Whisper Bay is the sheltered ramp on the western side of Airlie. A $3 million state-funded upgrade in 2015 rebuilt the ramp, added a floating walkway and built a rock breakwater to shelter it from the northerlies, some 42,000 cubic metres of rock from the council's Foxdale quarry. Work started in August 2015 and was finished in December, and the ramp has been the local all-weather choice since.
The trade-off is depth. The state register flags the ramp as tide-limited, so on the bottom of a big spring low there is less water at the toe than at the marina ramps; time the retrieve for the rising tide if you are running a deeper hull. Parking is the best of the Airlie ramps for a normal weekend, though it still fills on the good days.
The Marine Rescue Queensland Whitsunday base (formerly VMR Whitsunday, call sign VMR442) is right beside the ramp: phone (07) 4946 7207, VHF 06, 16, 67, 81 and 82, with a dedicated listening watch weekends and public holidays 7 am to 5 pm. Log on there before you go. If the ramp is busy, Coral Sea Marina (Abell Point) is about 1.5 km east and Port of Airlie a little further on.