A shared dream and love of the ocean has led this Australian couple on a journey of some 36,000 nautical miles over seven years, and in late May they will share their remarkable adventures at the 2014 Riviera Festival of Boating, held from May 22 to 25.
Peter and Narelle Williams are avid seafarers and together they are living the Riviera dream on board their 47 Open Flybridge, Kaos. They have watched thousands of sunsets and basked in the serenity of some of Australia’s most tranquil anchorages, and every year they make the annual pilgrimage from their home in Port Stephens on the mid-coast of New South Wales to Cairns in tropical North Queensland, a distance of 1100 nautical miles.
Every time they cruise out of Nelson Bay and clear the heads of Port Stephens bound for another North Queensland anchorage, Peter said they felt excited to be on their boat and beginning their next adventure.
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“There is nothing like being at a deserted island, no footsteps on the beach and swimming in the crystal clear waters on the Great Barrier Reef. Many people dream of it and I am one of the lucky people who can actually do it,” Peter said.
“We do have one of the natural wonders of the world up in North Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef and Narelle and I are fortunate enough to enjoy our winters in this beautiful part of the world.”
Narelle said she had the most amazing experience hand feeding a turtle on their last trip to Cairns.
“Every morning the turtle would come up to the swim platform and we would hand feed it all our bait, it was just magic,” she said.
“The weather was glorious. We snorkelled, swam, fished and went as far as Dunk Island and Fitzroy Island. We did the Dunk Island walk and Lizard Island walk, and the snorkelling at Michaelmas was just breathtaking.”
Michaelmas and Upolu Cays National Park is located 41 kilometres north-east of Carins and is the largest breeding ground for seabirds such as sooty terns.
Narelle describes the Cays as a beautiful and pristine bird sanctuary, which is popular with the tourists.
“The fish at Michaelmas were fantastic, huge fish, and like the turtle, they also came to the back of the boat. We could jump in and swim with them, surrounded by hundreds of fish – it is an experience that is hard to explain,” she said.
“I love nature and I love the ocean so I find it so peaceful cruising along and spotting pods of dolphins, turtles and whales. A sailfish jumped out of the water as we were coming into Lady Musgrave and I found Nemo when snorkelling at Sudbury Cay off the coast of Cairns – I was so excited because clownfish seem to be quite elusive and this was the first time I had seen them, they are so cute.”
After clocking up 36,000 nautical miles on board their Riviera 47 Open Flybridge, one would think they had travelled around the world one-and-a-half times, which is an equivalent distance according to Peter.
But for this Aussie couple, cruising up the east coast of Australia to their tropical North Queensland sanctuary is a dream come true, and they look forward to sharing these adventures at their Living the Riviera Dream seminar held on May 22, 23 and 24 from 1.30pm at the 3rd annual Riviera Festival of Boating.
The Festival is 2014’s ultimate boating event with 76 educational and social acitivities held over four days at Riviera’s 14-hectare state-of-the-art Coomera River front facility – the largest boat building facility in the southern hemisphere.
The Festival of Boating offers on-site parking and easy access with many owners able to arrive by boat and pre-book a berth for the Festival.
To register your interest visit www.rivieraaustralia.com/festival
Riviera offers 15 different models from 36 to 75 feet across three model series Flybridge, Sport Yacht and the new SUV collection.
In 2012 Riviera celebrated the launch of its 5000th boat, the 445 SUV, a significant achievement in the company’s rich 34-year history.
Riviera also offers the bespoke Belize Motoryachts. Inspired by classic luxury details and timeless style, Belize Motoryachts has recently released the new 54-foot Sedan and Daybridge models.