Charter Chatter

The Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney is commemorating the 240th anniversary of James Cook's landing in Botany Bay with a series of sailing adventures aboard HMB Endeavour - a replica of James Cook's vessel of discovery.

 - The Endeavour Harbour adventure is ideal for families wanting to sail on Sydney Harbour and have an interactive tour of the ship above and below deck.

 - On the Endeavour Overnight Experience guests enjoy a sunset tour of Sydney Harbour, eat a hearty 18th century dinner, learn about astronomy, history, navigation and botany, and sleep on board.

 - Or learn to sail and live just like Cook and his crew did, on an Endeavour High Sea Adventure for five or six days as a crew member or gentleman passenger. Learn about navigation, meteorology and tall ship sailing. See ANMM.gov for more.

Sunsail Sailing Holidays is offering 25 per cent off yacht charters in Tahiti, the Seychelles, Malaysia and Thailand for departures before April 30, 2010, and must be booked by January 31. The offer is available on Sunsail’s monohulls or easy-to-sail catamarans and non sailors can get a helping hand from Sunsail’s expert skippers for a small additional charge.

The 600-passenger liner Athena will host a one-off all-gay cruise - NaviGAYtion 2 - on February 5 -8 departing from Adelaide. The cruise around Kangaroo Island will feature six themed dance parties, pool games, modelling contests and a drag show featuring performers from the hit film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. A Hollywood celebrity is expected to be among the passengers.

Port Macquarie NSW offers visitors a range of water activities offshore and on the rivers, estuaries and lakes, including fishing, whale watching, dolphin watching, fast coastal cruises on a jet boat and cruises up the shallow sections of the rivers to the National Park and Wauchope/Timbertown. Sailing catamarans, windsurfers, fishing dinghies and barbecue pontoons are available for hire. Check out 52things2do.com.au for more info.

Skipper yourself and crewed charters are available for Sail Port Stephens on 12-19 April in non-spinnaker divisions. The sailing and socialising at the event are structured so that participants can join in for a few days or for the whole program. www.sailportstephens.com.au

A romantic overnight boat charter on Sydney Harbour is a popular Valentine's Day indulgence. Skipper a boat yourself or hire a skipper for a twilight cruise before being left alone at anchor overnight with a gourmet dinner. The skipper will return in the morning to take you back to the charter base. Other on water options for February 14 include dining while cruising the Harbour or Pittwater, chartering a boat to take you to a picnic spot or to a restaurant.

The holiday low season in the Whitsundays is from 9 January to 31 March. During this time most bareboat charter companies offer extra free nights if chartering a yacht or motor cruiser for five or more nights.

Captain Cook Cruises is celebrating its 40th birthday in 2010 with a massive sale offering up to 40 per cent off Sydney Harbour, Murray River and Fiji Islands discovery cruises. The sale is valid to 28 February 2010 and valid for travel to 31 March 2011.

Photograph courtesy of www.australiaday.com.au: Sydneysider on Australia Day 2009 on Sydney Harbour