{"id":54522,"date":"2017-11-20T21:44:01","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T02:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/?p=54522"},"modified":"2023-05-08T09:31:25","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T13:31:25","slug":"the-charter-file-australias-hidden-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/charter-file-australias-hidden-best\/","title":{"rendered":"The Charter File: Australia’s Hidden Best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The Charter File: Australia’s Hidden Best<\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

The manager at the exclusive, 40-room Lizard Island Resort calls The Pavilion building his second-best option. Don\u2019t believe him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Sure, the $5,990-per-night building for two known as The Villa may command a higher price than The Pavilion, but for anyone spending time on Lizard Island before a Great Barrier Reef charter aboard the 115-foot, wave-piercing powercat Spirit<\/em><\/a> , The Pavilion is absolutely the best. Guests can arrive from Cairns via an hourlong plane flight or helicopter jaunt, relax for a few days in The Pavilion while adjusting to the time-zone change, and then sit up in bed one morning to enjoy the glass-wall view that only The Pavilion offers. For example, you may see Spirit<\/em> cruising in and dropping her hook in Anchor Bay, ready for a week of snorkeling, diving and fishing the “secret GPS spots” Capt. \u00adMartin Debanks has spent years mapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n (Left) Small planes ferry resort guests from Cairns. (Right) Resort dining.<\/span>\n Christian Pearson \/ Misheye<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

You may recognize Lizard Island Resort from its Black Marlin Classic, which lures tournament fishermen in October. Spirit<\/em> plans to be a mothership for that event (\u00adchartering alongside owned or chartered boats that have fighting chairs) and then stay to charter along the reef, offering itineraries with everything from slow and easy paddleboards to \u00adrip-roaring kiteboards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re setting up trips where you can do a week on the boat and a week at Lizard Island, or half a week on the boat and half on the island,\u201d Debanks says. \u201cIf you want to be on the water, that\u2019s what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

From September until December, he promises, the billfishing along the reef is incredible \u2014 and his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 makes his opinion worth considering. He and his wife, Jo (Spirit<\/em>‘s chef), previously ran the 120-foot Crescent Valkyrie<\/em>, the previous vessel of Spirit<\/em>‘s owner, who lives to hunt game fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

PEDIGREE:<\/strong> 115-foot New Zealand Yachts built in 2005, refitted in 2016.<\/em>\nACCOMMODATIONS:<\/strong> 10 guests in five staterooms including an upper-deck master.<\/em>\nCREW:<\/strong> 7.\nTHIS WINTER:<\/strong> Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.<\/em>\nSUMMER 2018:<\/strong> Whitsunday Islands.<\/em>\nFOR FUN IN THE SUN:<\/strong> game-fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling and more.<\/em>\nMANAGEMENT COMPANY:<\/strong> Northrop & Johnson.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The Pavilion view at Lizard Island Resort.<\/span>\n Christian Pearson \/ Misheye<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

“We were aboard for 12 years and went around the world twice looking for marlin,” Martin says, adding that once, they caught a 1,300-pound marlin close to Port Douglas \u2014 where the owner just so happens to keep his new yacht, Spirit<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Prior to Valkyrie<\/em>, the Debankses worked together on scuba and adventure charters in the Mideast. Along the way, they became serious kiteboarders (Martin calls the sport “the purest form of sailing”), and they still carry the gear on board today, with instructors ready to hop aboard alongside dive instructors, should charter clients have an interest in either sport. Their goal is for all Spirit<\/em> charters to leave guests feeling inspired, including by land-based activities in such places as Cooktown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The center section aft on Spirit<\/em> serves a dual purpose. When it is lowered, as shown here, it becomes a water-level relaxation area with guest seating. Crew can also remove the seating and load a tender, then raise the section to be flush with the main deck, allowing the yacht to carry the tender when underway, not tow it.<\/span>\n Courtesy Northrop and Johnson<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Spirit<\/em> with her 23-foot Hooker tender for diving, fishing and snorkeling.<\/span>\n Maren Katharina<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom there,\u201d Martin says of the town, \u201cyou can access all the rainforest, learn the history of Captain Cook, drink with the locals if you like. That\u2019s always fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Spirit<\/em> being based in Australia is a kind of homecoming, after the New Zealand build was found in disrepair off Montenegro, ignored by her second owner. It took about $3 million of refit work in Europe to return the 2005 build to ABS standards, give her a new interior with help from U.S.-based designer Robin Rose, repaint the hull, rebuild an engine and generator, add VSAT for access to Wi-Fi, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Upgrades continued this past summer in Australia, where Spirit<\/em> got a hot tub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Sitting in that tub with a steady view of the water and reef (thanks to Spirit<\/em>‘s stable, wave-piercing motion) is probably as relaxing as a Lizard Island Resort massage, which Camper & \u00adNicholsons International charter broker Pierre Hurel described by saying, “I don’t know if she had four hands or heavy snakes all over the place or what, but never have I had a massage like that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Onboard dinners range from classic pasta to local crocodile.<\/span>\n Maren Katharina<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Snorkelers and divers can expect fruit and snacks when they return to the yacht.<\/span>\n Maren Katharina<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Pair it with an onboard \u201cAussie sampler dinner\u201d of smoked emu, kangaroo and crocodile wontons, and the experience should create indelible memories. As Jo says, \u201cIt\u2019s nice for people to be able to say they tried something original.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The captain has years\u2019 worth of logbooks that note the best spots for kayaking, snorkeling and fishing.<\/span>\n Phill Gordon<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n View from the upper-deck master stateroom, looking aft toward its private deck.<\/span>\n Maren Katharina<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spirit, <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The newly installed hot tub.<\/span>\n Maren Katharina<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 115-foot, wave-piercing power catamaran Spirit<\/em> specializes in active charters along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Kim Kavin","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20171120","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"156","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The 115-foot, wave-piercing power catamaran Spirit specializes in active charters along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"The Charter File: Australia's Hidden Best %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"4GTA623AUBF5TB7ZJDZGJ3DMQ4","arc_website_url":"charter-file-australias-hidden-best","custom_permalink":"charter-file-australias-hidden-best\/","arc_subtype":"no-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[156],"tags":[191,218,321,505],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}