Charter Chatter

Jim and Jo Wallace, the Cairns-based owners and operators of Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises, are celebrating 30 years of cruising to the Great Barrier Reef. The couple recognised the importance of the Great Barrier Reef long before it was inscribed on the World Heritage List, first sharing it with visitors on June 9, 1979 when they started daily cruises to Low Isles, off Port Douglas, on the Martin Cash. More info here.

Four Sunsail yachts made up the Bareboat Charter Class at the Sawadee.com Regatta 2009, at Samui in Thailand. The Aussie charge, led by Andrew Short's Oceanis 461 Constanza, kept a clean sheet with seven wins in a row. In the last few years they have dominated this class and it will take a special effort to take the title away from them. Hong Kong's Chin Yew Seah on the Sunsail 39 Bussakorn was second overall. Find out more here.

Orion Expedition Cruises for 2010 will feature six new rarely visited island destinations in Papua New Guinea, three new ports in the Spice and Tanimbar Islands, new Australian coastal voyages from Cairns to Hobart, inaugural voyages to Melbourne, the Limestone Coast, Kangaroo Island, Eyre Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula, Christmas in New Zealand's fjordland and an inaugural visit to Irian Jaya, famous for its Asmat Art woodcarvings. More here.

The Gold Coast whale watching season started on 30 May and the first humpbacks have been spotted off the coast. Sea World's custom designed $3.4m catamaran comfortably carries in excess of 100 passengers and will operate daily (weather permitting) until November.

Coral Princess Cruises is offering a 25 percent discount on its small-ship, expedition-style, Auckland to Bay of Islands five day voyages for departures between December 2009 and February 2010. The offer is available for new bookings made until July 31, 2009.

A marine biologist, working with Quicksilver Connections in the Reef Biosearch department for nearly 20 years, describes his job taking small groups of people from Cairns and Port Douglas snorkelling on Agincourt Reef at the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. See here.

Sunsail turns 35 this year and to celebrate, it's giving holidaymakers at any of their worldwide bases a $35 bonus discount off all new charter bookings confirmed from June 1 until the end of the year.* The $35 discount is in addition to all other discounts including Sunsail's book early discount, the extended stay discount and repeat charterer loyalty discount. Check it out here.

The New Zealand based tallship, the 300 ton oak hulled brigantine Soren Larsen, set sail from Auckland to the Cook Islands on May 29 on the first leg of a seven-month adventure via Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu to Sydney. More here.

Virgin Blue will have daily direct flights between Sydney and Hamilton Island from 4 July 2009. The flights will depart Sydney at 10.15am and touch down at Hamilton Island at 12.45pm before departing the Island at 1.15pm and landing in Sydney at 3.45pm.

Book a cruise by 30 June 2009 with Coral Princess to explore the Kimberley, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia or Across the Top of Australia on selected departure dates and receive a complimentary three or four-night Great Barrier Reef cruise. The second cruise can be taken at any time in the next year, or can be passed on to family members as a gift. Details here.

In an effort to protect the delicate eco-system of Antarctica, cruise ships with more than 500 passengers are now officially banned from landing sites in Antarctica. The number of passengers cruise lines can bring ashore at a time has also been limited to 100.

Photograph: Jim and Jo Wallace