30 August to 21 September
We have now reached the Whitsundays, which is probably the top tourist/paradise destination of Queensland and maybe Australia. We’re surrounded by coral reefs and there’s plenty of fish in the clear waters. The weather has been mixed with more winds than normal for the season, but we’ve had plenty of really good days.
Boats being boats – Mackay marina
We were stuck much longer than expected in Mackay. First we waited for delivery of a spare part to our toilet, which took a whole week express shipping from Sydney (!), then while waiting for that part to arrive we did engine service and while doing that found that the raw water intake seacock was seized and needed replacing – something that can only happen when the boat is out of the water. Our mood was a bit down and we decided to take a break and visit the family in Sydney for a weekend – a good decision. Once back in Mackay we had one night “on the hard” and took the opportunity to also clean the bottom thoroughly. It was strange sleeping on the boat whilst up on the hard, but all went well and the boat ‘splashed’ in the morning.
Goldsmith Island
12 September, SE 15-20kn, 31NM
Finally, after two weeks in Mackay, we set of north again, in good weather and by mid afternoon reached Goldsmith Island, which is one of the most southerly islands in the Whitsundays. We were now in the Whitsundays and felt very happy about that! There were only a couple of other boats in the bay and we spent two nights here as the forecast was for some stronger winds which we waited to ease down.
Shaw Island, Burning Point
15 September, SE 20kn, 17NM
A fairly short sail in good winds took us from Goldsmith to Shaw Island, which had good protection from the SE winds.
Frank and Julie on Bundeena came to visit us in the bay, and it turned out they needed some help to fix a broken wind vane. As neither Niclas, Frank or Julie were keen on being hoisted up the mast, Sanna became the hero of the day taking on the mission.
Frank was very grateful for the successful result and treated us to a tasty dinner with beverages to suit.
Whitehaven
17 September, 10-15kn SE, 15NM
A very nice sail in lighter winds took us to the southern part of the Whitehaven beach, on the Whitsundays Island, where we stayed for one night.
Whitehaven beach has some of the whitest sand you can find, apparently a 98% silica which also keeps it cool. A good place for some beach tennis we thought.
We also took a walk up to the lookout spot, and fired up the drone from there too.
Whitehaven is pretty busy with tourists, for good reasons, and the many charter catamarans, and bigger vessels too, whizzes through at sometimes high speed.
Butterfly Bay
18-19 September, 10kn SE, 19NM
Very nice downwind sail up to the north of Hook Island and into Butterfly Bay, where we met up with Kelly and Evan on Sanctum. It was rolly over night and the next day we moved towards the west side of the bay where it was calmer. Dinner on Sanctum and great to catch up with Evan and Kelly again.
Hook Reef
20-22 September, 10-15kn SE, 22NM
Sanctum and Rara (motor) sailed side by side out to Hook Reef, 22 NM north of Hook Island and spent two nights there in the middle of the ocean in beautiful calm conditions. This must be the highlight of our trip so far! Such a beautiful area, with some great snorkeling in very clear waters. We were careful to stay clear of the ‘bommies’, i.e. high rock formations of coral which can be seen in some of the pictures and easy to run aground on if one is not careful. At low tide the reef partially rises above the waterline.
The journey so far
It’s been a fair few miles traveled, but now that we’ve reached the Whitsundays we feel happy about not venturing further north. The summer season is approaching, and with that the risk of Cyclones as well as stingers (Box Jelly fish and Irukandji), crocs and sharks increase. In about a months time we’ll start heading south again.
