Marina News

Media Release: 18 February 2019

Queensland Rally Advisory Panel has officially announced that Rally Whitsundays, the central focus of the Whitsunday Festival of Motoring, has been confirmed as the Opening Round of the 2019 P3 Solutions CAMS Queensland Rally Championship on May 4th, 2019.

The rally is set to steal the show at the Whitsundays Festival of Motoring, navigating a mixture of private and public roads across 120kms of epic scenery throughout the Whitsunday Region.

The popular race will feature over 20 rally cars that will take their mark on day 2 of the festival, showcasing the scenic beauty of the Whitsundays and providing impressive vantage points for spectators to enjoy. Chair of the CAMS Queensland Advisory Panel Gerard McConkey said after hard work by the organising committee finding the roads and pulling everything together to make the rally happen, the event is sure to impress locals, motoring enthusiasts and visitors to the region.

“We can’t wait to see over 20 of the best and fastest Rally Cars in Queensland attack these iconic Stages. We know that the teams are going to love them, and the spectators are going to have a ball seeing these fire breathing weapons in action in what will be a very tough contest to find out who will be the inaugural winner of Rally Whitsunday,” Mr McConkey said.

Paul Woodward is appointed as the Clerk of the Course of this inaugural event and will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organisation at the International, National and State Championship levels. “I am excited to take on the role as the Clerk of the Course for this new and challenging championship rally. We are offering an event that will have over 120 kilometres of new and exciting gravel special stages and a bitumen street stage around the hub of Bowen, all within a locality that is referred to as tropical paradise,” Mr Woodward said.

While the Queensland Rally Championship will be a highly anticipated feature of the weekend, the Whitsundays Festival of Motoring is a multi-day event including community welcome & festival opening activities, a classic cars parade, show & shine classic car
displays, live music, licensed venues and kid’s activities.

Tourism Whitsundays CEO Tash Wheeler said the Whitsundays Festival of Motoring is a completely new event offering to the Whitsunday Region. “One of the most exciting things about this new event is that it encompasses several towns within the Whitsundays, we therefore get to showcase to the world the truly diverse and beautiful landscape a Whitsundays holiday can offer visitors from Airlie Beach, Bowen, Collinsville, Islands and Proserpine,” Ms Wheeler said.

The Whitsundays Festival of Motoring is inviting you to enjoy an adventure in paradise while taking advantage of free community activities throughout the festival weekend.

For more information and regular updates on the event visit our website or Facebook page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 21 February 2019

Whitsunday Master Reef Guide Industry legend, Terry Kemp is in a powerful position with a wealth of newly acquired knowledge about the Great Barrier Reef.

Nominated by Cumberland Charter Yachts General Manager Sharon McNally, he is now one of two Master Reef Guides in the Whitsunday region after a rigorous interview process and was hand-selected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority to undertake the course.

Starting in Brisbane, the week long course in November had him travelling to Lady Elliot Island where delegates were mentored by experts in marine biology, environmental factors and also contains several modules online.

Mr Kemp has worked in the bareboating industry for 32 years, and prior to undertaking the course hadn’t studied for years. “That was difficult but nothing is impossible when you set your heart on it,” he said. “Years ago, people wouldn’t even consider the environment is at risk, but they do now, and they’re very aware about what’s going on,” he said. “It is my job to be a conduit to all bareboat briefers about the health of the Great Barrier Reef so they can educate charterers about responsible reef practices and demystify facts about marine life and coral.”

“As an eco-accredited business we have a responsibility to help look after the reef.” Mr Kemp said the course was motivating, and encouraged anybody who was interested to apply. “I was humbled, to be honest. I didn’t really know that much about the reef before the course,” he said. “I knew about boating but not about what keeps the reef alive, what hurts it, the different types of coral and the fish.”

Cumberland Charter Yachts will be conducting Informative Reef training sessions for all their staff. Sharon McNally said “We are all so proud of Terry embracing his new role, he has such a strong connection to the region making it a very easy decision to nominate him for the first cohort of Master Reef Guides. We were overwhelmed with excitement when he was selected.”

“As we develop the training materials, we hope to extend our Reef Training sessions to all local small business tourism operators, bareboat briefers, skippers, vessel crew, front line staff and cruise ship volunteers. In fact, anyone who has a passion for our region and the health of our reef.” said Sharon.

“We are so fortunate to live, work and operate tourism businesses in one of the most beautiful places on earth, rich in its flora, fauna, marine diversity, culture and history. I strongly feel we do not promote these assets enough and hope to create an area wide awareness and sense of ownership encompassing all our underutilised assets.

If anyone would like to sign up to one of our Reef Training sessions please contact us at cruise@ccy.com.au or call 07 4946 7500.

Cumberland Charter Yachts, a multi award-winning company operating for 30 years from Abell Point Marina in the Whitsundays, offering bareboat holidays on sailing yachts, sailing catamarans and power catamarans across a fleet of 28 vessels.

With the new year we took on a resolution to be more health and wellness conscious at Abell Point Marina by offering outdoor fitness classes to be enjoyed by not only our marina guests, but also the local community of the Whitsundays. Providing outdoor classes in the beautiful marina facilities has, over the last month, become popular with locals and travellers a like. Here is what is currently on offer;

Sunset Yoga

Enjoy an evening of relaxing, outdoor yoga with the teachers from Vartamana Yoga & Spa as you watch the sunset over the marina. BYO mat, towel and water bottle, all levels are welcome and each session is $5 for an hour class.
Join the Facebook event to contact the facilitators.

Pilates

Held on the Lure balcony, overlooking the marina, Pilates by Lynda is a mat-based class aimed at conditioning the deeper, supporting muscles of your body to improve posture, balance and coordination. Enjoy the community atmosphere of these 45 minute classes running at 7am and 8am every Sunday. BYO mat and $5 to attend and make the most of the location by enjoying a healthy smoothie or breakfast after your Sunday workout at the popular Bohemian Raw Cafe located underneath Lure.
Join the Facebook event to contact the facilitators.

Boxing Classes

Facilitated by A FIT LIFE by Tonya, group boxing for fitness classes are offered every Tuesday at 5.45pm on the grassed area overlooking the southern end of the marina. With all boxing equipment supplied you only need to bring a towel, a water bottle and a positive attitude to join this fun, outdoor fitness class. No bookings are required, and the classes are $7 casual or a $10 pass for $60.
Join the Facebook event to contact the facilitators.

 

For any changes to these classes check in with the relevant Facebook event page and contact the facilitators directly.

February has started a little wet, but perfect weather for enjoying the beautiful bush walks throughout the Whitsundays. The Airlie Creek walk is particularly beautiful in the wet season when the creek is running, so be sure to get the walking shoes on and give it a try.

For those in town during the Chinese New Year celebrations, head into Airlie Beach on February 5^th for the 8pm fireworks at Boathaven Beach. At Mirage Whitsundays, there is a new Asian fusion restaurant – Mira Ambrosia, as well as Fish D’Vine in Airlie Beach, who are both offering special menus for the celebrations.

Don’t forget Valentines Day on February 14^th! Treat your loved one to a romantic meal at Sorrento Bar & Restaurant in the north village or perhaps order a seafood platter through Fishi Whitsundays (see attached) and celebrate onboard with a nice bottle of wine!

Hemingway’s restaurant in the south marina closed last month. We will be making some modifications to help weather proof the space for future use and we are looking forward to a new restaurant offering opening in the same space in time for the cruising season.

The Whitsunday Festival of Motoring will take place throughout the region 3 – 5 May. Friday 3^rd May will see a large opening party held at the marina. This is a free event and all guests are welcome. If you are the owner of a classic or vintage car and are interested in participating in a show and shine static display, please contact marketing@abellpointmarina.com.

If health and wellness is a focus for you in 2019, we have some great outdoor fitness class options available at the marina. Due to popular demand, a second Pilates session has now been scheduled for every Sunday at Lure. Starting on February 10^th at 7am, this early session will run before the current 8am session. The 8am will be held as usual. All welcome. Don’t forget also, Boxing classes on Tuesdays at 5.45pm and Sunset Yoga on Thursdays at 5.30pm – both on the grassed area at the top of M/N arm.

We have a new Marina Guest Survey, which we would greatly appreciate your assistance in completing. It should only take 5 – 10 minutes and surveys are available at reception (north and south offices). As a thank you for your time, we are giving all participants a bottle of bubbles to enjoy! As always, if you would like to discuss current berthing specials or extending your stay at Abell Point Marina, please come and speak with us at the office.

For Immediate Release:  Thursday, January 17, 2019

Finding the ‘purrfect’ way to experience the Whitsundays just got easier thanks to a brand new partnership between Red Cat Adventures and Prosail Whitsundays.

From Friday, January 18, these two established companies will join forces to offer visitors to the Whitsundays an array of complimentary products and services, all from a one-stop-shop on the main street of Airlie Beach.

The range of tours on offer will include day trips to the Whitsundays’ hotspots on Red Cat’s high-powered Thundercat; fun, social sailing on the backpacker catamaran Tongarra; two-day, two-night resort stay packages with Ride to Paradise and Paradise Cove Resort; and two-day, two-night, or two-day, one-night adventure sailing trips aboard Prosail’s famous maxi-yachts Condor, Hammer and Broomstick.

Red Cat Adventures directors Julie and Asher Telford said their company had been running its own reservations from the shopfront at 350 Shute Harbour Road since April 2018 and was more than ready to welcome Prosail aboard.

“As a group we’re now capable of carrying 35,000 people per year into the Whitsundays’ section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park under the guidance of our 44 locally employed staff and crew,” Asher said.

“Individually we’re strong but combined we’re going to be an even better option for visitors to the region and we’re excited to be working with Prosail on some fresh and innovative ideas for promoting the Whitsundays,” Julie added.

For Prosail directors Josh Wilde and Tommy Gallagher, who bring years of sailing experience and local knowledge to the table, the partnership is about creating opportunities, identifying as strong brands and delivering a premium experience for guests.

“Between our two companies we pride ourselves on customer service and we’re passionate about our products,” Josh said.

‘We’re proud to unite with a recognised industry leader in Red Cat Adventures, which will only help reinforce the way we already conduct business at Prosail,” Tommy added.

From this Friday, Prosail guests will benefit from a premium, modern check-in experience at the Red Cat Adventures shopfront, which will also carry both companies’ signage and merchandise.

All check-ins will be managed by Red Cat Adventures’ knowledgeable and friendly reservations team.

For more information follow both companies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit www.redcatadventures.com.au and www.prosail.com.au.

Ends

Media Enquiries: Sharon Smallwood/iTalk Communications – 0402 126 461

Welcome to 2019 – we hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year and managed some time out amongst on the water despite liquid sunshine!

We are happy to announce several new health and well-being options at the marina for the new year. Returning Sunday 13 January, we have Pilates at Lure. 8am start, $5 cash per person, BYO water/ mat. Starting 3 January, we have weekly Sunset Yoga on the grassed area at the top of M/N Arm. $5 cash, BYO water/ mat. Look out for the Vartamana flag. Finally, commencing 8 January, we have weekly Boxing for Fitness classes – again at the grassed area at the top of M/N Arm. $7 cash, BYO water. All welcome.

As well as our enviro coffee cups, we are now selling stainless re-usable water bottles at the north and south offices. We would encourage all guests to purchase one on arrival and make use of the cold water available at reception or from the water fountain in the south marina village. Not only do they make a great keepsake but by purchasing one, you are helping to eliminate the use of single use plastic bottles, which supports our environmental goal of making Australia’s oceans clean.

Ocean Club Shipmate’s Sizzler will take place at 7.30am on Thursday 10 January. With the success of last month’s breakfast sizzler, we decided to have it again in the morning whilst the weather is still warm!

Our monthly Men’s and Women’s Business networking nights will continue at The Garden Bar, taking place this month on the 17^th and 24^th respectively. These nights are aimed at bringing people together at the end of a long day to enjoy a drink and a lite bite. Please feel free to join us and spread the word.

The weather event we experienced before Christmas was a timely reminder to all boaties about vessel preparedness at this time of year. Our Extreme Weather Vessel Preparedness guide has just been updated so please speak with the team about your copy and if you have any questions come up to the office and speak with our Customer Relations team.