Charter Chatter

- Better known for cruises in the Kimberley, the adventure-cruise ship True North also visits Sydney each year during the Christmas/New Year period, offering two four-night cruises. The first cruise departs on Christmas night ensuring that everybody onboard has a 'ringside’ seat for the start to the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Cruise two embarks on New Year's Eve and features uncompromised views of the Harbour Bridge fireworks.

- Whitsunday Rent A Yacht has opened an on-line holiday auction site where you can bid for a skipper-yourself cruise. On offer are four-, five- and seven-night holidays aboard the Perry 43 and Lagoon 400 catamarans and the Jeanneau 35 and Beneteau 43.4 yachts.

- Local environmental crusaders Eco Barge Services run a Marine Debris Removal Program to remove unwanted waste from Whitsundays beaches and islands. Local volunteers join travelers, backpackers and other volunteers on trips out to the islands on the small barge to remove marine debris cluttering the beaches and threatening local marine life. Since July 2009, 52,551kg has been collected. From December, they will also be selling marine debris collection bags made from bamboo that are large, lightweight, durable and 100 per cent biodegradable.

- British naturalist Sir David Attenborough stayed on Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef last year when filming marine crustaceans at Wistari Reef for his documentary The First Animals, which airs on the BBC in the United Kingdom this month. Currently the island is undergoing a substantial upgrade, however refurbishments will be managed to minimise any disruptions. Guests visiting Heron from now until 17 December 2010 enjoy free meals during their stay, and past guests receive a ten per cent discount on all room rates.

- The annual turtle nesting and hatching season at Mon Repos, near Bundaberg, begins 6 November, offering two completely different experiences. November through to early January is the nesting season, when the giant turtles painstakingly drag themselves up the beach and spend hours laying hundreds of eggs before returning to the ocean. Cocooned in their sandy nest, these fragile eggs incubate for almost six weeks until the January to March hatching season, when masses of tiny turtles emerge from the sand and scurry across the beach to the safety of the onrushing waves. Sadly, only one in every thousand survives to return to breed.

- When cruising it is easy to lose track of the days, but guests sailing onboard Holland America Line’s ms Volendam are reminded of the day of the week as it is elegantly written on rugs lining the floors of the elevators. www.cruiseweekly.com.au

- Sydney Harbour’s forthcoming special events:
Dec 14 -- CYCA's SOLAS Big Boat Challenge - the biggest yachts in Australia race on Sydney Harbour in a countdown to the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. eBay auctions a number of places aboard competing boats with the proceeds raised going to the SOLAS Trusts. The opportunity to fire the 19th century replica cannon to start the race will also be auctioned on eBay at the end of November. www.cyca.com.au

Dec 26 -- Rolex Sydney Hobart starts on Sydney Harbour at 1.00pm on Boxing Day. Charter boats of all shapes and sizes and a variety of costs are available to watch the start of this iconic event. http://rolexsydneyhobart.com

Dec 31 -- New Year’s Eve - Spectacular pyrotechnics are fired off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, barges, and city skyscrapers at 9pm and midnight. Charter vessels participate in a themed parade following the 9pm fireworks. A special area is set aside for charter vessels in the Harbour. www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nye/

- Eastsail’s newest addition to their fleet on Sydney Harbour is Liberte, a new Beneteau Oceanis 40. Interest for the trip north in winter 2011 to Hamilton Island is already growing. Two Beneteau First 40s will cruise north in company, offering offshore RYA courses, racing in Australia's biggest regatta and mile-building offshore cruising.

- Captain Cook Cruises has released cabins for their seven-night Renmark cruise on the Murray River aboard the PS Murray Princess, departing 22 November, 2010. The two 2010 Renmark cruises are over 420kms of the Murray River, passing through five locks from Mannum to Renmark, which is near the Victorian border. Following in the wake of the great 19th Century pioneers, the PS Murray Princess negotiates massive sandbars, hidden reefs and submerged forests on a unique journey that takes months to prepare.