100 Magic Miles of the Great Barrier Reef: The Whitsunday Islands
Educational Reference Travel Guide Sailing & Boating Nature & Wildlife Marine Reference Australian Regional Adventure & Outdoor
100 Magic Miles of the Great Barrier Reef: The Whitsunday Islands is the definitive cruising and travel bible for anyone heading to Australia’s most photographed tropical archipelago. First released in 2000 and still reprinted because demand never fades, David Colfelt’s 256-page paperback blends yachting pilot, natural-history guide and island-hopping itinerary into one stowable volume. Every page is chart-table friendly: GPS-accurate waypoints, aerial photos, reef-passage sketches and tide tables sit side-by-side with wildlife checklists and snorkel-site ratings, so sailors, kayakers and charter guests can drop the pick in quiet coral gardens instead of crowded anchorages.
What makes this particular copy special is its clean, unmarked interior—no prior skipper’s pencil scribbles or coffee-ringed pages to obscure the detailed full-colour charts and 200-plus photographs. The tight binding means it will lie flat on a cockpit seat or tuck into a dry-bag without pages loosening, and coming from a smoke-free home it arrives odour-free and ready for immediate deck use. For collectors, the 2000 first-printing softcover is already becoming scarce in tidy condition, especially along the Queensland coast where copies are usually sun-bleached and salt-stained.
Beyond the cockpit, the book doubles as a armchair escape: Colfelt’s lively narratives trace the Whitsundays’ Indigenous trade routes, Cook’s 1770 passage and modern eco-battles, while illustrated sidebars identify 150 species of fish, birds and coral you’ll spot between Whitehaven Beach and Hook Island. Whether you’re planning a bareboat charter, dreaming of a post-retirement cruise or researching a school project on reef conservation, this single reference replaces a stack of tourist brochures, navigation almanacs and wildlife handbooks. Grab this good-condition copy now and you’ll understand why seasoned cruisers call it “the other compulsory item after life-jackets.”
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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