth connection, satellite phone¦ Honestly I was gobsmacked with the list of things this Thing had, and it felt like holidaying in a self contained luxury apartment with all services you can imagine. A little studying prior to getting there was enough to help me absorb all the information given during the briefing with Mike. The GPS, and the autopilot made my life as a Captain very enjoyable and gave me more time to tell people what to do! Nah, just kidding, everyone felt safe and we all took turns behind the helm and nobody felt intimidated, even with no previous sailing experience. We had support from Mike, twice a day calling us to check that we were having fun and the boat was still floating¦ We would talk about the weather and the places we could go based on the conditions. We learnt that we cannot have a set plan, that the weather would dictate where we could go. We managed to spend the night in the Nara Inlet, Butterfly Bay and Stonehaven Bay and what a pleasant experience to wake up and see the sunrise and enjoy the tranquility of these paradisiac settings. There are no favorites, they all have a special place in my memory and each and every one of them will bring different sensations when I start to recall the slow-paced act of getting up, make a coffee, jump in the water for a morning swim, we even saw turtles checking on us right next to the boat and a pod of dolphins hanging around for quite some time before the sun came up. Overall, highly recommend! Connect with nature, feel the freedom of sailing, disconnect from our fast paced routine and observe the beautiful things we take for granted everyday¦Im saving for another sailing trip, there are many other places to visit as the name suggests " 74 islands " and there is only one boat " Portland Roads. Thank you so, so much for enabling this magical experience I had with people close to me. Never will be forgotten!
Great Boat, Great Staff and great location- well be back for sure
Fabulous trip through the Whitsundays. Wonderful boat and great support. Trip of a lifetime!
On Southern Man sailing around the Whitsundays was Paradise.