Tailored to your own adventure
about aroona
Aroona is a 70ft (22m) motor yacht cruising out of Half Moon Bay Marina at Yorkeys Knob, Cairns, in Far North Queensland. She has been designed for optimum space and comfort with stabilizers for smooth travelling.
Charter your private yacht on a Great Barrier reef tour
Accommodation for up to 9 guests in three staterooms all with ensuites:
- Master suite with a king size bed which can convert into two king bunk beds or four single bunk beds
- VIP suite with a double bed which can convert into two single beds
- Guest room with a double bed and a single bunk
- Individually controlled air conditioning in every room
- All linen including beach towels supplied
- Flat screen LCD televisions and DVD players in each stateroom and lounge
- Spacious living area spread over three decks
- 3 Fully equipped tenders – The Hornet 80hp 5m side console, The Southwind 100hp 5.2m Centre console and The Swift 60hp 5.2m RIB
- Light tackle and reef fishing equipment supplied
- Snorkelling and scuba gear, including a dive compressor on-board
- 2 Stand Up paddle boards
Specifications
- Length: 22 m (70ft)
- Beam: 5.6 m (18’6″)
- Draft: 1.8m (6′)
- Engines: Twin Caterpillar C-9 500hp
- Fuel capacity: 8500L (2300 US gallons)
- Water captivity: 1500L (400 US gallons)
- Water maker 6600L (1800 US gallons) per day
- ABT ‘Trac’ 220 stabilizers
- Stern and bow thrusters
aroona’s home port
When Aroona isn’t at sea, you’ll find her docked at the Half Moon Bay Marina in Yorkeys Knob, just 15 minutes north of the Cairns CBD.
Gateway to the great barrier reef
A city of more than 120,000, Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and arguably the gamefishing capital of the world. An ideal embarkation point, served by busy domestic and international airports, Cairns is only 40 minutes from luxury resort town Port Douglas and 90 minutes cruising from the reef.
photo gallery
The Crew
Ross Miller
Manager, Captain and Logistics Coordinator
Ross is what some may call the ultimate expert in adventure on the Great Barrier Reef and tropical north coast of Australia. While he grew up exploring the mountainous coastline and marine life, his passion for the wind drove him as a teenager to be an early pioneer in kitesurfing along Cairns’ northern beaches. Needing to conquer bigger feats, he followed in his dad’s footsteps and took up hang gliding and has been taking to the skies for over 20 years when not on or under the water. An avid diver, spearfisherman, kitesurfer, hang glider, photographer and now skipper, engineer and business manager of Aroona, this has made him the perfect guide for guests and scientists exploring the remote Great Barrier Reef coast in what Ross calls his “backyard”. He believes in expanding upon every opportunity to blend individual amazing experiences into one big ultimate adventure.
Ross has run Aroona Luxury Boat Charters as manager and skipper since its inception in 2011 and has successfully made it the most sought-after tailored experience on the Great Barrier Reef. He is also devoted to advancing research through his access to these remote reef areas. Ross has long-running collaborations with scientists on minke whale migrations and behaviours, shark movements, nautilus populations, seagrass monitoring and coral assessments from Cairns up to the Torres Strait.
Chef
A professional Chef will be employed to provide you with the standard of culinary delights you require. See our gallery section for examples of our cuisine. Our chef can cater for specific food requirements or allergies just let us know your preferences when booking.
Host
Our Host will be there to work with the Captain and Chef to ensure you have a memorable experience on board Aroona.
Dive and Kitesurfing Instructors, Fishing Guides and other Specialists crew.
Aroona has a selection of crew to suit each type of charter. When booking, we will make sure that we have the best team to give you the safest relaxing and enjoyable trip.
Testimonials
What an unforgettable trip on the Aroona. We are still on cloud nine after an amazing week. Just bring on the reef, among such extraordinary natural beauty and wildlife is amazing enough but the whale experience is on another level entirely. The minke whale encounters will stay with us for a lifetime. Thanks for managing them so expertly and generally being excellent crew and company.
Billy Bailey Actor/Comedian
Very comfortable and luxurious – Robert, Buderim
Stunning trip despite the weather. Sensational food and great company. The boat is wonderful. Ripper Captain and crew.
Brett, Mount Albert.
Seven fabulous days, snorkelling, Osprey and outer reef – magic!! Great crew, friendly, fun and very helpful. Wonderful food, terrific skipper! Good times!
Lorna and Chris, Sydney
A fabulous trip! We loved every minute – snorkelling was just superb every time. The crew were just too good to be true – Ross the renaissance man, who had every possible skill, Lee, the cook who spoilt us with constantly fantastic meals, Bec, the outstanding dive master. The crew were so kind and patient, thank you so much.
Kim, Irene and Chris
Thank you so much for making this trip a magical one, it exceeded our expectations. You pamper us, we look forward to coming back next year and having an amazing time again.
Bosques de olmos, Mexico
Incredible weather, clear skies and smooth sailing with an AMAZING CREW. The Aroona itself is comfortable, luxurious and now feels like home. Captain Ross is a mix of Alby Mangles, Rex Hunt and David Attenborough. We saw sharks, turtles and dugongs, Nemo, coral all the colours of the rainbow. Thankyou from the bottom of our hearts for the trip of a lifetime!
Cain Family, Australia
Dear Ross, Joe, Emma and Cam, thank you so much for sharing your paradise with all the clan. We made so many amazing memories on this trip! You catered for all of us from 10 years old to 60 years old! Amazing! Love from all of us!
Another fabulous trip with another fabulous team. Richard, a great captain took care of all of our needs and made sure we had a safe and exciting journey; Cliff, the chef extraordinaire; Joe looked after our snorkelling sooo well – dragged the boat a million miles and gorgeous Meera, gracious and helpful hostess. Thank you for an amazing trip.
We have had an AMAZING, WICKED, SICK, trip on the Aroona these past 8 days! Richard, Cam, Paula and Joe attended to our every need. The diving was spectacular, the food was divine and we were well pampered. This was a trip we will never forget. Thank you crew, for all your spoiling!
Eamon, Susan, Brad, Lisa – USA.
Thank you for a wonderful trip! All of us had a great time and we appreciate your ability to entertain all the ‘factions’ and keep everyone engaged. The snorkelling, fishing and ‘seabobbing’ were all fantastic. The food was delicious! We created a lot of wonderful memories.
Starkins family, New York.
This was an incredible trip! The snorkelling, staff and food was spectacular! Thanks to Chef Cam, Captain Richard, Becks and Emma.
This was a most memorable Australian experience! –Williams family, Oklahoma USA.
Thank you for an amazing trip! –Cliff and Jean Winston. Arlington VA.
We had the trip of a lifetime on Aroona! I cannot wait to book another trip. The diving and snorkelling was incredible.
The minkes are so inquisitive and will stay with you for hours at a time. The more time they spend with you, the closer they get!
Jo and Jarrad have the boat completely under control. The boat is in top shape. They are laid back yet still super safe and a good laugh too. Bec was always by our side on the dives and made you feel a little more comfortable in the water as she knows the area quite well. We did not expect the food and service to be so good. We are missing you Hannah and Dave!!! We look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Gold Coast Family – July 15, 2018
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