14 September

Whitehaven Beach to Haslewood Island

We had only a short 3 miles to travel today, so we made the most of the available opportunity here before we left, possibly the last opportunity I have to visit Whitehaven Beach on this cruise.  By good luck we found that the new Whitehaven lookout has just recently opened.  We’d seen the lookout itself, quite high above the southern end of the beach, back in late July on a previous leg of the cruise.  I’d walked to the old lookout twice on the cruise but this new lookout will probably supersede it, simply because of its elevated position and clear views both north and south.  As the following photos show pretty convincingly, it’s going to become popular, and the path up to it has been built to be smooth and wide to suit.

Views from the new Whitehaven Lookout over Whitehaven Beach and a small bay to the left on the south of Whitsunday Island

A good looking mug shot

Looking back westwards, towards Hamilton Island and the mainland in the background

Solway Passage on a calm day

We had one last swim and enjoyed some time in the sun before finally heading back to the boat and readying to leave. 

Haslewood Island is directly adjacent to Whitehaven Beach, and provides the southern barrier to the large anchorage technically referred to as “Whitehaven”.  Mike was keen to go there, as it was one of the anchorages he visited when he bareboated here in 1980.  I also visited it in 1986 and haven't been back since, so was very happy to travel the short distance out there.  In the event we were rewarded pretty handsomely.  The anchorage in Windy Bay (it wasn't windy today) was very pretty, and to me was reminiscent of the smugglers' bays along the Cornish coast.  On top of that, there was only one other yacht in the bay, with Stuart and Dee aboard, plus what looked like a tiny prawn trawler using the bay as a daytime refuge before going out again to do its work.

Gypsy Princess in Windy Bay in the last light of the day

We went ashore to look for a walking track over to the island's southern shore, from where we thought we could explore the extensive fringing reef.  We didn't find the track, and suspect it's been allowed to be absorbed back into the general bush.  Instead we saw some stingrays and a small reef shark swimming in the shallow water.

Stuart and Dee invited us over for return drinks, and so we spent the remaining couple of hours until the very last light of day on board Katana.

Stuart, Dee and Susan on Katana

Sunset over Whitsunday Island

It's pretty close to being a full moon tonight.  Sitting on deck after dinner we could look back and see the full expanse of Whitehaven Beach.  In the moonlight the beach literally glowed white and was unmistakable even at our distance of over 3 miles away.  That's something that I think no one could possibly photograph, given the very low light levels involved, but it was extraordinary to see.

13 September

Butterfly Bay to Whitehaven

Mid tide is at 1pm today, and therefore a perfect time for us to visit the Hill Inlet lookout at the northern end of Whitehaven Beach.  As we’d done last time, we anchored off Betty’s Beach in 3m of water, in what has to be one of the most picturesque anchorages one can find anywhere.  The pathway up to the lookout, which isn’t particularly high, has had a considerable amount of construction work completed since our last visit, and it’s clearly now ready for lots of traffic.  Is this a sign of what further is to happen to this area?

I’ve previously posted at length about this place, so I won’t do so again now.  Suffice to say that coming back here for repeat viewings doesn’t seem to diminish its effect.

Mike overlooking the wonder of Hill Inlet

Mike and Susan

Remarkably, we’re the only boat anchored off Betty’s, and everyone else continues to mindlessly follow the herd by mooring around in Tongue Bay where the swell intrudes and the coral and rock reef prevents a landing except in the top half of the tide.  The result is that we can swim off and enjoy what must be one of the most remarkable and beautiful beaches in the world with not another soul in view, and with our boat anchored only a few meters outside the small waves breaking on the shore.

Gypsy Princess the sole vessel anchored off Betty's Beach, with her dinghy sitting on the beach

Back on the beach, looking out at the boat

From the same spot, looking northwards to Border Island

Hundreds of small crabs were the only other occupants on the beach, all busily going somewhere

We lifted the anchor just after 4pm and made the short way down to the other end of Whitehaven Beach for the night.  I made Piña Coladas, to which I played my calypso steel drum music for the occasion, before switching to Rachmaninov for sunset. We had Nachos for dinner and watched Captain Ron.  Another wonderful day at Whitehaven Beach.

Two views from our Whitehaven Beach anchorage at sunset

12 September

Macona Inlet to Butterfly Bay

I think the boat is getting to know her own way around this place.  We plan some new destinations later in the week, but for now it’s very much repeating the same track I’ve followed before.  No complaints from me – I’m learning more than I’ve ever known about the character of each place I visit.

Mike had the helm for much of the enjoyable downwind sail up the west coast of Hook Island to Butterfly Bay.   The wind was generally around 20 knots from the southeast, and we kept up a good pace under just the headsail. 

The character of this end of the Whitsundays is noticeably different from inside the Passage.  In this case “different” does not denote “better”.  Being on the outside of the island chain, the coastline here could be described as being more rugged, and the rock formations more weather-beaten.  Small beaches seem to fill every small bay and are of a much whiter sand than is seen on the inside of the islands.  There is an eye catching contrast between the sandy beaches, deep blue water, the white of the waves crashing on the rocks and the dark green of the bush leading right down to the water’s edge.

Rounding the north west corner of Hook Island, near Hayman Island

We were lucky again to find an empty mooring towards the inner end of the bay.  This is pretty important for a smooth night, because there is almost always some residual swell coming around the corner if you’re moored closer to the bay’s mouth.  Stuart and Dee are here also, on the favoured innermost mooring. 

We snorkelled along the stretch of reef I’d previously found to be good, near the inner moorings, but I think the recent heavy winds and partial cloud cover made visibility less than ideal.  Stuart and Dee came over for drinks around 4pm for really a lovely way to end the day.

A remedy for the super strong onions we get here.  The third in a string of  photos going back to 1986 and 1988 showing David and me doing exactly the same thing.

11 September

Cid Harbour to Macona Inlet

Some work colleagues of mine, Stuart and Dearbhla, were in Cid Harbour this morning, having just set out from Airlie on a bareboat cat.  I dinghied over for a quick visit, during which they traded a chunk of freshly caught yellow fin tuna for some soy sauce that they needed.  A good deal for us, and provided us sushi entrée for tonight.

It was a short but well worn path for the Gypsy up to Macona Inlet.  The boat’s chart plotter record of her track through the Whitsunday islands is starting to look like a mass of overlapping scribbles on a map.  The level of familiarity this is bringing is proving to be of considerable comfort, especially when it comes to choosing exactly where to drop the anchor.  Very often I find I can go back to the precise GPS coordinates at I’ve previously anchored, since I record every anchor drop with a waypoint fixed on the chart plotter.

I wrote only a few days ago about the strong sense of fellowship that exists amongst cruising sailors.  That was reinforced further today.  The owner of one of the five yachts anchored in our bay, Warwick from Bamboozled, did the rounds in his dinghy to invite everyone to the beach for sundowners.  What followed was a delightful afternoon and evening of conversation and camaraderie with people I’d never met but might as well have known for years.  Mike and Susan I think enjoyed this every bit as much as me, and Mike has since commented to me that he sees that this cruising culture essentially produces instant friendships.

10 September

Hamilton Island to Cid Harbour

John flew home yesterday.  He was with me for a week, and it was a very satisfying and enjoyable leg of the cruise.  We sailed 170 miles together, including three great days from Townsville down to the Whitsundays, and then a couple of very pleasant, relaxing days with other Alfreds boats sitting at anchor.

Only about a month now before I’m due home.  The last three and a half months seem to have gone by so quickly, and yet when I think through all the places we’ve visited, the people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve had, I realise how much I've made of the time I've had.

I went for a 2.3km run this morning, around the Hammo harbour foreshore then up and over the hill overlooking the bay and around near the airport.  This recent burst of activity, including my rowing jaunts, could best be described as being out of character.  They’re certainly not a walk in the park, but the physical exertion, followed by a swim/shower and some quality food is feeling pretty good.  I hope this doesn’t prove to be transitory, although I realise that living on a boat can be rather limiting when it comes to decent physical activity.

When David and Anne sailed with me from Mackay to Airlie Beach two months ago we hatched the idea for David’s father and sister, Mike and Susan, to join me this week.  I’ve known them all since my school days, and will always owe Mike my very deepest thanks for reintroducing me to sailing years ago when he took me out on his Flying 11.  It was that experience as a teenager that prompted me a few weeks later to begin crewing on a Tasar down at Northbridge Sailing Club, the first leg on a voyage that has led to a lifetime in this wonderful sport and, ultimately, to this cruise.

I met Mike and Susan at the Hammo airport in one of the island's ubiquitous golf buggies.  By useful coincidence, gale force winds gusting up to 38 knots hit today while I was safely ensconced in the marina.  More manageable winds were forecast for later this afternoon, so I used the available time to give my crew a tour around the island and then do the shopping.  We were out of the harbour by 4pm and into Cid Harbour before dark for a very calm night.  

Mike and Sue on Catseye Beach

One Tree Hill, with The Whitsunday Passage as a backdrop

8 September

Whitehaven to Hamilton Island

The wind came up from the south overnight, reaching up to around 15 knots in Whitehaven.  There were only a few boats remaining here overnight, which says something about boating culture up here.  I was quite happy with our approach of coming in here late yesterday and picking up just the tail end of the sloppy conditions.  I had lots of chain out so I wasn’t going to drag or do any damage to the boat or its ground tackle.  It wasn’t a still night but it was most acceptable.  I’d rather have been here than be exposed to the fresh southerly wind and seas on one of the south facing anchorages overnight, as many other boats chose to be (probably getting stronger winds and certainly much bigger seas than we got).

I wanted to be ready for a potentially early start for Hammo today, so we stowed the dinghy on deck last night.  Unfortunately that meant no rowing today.  Instead we enjoyed a slow start to the day, which is also good. 

I brought out the photo album from my 1980s bareboating trips to try to compare the old Whitehaven with today.  Two things struck me.  Firstly, I’m convinced the beach is now a shadow of what it was, and that massive amounts of sand erosion still persist from Cyclone Debbie.  Secondly, that Whitehaven Beach is a world class tourist location with world class numbers of tourists to go with it.  My photos from 1987 show just a tiny handful of boats anchored off the beach, and only a few people on it.  Now, boats pack the anchorage, and day trippers are shipped out in their hundreds by jet cat from Hammo and Airlie, and by seaplane and helicopter from Qualia and Hayman.  The beach still has a special, magical quality to it early in the morning or at sunset, when the wind and seas are calm and all is silent, but at other times it’s tragic to see what we’ve done to its beauty.

Paradise?

The sail across to Hamilton Island was in 15-20 knot winds and some lumpy seas.  Having the headsail up made the trip pretty comfortable, and conditions moderated significantly once we got into Dent Passage and entered the Harbour.  The most interesting thing to note here was a large bareboat that had run itself onto one of the reefs in Fitzalan Passage.  The winds would have made this a fatal mistake, but I understand the fault was entirely with the charterer in hitting the reef in the first place.

This is a reminder to never be complacent when navigating a yacht

Our marina berth was right next to the Hammo Yacht Club - here's a crude night shot of the club from the cockpit

7 September

Turtle Bay to Whitehaven Beach, via Chance Bay

Odd conditions today!

The day started typically enough – no wind, glassy, warm, perfect.  I took the dinghy out before sun up for what was going to be a short row but ended up being another 2 hour excursion.  This time I rowed out of Turtle Bay completely and went around to explore the surrounding area.  It’s a real thrill to be able to get to only a metre off the rocks, here they rose vertically out of the water to 30 odd meters then being topped by pine trees.  Saw a couple of turtles bobbing around, or maybe one turtle a couple of times.  

I’ve found that if I position myself to row with maximum power (with feet planted on the transom and with the rowlocks pretty much abeam of me) the stern digs in and drags, and if I sit with my weight further forward the boat feels and sounds more lively but my oar strokes become wussy.  Prefer the powerful, draggy strokes.

Back at the boat by 8 for another swim and fresh water shower and then breakfast.  I think I like this routine very much.  Sitting on deck afterwards I realised it was this ability to simply jump off the boat and go rowing, or swimming, or sailing, or bush walking, or just staring at the scenery at any time that I’ll miss when I get home.  Being stuck in suburbia and the daily grind doesn’t seem like much of a lifestyle in comparison.  I guess we do it just out of habit.

Such a gorgeous view looking south out of Turtle Bay

Leaving thew Turtle Bay anchorage

Pentecost Island.  I've always thought it was a majestic sight, and likened it to a Cathedral in its shape.  But then someone told me it looks like the profile of a gorilla's face, lying on its back, and now I can't avoid seeing it as such!

This was when the fun began.  The weather forecast for the rest of today and the first 12 hours of tomorrow has north easterly sea breezes building to 15-20 knots till early evening tonight, and then shifting to the west and dropping, before going south and strengthening again to 20 knots pre-dawn tomorrow.  It’s pretty uncommon for the wind to turn around so dramatically overnight.  We need an anchorage tonight that can cope with everything from strong nor-eastlies to strong southerlies, and there aren’t many around like that.  Nara Inlet will do, but it’s in the north and we’re due in Hammo tomorrow for a crew change.  I don’t want to go north and then spend hours in the morning bashing back into a southerly from Nara to Hammo. 

I rather enjoyed listening in to the Bareboat radio channels and hearing so many people radioing in essentially asking “Where the hell should I go?” and to have the bareboat companies not really having good answers.  

Of our group, Nirvana’s Kitchen is going to Nara, and then they’re due in Airlie tomorrow.  That’s a good plan.  I don’t know where the others are going.  I decided to head for Whitehaven, but when we got there at midday the nor-easter had built up substantial seas and the anchorage was a real washing machine.  In spite of that, the bareboat companies were still advising their boats to go there.  We retreated back to the south (leeward side) of Whitsunday Island and just went sailing for 90 minutes in flat water and then dropped the anchor in Chance Bay to wait for a couple more hours.  We headed back to Whitehaven before sunset, at which time the conditions were messy but bearable.  By sunset the wind had died away and by midnight the seas were just gently rolly. Our evening passed pretty comfortably.