Testimonials
Charter Comments From Our Sailors
Thanks to the whole team.
We had another amazing stay sailing the Whitsunday’s
Thankyou also for the upgrade to FlyAway we loved sailing her
Have already had some other friends ask if we could take them sailing.
Would always use Queensland Yacht carters
There might be a 4th trip yet
Thanks So much
We had such an amazing time and can’t wait to come back and do it again! Our experience with the crew and the boat itself was great. I appreciated our thorough briefing from Frank the morning we set sail, as he offered plenty of advice about the best spots to anchor, rather than just sticking to a regulatory checklist. Overall a seamless experience.
Can I start by saying how wonderful and helpful your team were this year in such challenging times. We booked twelve months ago and the week before we were due to leave from Brisbane we were in lockdown there. The announcement came on the Sunday that we out of lockdown and I called your office. I was surprised that Lynne (O) who answered the phone knew all of the latest Queensland Government rulings that had only just been announced and we were free to travel. She was more informative than the latest online news.
Whilst this was our second charter, we are always struck by the beauty of the Whitsundays and the colour of the water.
Eager to get away the following day after our overnight sleep aboard, the briefing and instructions were just as, if not more comprehensive than the previous year. A point worth noting for any families with limited or no boating or sailing experience. Your team will spend the extra time explaining everything required until both you and they are comfortable that you are capable of handling the vessel. It’s worth noting for beginners, there is good mobile coverage when the mainland is visible and a quick phone call can put your mind at ease before you head too far off on your adventures.
We had an amazing time with life long memories made in such a beautiful part of the world that is just astounding. The highlight this year, was being joined by not one, but 4 Hump Head Maori Wrasse (affectionately know to scuba divers as “Wally”) under the boat in Manta Ray Bay. We snorkelled with them for hours and are the envy of many of our diving friends. We dived the outer GBR off Cairns for 4 days in January and the coral and reef in protected areas of the Whitsundays is just as good. We followed the guide on board out boat in the form of “100 Magic Miles of the Whitsundays” book and it proved a valuable tool in locating the best spots to snorkel and even included Wally’s location. We swam with hundreds of fish, several turtles and got up close and personal with several giant Bat Fish.
Thanks again for making our dreams come true.
Yo ho ho! From landlubbers to skilled seadogs; what a journey that was! Thanks to our crew @summer2606 @lmaso90 and @carlymay18 for sharing the adventure with us and to @queenslandyachtcharters for helping us tick off a bucket list item. We’ll be back!
Here’s a few things we learnt during our week at sea;- ⚓️ Sea water is 100% a suitable substitute to cook your pasta in when your water levels are at an all time low
- ⚓️ Tell Jeffery to chill the god damn mimosas
- ⚓️ Batten down the hatches
- ⚓️ Hold on to your akubra
- ⚓️ What’s in the past is in the past; don’t look back when you drop the tanks ?
- ⚓️ Always check your tide chart…before anchoring
- ⚓️ Wash your hired snorkel gear before using to avoid catching the herpes
- ⚓️ The captain isn’t a real captain unless he has a captain’s hat ??✈️
- ⚓️ Tune into the scheds every morning with some tea and sit back and have yourself a good giggle at other people’s misfortunes
- ⚓️Salt water baths are just as good as freshwater
- ⚓️Make sure the ginger has sunscreen on, if she says she does, apply more anyway.
- ⚓️ Snorkel masks work well when you’re navigating a 36 ft cat through torrential rain ?
- ⚓️Never assume the neighbouring vessel understands what dragging anchor means
- ⚓️Mooring > anchorage
- ⚓️It’s a boat plane, not a seaplane
- ⚓️Dropping your mainsail in 28 knots of wind and 2 metre swells…no regrets
- ⚓️Mind the step
- ⚓️Drop a line to top up your diminishing food supplies ?
- ⚓️It takes half an hour and roughly a quarter a tank of fuel to retrieve a man overboard water bottle
- ⚓️The charter company will not fully appreciate your pirate accent when you check in for the day ?☠️
- ⚓️Don’t let a little rain ruin your sunshine ?
My face says it all. This day was beyond amazing!! It was our very first day at sea, sailing ourselves through The Whitsunday Islands
The previous day we’d spent hours learning the ropes (pun intended ) with a pro to make sure we were up for the challenge. Turns out we picked everything up quickly & worked really well as a team to drop anchor & navigate etc ~ the experience was EPIC & I so recommend it! We can’t wait to do this again with our friends.
Chartering a Yacht in the Whitsundays is easier than you think, grab your partner and get onboard ?⛵??????☀️
Chartering your own yacht gives you:
- Freedom to explore on your own terms and travel at your own unique pace
- Complete privacy out on the open water
- Options – fishing, snorkelling, swimming and diving are all on offer
- Adventure – Explore the islands at your own pace with your yacht serving as your home base. Hike, bushwalk or have a romantic picnic on the beach!
- The opportunity to bond with your loved ones. There’s nothing like teamwork, the magic of the ocean and the wonders of nature to bring you together.
- Get closer to nature. From dolphins to rays to sea turtles and so much more, you’d better get your camera ready!
“Firstly many thanks indeed for being so helpful and supportive in organising this years trip on La Diva.
I think that was our 6th charter with you since 1989 and it is so nice to still have such great service even though you are now part of a multinational body.
We will link some picture to social marketing etc but I did want to particularly thank Brad for his help on sorting a few things out on the run during our mid charter turn around and faith in us as a crew, in letting out sailing way after the 3.45 curfew – and genuine interest and concern in fixing the small faults/ issues that we identified at our debrief.
In addition Lily was very helpful with our slightly convoluted crew changes and travel arrangements.
We are having a crew post holiday dinner this weekend and will select a few key photos and share them with you – and all things considered will most likely look to charter La Diva for 8/9 nights same time next year – do you think she will still be with you?”.
We had a great trip as always. Here are a few pics…there were plenty!
And here is our favourite – we had pirate day ?
“We arrived home last week from our holiday in Europe and I think we all agree that the highlight was our week sailing in Greece. The Ionian Islands were beautiful and we were blessed with perfect weather and a gorgeous relaxing week. Our catamaran was fantastic and very comfortable and our skipper, Yanis, was fabulous and looked after us very well. We all have wonderful memories of the week and all agree that it is something we would definitely recommend to others and hopefully we can revisit this special part of the world sometime in the future.
Thank you for your help with organising our holiday ….. It was simply perfect.”
“To all the team at Queensland Yacht Charters,
Thank you for the wonderful service leading up to and during our charter trip last week. We had a wonderful time celebrating three birthdays. A special mention to Bruce who was fantastic and showed a genuine interest in discussing sailing with my son who is addicted to sailing.
We will highly recommend you”
“This was my first bareboat charter, and I couldn’t have chosen a better company for my debut as a skipper. Throughout the process, QYC’s staff was very professional and friendly. I had to change boats because of crew numbers. The quote and paperwork were re-done immediately. Because of the low season (August) we got a very good deal on the Dufour 412 Miss B, and proceeded to have great time for the entire 10 days on board. We had a “sleep-over” on board before the first charter day. The boat was immaculate. Whatever large luggage pieces we couldn’t store, the staff took for safekeeping in the office. The next morning, part of my crew went for a Reef snorkelling adventure, while my first mate and I had a briefing done by Richard. We looked into every nook and tried most devices on board. A discussion of possible sailing routes was followed by a short sail in Pioneer Bay, both for Richard to see what we can do with a boat, and for us to get a feel of the handling. Miss B is a perfect boat for 6 people. Every device works; the engine hummed along throughout (it is surprisingly economical in terms of fuel consumption); the anchor winch was ok (we did a lot of anchoring), sails and lines are in great condition. The battery was discharging too quickly, but we compensated by turning the fridge off overnight, and running the engine for 1/2 hour in the morning (beer kept cold nevertheless). QYC will look into this after our charter. Since this is a smaller boat, or because we had long-haired ladies on board, we had to go to Hamilton Island for a water refill. It was during Race Week, which is why we couldn’t get an overnight dock. The Marina office was nevertheless very courteous and allowed us to stay at the Fuel dock until we got food, water, and other marine necessities (wine). We also got to see the great racing yachts, and evade landing planes. Our trip took us around the islands, and every stop was at another picture-perfect anchorage. Whales, fish, birds, boats, hikes, sunsets, sunrises – it is all documented, least friends don’t believe how good it all was. QYC has the rule of twice-daily calls to make sure that the boats are in safe place. This was especially helpful when, for 24 hours, the winds increased to >25kn. All charters must come to an end, and we were thrilled to get home – only because of the hot showers with unlimited water. We were met at the marina by the QYC manager ( I am so sorry for not getting his name!). He helped us dock, and we went to Sorento for a last real beer as crew – the last bottle on board was split 4-ways. My thanks to Lynne Robinson, Lynne Osborne, Megan Whitta, Sara Elies, Kristy Eardley, Richard, and the Manager (sorry, again) for their help with what could have been the most nerve-wracking charter, being my first, but instead, was pure pleasure from start to end.”
“I want to say all staff we dealt with were amazing. I can’t recall how many times I called before our charter asking questions and always got great information, and it never felt like I was a burden, even though I am sure I was asking some pretty stupid questions. From our briefer who was awesome to the ops team and even when we got in a day early and got out car organised for us on a Sunday, it shows you have a great team. Looking forward to our next adventure, hopefully not in 20 to 25 knot winds LOL.”
“The boat and your team were wonderful in organising such an amazing holiday.
The trip was a surprise for my husband’s 35th birthday and we both were blown away by your teams professionalism and enthusiasm which started our incredible holiday off in the right way.
Please pass our thanks to all involved and I hope we will be speaking with you in the near future for another sailing trip.”
“I would like to thank Queensland Yacht Charters for the charter of ‘Seachange’. From first enquiry to end of charter, all the employees we dealt with were very comforting and thorough in there work. We all had a great and memorable time and will definitely book with you again.
Once again, thanks very much and when I get some time I will post some pics of our charter.”
“We had a bloody awesome time on our ‘Lunasea’ and it did not take long for us (well some of us) to miss it. When I tell people that it rained everyday and we had 20 – 25 knot winds everyday as well they are surprised at how wicked a time we had. It was not too hot for us southerners, we didn’t get fried by the sun and 25 knot winds were perfect for full sails. You were right, a week was spot on, no rush and plenty of time to get around although we only got 9 knots out of it in a 30 knot gust, maybe we will look at bigger sails next time. Thank you for making our holiday easy to organise and giving us the opportunity to see your lovely part of the world.”
“We had an absolute blast, truly and yes, the memories are forever there! I am strongly thinking about this again and so will keep you in mind if I can conjure up some more people to accompany us. Glad you found the boat in order, she became part of the family of course – a real beauty! Strongly positive view of QYC – always available for advice and easy and pragmatic to work with.”
“Thank you to all the team for your professionalism, everything went really well and we had a wonderful time. I won’t hesitate to rent again with Dream Yacht Charter next time.”
“We had a wonderful holiday and will be back for sure! Megan was an absolute treasure and everyone we dealt with at QYC was very professional. Many thanks again.”
“This trip was the most memorable in our 2 months journey.
Your professionalism, customer service and kind voices on the phone or in person were outstanding.
I will for sure recommend you and I will be back.
Many thanks.”
Finally we are all home in Australia and just want to thank you again for all you did for us in our 3 week Greek Odyssey on the Mythodea I realise that its another weekend coming up and it will be big workload for you all yet again. For all of us, as boat owners and some of us operators we fully understand what it is like to maintain one boat let alone a whole fleet especially with such an intensive charter turnover that you must experience especially included with presentation, International & Greek maritime, survey and legal requirements, it is all very impressive for us our experience was the trip of a lifetime that will never be forgotten and though we had some challenges along the way, the professional way that Dream Yachts resolved the issues including the monetary expenditure aspect of the trip was much appreciated by all of us. The assistance all your staff gave us was also much appreciated. Our Photos and memories have many benefits and one of them will always be on how Dream Yachts looked after us for any other prospective adventurers, when we tell of our experiences to family and friends. We all have high hopes to return again in the future as there is another 1988 islands to be explored let alone the visited ones we want to return to. Thank you again for all your help and assistance and good luck for a prosperous summer.