Brilliant boating to Bait Reef
Living in the Whitsundays for the past 11 years, we've been lucky enough to have 74 islands right here on our doorstep.
74 islands spread across 100 magic miles of the Queensland coast.
Technically these islands are part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, but when we think of the GBR it's usually offshore destinations that spring to mind.
Happily, the Whitsundays is blessed with spectacular outer reef systems as well as its archipelago of drowned mountains ringed by fringing reefs.
For one reason or another it's been a while since Brilliant II has ventured to any of these offshore gems.
In February 2020, before COVID had become part of our national (and global) psyche, we finally had an opportunity to revisit Bait Reef.
At only about 30 nautical miles from Airlie Beach, and 15 nautical miles from the north coast of Hook Island, Bait Reef is one of the most accessible of the local reef systems.
Guarded by the 'Stepping Stones' on its western flank and bordered by Hook and Hardy reefs to its east, a visit to this patch of green and blue is not to be missed.
The music to this video is called 'Summer' by Bensound.com.
Enjoy!
💙
@shazatsea
PS There are some pretty cool photos from this trip, thanks to interacting with the local bird and marine life.
There was Ned, Ted, Jed and Ed (the Noddy Terns), and Trevor (the Giant Trevally).
Head over to the Instagram account @shazatsea and scroll down to see the collection 📸
The Sailing Adventures of Brilliant II
Join the Smallwoods - Sharon, Julian, Josh, and Pepe (the Blue Burmese) - aboard Sailing Vessel Brilliant II. Brilliant II is a Kelly Peterson 44, built in 1978. Julian and Sharon bought the boat in Phuket, Thailand, in 2005, and sailed her slowly back to Sydney, Australia. Over the next five years they lived aboard and sailed the coasts of New South Wales and Queensland. They are currently based in the Whitsundays, Queensland, where Josh was born in 2010. In 2021 they began a refit of the water-damaged interior (which had needed doing since the start!), while continuing to sail on mini-adventures north and south of their home port. Sharon is a photojournalist by trade, but realising YouTube is a thing has started creating videos too. You can also follow their adventures on Instagram at @shazatsea.
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Brilliant boating to Bait Reef Location
- Bait Reef (-19.8078195,149.0736274)
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