30th July Airlie Beach to Butterfly Bay
After restocking the yacht and picking up new crew member Graham Lithgo we were finally leaving the marina. Going into marinas is a necessity to restock food and drink and to fuel up with diesel and water. Few marinas are pleasant but we had a good time at Able Point Marina. Walked a lot and assembled the fold up bike and road that around Airlie Beach. It was fantastic to have the bike as it gave me exercise and helped with the logistics although we had to use taxis for the main shopping and booze restock. “Windsong” was travelling in company with us and would spend the night with us before heading to Gloucester Island and on to Magnetic Island.
Some of the necessary supplies
Our first destination was originally Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island but when we arrived and picked up a mooring the swell was running side on to the yacht and made it a very roly anchorage. Blue Pearl Bay is one of the best bays to dive and snorkel. It is a marine park. Big Maori Wrasses and Bat Fish along with Coral Trout and big Parrot Fish are present in plentiful numbers. We decided to leave and go to Butterfly Bay as it was just too uncomfortable.
We had a great night moored alongside Windsong and had sundowners and dinner with them.
31st July Butterfly Bay
Windsong left at 8.30am to continue on with their journey. We stayed the day in Butterfly bay and snorkeled. We were disappointed with the clarity of the water and the fish life for a marine sanctuary. The water was very cold and even with a wet suit we could not last 30 minutes in the water. We took the dinghy out of the marine sanctuary zone and trawled a line along the reef. Not a lot of luck with 2 small coral trout which were undersized so had to let them go.
1st Aug Butterfly Bay to Blue Pearl Bay to Cid Harbour
After breakfast we motored back to Blue Pearl Bay and picked up a mooring. We spent an hour snorkeling which was great and very impressive, friendly fish. All the backpacker boats bring divers and snorkelers that often feed the fish with bread so they do tend to follow you around. After lunch we fed the bat fish with bread and they stayed around the back of the yacht for quite some time. They are amazing. They are like seagulls hanging around waiting for you to feed them.
Batfish at Blue Pearl Bay
It was time to move on to Cid Harbour and closer to Hamilton Island as we were picking up Graham and Wayne who would join us for 6 days.
2nd Aug Cid Harbour to Hamilton Island to Whitehaven Beach
After an early breakfast we decided to get some exercise and climb Whitsunday Peak. It was my second climb but Grahams first. We had enough time to do the climb and get around to Hamilton Island to pick up Graham and Wayne. It says in the guide that it is a 4 hour return walk. We did it in 3 hours.
Graham Lithgo on top of Whitsunday Peak
We motored to Hamilton Island where we picked up Graham and Wayne. After a late exit from the marina we motored around to Whitehaven Beach into a solid south easterly and anchored on sunset. It was a bit rollie with a heavy swell coming in from the north east but it was dark and I did not want to move so we had dinner (steak with mushroom sauce) and had to put up with it.
3rd Aug Whitehaven to Chalkies Beach to Tongue Bay
The morning came and after a rollie night we decided to weigh anchor and head across Solway Passage for Chalkies Beach. It was better protection from the swell which seemed to bend all the way around Hazelwood Island. The wind was still strong from the SE. The boys had a snorkel and I went in the dinghy to try and catch a fish without any luck. The snorkel was not much good with the visibility poor from the stirred up sand from the swell. We moved after lunch back across Solway Passage to Tongue Bay. Another bad move by us as the swell again made for a rollie night.
4th Aug Tongue Bay to Border Island to Luncheon Bay to Stonehaven
Not a great night and the wind was still very strong from the SE. We had a very big rain squall during the night which served its only purposed to give Billabong a good wash. After breakfast we made a team decision to go to Border Island and pick up a mooring in Cataran Bay for some snorkelling. Not a great move. When we entered Cataran Bay the wind gusts were extreme and the water looked too milky for snorkelling. Where to now? We continued north along the east side of Hook Island and around the Pinnacles and into Luncheon Bay. Aptly named as it is a good spot to have lunch!! A very picturesque bay protected from the wind but still a more than occasional bullet of wind kept us on our toes. Shortly after arriving a charter power cat decided to leave and dropped its mooring. Then proceeded to drive right over it and the driver could not understand why the boat kept still. We observed for a period while we put our dinghy in the water. The husband made the wife go in the water to try and sort out the tangle. When she could not do it we made the offer of help. I took Gram Lithgo over and dropped him in the water and he managed to untangle it and set them free.
It was a pleasant snorkel and good conditions. Visibility was better than we had had anywhere. While diving down to look at the coral I could swear I could hear whales communicating under the water. I told the boys and it was dismissed I was hearing things. After lunch we went on to Stonehaven where we anchored near Whimaway as Wayne had brought up a watch for the skipper Peter McConnell. We invited ourselves over for sundowners and a good time was spent by all.
Stonehaven was a very quiet night compared to the other anchorages and there was the buzz of sleep throughout the night. (Read snoring!!) Must have been the red wine or was it the pain killers!!
5th Aug Stonehaven to Blue Pearl bay to Stonehaven
The forecast did not let up. Still the winds were strong from the SE. After breakfast it was off to Blue Pearl Bay. It was great conditions for snorkeling with water clarity improving and it was a very pleasant day spent at Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island. We motored back up to Stonehaven where we picked up a mooring and met up with Cloud Nine the yacht we left Port Stephens with. We went to Cloud Nine for sundowners and it was good to catch up with them. Ron and Roz Hayden had left the yacht in Mackay for a few weeks while Roz went home to the doctors for some tests which came back very clear from her previous operation so all was good and good cause for celebration.
It was another restful sleep with 4 boys buzzing with sleep. It is amazing what the wives have to put up with after each night of drinking.
6th Aug Stonehaven to Thomas Island
Finally the forecast was for winds to ease and I wanted to go south to Thomas Island. I wanted to show the boys an Island that is more isolated from the Whitsundays. Charter yachts are not permitted to go there so there is more solitude. After a long day motoring and stopping for lunch at Burning Point on the SW tip of Shaw Island we finally made it into the bay. The swell was still bending around into the bay and again it was a roly night. Even worse was the fish that we had previously caught, the mackerel were nowhere to be seen.
Burning Point SW tip of Shaw Island
We celebrated our arrival with a few pain killers and after a couple of bottles of red with dinner we were rocked to sleep with the swell.
Note: Burning Point was so named in the early settlement of Queensland around 1860. The Aboriginals would sight a ship and set a fire to attract the seafarers. When the seafarers went ashore to investigate the Aboriginals killed them. It was revenge from previous killings by white men.
7th Aug Thomas Island
We woke to a brilliant sunny day and it was worth the effort to get to Thomas Island although after breakfast I tried to catch the elusive mackerel but they were not there. Graham Jennings and Wayne and I took the dinghy and anchored off the northern tip of Young Tom Island which is in the middle of the bay at Thomas Island. We caught about 10 reef fish and went back to Billabong and BBQ’d them. It was our best lunch to date with a few beers to wash it down.
Fish for Lunch
In the afternoon we had another go at hunting and gathering but sadly it is recorded that no further fish were caught. Not sure where the mackerel went that were there in plentiful numbers a few weeks earlier.
Billabong at Thomas Island with Young Tom Island
As it was our last dinner together, the best reds that Graham and Wayne brought with them from Sydney were on the table. The eye fillet steak was on the BBQ and it was a quality meal to end Graham and Wayne’s visit.
8th Aug Thomas Island to Hamilton Island
We left Thomas Island at 8.30am. It was time to drop the boys off at Hamilton Island for their trip back to Sydney. Tamara was flying in on the same plane that the boys were flying out on so it made the logistics easier. We had made a reservation for a night at the Hamilton Island Marina so we could catch up on washing and replenish the water and supplies.
I made a phone call to Tamara at 10.30 to see how she was going and on time to be at the airport. Lucky I did as she was still at home and not planning to go to airport until 1pm for a 2.20 take off. Just as well I called because she misread the schedule of flights. Pandemonium broke out and her daughter rushed her to the airport and she managed to get there before the 11.20 closure of the flight. Very lucky I made that phone call.
After we docked at the marina Graham and Wane took Graham and I to the yacht club for a soothing beer and fish and chips. I needed that. The soothing beer that is. It would have been a disaster if Tamara had missed her plane.
Neil Wayne and Graham with Billabong in the background at the yacht club
Tamara arrived and it was so good to see her after such a long time. We said farewell to Graham and Wayne and headed back to the marina to find the other Graham where we left him with all the washing to do.
A galah and a parrot at Hamilton Island.
After doing all the yacht chores we had dinner at the tavern with Bruce and Tina from Perpetual Mocean who were leaving to head south back to Sydney for business.
It was great to have Wayne and Graham on board as they are both intending to do the cruise their yachts north next year so they got an appreciation of what was required on board to make it more comfortable. I have been pleased with all the extras that I have put on board to make things easier or more comfortable.
Tomorrow we head north to Magnetic Island on our next part of the journey to Lizard Island.
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