In the Whitsunday region a marina is the only insurable "safe haven". A vessel on a mooring cannot be insured. No vessel is allowed into a marina, without insurance. Pretty straight forward really. All damage to all and any vessel, within a marina, has cover from both the vessels insurance, any damage caused by or to another vessel, and any damage which results from a defect within the marina itself. It becomes an issue for competing insurance companies, but not the actual vessel owners problem. If you are in a marina, even if it is not ultimately completely safe, it is insured. Any vessels at anchor, on moorings or up sh!t creek are not insured, nor are they insured for any damage they cause to other vessels. Cruising yachts, which have an overall roving cover, have to leave NQ during the cyclone season or their insurance is void. When the cyclone hit here last week there were about 500 boats in marinas. Most suffered some level of damage, from simple cosmetics like clears and canopies to more serious like dismasting. and some were sunk. There were about 20 boats on moorings out front Monday night. All were destroyed. Some will have gone to Tramble Bay creeks and woodcutters bay and bluff bay. None of these creeks are capable of taking a vessel with a draft of more than 2 meters. Judging by Shute this morning it looks like about 50 boats were lost and about 20 survived. Wether these were on moorings or up in tramble or woodcutters creeks I am unsure.
As to each islands cyclone plans, having been a GM on 2 Whitsunday islands and 2 cairns islands over the years the plans are extensive, well considered and have patron safety in mind and the logistics are taken into consideration. I have also been a regional councillor. The very thought that you could evacuate Hamilton island, to Airlie beach is absurd. A square peg in a round hole. There is no way the town could cope with the numbers and it is far safer to stay on Hamilton, with the capacity to be airlifted off after if it can't be done before, than to try to get them to the mainland. Hamilton Island airport is flood proof. Proserpine airport was down for 4 days and the roads north and south cut for 2 and 3 respectively.
Mate, stick to fishing advice hey!