Charter Chatter

Sunsail Sailing Holidays on Hamilton Island will soon take delivery of the innovative Sunsail 384, the first yacht in a major charter fleet to feature solar panels, saving about 20 per cent on engine hours and increasing the lifespan of onboard batteries by up to five years. The comfortable and easy to sail catamaran was designed by performance multihull architects Morrelli and Melvin. 
 
Whitsunday Rent A Yacht are offering Pre Christmas sale packages on skipper yourself boating holidays for Boatpoint readers. Save up to 25 per cent on ten nights, 20 per cent on seven nights and 15 per cent on five nights for new bookings up until 24 December. Visit the WRAY team on stand 32 at the Sandringham Boat Show in Melbourne on 14-15 November.

True North will conduct two seven-night cruises from Broome to the Hunter River in 2010, carrying just 36 guests served by 20 crew members. Highlights include witnessing the region's vast tidal movements and seeing the Montgomery Reef "rising from the ocean" -- a phenomenon created when the fast receding tide drains from the 350 square kilometre reef to expose a myriad of turtles, dugong, rays and other sea creatures.
 
Abercrombie & Kent announce a photographic competition entitled My Inspiring Travel Moment, which is open for entries until 30 November 2009. The first prize is a trip for two to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, cruising on the luxury MV Eclipse.
 
Captain Cook Cruises offers new packages, which include cruising the Murray River aboard its only paddlewheeler, the Murray Princess, a night ashore in Adelaide and a coach and ferry trip to Kangaroo Island for an overnight stay. 
 
In 1974 Sunsail Yacht Charters invented the flotilla sailing holiday, which is when you sail your own boat under the watchful guidance of a Lead Crew, including a qualified skipper, a hostess and an engineer, along with about ten other boats. Destinations include Turkey where the ruins of ancient civilisations mix with vibrant nightlife, cosmopolitan shopping and modern marinas. Towns untouched by tourism and beautiful bays still only accessible by boat are part of the Turkish experience.
 
Sydney is preparing for another busy cruise ship season with the arrival of the Rhapsody of the Seas on 17 October, the first of more than 100 ship scheduled to visit over the next six months. The 2008-09 cruise season saw a record 120 cruise ship visit Sydney.
 
Victorians John and Sandy Lindholm and their three children recently sailed their chartered yacht to victory in the Mariner Boating Holidays' 2009 Croatia Yacht Rally, finishing equal first with a crew from Tasmania. The Lindholm's won their trip to the Croatia Yacht Rally in a raffle conducted during the 2009 Variety Splash -- the annual Port Phillip-based boat rally that raises funds for Victoria's special needs and disadvantaged children. Visit www.varietysplash.org.au
 
The National Marine Safety Committee has released for public comment a draft standard to replace the USL Code's Section 18 'Hire and Drive' vessels. The draft standard covers a wide range of operations from unpowered off-the-beach craft, through to houseboats, PWCs (jet skis) and bareboat yachts. National data shows that most incidents involving these craft are the result of driver error, so the emphasis is on safety management and the provision of an adequate briefing, especially for inexperienced and unlicensed hirers. See the 'Have Your Say' section at www.nmsc.gov.au

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' MS Europa was ranked as the only five stars-plus ship and named the top cruise ship in the world for the tenth consecutive year by the Berlitz Cruise Guide. 270 vessels are reviewed in the book.
 
In 2012, Tropical North Queensland will experience one of the world's great astronomical events -- a total solar eclipse. On the morning of Wednesday 14 November 2012, the earth will be plunged into darkness as the moon passes in front of the sun. With the possibility of coastal cloud cover affecting visibility, it is believed the best place to view the eclipse will be on the Tablelands and out on the Great Barrier Reef.
 
Photograph: Sunsail 384