Cathy & Friends

I sailed with a group of friends, eight in total in February 2021. We chose Whitsunday Escape because we had already chartered from them four years ago and had a great experience.

This time was even better. We had a beautiful boat, Great Escape (Lagoon 450). She is absolutely luxurious and meticulously maintained. Everything worked perfectly. She’s so big, eight people did not feel crowded at all. Dining and lounge seating inside, dining and lounge seating out the back, lounge seating, daybed and trampolines out the front and seating for six in the flybridge.

She is kitted out with absolutely everything you could need: oven, stove, microwave and BBQ with plenty of fridge and freezer space. The cabins were the best part: four queen beds with air-conditioning and their own ensuites – pure luxury not having to share a bathroom on a boat.

We spent eight nights on Great Escape and we were all sorry to leave her.

The weather was mostly fine, just a few showers. We stayed and snorkeled in a different spot every day as well as going to Whitehaven Beach to sit on the sand. The guide books on the boat were excellent in helping to find sheltered anchorages according to the conditions, as well as the best snorkeling. (We learned on our last trip, you don’t ignore the guide book if it tells you an anchorage is not suitable for overnight stops – lol).

Some of our highlights were seeing turtles, white-tipped sharks, squid, tuna, a cuttlefish that hung around our boat one night to eat the baitfish that were attracted by our lights. We got to handfeed batfish from the back of the boat in one anchorage!

And we spent one day on Hamilton Island for cocktails, dinner and a spot of shopping. It’s pretty special coming into Hamilton Island on your own boat!

The staff at Whitsunday Escape are so professional and hiring from them is so uncomplicated. The marina is also a one-stop-shop for all the diving and snorkelling gear and we also hired paddle boards which was fantastic for one lady in our group who was not confident swimming in the ocean – she just paddled alongside us as we snorkeled.

Thanks so much Whitsunday Escape! We’ll definitely be back again!