We’ve had a smorgasbord of delights over the last week. 7 days ago we were hauled out at Shute Harbour and Roobinesque had her propellor seals changed. 6 days ago our friends arrived from Cairns and we set sail with a near perfect forecast. It’s always great to catch up with friends and being able to share our live-aboard life is fun.
We dragged Liz and James up Whitsunday Island and back in a 2 hour hike, (in fact they set the cracking pace…) then headed out to Stonehaven for some snorkelling, tangled with a bareboat charter crew who anchored over us, annoyed the large charter catamaran who invaded our peaceful bay with lousy music playing so loudly it was distorting their speakers (a Bose Dock playing Romanza at full volume is going to win every time!). Next day we sailed around to Whitehaven and lolled in the gorgeous clear water. There’s a reason so many Australian tourism adverts star Whitehaven…
From there we sailed around to Macona Inlet for their last night. Next morning, with a brisk 15-20 knots blowing, we just about flew across to Airlie Beach so they could fly home. The visit was all too short, but hopefully they enjoyed themselves enough that they’ll be back for more 🙂
After we’d left them we did a quick shopping trip to reprovision, caught up with other friends aboard My Ruby and then hoisted the headsail to head north to Woodwark Bay again to hide from a strong wind warning. The really great thing about the Whitsunday area is there are bolt holes for every wind direction so there are always snug anchorages to be found.
Today we moved further north to Double Bay as the wind is forecast to swing a little more easterly. Having spent 26 years constantly checking the weather for flying it’s second nature for me. Capt G possibly thinks I’m a little hung up on it, but old habits die hard! I’ve also had to rethink the way I approach the weather as instead of worrying about today we need to look ahead to three, four or five days to make sure we can find appropriate bays. All part of the wonderful tapestry of a sailing life.
And here’s the photos from the last few days.
Oh and I did I mention I’m hoarse from cheering on the North Queensland Cowboys last night!! Well done to the lads and coach Paul Green. It’s a wonderful achievement. My book, Safe Harbour, was inspired by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rugby league players I watched grow up through the junior ranks as they headed south on the QantasLink Dashes to play in interstate schools competitions and then on to professional sports. Lovely to see their success.
Glorious Whitehaven Beach
Tiny jewel like flowers on pig-face growing in the rocks
The vivid colours of a bread fruit tree at Woodwark Bay
The private retreat at Woodwark Bay that started life as a film set
Sunset at Double Bay
Lol, a most useful tree, Sue! You’ll love Whitehaven 🙂
Wow, thanks for the info, Helene. That sounds like a very busy tree. Lol.
When we do visit Whitehaven I will be sure to wear my rings, they need a bit of a clean up.
Sue, I should have labelled it Pandanus tree. Dad always used to call them bread fruit trees but they’re not… And yes, the islanders use the leaves to make baskets and twine, and the fruit can be eaten once it’s ripened. I think they may also make a drink out of the flower.
You need to visit Whitehaven at least once – the sand is so fine it polished my wedding ring back to shiny new 🙂
You sure have had a lot of fun, Helene. Whitehaven is another place we’d love to visit, I want to feel the sand that everyone raves about. The photo of the bread fruit tree, is that an actual fruit, something edible or a type of flower?