Fraser Island – an unforgettable experience for Riviera boat owners

R Marine Queensland guides nine Riviera’s and 32 people north from the Gold Coast to Fraser Island for a four day, 230 nautical mile boating experience with a few unexpected, awe-inspiring surprises.

R Marine prides itself on going the extra nautical mile and is dedicated to making boat ownership a fun, exciting and pleasurable experience.

With 11 Dealerships stretching from Fremantle in Western Australia to Auckland in New Zealand and as far north as Airlie Beach in north Queensland, R Marine is Australasia’s largest integrated pleasure boating network.

Annual experiences are designed to bring Riviera owners together while providing much-needed support during long voyages.

The Fraser Island experience held from September 24-28 was hosted by R Marine Queensland and has proved to be the most spectacular to date with a stunning display from four pods of whales, breaching north of Moreton Island on day one of the cruise.

While the guys at R Marine Queensland can’t take credit for organising this close-up encounter with the ocean’s largest mammal, it was an amazing experience recalls, R Marine dealer principal Randall Jones.  

The further north the fleet traveled, the more exciting the cruise became with a breathtaking show from two F1-11s as they roared overhead near Double Island Point on day two.

“We couldn’t see them coming because we were just cruising in the middle of the ocean, keeping an eye out for whales when we heard this loud noise but we didn’t see them until they were passing over us, it was really exciting and a nice surprise,” said Randall.

As the fleet headed towards Gary’s Anchorage they were forced to stop as there was a large fire south of Fraser Island, which reduced visibility.

“We had to pull up and wait for it to clear but we could see a wind change coming,” he said.

“When we reached our anchorage there were large turtles coming up to the back of the boats which was quite ironic given this year’s theme was the turtle.”

Once anchored R Marine Queensland delivered fresh prawns to each of the nine boats which was followed by the some fishing off the back of the boats.

Randall said they caught a range of species including Moses Perch, Mackerel, Flathead, giant Squid and a 50cm Barramundi.

On Saturday R Marine Queensland hosted a beach barbecue with eye fillet steak and home made rissoles followed by watching the NRL grand final on board a new 56 True North.

The fleet was guided to Mooloolaba on Sunday night, which was a new experience for many of the owners who had never driven at night before.

On Monday they enjoyed an early start to avoid bad weather on the journey from Mooloolaba to the Gold Coast, traveling a total of 320 nautical miles.

“Given the weather conditions that we had it’s very satisfying to guide Riviera owners through such a great experience,” said Randall.

Riviera offers 20 different models from 36 to 85 feet across four model series Flybridge, Sport Yacht, Offshore Express and Motor Yachts.