Whilst walking around the Sydney Boat Show recently, and after drooling over all the beautiful boats and shiny new toys there, my wife and I found ourselves standing at one of the many booths at the Show. What had caught my eye was a huge map pinned to the back wall, with large white lettering on the top ....
"Sail the Whitsundays"
 That sounded like a great idea - especially as it was pouring down with rain outside. I looked around at Tracey and I could see that she was thinking the same thing. So after chatting with the guy on the stand and pestering him with all sorts of trivial questions, we went away loaded with the mandatory bag of brochures that would probably clutter up our sideboard for a few weeks before they were thrown away. However the one brochure that I did keep was...? Yep- the one on sailing the Whitsundays - it told us how great the weather was this time of year and how, with a little boating experience, you could sail a yacht around the Islands with ease.
It didn’t take long for Tracey to end up at the Queensland Tourist Board for all the relevant information, and so with a little apprehension we decided to go for it. Two weeks later Tracey and I set off on a cold and wet August morning for ten days of sun, sea and sailing around the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland.
A two and half hour flight north of Sydney took us to the tropics and we landed on Hamilton Island to blue sky, and 27 degrees - PERFECT!!! Within an hour of landing, we were off again, having been picked up by Alan, who was going to show us the ropes on our home for the next eight days - Ripple - a twenty eight foot Catalina yacht.
After only an hours tuition from Alan, we were sailing Ripple by ourselves - so the brochure was right after all - it was easy!!. On our way to Shute Harbour, where we were to drop him off, Alan showed us all aspects of the boat, briefed us on the Islands, and took us through the Bible for sailing the Whitsundays - a book called 100 Magic Miles.
Following a very pleasant first night anchored at Shute Harbour, with red wine, shooting stars and Barbara Streisand on the CD for company, we woke at first light and were under sail by 7.30am, heading past Daydream Island and out through Dangerous Passage.
 Tracey and I have established an effective routine on our own dive boat in Sydney, to minimise any tensions!! We had to work out a similar routine for Ripple to ensure we had an enjoyable holiday - as the saying goes "Too many cooks......." So for the next half hour we practised raising and lowering the sails and tacking (the technical term for turning left and right - whoops, I should say port and starboard). The reason these boats are so easy to sail is: the use of colour coded ropes; there is a minimal number of ropes to pull; a self rolling (or furling) front sail - I think that was called a Genoa; and being able to do everything from the cockpit. So with our Ripple routine established, and a little apprehension on taking a yacht out on our own for the first time, we set out into the Whitsunday Passage, a large expanse of sea separating the outer and inner islands.
We had a stiff 20 knot breeze coming from the south east and were healing over quite well. I think Tracey was a little worried at first because all the boats she had been on before had always sat upright in the water. After only a couple of hours of good sailing, I found that I could tell when the sails were set right, or if a small adjustment from the winch was needed. I enjoyed playing around with the sails - adjusting them to get maximum wind in them, and turning the boat into and away from the wind. It really is amazing to think that someone invented sailing thousands of years ago.
I had brought a fishing rod with me because I had been told there was good fishing to be had up here. So Tracey took the helm whilst I set the rod up with a brand new lure. After letting out a fair bit of line, I fixed the rod to the rail of the boat and sat down to enjoy the sailing and wait for the fish to bite.
 It was lunch time by now, so Tracey went down into the galley to make some tuna salad sandwiches. Upon returning to the deck, she told me in very plain English that she wouldn’t be making lunch again in a 20 knot breeze!! The rod, which I had only set a half hour before, suddenly bent over and began to judder - I had caught something already! As we were out in the middle of the Passage, and there was no other boats nearby, I let the helm go and grabbed the rod. As soon as I did this, the boat turned and pointed into the wind, the sails flapping wildly. After only a couple of minutes fight, and Tracey trying to get out of my way, I had landed myself a very nice spotted mackerel - the first of the holiday. Tracey meanwhile had taken the helm again and gotten the boat back on course. There was then a struggle to find a bucket and the camera whilst the fish went into it’s death throw - something that Tracey didn’t appreciate - but I was impressed with my catch!!
As we headed for our second night’s anchorage at a place called Nara Inlet, we saw to our delight two humpback whales, a mother and her calf, in the distance. At about one hundred yards from them, Tracey turned the boat into the wind so that I could pull down the sails - which now only took a minute or two. As we watched the whales, they slowly started heading towards us, the mother staying on the surface, every so often blowing hug amounts of air out of her lungs, whilst the calf dived and played around her - its tail coming out of the water just like you see in the wildlife shows on television. They passed us about twenty yards to our stern which at that distance, you could tell that the mother was longer that the boat. This was amazing stuff and we were the only people there to witness it!!!
We stayed with the whales for another half an hour, keeping at all times a sensible distance away, before we had to leave them in order to make it in time for our overnight anchorage. The only real rule you have to follow in bareboat chartering is to be at your anchorage at around 4pm and to acknowledge the "Scheds" - the term us yachties use to answer the roll call to base. As we motored up Nara Inlet, it reminded us of a Scandinavian fjord - approximately two and half miles long, water like glass, surrounded by lofty hills and beautiful safe bays to anchor in. The Bible told us that the Inlet was one of the more popular and safe anchorages - calm in all winds - and ideal for mastering the techniques of anchoring!! After a couple of attempts that saw us drop the whole 30 meter chain in only 3 meters of water, which was a bit of an overkill, we finally were satisfied with the result - however the technique needed a bit of improvement, and less colourful language would suffice! We settled down for the evening to a delicious meal of barbecued fresh mackerel accompanied by a another great red. The nice thing we noticed was that everybody gave each other plenty of space and you didn’t feel as though you were sharing your holiday with a lot of other people.
Up at the crack of dawn again - why is it you don’t sleep in on boats? - and Tracey and I are now confident in our sailing ability. We have our route roughly planned for the next six days that will take us up around Hayman Island, out west past Haslewood Island, south to Shaw Island, en route to dropping off Ripple at our resort on Long Island - some 120 miles sailed in all.
 There were many highlights of the trip, but perhaps the one thing that we both really enjoyed was the sheer freedom that the yacht allows you to experience. You decide where you want to go, when you want to go there, and because you take your home with you, all the comforts remain close at hand. The peacefulness of sailing and hardly ever sharing your overnight spots with more than two or three other boats really gave us the feeling of getting totally away from it all. For me in particular, all of the encounters with nature were special - hearing the whales expelling their air only yards from the boat at three o’clock in the morning, watching an eagle swoop down to pick up a fish on the surface, not to mention the wonderful tropical fish you come to expect when snorkelling and diving the Great barrier Reef.
Helpful Hints
Now for those who are thinking about sharing our adventure, here are some of our helpful hints to get the best from your sailing trip.
Pick the right time of year! In the 100 Magic Mile book (by David Colflet), the best times regarding least rain and best winds are listed. We went in mid August which was one of the best times to go and had fantastic weather. The expected conditions really will dictate the amount of clothing required - we obviously packed for the monsoon season, and really could have managed with one small holdall - especially as we had no plans to visit the resorts in the evening.
Invest in buying the afore mentioned Bible. It contains all aspects of sailing - the best anchorages with the current wind strength and direction, how to watch out for reefs as you approach your anchorage, whether sand flies are prevalent on the beaches, whether you can light a fire on the Islands etc. It’s even an enjoyable read once you’ve moored up - general information about boating, the wildlife, best snorkelling areas and the such like.
Do not struggle with buying food and drink for your holiday yourself - let the charter company take the strain. The provisioning service offered by all companies ensures you that your holiday is complemented by good food and drink. You can choose a pre-set package for a fixed price per person, but we decided to choose our own food and drink, and go for a healthy diet. The provisions are ordered and paid for by you, but the charter company will do all the hard work - buy the food and stow in on the yacht before you board - very easy and convenient.
When anchoring, try not to wrap the anchor chain around a coral bommie - we can assure you it will keep you awake all night - mind you at least I got to hear my whales that night.
Equipment that we suggest you ensure will be available is snorkelling gear, a BBQ and fishing rod. We also took our dive gear and got one dive in, but really the snorkelling was just as enjoyable.
Finally we found a twenty eight foot yacht to be perfect for a couple, even though available berth capacity was for six people. If you don’t need your space and are very friendly then four people would be OK. However, we would choose a larger or different type of yacht if we go with friends next time for that additional space and privacy.
The apprehension we felt before the trip about taking a yacht out on our own without any real sailing experience was not warranted. The Charter companies (and there are many to choose from) are run superbly and everything is arranged to make your whole experience as enjoyable, safe and as trouble free as possible. We will definitely be doing it again soon - it’s a total holiday experience, one where you feel you get away from everything and everybody.
Our advice - JUST DO IT!!!!
Article by John Charles
© Breakloose Publications. Unauthorised use or reproduction prohibited.
|
|
Article
|
016
|
|
Created
|
1-27-2005
|
|
Author
|
commdesign
|
|
Rating
|
 
|
|
4WDriving
Sailing & Yachting
Email
Print
Add Comment
