Back by popular demand !
This trip was voted the 2022 Trip of the Year so you don’t want to miss out on this one. 

Great Keppel Island is arguably one of the best destinations on the Qld Coast for trailererable cruisers from Brisbane as it offers fantastic anchorages along with great snorkelling and fishing opportunities as well. 

With 17 separate white sandy beaches, great bush walking and even a licensed café this Island has something for everybody ! 

Plan at this stage is to head up on the Saturday 14th September and stay in the marina Saturday night. 

Our June club event will be Tipplers on South Stradbroke Island. This is instead of Noosa River which is currently being dredged and has several closed areas. Tipplers is one of the Gold Coast’s Iconic Island destinations. It has a lovely beach that is great for swimming, mooring, and staying overnight. There is a campground and a kiosk that has great food and ice creams.  We have hired one of the campsites for a campsite barbecue. You can see lots of wildlife, and kangaroos and Wallabies abound. There are walks over to the ocean beach and to Cooran Cove.

https://whittleyclubnsw.com.au/lake-macquarie/ 

Hi Captains and Crew, As you know we are combining with NSW to run a trip to Lake Macquarie. Here is the initial plan from Kevin Shaw, the trip Coordinator. More information will follow, but in the meantime can you please let us know if you are planning on going on the trip (under events), thanks!

Plan A: Manly Boat Harbour to Kooringal- over 4 days! 

Well Captains and Crew, it is that time of year again! I can't believe it has come around again so quickly!! But, Hey, our fantastic Christmas Luncheon is coming up on Saturday 2nd December, 2023, at the Moreton Bay Boat Club at Scarborough, starting at 11.30am till ....

The Whittley Christmas luncheons are not to be missed. Bring your spare change for the raffle, and there will be prizes, lots of fun, and a great opportunity to get together and talk about our trips this year, and what is coming up next year!

We are sponsoring the luncheon to the tune of $15.00 which means you pay only $40.00 per person so this should be a real value-for-money event 😃. Don't forget to bring your spare change for the raffles!!

You can bring your boat for an overnight stay at the marina.  However, as they have a sailing regatta on that weekend, they are offering casual club pontoon bookings.  You need to book directly with them, and will need to forward your insurance details, call Liz on 3203 5188. The rates can be found here:  https://whittleyclubqld.godaddysites.com/berthing-rates 

If the weather Gods are smiling a trip to Tangalooma on Sunday is the GO!! Let us know you are coming, and please deposit your payment to our account with your names as the reference, thanks! Here are the details: Club Whittley Qld Inc., BSB: 484 799 Account: 007361131.

Looking forward to seeing you all there, Fair weather and calm winds, 

Jon

You are invited to join us for the Whittley Club’s awesome river trip at the end of September on the long weekend to explore the iconic Clarence River and some of the small towns along the way. The trip will finish up at Iluka for the Club’s annual bowling challenge, this year it will be Bare foot bowls (last trip was 10 pin bowling)!! 

Tide times at Kooringal are favourable for a mid- morning entry this year, so weather permitting, we will have an Australia day BBQ on the beach at Day’s gutter, Kooringal.     

For those who’ve never been to Kooringal you shouldn’t miss this. Kooringal is a hidden gem approximately 45 minutes from Manly harbour. It’s a great run that offers something different. 

Please see the trip details in the Briefing Plan below. We have created two events, the Australia Day trip and the LSC Seafood Spectacular. Can you please indicate on each one if you are coming for catering purposes.

Lets pray for fair winds and calm seas !!

The destination for our stay will be the Great Keppel Island area located not far from Keppel Bay marina.  The marina is around 680km North of Brisbane and is around an 8 to 9 hour drive with minimal breaks. 

As this is a long weekend many people may choose to come up a bit early on the Thursday or Friday but I will probably try and come up on the Wednesday. 

Plan at this stage is for those that arrive Friday night/ early Saturday is to head from the harbour to Great Keppel Island and select the best anchorage and assess the conditions. 

Great Keppel has many anchorages so depending on the prevailing wind direction you can usually pick a spot with an offshore breeze. 

Great Keppel has plenty to offer and there is some great snorkelling, great beaches and some awesome bush walks all within close proximity to most anchorages. 

There is an old under water observatory not far from Great Keppel opposite Middle Island which is a protected area so no fishing but has some great fish life including large cod and plenty of coral trout for those keen to do some snorkelling. 

There is also a Café / Bar on the Western side of the Island not far from Fisherman’s beach which would be a top spot for afternoon sundowners if conditions permit. 

To the South of great Keppel is Humpy Island which also has a great beach and plenty of exploring options also. 

For the Sunday night we might plan our final night in the marina for those needing to return to Brisbane the next day. The marina has an attached restaurant called the Waterline Restaurant with a great menu and reasonable prices. And yes, they also have espresso martinis!