Lady Enid Sailing Day Tour

The Lady Enid Sailing Day Tour is an adults only day under sail to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet on a restored 1960s timber yacht, one of the last Australian racing yachts built from timber. The boat is surveyed for 36 but the tour takes just 24 guests, which keeps the day relaxed and gives everyone room on deck.

The day takes in the walk to Hill Inlet Lookout for the swirling sands, time on the sand at the northern end of Whitehaven Beach with an optional walk to Betty's Beach, a gourmet buffet lunch on board and a snorkel on the fringing reef. It finishes with a glass of Australian sparkling and a cheese platter on the sail home to Airlie Beach.

Comparing boats? See our guide to Whitsunday sailing tours for how the maxi yachts, catamarans and classic yachts compare.

Lady Enid is a working heritage yacht, so guests need to be physically fit and mobile. There are steps, ropes and uneven surfaces on deck, the toilets are below deck down steep ladder style stairs, and getting ashore means climbing down a ladder into the tender and sometimes wading. The Hill Inlet track is a moderate walk on dirt, sand and stone steps.

Pack a small day bag. Drinks cannot be brought on board, as the yacht has its own bar.

Lady Enid is a rare Australian heritage sailing yacht built in the 1960s, and one of the last Australian racing yachts built from timber. She has been fully restored and now sails day tours and sunset sails from Coral Sea Marina.

The yacht is run by Iconic Whitsunday Adventures, the local operator behind Viper Whitsundays. The company took Gold for Tour and Transport Operator at the 2025 Queensland Tourism Awards and at the 2023 and 2024 Whitsunday Tourism Awards, and is ECO Certified.

Morning tea: Fresh scones with strawberry jam, clotted cream and strawberries, plus tea and coffee.

Buffet lunch: Prawns, salmon, chicken breast and sliced ham with sourdough and condiments, and four seasonal salads: pumpkin and pasta, quinoa and chickpea in a lemon sauce, Asian slaw and a green salad.

Afternoon: Chocolate brownies and a fruit platter, then a glass of Australian sparkling with an antipasto and cheese platter on the sail home.

Drinks: Chilled water is supplied all day. The bar sells a small range of beer, wine and soft drinks, paid by cash or card. BYO drinks are not permitted.

Dietary requirements: These are catered for when the operator is told at least 24 hours before the tour.

Hill Inlet: Guests land by tender at Tongue Bay and follow the guided track up to the lookout. It is a Grade 2 walk on dirt and sand paths with stone steps. The sand patterns change with the tide, and on very big tides there is less sand showing.

Whitehaven Beach: Beach time is at the northern, Hill Inlet end of Whitehaven Beach, not the southern end, with the option of walking on to quiet Betty's Beach.

Snorkelling: The snorkel stop is on fringing reef at one of the islands, chosen on the day for the conditions. Masks, snorkels, flotation noodles and stinger suits are provided. Fins are not.

There is more detail on the Hill Inlet Lookout and Whitehaven Beach pages.

The tour departs from Coral Sea Marina South Village, Shingley Drive, Airlie Beach QLD 4802. The meeting point is outside The Garden Bar Bistro on the car park side.