Riviera's seventh Sandy Straits run

The seventh annual R Marine Jones Great Sandy Straits Experience certainly provided a great experience for all involved as the 20-boat fleet head out to Lady Musgrave Island. R Marine Jones dealer principal Randall Jones said they had been trying to reach Lady Musgrave Island for the past five years.

"We were absolutely thrilled to have such perfect weather this year which allowed us to venture out to Lady Musgrave Island, which is some 50 nautical miles off the coast of Bundaberg," he said.

Mark and Mishclle Bisssaker along with their son 11-year old Aaron were thrilled with the experience: "We spent our second night at Gary’s Anchorage and with good weather predicted we upped anchor on day three and headed to Bundaberg to refuel before heading out to Lady Musgrave, which was definitely one of the highlights of the Experience," said Michelle.

"We had the whole lagoon to ourselves to explore the beautiful colours of the coral and the fish and then beyond the lagoon we enjoyed deep sea fishing within an hour away from where we had anchored. We had the best of both worlds, the tranquillity of the lagoon and its white sandy beach and the adventure of landing a Red Emperor.

"It was just so calm and clear, the sunsets were magnificent, the weather was perfect, the company was great – what more could we ask for," she added.

Michelle said they had made many lifelong friends through the R Marine Jones Experiences and it had also given them the confidence to explore Queensland’s ocean playground.

Randall said each year there was a different marine animal theme for the annual Great Sandy Straits Experience, and this year it was the fish.

"Each of our owners are given a special commemorative t-shirt with the marine animal theme embroidered on it and we all wear them to the annual dinner, which was held at Bundaberg this year," he said.

For more information about the R Marine Jones Experiences go tio: www.rmarinejones.com.au.