Hamilton Island to Southport / 600 Nm / 30 Aug – 7 Sep 2022

You’ll fly into Hamilton Island directly or into Airlie Beach (Proserpine) and catch the ferry to Hamilton Island on 30 August 2022. We’ll have a crew dinner on the night of the 30th at Hamilton Island and complete final preparations for departure the next day.

On the 31st we’ll depart Hamilton Island Marina and head South through the Whitsunday Islands. It’s a navigators minefield with islands, reefs, whales, commercial ships, pleasure boats and the Australian Navy to watch out. This voyage normally takes 4-5 days sailing time to complete and we’ll break it up with an overnight stop in a sheltered island bay or at a marina on way south. On the way south we’ll assess the weather conditions and tide times to decide whether we sail down the eastern or western side of the world’s largest sand island; ‘Fraser Island’, along with Moreton Island and the Stradbroke Islands. The inside (western) route has additional navigation challenges including crossing the notorious Wide Bay Bar at the southern tip of Fraser Island.

We would expect to arrive at the Southport Yacht Club on the 6th of September and you are welcome to stay onboard the entire time and should plan to fly out of either Brisbane or Gold Coast Airport on 7th September.

Hamilton Island to Southport / 600 Nm / 27 Aug – 4 Sep 2023

You’ll fly into Hamilton Island directly or into Airlie Beach (Proserpine) and catch the ferry to Hamilton Island on 27 August 2022. We’ll have a crew dinner on the night of the 27th at Hamilton Island and complete final preparations for departure the next day. On the 28th we’ll depart Hamilton Island Marina and head South through the Whitsunday Islands. It’s a navigators minefield with islands, reefs, whales, commercial ships, pleasure boats and the Australian Navy to watch out.

This voyage normally takes 4-5 days sailing time to complete and we’ll break it up with an overnight stop in a sheltered island bay or at a marina on the way south. On the way south we’ll assess the weather conditions and tide times to decide whether we sail down the eastern or western side of the world’s largest sand island; ‘Fraser Island’, along with Moreton Island and the Stradbroke Islands. The inside (western) route has additional navigation challenges including crossing the notorious Wide Bay Bar at the southern tip of Fraser Island.

We would expect to arrive at the Southport Yacht Club on the 3rd of September and you are welcome to stay onboard the entire time and should plan to fly out of either Brisbane or Gold Coast Airport on 4th of September.

Your crew package includes:

• all meals onboard
• crew meals ashore in Hamilton Island and Southport
• accommodation onboard
• your Ocean Sailing Expeditions crew shirt
• marina fees
• the use of a PFD (personal floatation device), PLB (personal locator beacon), and a safety tether
• your bedding, a pillow and towel is also included along with suncream.

Your crew package excludes:

• accommodation ashore
• flights and transport to and from departure and arrival ports and visas
• alcohol
• toiletries
• clothing and wet weather gear

Its always recommended that you book flights with date flexibility in case of unforeseen changes due to weather or schedules. Accommodation options if you want to stay ashore either side of trip: AirBNB, Booking.com, Wotif & HomeAway.