Tropical revolving storms are some of the most severe weather situations experienced on Earth. In the northern hemisphere these revolving storms are called hurricanes and in the southern hemisphere they are called cyclones. We avoid the oppressive TROPICAL CYCLONE SEASON which is officially from November to April. Since 1860 Tropical Cyclones ("TC") have caused more than 750 deaths and have sunk or wrecked more than 250 boats.
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In 1974 TC "Tracy" hit Darwin (capital city of the Northern Territory) causing so much damage that the entire city was evacuated.
In 1996, TC "Cileste" was responsible for considerable damage in the Whitsunday's and tourists had to be evacuated from boats and accommodated on land, at their own expense!
In 1997 TC "Justin" wreaked havoc for hundreds of miles along the Queensland coast destroying marinas from Cairns to Hamilton Island!
In 1999, the coastal township of Exmouth was devastated when wind speeds of 267 kilometres (130 miles) per hour were experienced.
On March 21st 2010, a category 3 TC "Ului" hit Airlie Beach with 200 km winds, washing many yachts onto the rocks and causing a lot of damage.
On February 3rd 2011, a category 5 TC "Yasi", crossed the coast near Mission Beach with wind gusts of 285 km.
On 20th February 2016, severe TC "Marcia", a category 5 cyclone with wind gusts of 208 km per hour, made landfall near Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton and Yeppoon.
On 23rd March 2017 severe T C "Debbie" formed as a tropical low and gradually intensified to be the strongest and most dangerous cyclone to impact Queensland since TC "Marcia". It made landfall in the Whitsundays between Bowen, Proserpine and Mackay as a destructive category four system on Tuesday, March 28th with violent winds for 36 hours and torrential rain, you can see the impact by viewing these videos:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akIOcRQSYO0> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akIOcRQSYO0 and <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsBYj4f4rPY> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsBYj4f4rPY
TC "Debbie" buffeted the Whitsundays with sustained wind speeds in excess of 263 Km for more than 30 hours, so you can compare that to Hurricane Irma that created such destruction in Florida, also in 2017.
On March 20th 2019 TC Trevor, a category 3 with wind gusts up to 133 km per hour crossed land around Lockhart River bringing devastating flooding to many areas.
If you visit tropical north Queensland during the cyclone season you may be lucky enough to have good weather, but it is important to be aware of the probability of heavy rain and cyclones, when planning a holiday in Northern Australia during our Summer months. The dark lines on the map show the tracking paths of cyclones in Northern Australia during the last 25 years. These extreme weather phenomenon occur during the oppressively hot, WET SEASON in the tropics, however the local Tourism Bureau (in an attempt to encourage tourists to visit the area, all year) refers to the season as the "Green Season" in an attempt to disguise "THE WET". Astute travellers will realise that for the countryside to be green, it requires lots and lots of rainfall!
John & Lynne prefer to (safely) offer our "Adventures in Paradise" during the WARM, DRY months of June to October which just happen to coincide with the time that the giant Humpback whales visit the Whitsundays, so we have regular close encounters with these Giants of the sea. Also, by late in October, the prevailing winds have turned from the South to the North which means that the best bays for snorkelling and scuba diving are inaccessible - almost all the corals are on the northern side of the islands, where it is not possible to anchor when the wind is directing large waves to these locations.
By restricting their season to the most pleasant weather conditions, our guests can go snorkelling over magnificent coral gardens accompanied by thousands of friendly fish before breakfast, AND THEIR DAY JUST GETS BETTER FROM THERE!
For more information on Tropical Cyclones, a track and threat map, information on categories listing the type of damage caused by the various wind strengths etc. go to the Brisbane Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre at http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/faq/index.shtml#forecasting
All other charter yachts that accept cabin bookings operate out of Airlie Beach on the mainland. “Sydney Sundancer” is real micro expedition ship built to conduct extended voyages to remote and remarkable locations. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (the government body that controls all activities within the Marine Reserve has granted “Sydney Sundancer” a Long Range Roving Permit enabling it to visit unique locations where most most other charter boats are not permitted. Lynne & John proudly advise that they specialise in conducting “Expedition voyages for discerning explorers who want to learn about the only living structure on Earth, that is visible from outer space!”