Hello from Tropical Paradise!!! Well not really,I'm actually back in Townsville but "NOT" for long. My eyes have been well and truely opened to the Magic that is the WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS. I had to return 2 Townsville by bus to help with the yards "C-word party" this also turned out 2B Richard's 65th Birthday so needless to say a gr8 thyme was had by all. I'm returning to Airlie beach first thing Monday morning with Noah from the yard. Once there, we'll set sail for Hamilton Island and Whitehaven beach as well as many others, B4 pointing the Yacht "Wheathersfield" towards the still unseen beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. We intend to spend several days/nights fishing and exploring our way along the reef line before returning to Townsville. With what can only be described as renewed vigour to get my YOT complete and heading towards this tropical oasis. The trip down was not wot you would call fantastic but still enjoyable with a stiff South East headwind slowing our forward pace to a crawl. Literally!!!
However after arriving at Bowen and sending our cargo ahead by car we truely began to enter the magic of the Whitsunday Island group.
We left Bowen early on day 3 of what was originally a 2 day trip and pointed the nose-bow towards Glouster Island and its infamous passage. What a true delight (as these 2 photo's will attest)
Upon arriving and completing a few maintenance tasks,the main one of these was to fitt a No 3 Jib where the torn remnants of the old Genoa once lived.
Both of these come under the heading of WFT No1 just a slightly different shape.
It was at this thyme that I encountered another Yachting terminology known as "a bullet" these are incredibly strong but short lived gusts of wind that race down the sides and between these tropical islands,all very nice unless you're attempting to fit a 15 meter high sail to the front of a Yacht. But after moving the Yacht closer to the Island itself (for imaginary protection) We got the job done and settled into a pleasant afternoon/evening of food and culinary treats.
After a nights sleep on the fore deck (front) of the Yacht it was thyme to slip the mooring and set sail for Blue Pearl Bay at the top of Hayman Island this task
however proved fruitless as this world heritage protected bay area only has moorings for 5 yachts and as we approached it became clear the there were already 6 yachts tucked inside this protective anchorage. So with envious eyes cast towards those lucky few souls we set sail to the hidden treasure that is Hook Island and Nara inlet. This little piece of heaven is a narrow valley carved into the lower end of Hook Island,we shared this place with just a handful of other yachts which apparently never happens as its normally full.
Once again we set about the task of wining and dining plus a well earned hot shower before a nights sleep interrupted only by a brief downpour around 2am. Daybreak was soon upon us and after a quick trip up the side of the valley to view some aboriginal paintings, we were chased off the island by thousands of March flies- biting,little bastards.So once again the WFT's were hoisted and we set off for our final destination (wkoa) Airlie Beach ,heart and soul of the Whitsunday group.This journey proved to be our best sail of the trip with no need for motors and a good breeze pushing us along at 7 knots with the occasional cheer as we hit 8 knots. Airlie soon came into view and we found ourselves tied up beside the entire charter yacht fleet. Some very impressive boats dripping with polished stainless and oiled teak and a small army of little worker "ants" keeping them shiny. Not to mention the literal hundreds of backpacking tourist type people being herded aboard various day trips or evening cruises. Many of these trips are aboard very well know yachts like Ragamuffin,Wild Oats 11 and various
other Sydney to Hobart yachts that have found a little retirement market for there latter years. This side of Airlie I was not prepared for as I saw trip after trip of these tourists board all manner of boats and head out from the harbour for "Their trip of a lifetime!" The water is a lovely turquoise colour not unlike that of the shallows of our own Rottnest Island. While the mountains and tracks are the most vibrant green I could ever imagine. However while driving around these mountain roads/tracks Ken warned me to keep a close eye out for some of the Fauna native to this region alone, interesting "aminals" like a kangawallafox or the far more dangerous crocafoxagator???? On a more serious note the ever present
bush turkey's are very much real .Although protected, the locals here view these as complete pests.(looks like a C-word dinner to me) However I was warned to knock one of these animals on the head for a feast generally results in a visit from the ranger with a very big fine to follow. So we settled for some lovely B.B.Q fare and a little more wine and merriment. Well maybe less wine more bourbon but still lotz of merriment. The task of fitting a new wind generator to the yacht had us sweating and cursing for a full day only to give way to another evening of bourbon and merriment. This process continued for several days before I caught the Greyhound bus back to the familiar surroundings of the slipway and an evening of, you guessed it more bourbon and merriment. Richard a myself set off to gather the food around lunch thyme a by the time the guests arrived around 4-5pm I'd managed to turn the trolley full of goodies into various platters and dishes that were consumed until the early hours of Saturday morning.
I arose Saturday just before noon (did I mention how gr8 it is to have airconditioning on the YOT) and headed ashore to see what I could do to help with the clean up, only to be pleasently surprised by a totally cleaned "PARTY ZONE" so I've headed back inside to fill out this entry and generally keep you all up to date with the events on this side of the country. At this stage I really am anxious to get in the car and head back towards Airlie and the waiting Reef that will hopefully reveal the true purpose of my journey here as the reports of fishing and diving around the Great Barrier are unbelievable and I simply must see for myself before completing my YOT and inviting you all to join me on a journey into the Tropic Island region that all must see at least once in their life.
I am fortunate enough to have this treasure right on my doorstep and once the roof is fitted to the rear of Galleycat I'll be pointing her nose southwards for some exploration(wkoa) of my own and maybe just maybe a coral trout on the B.B.Q or a steamed spangled emporer served with fresh yot grown salad. So itz thyme for less typing more working and this dream will be a reality soon.
Ciao for now and have a GR8 New Year!
Captain Felix
