Waking on the first morning aboard luxury motor yacht Aroona is akin to passing through a hole in the universe. Having left Cairns – gateway city to the Great Barrier Reef – the previous evening and steamed north through the darkness, you wake, moored and motionless, as sunlight scatters diamonds across a vast blue disc. Not an island or another vessel in sight.
The far limits of this new blue world are marked by puffy clouds and a thin line of white surf at the edge of the Reef – but the opportunity for adventure or sublime relaxation is limited only by the imagination.
Breakfast – perhaps a platter of luscious tropical fruits or eggs to order – is time for planning the day’s activities. Immersion in the warm, opalescent waters of the world’s largest reef system is merely a step off the water-level duckboard at the stern of the vessel. But then what?
During Aroona’s build, captain and business manager Ross Miller drew on his lifetime experience on the Reef to modify her design to ensure the vessel emerged as the ideal aquatic adventure platform. Up to six crew (including a chef, hostess, dive and kitesurf instructors, or specialist fishing guide) cater for six guests, or the master cabin can convert into a four-bunk cabin to accommodate a total of nine guests. Aroona is capable of cruising between the Kimberley in Australia’s north-west and Sydney, although she spends most of her time on the northern Great Barrier Reef. She is customisable to support almost any marine adventure.
At 21 metres and with three luxurious staterooms (each with an ensuite), Aroona is not a superyacht, but her modest size is an advantage: she is able to get as close as five metres from the Reef itself to explore remote atolls and estuaries that larger vessels can’t access.
Kitesurfers can launch and retrieve directly from the boat thanks to an inflatable stern platform. And with Ross holding the boat in position without the need to moor or anchor (which risks damaging fragile corals), divers and snorkellers can access dive sites directly from the duckboard, which is safer for guests and easier on hips and knees.
Divers can experience some of the world’s most famous sites including Cod Hole and Steve’s Bommie – but one of Ross’s favourite spots is not on the dive map. Located on the Outer Reef where the Continental Shelf plummets 1,000 metres, the Osprey Reef sea stack attracts vast numbers of marine life, including schools of pelagics, sharks, and manta rays: it’s arguably one of the greatest dive sites on Earth, yet remains virtually unknown.
During June and July, the Reef attracts other megafauna in the form of dwarf minke whales. Aroona holds one of only a handful of permits for swimming with the whales, which are naturally curious and readily interact with humans.
Typically, a four- to six-day private charter will head to Lizard Island, traversing waters protected by the aptly named (and numbered) Ribbon Reefs that separate the calmer waters of the Great Barrier Reef from the Coral Sea. After exploring the reefs, guests spend time hiking on the island, snorkelling the giant clam gardens, or relaxing on deserted beaches before flying back to Cairns.
Alternatively, charters might start at Lizard Island and head north, where Aroona’s two six-metre centre-console tenders come into play to explore the estuaries of Princess Charlotte Bay, where barramundi abound, and Aroona’s specialist fishing guide knows the best saltwater fly and sport fishing haunts.
Each year, Aroona acts as a mothership during marlin season and has supported numerous film and scientific research expeditions and extended-family holidays.
Relaxing on the top deck as a fiery sun melts into the sea, dining on fresh fish caught that day served alongside culinary bounty sourced from north Queensland’s hinterland and a crisp semillon, the only question is, “what shall we do tomorrow?”
