The 550 nautical mile run from the Gold Coast up to Hamilton Island was never meant to be a race. It was always intended as a demonstration of what a Maritimo luxury motor yacht can genuinely do when you give it room to breathe.
With another Hamilton Island Muster on the horizon, a group from the Maritimo sales team departed Sanctuary Cove aboard a Maritimo M50 offshore flybridge motor yacht and turned what might otherwise have been a routine delivery into a six-day adventure along the coast and out to the reef. A cameraman travelling with the crew documented the entire voyage, capturing the destinations, the fishing, and the quieter moments in between.
The result is a three-part video series that covers not only the journey itself, but the capability that defines Maritimo.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbckQwieRjoVq-u81MkdiwAN0I1d0CgB4
"There's a boring way to do the trip, the straight line, and then there's an exciting way," said Brent Ferguson from the Maritimo Sales Team. "We decided to make it an adventure." Instead of pushing hard and covering the distance in three days, the crew structured the journey around comfortable daily runs of roughly 100 to 120 nautical miles. Cruising at between 18 and 21 knots across open water, the M50 kept an easy, efficient pace that suited both the boat and the people aboard.
"By doing it this way, you get in early afternoon, enjoy the destination, have a bit of fun and then do it all again the next day," Brent explained. "That's how owners actually use these boats, not like a delivery crew. It was important for the Maritimo team to document the experience in the same way."
The route wound north through Moreton Bay before an overnight stop at Mooloolaba, then continued through the Wide Bay Bar, across the Great Sandy Straits, over the Sheridan Flats and into Hervey Bay. Stops were chosen as much for enjoyment as for logistics, with daylight arrivals, calm anchorages, good meals and plenty of time simply to be on the water.
A long way offshore and well worth the detour
The standout moment of the trip came when the crew turned east, away from the coastline altogether, and headed out to Fitzroy Reef. It is the kind of place many boats pass within reach of without ever stopping, and the team wanted to change that.
Conditions were about as good as they get. The M50 slipped into Fitzroy Lagoon and anchored in six to eight metres over a sand bottom, encircled by reef and water so clear it barely seemed real. The crew spent the afternoon working the southern edge of the lagoon, pulling up tuskfish and a variety of other reef species, more than enough for a dinner of splendid fresh seafood.
"We weren't expecting to catch much inside the lagoon," Brent said, "but it just went off. We had fresh sashimi, fish on the barbecue, sharks cruising past the boat, and not a cloud in the sky. It truly was a pinch-yourself moment."
Dinner came later under a clear sky, the boat sitting contentedly at anchor in exactly the kind of setting that explains why Maritimo long-range motor yachts are built the way they are. To take owners to places that a fortunate few are privileged to experience.
Anchorages worth the effort
From the reef the crew pressed north again, rounding past Yeppoon and the Keppels before arriving at Pearl Bay, a tucked-away anchorage framed by white sand, clear water and bold rocky headlands.
"For me, it was my first time there," said Brent. "Staying in absolute luxury on the M50, with this untouched coastline around you, it's hard to believe places like this exist and are so quiet."
The next leg, around 100 nautical miles, carried them past the Percy Group to Scawfell Island. Pulling into a sweeping horseshoe-shaped bay, the crew discovered they had company. Another Maritimo, a M55, was already at anchor, her owner also making his way to the same Muster event. The two crews fell into an impromptu afternoon catch-up that stretched into a shared evening on the water, exactly the kind of camaraderie the Maritimo community is known for.
"That's why we were taking the boat north," Brent said. "To connect with owners and to show what's possible along the way. It was great to document this very thing with the three videos."
Four people, six days, not a complaint
Running four people aboard for nearly a week is a real test of any boat's liveability, and the M50 came through it comfortably. The two-cabin layout offered generous room throughout, proper bathrooms, and additional sleeping options in the saloon and the enclosed flybridge.
"We all had our own space," Brent explained. "It never felt cramped. You could spread out during the day, come together in the evenings, and still have privacy at night."
Stable sea manners and excellent range made it straightforward to plan each day around fuel, tides and weather, without any sense of pressure. Each leg felt relaxed rather than managed.
The journey becomes the story
The M50 arrived at Hamilton Island around lunchtime after six days at sea, a full week before the Muster got underway. The crew brought with them footage, fish stories, and a set of memories that no direct flight could have produced.
"This trip came about because so many of our clients do this run every year," Brent said. "There are incredible places along the way that people don't even realise they're passing. These boats are built to get out there and experience it."
As a lead-in to the Hamilton Island Muster and part of Maritimo's expanding programme of short-format Muster events, the voyage put into sharp focus what the brand stands for: freedom, capability, comfort and unforgettable experiences on the water.
Sometimes, the best part of the destination is everything you discover along the way there.
