Bareboat in the Whitsundays: is the briefing enough without a licence?

The Whitsundays lie off the Queensland coast of Australia, a group of islands with wooded hills, white beaches and sheltered bays inside the Great Barrier Reef. Most bareboat bases are in Airlie Beach on the mainland. Hops between the islands are short and the water is calmer than on an open coast, but strong tidal streams run through the passages. A common question is whether the briefing is enough without a licence: what the base requires is set out in the charter agreement. Entry and visa are your own job, and the Foreign Office travel advice pages and the Australian high commission have the details.

Many bases ask for no particular licence and instead check the skipper's experience with a questionnaire or sailing CV. In return they give a thorough briefing on the boat, the area and the radio before you leave, and some send a skipper along for the first leg if your experience is thin. The cruising area is limited in the agreement, sailing after dark is normally banned, and you are often required to call the base on VHF at set times. In strong winds or big tides the base closes certain passages and anchorages. A qualification such as Day Skipper or the ICC still helps the check.

The islands sit within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with zones that have their own rules, public moorings with time limits and areas where anchoring is banned to protect the coral; you get the current maps at check in. From November to April is cyclone season, and in the warmer months dangerous jellyfish are often present near the coast, so a stinger suit is commonly recommended for swimming. Get written confirmation of what applies if you damage the reef or a mooring. You are personally liable for damage you cause to others, so make sure your own skipper liability insurance applies in Australia.

Worth remembering

In the Whitsundays the briefing stands in for the licence, not for your own care around the reef.