Airlie Beach attracts the superyacht set
Could this Tropical North Queensland harbour become a hangout for the world’s superyacht set?
Marine biologist Crystal Lacey dolphin-kicks to the depths of Mantaray Bay to point out elephant ear coral, a shapeshifting species that gracefully gathers its ruffled folds when feeding. We’re snorkelling off the northeast edge of Hook Island, the second-largest of 74 isles in the Whitsundays, where colourful fish are so profuse several collide with my mask as I’m exploring the cerulean waters.
To get here, we’ve passed teardrop-shaped Langford Island, with its elongated spit of bone-white sand; pristine Black Island, better known as Bali Hai; and Hayman, home to an exclusive resort that is one of only four currently operating in the Whitsundays.
This picturesque patch of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef was hammered by Cyclone Debbie in 2017, and still confronts the spectre of climate change. But Lacey, who leads tours via her Little Fish consultancy, is keen to demonstrate the underwater world here is not just recovering but flourishing.
“The reef is still here, it’s still very much alive and will be here for many years after we are,” she says.
We’ve arrived aboard 30m superyacht Norseman, belonging to Paul Darrouzet. The former mining magnate also owns Coral Sea Marina Resort at Airlie Beach, from where we departed earlier that morning, spirits high and champagne glasses in hand. Darrouzet says the integrated marina and resort, comprising 520 wet berths, a 77-room hotel and a bustling maritime village filled with restaurants, shops, charter companies, sailing instructors and tour operators, is the jumping-off point for most on-water tourism here.
He first came to Airlie Beach on a boys’ fishing trip when he was in his 20s. Several decades on, his ambition is to turn it into a global superyacht destination hotspot or, as he puts it, “the Monaco of the South Pacific”. The marina has 63 superyacht berths and associated concierge facilities for crewing, provisioning, repairs and more. On the day I duck in, gleaming vessels such as the 45m Gran Finale and the 35m POPS are hunkered harbourside.
Although Norseman is unavailable for hire, Darrouzet’s idea is that travellers will come to Airlie Beach to charter a similar vessel (and a skipper) from one of the businesses based at the marina to embark on some island-hopping adventures of their own.
Increasing numbers of international and Australian superyachts are visiting the Whitsundays, including the stunning De Lisle III, on which I spent time last year. They include several particularly impressive vessels over 50m in length, such as Lady E, Keri Lee III, Mischief and Royale X, which have visited Coral Sea Marina during the past two years.
It’s believed the relaxing of legislation at the end of 2019, which made it more viable for foreign-flagged vessels to charter in Australian waters, will encourage owners to abandon the seasonal “milk run” between the crowded Mediterranean and Caribbean and head Down Under.
“Here, the physical beauty is astounding, you can drink the water, eat the food, and no one shoots you,” says Darrouzet.
After a seafood lunch and a round of margaritas, we anchor off Whitsunday Island, navigating a tender into the turquoise shallows to reach Whitehaven Beach. Several members of our party slip off wedding rings and other jewellery, intent on polishing them to a high sheen in the world’s purest silica sands.
Back at the resort, I spend a few minutes weighing whether the setting sun will be best viewed from the hammock or the Jacuzzi on the balcony of my spa deluxe room. I choose the tub.
Darrouzet purchased this building, then the rundown circa-1970s Coral Sea Resort, in 2019 after first acquiring and overhauling the Abell Point Marina in 2013. Both properties were subsequently rebranded under the Coral Sea Marina Resort banner.
The resort has been extensively renovated and refurbished, with most guestrooms and apartments getting a makeover. Cabanas and a private beach have been added, a waterfront restaurant, bar and pool club launched, and the Blush Spa and Beauty Bar day spa (where I have a soothing massage) unveiled. A three-week closure in February will bring a further refresh to facilities, including the paving of the existing 25m pool with glass tiles.
I’d describe the spa deluxe rooms as schmick rather than lavish, with pale laminate flooring, serviceable lounge and kitchenette, white-tiled bathroom studded with occasional sailboat motifs and, gracing one wall, a photographic print of Heart Reef. There’s no pillow menu or even a minibar, and you’d be hard-pressed to fit two people in the tub, but superyacht enthusiasts are coming for the marina rather than the resort.
The next day I take a one-hour scenic helicopter ride from the marina out over the Whitsundays’ idyllic islands, with curves and whorls of coral structures beneath us and the horizon disappearing into the blue beyond. Our pilot drops to 500 feet and loops in two long, slow circles around to the heart-shaped coral formation that features on the wall of my room. It has inspired many marriage proposals, we’re told.
I keep my eyes on the ocean below as we head back towards the mainland. It’s too late in the season to spot whales, but the sight of a pod of dolphins cruising fills me with joy. If snorkelling offers a close-up view of the Great Barrier Reef, then flying is the wide-angle shot, revealing its beauty and its vastness.
In the know
Qantas and Jetstar operate flights from a range of Australian hubs to Proserpine.
Coral Sea Marina Resort is on Ocean View Avenue in Airlie Beach, about 30 minutes by road from Proserpine Airport. From $330 a night for two, including buffet breakfast. Superyacht charter rates from $30,000 to $82,000 a day, including crew, food and beverage and watersports; excluding fuel.
Crystal Lacey is available for customised reef tours through Little Fish Tourism.
Helireef Whitsundays’ 60-minute scenic helicopter flight over Heart Reef, Whitehaven Beach and Hayman Island costs $700 a person.
Denise Cullen was a guest of Coral Sea Marina Resort.