A day on the water that nobody else needs to know about.
Some days are not for an audience. A quiet collection point, a stretch of Moreton Bay with not a soul in sight, and a captain who does not carry a camera and does not ask questions. One boat, up to seven guests, and the whole bay to disappear into.
What discreet means on this boat
A quiet collection point
Not the public ferry terminal. We agree a berth or a pontoon that suits you, at an hour when nobody is about: Hamilton, Bulimba, Kangaroo Point, a marina on the bay, or your own jetty. See the collection points below, and name one that is not there.
Nobody in sight
The weekend fleet gathers at the wrecks. We go the other way: a sandbank on the eastern side of the bay, an empty cove behind an island, or the far reach of a channel where the only company is the occasional turtle. One boat on the horizon, and it is yours.
No photographs
The captain carries no camera on a discreet day and takes none. Nothing is posted, tagged or kept. If you want a memory of the day, you take it yourself and it stays with you.
No questions
Names are optional, the booking can sit under a first name or a company, and the captain does not ask who anyone is. You are guests on a private boat for the day, and that is all anybody needs to know.
How a discreet day is arranged
- 01
One conversation
A phone call or a short message. You tell us what the day needs to be, we tell you what the bay is doing that week. Nothing is written down that does not need to be.
- 02
A plan nobody else sees
Collection point, timing, food and drink, where we anchor, and where you step off. Agreed between you and the captain and kept between you and the captain.
- 03
The day itself
Six hours on Moreton Bay with the boat to yourselves. Swim, eat, sleep in the sun, talk or not. The captain runs the boat and keeps his distance.
- 04
Step off somewhere else
Back to the same berth, or to a different one across the bay, or to a private jetty. Board at Hamilton and step off at Manly, or the reverse. Whatever makes the walk to the car the shortest and the quietest.
Collection and drop back, anywhere on the river or the bay
The listed departures are Manly Boat Harbour and New Farm. For a discreet day the boat comes to you. Any public pontoon, marina berth or private jetty with enough water works, and boarding and stepping off can be two different places.
Brisbane River
- Hamilton and Portside
- Bulimba and Teneriffe
- Howard Smith Wharves
- Kangaroo Point
- New Farm
- Private river pontoons
Bayside
- Manly Boat Harbour
- Raby Bay and Cleveland
- Wynnum
- Redcliffe and Scarborough
- Private canal jetties
On the islands
- Dunwich, North Stradbroke
- Amity Point
- Tangalooma, by arrangement
- Bribie Island
- Coochiemudlo
Not on the list? Name it. A hotel with a river frontage, a friend's pontoon, a resort jetty on the islands. If the tide and the depth allow, the captain will meet you there and nobody else will know the address.
Who books a day like this
People who are recognised wherever they go and would like one day where they are not. A couple who want time together without a crowd, a camera or a comment. Someone visiting Brisbane for work who wants six hours off the record. A family that has had enough attention for one year. The reasons are yours and the captain does not need them.
The boat is an Axopar 24, fast, quiet at anchor and small enough to tuck into water larger boats cannot reach. Captain Jeremy is the owner and the only crew. He has spent more than a decade on this bay as a marine scientist and knows which corners are empty on which tide and which wind. Lunch, drinks, snorkelling gear and fuel are included. Midweek the bay is close to deserted, and a discreet day is best booked then.
Payment can be by invoice to a company, and a short confidentiality letter is no trouble if your people would like one. Start with a phone call and we will keep it simple from there.
Charter facts
- Duration
- 6 hours
- Guests
- 2 to 7, always one private group
- Departure
- Manly Boat Harbour (25 to 30 minutes by car from the Brisbane CBD) or New Farm
- Destinations
- Moreton Island, Tangalooma Wrecks, Amity Banks or Peel Island, chosen for the conditions on the day
- Price
- From $1,390 for two to $2,400 for seven, per boat, never per seat ($1,290 to $2,200 midweek)
- Included
- Captain, fuel, gourmet lunch, champagne on arrival, snorkelling gear, towels
- Boat
- 2017 Axopar 24 HT, owner-operated by Captain Jeremy, marine scientist
- Weather policy
- If the captain calls the day off you choose a new date or a full refund
Not a soul in sight. Not a word said afterwards.