Sailing around the Whitsundays

Our journey
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We hadn't really had time to think too much about the sailing trip, but as we packed our bags for the 8.40am pickup we started to get excited.  We were also hoping that there wouldn't be any weirdos, idiots or pervs on the trip which we may have to throw overboard.

We were lucky - everybody seemed relatively normal with no visible ticks. The skipper was Kat and the deck hand was Liam (a really friendly lad who helped make the trip). (Note though - to crew a boat in the Whitsundays you have to say 'sweet' alot and show your bum crack!) The boat was called Southern Cross, was 68ft long and had raced in the America's cup.  It could hold 14 passengers but there were only 11 of us.  There was a Swiss couple - Bertina and Marco.  A Dutch couple (Antoinette and Ronald) and their 'gooseberry' friend Peter.  The couple were a bit sickly and made even the people who didn't get sea sick want to throw up.  The singles were Kelly & Sophie (travelling together from Kent), Ricky (mad & Irish), Frenchie (real name Lorane) and obviously me and Fi.

First night stopover at Tongue Bay
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Kat asked us if we wanted to go sailing to which we had to respond loudly 'Arrghhh' (pirate style).  We left the harbour and put up the sails and the boat tipped 45 degrees.  Everyone was like 'omg, it this normal. Are we going to tip?'  Frenchie screamed quite a lot. Kat and Liam just grinned.  We pulled into a sheltered area a couple of hours later to have some lunch and go snorkelling.  For future reference - when you go sailing make sure everything isn't laid out on your bed as it will end up on the floor and in the toilet!

Southern Cross
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We sailed to Tongue Bay (near Whitehaven Beach) for our first night at sea.  Liam cooked a lovely tea and we started to make our way through our alcohol stash.  We played drinking games (including the seafood song where I was Nemo and Fi was a sea cucumber), chatted and laughed.  It wasn't a late night.  Me and Fi were on bunk beds at the back of the boat (Fi kindly volunteered to go on the top again - I think I would have got stuck!).  We had Ricky and Frenchie on bunk beds next to us with Bertina and Marco in the double behind us.  Cosy!  Me, Fi and Ricky were the last ones to bed and we had an absolute giggling fit trying to get into bunks.  It was a weird sensation sleeping on a boat.

Yellow rain jackets - all the fashion
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It rained during the night and we were all a little disappointed by the clouds the following morning.  We got the dingy across to shore and took the short walk up to the lookout over Whitehaven Beach.  Stunning. (I know I keep using that word but it was!).  We then went onto the beach which was white and felt like talc.  The crowds were starting to invade the beach so we got back on the boat for a bit more sailing and snorkelling.

Our second night was spent at Cid Harbour.  Again a bit more drinking, eating and chatting.  There were also a couple of 'you had to be there' moments but me and Fi were in stiches when we were trying to think of sailing related songs and I tried to remember the Captain Birdseye song and sang 'fillet of fish is just enough to give your kids a treat!' Finger of fudge you wolly! It was Antoinette's birthday so Kat attempted to bake a cake out of the contents of the cupboards.  It tasted like cardboard.

Whitehaven bay from the lookout
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Before leaving Cid Harbour we went for a short bushwalk on Whitsunday Island.  The sun was shining, so instead of going to the spa (which was the original plan) we went snorkelling and sailing again.  On the way back into harbour in the afternoon, we raced a boat (called Siska - owned by the same company) but lost.  It was a lot bigger boat and just shot off into the distance.  That was pretty cool though.

We all felt a little deflated heading back to dry land.  All our clothes were either wet or damp and we hadn't showered in 3 days, but still we wanted to carry on.  It really was an amazing trip and would recommend it to anyone.

Whitehaven bay from the lookout
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In the evening, there was a table booked at the Beaches bar.  The couples weren't interested in going and Frenchie had a flight back to Sydney.  Me, Fi, Ricky, Kelly and Sophie met up for some lagers but were pretty knackered so it wasn't a late one.

(24th - 26th July 2007)