’Time for sailing vacations? Which way to the Whitsundays?’• Few months to spare and you have a yacht? • Live on the East Coast of Australia? Makes it easy! • Confident coastal sailor? • What about women sailing solo? Is it safe?
Time restraints should never be a priority when it comes to sailing so make time to stop along the way. From the Gold Coast at the southern end of Queensland with its fantastic surf beaches and theme parks there are many great places to stop for a day or two. The Gold Coast is all about being ashore and enjoying what it has to offer, the sailing waters are limited but interesting and riddled with sandbars.
If you sail between the main land and the Stradbrook Islands, spend a day at Tangalooma Resort and feed the dolphins that swim in every evening.
Mooloolaba marinas a good stop over before heading around the outside of Fraser Island or through Wide Bay Bar and up the Great Sandy Straights to King Fisher Resort, an interesting stop over where yachties are welcome, and then sail on to Harvey Bay. 
On one of my sailing vacations I sailed from the Gold Coast to Harvey Bay solo, ….. or was I? Dolphins seem to come from no where and accompany you, and whales love making a big display, at times very close to the boat. From Mooloolaba I set sail from the marina at 8pm at night to make the entrance to Wide Bay Bar by midday. It’s a notorious bar as you dog leg in following leading lights between breaking surf, if the sun is in the wrong position they are hard to see. I had put way points in my GPS, but even with all of this it was nerve wracking seeing surf so close. I preferred sailing through the Sandy Straights rather than going on the outside of Fraser Island as it gave me a number of good anchorages for the night.
Soon after Harvey Bay you come to some amazing islands surrounded by coral. One of these is Lady Musgrave which needs careful navigation when sailing to it. 
You notice the surf on the reef and the change in the color of the sea to an amazing azure long before reaching the island.
You can navigate through a narrow entrance and find a place to anchor keeping a look out for coral bommies. The island has a small camp site on it and some toilets but that is all, well worth a stop over for a break and some snorkeling or diving.
From there the next islands worth visiting are the Keppel Islands, and then its one big island hop to Mackay, the start of all the Whitsunday Islands and no doubt the high lights of your sailing vacations. If you need to get more fuel, or to do any work on your yacht, or get more provisions, this is the place. And there’s a string of shore restaurants, live music and socializing with other sailors at this marina. You are now at the gate way to the Whitsundays! “I’m on the sea! I’m on the sea! I am where I would ever be. With the blue above, and the blue below, and silence where so’ ever I go!” - By Bryan W Proctor Your sailing vacations have reached there destination ... the Whitsundays Australia!
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