Sailing – Hunter Island to Airlie Beach

We continued sailing the Queensland coast as we made our way to Whitsunday Islands. 

Hunter Island

We had an excellent sail to Hunter Island, and once there, we went for a walk and discovered deer. The deer were sleeping in the long grass, and we accidentally frightened them… although I’m not sure who got more of a fright, the deer or me! That night, we had a few drinks around a fire on the beach with John and Mara from SV Chikita and Irwin and George from SV Walt-zee.

Digby Island

Then we anchored for a night at Digby Island. Dwayne once again went foraging for oysters while I lay under a lone coconut tree and read my book. We saw lots of fish jumping out of the water but couldn’t catch one.

Mackay

From Digby, we went into Mackay. Initially, we were not going to stop at Mackay; however, the webbing at the top of the headsail gave way, and we needed to fix it. We went into the marina at Mackay only to discover that the sailmakers were in Airlie Beach. We wanted to spend some time out in the Whitsunday Islands, so we hired a car to go shopping and refuelled the boat. During the short time we spent in Mackay (less than 24hours), we did the washing, got the head sail down and put our spare one up. We went shopping and purchased the much needed Phenergan from the chemist for the midge bites!…… and sleeping.

Brampton Island

From there, we went to Brampton Island. There is an abandoned resort there which we found out has been closed down for about five years. It’s a shame because of all the island resorts we have visited so far… I think this one has the best spot.

Carlisle Island

Across from Brampton Island is Carlisle Island, which had the perfect spot for another beach cook-up. It was a beautiful night, and we decided it was a worthy place to open our champagne.

Whitsunday Islands

Dwayne caught a good size mackerel as we sailed to Hazelwood Island.

Hazelwood Island

At Hazelwood Island, we finally caught up with Helen and Graham from SV The Tardis. After a few drinks in the cockpit of Thorfinn, Helen, Dwayne and I went for a snorkel. The coral was excellent, with plenty of fish and giant clams. That night we had Graham and Helen aboard Thorfinn for mackerel cutlets. Fresh mackerel has to be my favourite! Yummo.

Dwayne and I went ashore and walked through to the other side of Hazelwood before moving on to Apostel Bay, Whitsunday Island, where we stayed the night and dropped in the crab trap. No luck with the crabs… still.

Cid Harbour

The anchor winch broke as we pulled up the anchor the following morning! We went around to Cid Harbour, also part of Whitsunday Island. Once anchored, Dwayne fiddled with the anchor winch and patched it up. A dinghy ride to Sawmill Beach took us to the start of the track to Whitsunday Peak. At the top of the peak, the views of the Whitsunday area were impressive.

Airlie Beach

The next stop was Airlie Beach and drinks at Sorrento’s with Helen and Graham. The following day we cabbed it, walked it and bused it while we dropped off the head sail and broken winch part and restocked our fresh fruit and veg again. Then we met up with an old friend, Lachy, who I once worked with in Port Douglas. We had lunch with him and his girlfriend Amy at the Whitsunday Sailing Club.

That evening we had another friend, Sarah and her daughter, Joanna, visit us from Moranbah. It’s always great catching up with Sarah, and this time, albeit not long enough, was no different. We fed them curried mackerel cutlets for dinner, and the following morning we sat and chatted while I did the washing. It was time for them to leave at midday and for Dwayne and me to go and pick up our sail and winch part. Dwayne put the winch back together, and then we were underway again.

We spent the next night at Armit Island, had a small fire on the beach, and cooked up steaks and potatoes. We left Armit the following morning and made our way to Shag Islet for the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club rendezvous. It sounds like there is lots of fun to be had… Jimmy Buffet night and a pirate party. Stay tuned!

Next up – The Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club Rendezvous 2014 and Sailing Cape Gloucester to cairns