Charter Chatter

- Queensland Season of Sailing includes two of Australia’s favourite sailing events, Airlie Beach Race Week (12-19 August) and Audi Hamilton Island Race Week (20-28 August). Packages have been developed for all interests and budgets and are ideal for friends and families of sailors competing in the regattas.

- A tapas and cocktail cruise, Cruise Viva, is coming to Sydney Harbour every Saturday night in August with a special starting price of $82 per person, that’s 40 per cent off the regular price. Cruise Viva combines a tapas dining experience of diverse Spanish cuisine on Captain Cook’s MV Sydney 2000, with an addictive DJ rumba dance beat.

- Queensland’s first Season of Sailing highlights winter sailing events along the state’s coast from 6 August to 7 September and offers a range of stay and sail packages which are available from now until March, 2011. The Hamilton Island Race Week Package, for example, allows people to book with Prosail onboard one of their maxi yachts, live onboard the yacht berthed at Hamilton Island, enjoy the festival atmosphere by night and race by day. The Friends and Family Tropic Sail and Stay Deal includes five nights on a luxury Tropic Sail vessel, two nights in a luxury ocean view apartment at Mariners North Shore (Townsville) and frozen margaritas on the beach on Magnetic Island. Check out QueenslandHolidays.com.au/sailing.

- A new day tour available from Castaways Resort & Spa at Mission Beach offers passengers a gourmet picnic on a tropical island without getting their feet wet. The amphibious marine craft Sealegs emerges from the turquoise waters of the Coral Sea onto the beach just metres from the resort and whisks passengers and picnics away for a magical day on a secluded island.

- Familiarity is what Hervey Bay whale watch operators, and their guests, are now enjoying as the humpback whales have grown up with boats and know they have nothing to fear. In fact, it seems, they want to interact with people and show off their new offspring. When you are dealing with a creature that is the equivalent in size to 11 elephants or 600 people it is hard not to be impressed, especially when their acrobatic skills are so phenomenal.

- May 2010 saw the return of an old Whitsunday favourite, the Fantasea Yellow Sub, a half day sub and snorkel adventure starting with a 45 minute jet boat ride from Airlie Beach across the Whitsunday Passage to Bali Hai, which is sheltered from most weather conditions. The Yellow Sub offers an underwater experience in air conditioned comfort and is suitable for all ages and abilities.

- Whitsunday Rent A Yacht's eight-night Gold Package combines five nights aboard Angelique, a brand-new, $600,000 Beneteau Lagoon 400 catamaran and three nights accommodation at the 4.5 star, luxury Water’s Edge Resort, nestled in the hillside just 100 metres from Airlie Beach’s main street. Angelique accommodates eight passengers in four double cabins, each with its own ensuite.

 - Crew members from 19 tourism operations will be better equipped to keep an eye on the Great Barrier Reef after completing comprehensive training in reef health. Tourism operators visit dedicated areas of the Reef on a weekly, if not daily basis and are highly experienced and attuned to the areas they visit. They are in the best position to monitor indicators like water temperature and visibility, the appearance or absence of iconic marine species, and to gather data related to reef health such as coral bleaching and disease. GBRMPA.gov.au.

- North Star Cruises has announced a new Solomon Sojourn itinerary on board the ship, True North, featuring a mix of culture, vibrant coral reefs and history as well as snorkelling, diving, fishing and helicopter exploration in the South Pacific. The inaugural eight-day Solomon Sojourn cruise will depart Brisbane in November 2010, with a second cruise running back-to-back.

Photograph: Courtesy of Tourism Whitsunday