Snorkelling Pearl Bay & Langford Isld

Fortunately, there’s a break in the weather and we have lighter winds and no tropical rain for the start of our Catamaran Cruise on Illusions 2. We selected this tour as it goes to Blue Pearl Bay, Hayman Island and Langford Island, two well known reefs for snorkelling and diving.

Skipper Joe and Naomi are our hosts and briskly set sail from Airlie, Abell Point Marina at 7.30am.

The ride out is a little choppy taking a couple of hours to reach Blue Pearl Bay. Hayman Island, the more exclusive of all the islands is still undergoing renovations from cyclone Debbie and is estimated to reopen in August.

Once a jewel (or pearl) in the crown, Blue Pearl Bay was the best inner reef location in The Whitsundays to see coral and tropical fish. The cyclone smashed all the coral and reminants of crushed coral cover the beach. It’s still a beautiful location to visit and the reef and fish are slowly rejuvenating the area but it will take some years to recover. Undeterred, we go exploring and view a range of fish and sea life.

Langford reef is a narrow slice of sandy beach like a sand dune which sticks up just above the sea level in the middle of the ocean. Turtles feed off Langford Reef but today, visibility is poor and not great for snorkelling. The sail back to the mainland is rough as the wind has picked up past 25 nots. We sit on the Bow of the catamaran and get frequently splashed by sea spray and waves.Read more