Sail to Hamilton Island

We will depart Sydney in early June and spend a leisurely few weeks cruising our way to Hamilton Island. We plan to visit the major ports of call along the way including Coffs Harbour, Southport. Mooloolaba, Fraser Island, Lady Musgrave Island, Great Kepple Island, Percy Island and some of the best locations in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Our schedule allows for adequate time to relax and explore each of these locations. To really appreciate the experience in store, please read the following letters from Vikki and Andrea (both English girls) who joined our crew for the voyage to Sydney in 2002 (reverse order but same fun) and an email received from Maurice Field who sailed to the Whitsunday’s in 2003 (Maurice teaches navigation, radar & seamanship at TAFE in Perth, WA) : Dear “Skip”, Vikki and I have been on our working holiday for almost 2 years ! Our intention was to gain vastly different experiences from our home in England, by taking accommodation (a shared flat or hostel) to use as our base from which we could venture out and fully appreciate the ambience of the area we were visiting. As we have found that to really “get the feel” of a place can take some time, we spent 6 months in Asia, 4 months in Perth and now 3 months in Sydney, but by far the most enjoyable and excitingly different experience of our whole holiday (so far) has come from the time we spent living aboard your magnificent yacht “Sydney Sundancer”. When we joined you in Airlie Beach, we had no idea of just how lucky we were to be able to share the first hand experiences of nature that most people only see on television documentaries. The first time that we saw dolphins frolicking at the bow, we were enchanted. We were enthralled with our first whale sighting in the distance, but when they started to leap out of the water almost right beside us we were mesmerised. It was like seeing an elephant in the wild, a moment to remember forever ! Some of the remote places we visited in our “floating hotel” were so far off the “beaten track” that they were not even written up in our guide book ! The photographs we have taken of places like the crystal clear, lagoon surrounding Lady Musgrave Island, will serve to remind us in years to come, of the fantastic holiday we had in Australia ! We thoroughly endorse Helen Barnes (England) and Jacob Worm’s (Sweden) evaluation of a previous cruise in your visitor book : “OUR BEST AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE EVER !” Thank you for the greatest of times and the friendship you have shared with us. Love Andrea Dear John, When we read your article “Passage to Paradise” in Cruising Helmsman”, we thought our dreams had come true ! Here was the opportunity of a lifetime, something to make our friends back in England really jealous. Much more than the weekends we had spent hiring a boat on the Solent, this was an experience to talk about for the rest of our lives. When we contacted you asking about availability, our hearts were pounding because we thought surely all the accommodation would have been booked months ago. We “jumped with joy” when you advised that there were still berths available and when we came aboard “Sydney Sundancer”, we were very impressed - many of the other yachts we had “checked out” can only be described as “garbage scows” by comparison. Our holiday surpassed the words in your brochure - our expectations for the most fascinating, exciting and relaxing holiday of a lifetime, were exceeded many fold. Love Vikki From: Maurice Field To: John Boyce Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 5:38 PM Subject: The trip Hi John, I returned to Perth to find a panic call from TAFE who had lost two lecturers and badly needed a navigation lecturer so I have actually worked every day for the last 2 weeks. I really did enjoy the "Trip". The group of people were most diverse in their backgrounds, outlook and personalities, I do hope that I fell in the midst of the range. Without the first 2 legs the trip would have been just too tame and I think this view is probably shared by even those who did not have a" good ride" until after Coffs. The decision to "go" at Rosslyn Bay was an indication of new found confidence that would have been hard to find earlier in trip. Not to mention that I think " Sydney Sundancer" could have coped with much more than we could have stood and thats a real comfort at anytime sailing. I got to know where Port Stevens and Coffs were, so now they are no longer just names in the news. Yepoon, Lady Musgrave and even Southport are now real places. Fraser Island, particularly Garry's Anchorage, have given me a pilotage example that can quote to those who think its all beer and skittles as a charter Skipper, but then it is, isn't it ?? The night sailing through the fishing fleets and particularly the night the "big bugger" did not do the right thing and avoid us, provided a new world experience for some of the crew, as did the whales at Lady Musgrave. I have seen a lot of whales but never a "breach" and certainly not a breach outside my porthole as I awoke to a new day. If I write an account of the trip it will be entitled "A Whale At My Window". I had assumed that everyone on the crew would have been from a sailing background, but the first briefing on course setting laid that dog. Looking back, I think you gave a group of people an opportunity that would be very hard to come by anywhere and a learning curve ten times more useful than hours in a classroom. Would I do it again? Of course I would , I just need to find a months gap in my program one July or October and if I do find that gap I will be on the phone in a flash. It has to be the best way to get to Queensland from Sydney! Thanks for the opportunity and the experience. regards Maurice To find out how you can join the crew of Sydney Sundancer on this years "Passage to Paradise" call John Boyce on (02) 9719 1870 or email sailors@luxuryyacht.com.au. For more info please visit either of the web sites listed.