This time, our boat was Enid, a recently restored ketch. We arrived at the harbour to be kitted out with the ever beautiful Stinger Suits – after some of the stories I’ve heard, make sure you get one of these! We set sail, with our skipper, Captain Gary (also later known as Doctor Gary). And, once again, we had a great group of people on the boat!
After a short trip out, we hoisted the sails up and let the wind take us round to a bay off Hayman Island. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, I love sailing! There’s just something about the feeling of the wind pushing you boat so effortlessly through the water. All you can hear is the sound of the water tearing past the boat – Enid was fast, and has won a few races!
As soon as we’d dropped anchor, everyone jumped in for some snorkelling before lunch. The water was so clear you could see soo much – still doesn’t compare to Scuba diving sadly – the only downside was the low tide making it slightly innaccessible. It was also the first time Dai had been snorkelling for a very long time, and thankfully he loved it!
Lunch was superb, and set us up nicely for an afternoon cruise round the islands to our bay for the evening. We were taken onto a small beach to watch the sunset, where we were treated to the golden rays setting behind the bay. The evening was spent chatting and looking at the stars. I’d forgotten how amazing they look from the bay, with so much visible to the naked eye. We also did some squid fishing. Sadly we didn’t catch anything, although on relection this may have been a good thing as the skipper would have made us clear up the mess the ink would’ve made on the deck.
The second day saw us heading round to the White Sands. This time the view was different as there was a high tide, but this meant you could walk out into the lagoon created where the sand cut the bay off. It was awesome, and we even got to see some small sharks in the water with us! I did have a small mishap – and this is where the Doctor Gary part comes in – pushing the dingy off the shore with the deckhand, I managed to slice the back of my foot open on a shell. It wasn’t pretty, and also hurt a fair bit.
Later that day, with my foot wrapped in a bandage and a plastic bag (which didn’t last long), we went snorkelling again. Now here’s a little tip, don’t snorkel if you have blood on your foot as the big fish really like it, and do have quite a bite to them! Did get to see some amazing fish though, and the big fish do eventually back off with some persuasion.
That evening, we moored in some shallows but first we had to transfer some water from the boat called Spank Me (silly name, but awesome boat). We later showed our more mature side by playing drinking games till the early hours. Seven’s is a great game, especially if you play with people who struggle with their tables (if anyone want to know how to play it, let me know. Works especially well on accountants for some reason).
The final day, I skipped the morning snorkel and dive as I didn’t want to risk infecting my foot (and I had a bunged up nose and forgotten my Padi license – basically everything was against me going Scuba Diving). Sailing back into the harbour, we were the only boat capable of using the wind – which meant we got back first too!
Back on dry land, everyone met for an evening of partying in Airlie beach, sad to be back on dry land. But we had a blast, and everyone has stayed in touch. We also planned a recovery day in Airlie, which is a fairly boring place on reflection other than the sailing. So, we were sad the sailing was over, but were glad to leave Airlie and be on the road to Hervey Bay and Fraser island.
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Whitsundays, Australia
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