Hamilton Island Marina and Resort

by Helen Hopcroft on 14 Mar 2007 As the weather gets colder, pictures of tropical islands look better and better. There’s something about a grey sky and office air conditioning that makes people long for sun, white sandy beaches and dazzlingly clear aqua water. As winter descends, the smell of sunscreen assumes strangely aphrodisiac qualities. There’s a good chance that Hamilton Island on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef has everything you crave.

Sail-World/Powerboat-World spoke to Brett Spice about why the Hamilton Island Marina is a great place for boaters to visit.

‘…It’s unique in that it is on a tropical island. All the facilities are available to guests in the marina. It’s not restricted to island guests at all. Unlike mainland marinas where generally the facilities are fairly basic, you might have a restaurant or two at the marina. Here, there’s a whole island.’

Hamilton Island is located in the heart of the 74 island Whitsunday chain. It has an average temperature of 27.4 degrees and a beautiful lush, tropical landscape. Brett explained that easy access and cheap air fares were an attraction for many boat owners.

He says that if you keep a boat in Sydney, there’s a good chance you would spend a couple of hours in traffic just getting to it. Then fighting your way out through the congested harbour.

‘It’s just too easy to jump on a plane and send yourself off to the Whitsundays…Within an hour or two you could be sailing your way out to Whitehaven Beach for Chardonnays on the back deck.’

Probably the nicest way to arrive on the island is by boat; yours or a charter.

The popular charter company Sunsail has a base on the island. They can organise a range of charter packages for people travelling to, or staying on the island. Bareboat or crewed charters are available.

Sunsail’s fleet consists of over 40 vessels ranging from 32 to 40 feet. Charter boats include Beneteau and Jeanneau monohulls and the ever popular Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot, and Roberston and Caine catamarans.

Sunsail picks charter clients up from the airport on the island and it’s a five minute drive to their base. ‘Then they are briefed and can be sailing the Whitsundays on the afternoon of their arrival.

The Fantasea Cruises is another way to get to the island. From Hamilton Island there is a regular service that visits the outer reef. So you can arrive by boat, leave it at the marina, and use the commercial high-speed catamaran service to explore the outer reef.

The Hamilton Island Marina has 205 berths and can accommodate boats up to 45m. There are plans to expand in the future and they should be able to manage boats up to 50m. Wireless internet access is available and the jetty sells both diesel and unleaded fuel.

The Hamilton Island Boatyard is located near the marina. It has a 65 tonne travel lift and offers a range of services including antifouling, electrical and refrigeration, mechanics and shipwrights. So you can get other people to work on your boat while you laze around under the palms, sipping a chilled pineapple juice and contemplating life.

Deepwater access at the marina is approx is 4.5m LAT.

‘…It’s recognised by the Oatley family that there is a need for a dredging programme. And that minimum depth will increase.’

Over the next couple of years the marina will be extended and 35 new condos built. The focal point of the marina will become the new yacht club building.

‘..With the construction of the new Great Barrier Reef Yacht Club, which is going to be a signature design for the Oatleys. ..It’s going to be almost futuristic. The roof of the construction is likened to a Manta Ray in full flight. A beaten copper roof. It’s just going to look fantastic.’

‘The arm that’s immediately in front of that yacht club will be reconstructed to suit some of the larger yachts. We’re looking at putting in about 4 berths there to house 100 foot or better yachts. The likes of Wild Oats, the Oatley’s boats, will be sitting there right in front of their pride and joy, the Great Barrier Reef Yacht Club….’

The marina is the ideal base to explore the Whitsunday Island group from. Average cruising distance between many of the islands is about two hours. Very popular day sails from Hamilton Island include a trip to the well known Whitehaven Beach.

‘And it’s not a difficult place to get to. It’s a recognised overnight anchorage in the right conditions…In good to average conditions, it’s a beautiful spot to drop anchor. Or be there for an early morning breakfast. Or sit there in the afternoon and watch the sun set and have the odd Chardonnay on the back deck.’

No one likes to cook on a holiday, so eating out is easy on the island.

‘There’s a dozen or so different restaurants, different cuisines.’

The Steakhouse boasts that they have the biggest and juiciest steaks in the Whitsundays. You can keep an eye on the boat from Mariners, a restaurant located in the middle of the Marina Village. There’s also the Marina Tavern and a takeaway food place called the Marina Deli.

The Deli says that it has ‘good coffee’ and sells gourmet sandwiches, smoothies, quiches and fresh juices. It is open from 7am to 4pm seven days, so it’s a good place to pick up provisions for a day sail. The Marina Tavern opens to 11 or 12 every night so you can finish your day there. The following morning you will be able to recover with a good coffee from the Deli, and so the cycle continues…

If you are travelling with kids, or are just inordinately fond of fluffy animals, you can have your morning coffee with koalas at the Koala Gallery Wildlife Experience café.

The Koala place is also a good place to view a range of other indigenous flora and a few imports like the Tasmanian Devil. So if you don’t fancy exploring the islands 20km of walking tracks, you can sit down with a latte and admire nature in comfort.

Other splendid activities include a sea kayak tours of the islands, charter flights, and world class fishing.

‘The atmosphere is exciting and at the same time laid back. You can do everything or you can lay back by the pool and do absolutely nothing.’

The marina can be contacted on VHF Channel 68 or telephone (07) 4946 8353 or 0414 475 928 mobile. The email address is marina@hamiltonisland.com.au