Race at Hamilton Island with Whitsunday Rent A Yacht
by Colin Patterson on 25 Jul 2007
Fun on the Bavaria 36 Whitsunday Rent A Yacht Shute Harbour QLD
http://www.rentayacht.com.au
Whitsunday Rent A Yacht has a limited number of yachts for charter in the cruising non-spinnaker division of Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week and Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. You could be part of the action in a luxurious Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 323, the Beneteau Cyclades 43.4 or the lovely Jenneau Sun Odyssey 35. If you are currently boat-less, or don’t fancy bashing your way up the East Coast, give Whitsunday Rent A Yacht a call or drop in and see them at next week’s Sydney International Boat Show (2-7 August.) Hall 1 Stand 132.
If racing at one of Australia’s premier sporting events is not your favourite way to spend a holiday, consider chartering a rental boat for a relaxing break cruising and sailing around the lovely islands of the Whitsundays.
Whitsunday Rent A Yacht is based at Shute Harbour and they have a fleet of 35 yachts and powerboats available for charter. The company started in the late 1970’s and was one of the pioneers of the Whitsunday charter yacht industry. We spoke to Whitsunday Rent A Yacht’s Deni Linforth about the range of boats they have available for rent.
‘Our boats start from 2-12 berths, monohull sailing yachts and catamaran sailing yachts. And to 2-10 berths for the powerboats.’
Whitsunday Rent A Yacht does not require customers to have a boat licence to hire a any of the charter boats, but they do require customers chartering a sailing yacht to be what Deni calls ‘wind wise’: to have basic sailing experience.
‘The powerboats are certainly available to anyone that doesn’t sail, or doesn’t want to learn to sail, that just wants to drive around the Whitsundays. There’s a terrific selection of powerboats available.’
‘We’ve got powerboats that range from 35ft to 42ft. This includes monohulls such as the Fairway 36’s and the Warwick 42’s. And we also have the cat hulls such as the Scimitar 1010 and the Venturer 36 and the Venturer 38.’
If it’s been a few years since you’ve sailed, and you are worried that your skills may be a little rusty, Whitsunday Rent A Yacht can help out. You can do an 'introduction to boating' course at any of the Australian sailing schools which have an affiliation with the company. If you would like to do a ‘learn to sail’ course whilst you are in the Whitsundays, that can be arranged through a qualified sailing school.
‘Or we can put a cruise guide on board their boat to spend some extra time with them. We can also send their boat out fully crewed if they prefer having people on board to do all the work for them.’
If you decide to charter a boat to race at either the Hamilton or the Airlie Beach race weeks and wish to depart from Hamilton Island you can arrange a yacht delivery for a nominal fee. So all you have to do is step on board, have a briefing with the boat rental staff and enjoy your racing.
Of the rental boats available in the non spinnaker cruising divisions, the Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 323 can take 4 people. The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 35, with 2 double cabins and additional accommodation in the saloon, will suit up to 6 people. And the Cyclades Beneteau 4.34 has three double cabins and a twin, and will accommodate 8 people very comfortably.
Yacht delivery is only one of the many services that Whitsunday Rent A Yacht is happy to provide. They can arrange transportation from Proserpine airport to their base at Shute Harbour.
‘If people are flying into Proserpine we can organise a shuttle bus to bring them down to Shute, or we can organise hire cars or whatever they like. It’s about a 40 minute drive.’
If you’re flying into Hamilton Island airport, take advantage of their delivery and pickup service or catch the ferry from the airport to their base at Shute Harbour on the mainland.
They can also take care of all your catering requirements.
‘We have an excellent food and beverage service. Our clients can actually book that online through our website. There’s cruising cuisine, gourmet…it’s a sliding scale so they simply key in what type of provisioning they want, how many people, how long they’re going and it will do an automatic calculation of the cost of the package.’
‘Alternatively they can provide us with their personal shopping list or special requirements.’
Gourmet meals include options like ‘scotch fillet or T-Bone steaks with BBQ smoked hickory sauce, jacket potatoes, asparagus spears, salad and crusty rolls.’
If seafood’s more your thing, you can feast on ‘Coral Trout or Barramundi with hollandaise or tartare sauce, baked in foil, with baked potatoes, peas and fresh salad.’
‘The 74 islands that make up the Whitsunday group are located in a relatively small area. It’s only 50 miles by 20 miles so therefore the islands are all close to each other, however there is so much to see and do. For people to explore the islands they only need to sail for an hour or two before they come to their next little adventure spot.’
Deni has been working in the bareboat charter industry in the Whitsundays for over 25 years. She said many people fall in love with the area and keep returning year after year for boating holidays.
‘It’s the untouched islands in their natural beauty which makes the area unique.
‘They can go into those uninhabited anchorages, go ashore, explore and have a BBQ or picnic on the beach.’
However if people do fancy a change of pace, maybe after a week or two on the boat, there are ‘6 world class resorts in the area’ which offer a range of gourmet cuisine and luxury five star services.
With such a great range of boats and charter packages it’s inevitable that you will enjoy your time in the Whitsundays, whether you’re tearing around a race course or relaxing in a secluded anchorage.
Whitsunday Rent A Yacht will be at Sydney International Boat Show from 2nd to 7th August in Hall 1 – Stand 132 in the main hall.
‘We’ll be offering some fantastic specials on charter boating holidays for anyone coming to the Sydney Boat Show. So if they’re planning a boating holiday in the Whitsundays it would be worth coming to talk to us and just see what we have to offer.’
Postal Address :
Whitsunday Rent A Yacht
PO Box 357, Airlie Beach
QLD 4802, Australia
Physical Address :
Whitsunday Rent A Yacht
6 Bay Terrace Shute Harbour - gateway to the Whitsunday Islands.
QLD 4802, Australia.
Phone Domestic :
1800 075 000, 1800 075 111 or 07 49 469 232
Fax : 07 49 469 512
International : +61 7 49 469 232 Fax : +61 7 49 469 512
Email : rentayacht@bareboat.com.au
Web : www.rentayacht.com.au
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