Testimonial

We departed from the Marina with a stiff breeze towards Hook Island Passage, Skedaddle reached 7.5 knots after we got the hang of things. Passing through Hook Passage and towards Esk Island we had to tack in the SE winds, but made good way and moored at one of the provided buoys for the night. The famous Whitehaven beach was our next stop, what a great beach and swimming experience ! In our effort to circumnavigate Whitsunday Island we stopped at Hamilton Isl. Marina for the usual activities coupled with a great meal at the Italian restaurant overlooking the harbour. A crew change took place here and we continued up north again with a stop at Cid Harbour where we woke up the following day with turtles bobbing up to the surface every 5 minutes ! Here we also caught some good fish that was barbecued the following night. The highlight of the charter was Cateran Bay where we stopped the next day for lunch; the sea was calm, visibility was great and the coral was the best I have ever seen in all my professional diving off the coast of North Queensland in previous years. We then dropped anchor at Mackerel Bay, enjoyed the fish for Dinner and caught a few squid. The rounding of the northern tip of Hook Island took some time as by now the winds had calmed, but we were entertained numerous times by whales that kept leaping out of the water and obviously trained their calves in how to breach and roll and generally have a good time. Another highlight was Manta Ray Bay. Although we missed out on seeing the Manta Ray we were duly compensated by the huge Mauri Wrasse that came to the boat. Then a huge school of reef fish surfaced. This was an experience to write home about and the memory of this will stay with us for a long time to come. All in all, the skipper & crew have had a wonderful time enjoying the tranquillity, scenery and wildlife, add to this the professional touch by all at Cumberland Charter and Skedaddle, it goes without saying that we will be back !!