WHITSUNDAY'S WITH MUM AND DAD...

TWIGHLITE

G'day All!,from about half way to The Gr8 Barrier Reef!
We've grown tired of mudcrab and oysters and have set course for Hook Reef near Bait Reef.
With one day of good windz B4 they drop 2 a very lite zepher we have taken the opportunity to hoist the sails and "go with the flow".
Background!
Mum and Dad arrived a few days ago now, and after spending our first night anchored near  Armit Island we returned to Airlie to refuel, water and gather any last minute items from the stores B4 heading out to May's Bay on the inside of Whitsunday Island.

LOOX LIKE DINNER

A good nites sleep was had by all, then after breakie we set off towards our first major destination (wkoa) Turtle Bay.
Here we ran the dive gear through a trial and generally swum around looking for Crayfish and other edible delights.
No luck!, so it was thyme to lift the pick and head around the bottom of Whitsunday Island through Solway passage to arrive at Chalkies Beach for a spot of lunch.
Gorgeous conditions had us all in the water after a truly terrible lunch of T bone steak and salad.(we didn't even wait an hour!)
Then it waz thyme to set the sailz once again for our home for the next few days...
Whitehaven Beach.!
The tides were all wrong and entry 2 Hill Inlet was blocked by a complete lack of water, no problem really, as we rounded the point into Tongue Bay where we picked up a mooring. B4 taking a walk through the dense rainforest to the lookout over Whitehaven right on sunset. Another one of those really terrible places 2B.
After a superb dinner I set about catching a heap of herrings for crab bait.
While Mum and Dad slept
The following morning we set off early to catch the rising tide and entered Hill Inlet just behind Whitehaven.
        "We have arrived"!
Thyme to relax and enjoy a few days of peace and solitude.
Oh!, Did I fail to mention the crystal clear water, amazing sands and a over supply of really big rock oysters.Bugger!
The herrings from last nite were put to gr8 use as crab bait with suxcess on the first evening 3 "MONSTER"
mudcrabs! To have such a stunning surround with  an amazing supply of really impressive seafood makes me wonder why I haven't lived here my entire existence.
(brief interlude as we wound in a couple of northern bluefin tuna)(well one anyway, I lost myne while Dad managed a capture).
The itinerary for the next few days was simply relax,relax and more relax...
Lots of book reading swimming and just a little maintenance on the Yot.
One could almost forget the rest of the known world exists if it was not for the ever present float plains, helifloppers and multi million dollar "super yachts"
 we could be the only people experiencing what can only be described as paradise.
However even fantastic foods and scenery can become tiresum after 3 or 4 days, So we headed away from Whitehaven towards Hook Passage to get a weather update and organise a spare gener8tor as ours is having just a few issues. Itz making power alright  just TOO much of it!
,in the region of 290 volts instead of the intended 240.
And I really like my Hot showers!

DAYBRAKE!

ITZ NOT A ROKMELON!

The spinnaker had suffered some minor damage last thyme it waz flown as the ends of the spreaders (big cross half way up the mast) have a sharp stainless steel bracketz on them.
After consulting Kenny back in Townsville the solution was obvious wrap a giant tennis ball in crepe bandage and fix it to the end of each spreader to cover the offending brackets.Who would of guessed!
We did this while the Yot had no water underneath so I would have a very steady platform to work with.

HUGE!

Dad manned the safety line as I climbed the mast then swung out on the "bosun's" chair on the safety line. Once the rockmelons were zip tied into place I was lowered to the deck in thyme for a breakfast of poached eggs on muffins with cream cheese and sliced ham to make it just a little special.
Then off to retrieve our mud crab traps for the final thyme.
If I thort the last crabs were BIG I was sorely mistaken as today's catch resulted in 3 more huge crabs plus a cod of around 3 kilo's.
Needless to say more seafood for lunch.
Crab, mayo and lettuce wrapps .
(anutha brief interlude for a couple of more tuna).
We repaired the damaged spinnaker while sailing towards Border Island as our nite thyme anchorage.
Dinner: Poached cod fillets with cauli cheese, baked garlic pumpkin, B.B.Q'd corn on the cob and a heap of mashed potato with fresh thyme and butter.
Then it was an early nite for all.
B4 today which has us sailing out to The Reef and a couple of days  of diving and fishing.
YIPPEE!

 Itz Update Thyme!
We R now on our trip bak from The Reef with enuf memories to fill a lifethyme of blog entries and / or scrapbooks for the older gerer8ion.
Our choice to travel on the windiest of the days haz worked out really well for us.
Aside from the travel sickness incurred by Mum we had prime pick of the moorings at Bait  Reef.
After a day 2 relax parked inside Hook Reef while the ocean calmed itzself down.
We explored the shallows and I caught a fish or 3 to add to the "larder".
Then it waz once again thyme to up anchor and set sail towards Bait Reef some 6nm away.

The spinnaker repairs were put to the test as we set up the big colorful sail and watched the ocean go by.
A spanish mack fell for the lure out behind the Yot just to compliment our already bulging seafood stocks.
We arrived at Bait Reef in near perfect conditions and as usual "Bruce" waz there 2 greet us.
This was a real treat 4 Mum and Dad and the excess tuna I'd kept was used to feed the ever growing gaggle of phish under the rear of the Yot.
The GT's were next 2 show and this thyme I was determined to get sum decent fotoz for those unbelievers out there.

So I slipped under the water with the Powerdive unit and the camera to record the feedings
This is one of those really special things you  must do on a trip 2 The Reef.
To hand feed these Monster fish leaves you with a real appreciation (wkoa) for the concept of Green Zones and protected area's (and thatz coming from a mad keen fisho!).
The fish here have absolutely No fear of humans and are even curious enough to approach you food or no food.
The Powerdive unit performed perfectly giving both Dad a Myself many opportunities to explore the amazing scenes taking place under Galleycat.
A special dinner was in order and it had to be anything but seafood as we are all starting to grow shells and scales.
So I soaked some shitake' mushrooms and fried up a few fresh mushies with the shitake's and a can of champignions to create a trio of mushroom  sauce. Much to the delight of the dive charter behind us who had to receive the smells of frying garlic, onions and mushrooms.Poor Bastards!
Once the sauce was complete I boiled some linguine to complete the dish and threw on some shreded parmasean. Yummo!
Another gr8 find this trip was "son of Bruce" a baby humphead wrasse around 3 ft long and around half the size of Bruce.

This morning we achieved the near impossible task of getting Mum onto the Powerdive unit for a quick dive on the plateau corals just in front of our  mooring.
After a basic lesson on breathing with regulators and a helping hand from Dad we soon had both of them cruising around the corals dive camera in hand
This is another of those amazing things that just must be done  on a trip out here.
The coral is simply stunning and the schools of reef fish that flock 2wards you once your in the water create the most amazing aquarium effect anyone could hope to experience.
After Mum's sojourn beneath the surface I took the opportunity to slide into the water as well.
The anchorage was full to capacity and with the wind forecast to increase steadily over the next few days it was thyme to set sail for The Whitsundays again.
With a good 15-18 knot breeze we raised the sails and begun our 18nm trip back towards the relative shelter of the islands. While I sifted through several hundred fotoz to attempt to give you all just a sample of our experiences.
We are heading towards Butterfly Bay at the top of Hook Island and will once again disappear from connection with the "civilized" world.
So I've taken this opp 2 fill in the blog and update the emails and weather reports B4 we set up camp inside another stunning bay on another stunning island and oh well you get the idea.....
Thatz kind of how this place worx you move from bay 2 bay, reef 2 reef, dive 2 dive and meal 2 sleep!
The outside world is all but forgotten as most bays are surrounded with huge mountains of rainforest that make phone signals just a distant memory.
This is just fine as you easily manage to fill up a day with just a short list of activities.
And after a dive or a fish or a sail you need a feed and a nap. (not necessarily in that order) .
But relaxation (wkoa) is definitively the main goal of a week sailing around these amazing islands.

The diving is limited to your own enthusiasm and stamina levels, With the Powerdive unit itz so easy to just slide beneath the water, that you tend to forget the old way's of tanks and "bc's".
With coral bommies everywhere even a night thyme anchorage takes on a whole new meaning when you dive under the Yot to find a forest equal to or better than  the ones surrounding the bay up on the surface.
The quality of the underwater camera images is one item I need to work on as I now have the program and computing power available and I've even got the thyme to spend on upgrading and editing the underwater images to truly reflect what you see from your mask, I just need the knowledge!
We've seen the most amazing sights during the last week that itz not easy to chose just what makes it onto the Blog.
Mum and Dad are more relaxed than I ever seen them B4 and god knows we can all use the Xtra sleep that comes with this type of lifestyle.
Once we left Butterfly Bay it was thyme to head for One Foot Island.
This little stopover is a total change from the reef and mountains of the past week with a pure sand island that as the name suggestz only comes a foot or two (depending on the tide) above the turquoise waters.
Our journey now heads towards another jewel of The Whitsunday's!
Nara Inlet, This huge ravine cuts itz way right through the heart of Hook Island forming some of the most stunning scenery anyone could hope for (and the fishing's not bad either!)
Not that we need any more fish.
In fact we ended up releasing 2 mudcrabs in the mangroves here.

The fishing has kept us well fed over the past week! be it sushimi grade tuna, huge mudcrabs, crumbed coral trout, steamed cod, oysters kilpatrick or pan fried spanish mackerel with lemon butter! We have had a never ending supply of the absolute freshest seafood the region has to offer. Alas no squid this thyme!
The replacement fishing rods sourced just B4 we left have been put through their paces on this trip with a few stand out catches (and losses) giving us yet another group of memories to take away from here.
One of the biggest tussles occurring on our first night in Nara at Refuge Bay. I had some kind of monster on the go for around half an hour in the middle of the night that will stick in everybodyz minds.  But thatz "another one got away" story!                          
We spent the following day resting and re-cooperating from the late night activity.
We had an amazing asian poached chicken and salad wrap for lunch B4 setting off in the tender for a lap around Nara Inlet.
The topography had Mum and Dad amazed with an unexpected visit from a blue boned groper really starting the trip off well.
The hoop pines that rise from sea level to several hundred feet above you are a truly amazing sight.
While the shape and style of the unique rock formations leave you
speechless!
Just around the first corner we got up close and personel with the rocks as they presented their best face to us.
The shapes created by thyme and storm activity are unique and very special to see.
While even in the secluded ravine that is Nara the corals and sea life still give you something special to look at all the thyme.
It also makes a gr8 place to shelter from cyclone activity as I found out last year several thymes.
No so this trip with near perfect weather the whole thyme. It might B cold in the lower climes but we've averaged 26 degree's with bright sunshine for 90% of the trip.
We are heading back to Airlie beach today with a day in Macona Inlet giving us the ideal rest B4 the lengthy 11 nm trip back to the Burb's.
I'll break the trip with lunch on the middle island of the Molle group around 4 nm from Airlie and directly across from Daydream Island resort.

A day of re-stock and supply in Airlie Beach had us all ready for a swim in the lagoon, a gr8 weigh 2 end a near perfect trip.
Dinner waz a special fish burger with freshly made tartare sauce as our:
"Last Supper".
I've just put Mum & Dad on the bus 4 the long flights home.
Lotz of special memories for all of us!
I remembered that they hadn't put anything on the Totem pole, so I went into the souvenier shop and grabed a heap of "AUSsie road signz for the front cabin walls as there contribution this trip
."Sumthunk I've reely wanted 4 a long thyme!"
Now itz thyme to conclude this entry and write a thanx letter 2 my Mum and Dad .
Enjoy Life .....

Captain Felix