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On Wednesday, we had a well earned break from sailing. So we decided to spend our lay-day back on the boat and go to the famous Whitehaven Beach!

In the morning, some of the crew went for a quiet walk, hiked to the top of Passage Peak, or joined a yoga class, while others simply slept in. We then gathered for a big breakfast of bacon, eggs and all the trimmings.

We then cast off and made for Whitehaven Beach with Leanne and Phil at the helm. We had a fine picnic lunch, spent the afternoon on the pristine white sand and enjoyed swimming in the cool, turquoise sea.

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That evening, we had a delicious dinner prepared by Liz, Jane and Steve. The dessert was particularly memorable. Love your work Karen!

See the action at Hamilton Island Race Week in the following daily highlights from Race Week TV.

Three crew reported unfit for duty today for various unrelated ailments. They didn’t want to miss the opportunity to sail but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. The conditions were light but with the crew reduced to 8 everyone was busy. We were all weary by the end of the race.

Race 3 was delayed until after lunch and the starting area moved to a new location east of Hamilton Island. The fleet of over 200 yachts heading to the start area was a spectacular parade.

The crew work continued to improve and the teamwork translated into better boat speed. We had a good start and were well placed as we made our way to the first start.

The trimmers did a great job adapting to the light, shifty conditions. All hands got our S2 spinnaker flying beautifully and they couldn’t contain their excitement when we successfully completed our first gybe. Our pre-race training paid off.

The finish was tricky with unpredictable wind, strong currents and lots of traffic in a confined channel. Nevertheless, we successfully threaded our way through to the finish line.

We finished 10th, our best result yet. We’re confident we can continue to improve not only our boat handling but also our race tactics.

Much lighter winds today meant our boat handling improved. We had a better start, very slick tacks and trimmed for speed when reaching. The lighter winds also brought new challenges because we used our larger and more complicated spinnaker. It went reasonably well and I’m sure we can iron out the wrinkles in our next race. Overall, the crew can be pleased with their improvement today. We finished 14th in a fleet of good boats.

We were on the water for more than 6 hours today and tomorrow will be even longer, so I should be in bed now to get a good night’s sleep. More news tomorrow.

The first day of racing at Hamilton Island Race Week had plenty of challenges.

Catherine and I brought Debonnaire from Airlie Beach to Hamilton Island last Thursday and our crew flew in on Friday and Saturday. We have 13 in our group: Andrew and Jane, Leanne, Richard, Karen and Phil, John and Liz, Steve, Brigit and Colin, Catherine and me. The crew had not sailed since we left Melbourne in April so we had hoped to have a training session on Saturday but unfortunately it was too windy, blowing around 30 knots for most of the day. We would have to go into race 1 under-prepared.

This morning the wind was still quite strong at 25-30 knots but by the time our race started just before mid-day the wind had eased to 20-25 knots. The fresh wind was only part of the challenging conditions, though. A strong tidal current was flowing, too, making the downwind start even more tricky. Imagine 215 yachts jostling in a confined channel and I’m sure you’ll appreciate the pressure on the helmsman and skipper. Add to all this commotion a couple of commercial airplanes parting the fleet so they can land at the airport and you must agree we were faced with near-chaos. Fortunately, we had a clean start for our first race at Hamilton Island.

The highlight of the day was racing across Whitsunday Passage under spinnaker in winds up to 25 knots doing boats speeds of 10-12 knots. It was awesome feeling the power in the sails loading up the rigging and sending us speeding through the water. The crew worked well and soon were getting the feel of Debonnaire in the windy conditions. Setting sails, dousing spinnakers and tacking into the wind all went like clock-work. We had a couple of problems, too, but the crew did well to sort them out. Several other boats suffered torn sails but fortunately we had no damage. We finished 13th and Carpe Diem 9th. Considering this was our first race without the benefit of training, we’re looking forward to improving in each race the rest of the week.

Using all her 7 tiles to make an ingenious 8-letter word, Catherine has taken the title for playing the highest scoring word in Scrabble. She placed “CROAKING” across a double letter and 2 triple word squares that scored a triple-triple 13 plus 50 bonus points for a total of 167 points. The master class continued and Catherine sealed her Scrabble championship title by winning the game with an impressive score of 417.

Over the past week, Catherine and I have been on a couple of short cruises. We went to Nara Inlet for a couple nights (Tuesday 8 to Thursday 10 August) just to relax at a quiet anchorage for a day — along with 27 other cruising boats! We then went to Maureens Cove (Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 August) which was much more secluded with only a few moorings available.

We’re back in Airlie Beach now, setting the boat up for Hamilton Island Race Week. We’re looking forward to our crew flying up later this week to join us for this popular regatta in the Whitsunday islands.

I don’t imagine I will ever have an experience like this again.

After a week or so catching up with family and friends, we flew from Melbourne just before its coldest day in almost 20 years. In stark contrast, when we arrived in the Whitsundays the weather was continuing its run of warm, sunny days. For some time we had been looking forward to joining Paul and Helen on a trip to the outer reefs. The outlook over the next few days was for very calm seas, perfect for exploring Bait Reef some 34 nautical miles (63 kilometres) northeast of Airlie Beach. So on Thursday we jumped aboard Carpe Diem and made our way to Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island, our half-way overnight staging post.

We saw many whales along the way. We arrived at Blue Pearl Bay in the afternoon and had time for some snorkelling. As the sun set on a cloudless red sky, reflecting from the horizon across a flat sea, we continued to see whales in the distance. That night, the boat lay motionless on the glassy water. At 2:30am it was so quiet we could hear the faint calls of whales through the hull. Then at 3:00am we heard the unmistakable sound of a whale taking a breath as it surfaced. Catherine and I jumped out of bed and strained to look through the darkness. Although we couldn’t see the whale, we could hear it passing close by, maybe only 60 metres away.

We cast off at sunrise on Friday morning and set a course directly to Bait Reef. Unlike most destinations where we can see landmarks, Bait Reef is an offshore reef surrounded by a featureless ocean. GPS navigation was essential because the only indication of its location was a small buoy. We timed the 2½ hour trip to arrive mid-morning so that the sun was high enough to help us see the submerged reef under the calm water.

We arrived on target and entered the reef carefully through a gap in The Stepping Stones and then threaded our way to a mooring inside the coral reef. The Stepping Stones are a series of “bommies” along the edge of the reef, vertical columns standing in 15-20 metres of water with flat tops that appear like stepping stones for a giant Neptune. (Have a look at the Chart page and zoom in to Bait Reef to see our track on Google Maps.) As low tide approached, we got a great view from high up the mast of the reef surrounding us.

The snorkelling at Bait Reef was the best we had encountered in the Whitsundays. We saw plenty of colourful fish among the coral in clear water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj3DBndwvpc?rel=0

While exploring one of the Stepping Stones, we had one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. We were startled by a whale that surfaced unexpectedly right next to the reef where we were snorkelling. It lay there for a moment, its long grey back shining in the sun and most of its bulk hidden below the surface. Its massive body heaved when it took a breath. The whale turned towards us and as we looked down its humped spine we realised that we had drifted with the current off the reef and into deep water. We swam back over the reef and watched the massive whale in awe. It could not have been more than 15 metres away. After a short time the whale slipped under the water and disappeared into the dark blue sea. It was exciting swimming that close to one of the largest creatures of the sea, an experience we will never forget.

We returned to Langford Island (next to Hayman Island) that afternoon, still reeling from our astonishing trip to Bait Reef. The calm weather continued so we picked up a mooring for the night at One Foot Island, so called because at high tide all that remains is a small patch of sand just above sea level. Normally too exposed for staying overnight, we were pleasantly surprised that we had this beautiful spot to ourselves. The cloudless sky was perfect for another stunning sunset, spotting an Iridium satellite flare and gazing at the star-filled heavens. During the night we thought we could hear a turtle swimming past. Once again Catherine and I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night and discovered the splashing was a huge school of fish which jumped into the air in waves by the hundreds as we swept a torch light across the water.

On Saturday the weather was still calm and we took the opportunity to explore a good reef on Border Island recommended to us by a local. Throughout the day we continued to see whales and by this stage we had already lost count of how many.

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We spent the night at Cateran Bay and on Sunday made our way back to Airlie Beach, recalling along the way our memorable trip to Bait Reef and spectacular experiences with whales.

A big thank you to Paul and Helen for a fun weekend and an unforgettable adventure to Bait Reef. Happy Hour every afternoon, fish on the BBQ and the slow roast lamb were other highlights we especially enjoyed.

Catherine and I had a sensational week cruising around the Whitsunday islands with our family. We shared some wonderful experiences and enjoyed spending time together, in contrast to our normal daily routines that send us in different directions.

We had already collected Dan and Gigi when we sailed past South Molle Island on Sunday morning. We were joined later that morning by Alex, Grace and Sam who flew up from Melbourne. We hadn’t seen them for weeks and were so excited to see them arrive at Abell Point Marina.

We set off on Monday morning, another warm, sunny day in the Whitsundays. We ended up at Stonehaven which we knew would be good for snorkelling. What we didn’t expect was one of the highlights of our trip: a manta ray cruising around our mooring. We had just finished snorkelling when we spotted a stingray close to Debonnaire. Dan and Gigi quickly jumped into the tender and rowed closer to get some photos. There was a lot of squealing and splashing but amid all the excitement Gigi kept her cool and sculled like an Olympian after the ray. It wasn’t until we reviewed the footage below that we confirmed it was a large manta ray as big as the dinghy.

It was only the first day of our cruise and it was hard to imagine something more spectacular than a manta ray up close. Over the following days we saw whales, dolphins, dugongs and turtles, which were fascinating but a little too far to appreciate in detail. It wasn’t until our last night that we were fortunate to witness an event even more spectacular than the manta ray. We were in Nara Inlet on a very calm, dark night. As usual, we could hear little fish splashing occasionally. But then, as we were winding down for bedtime, there was a cry on-deck: “Dolphin!” We all raced outside to find a dolphin feeding on the fish around our boat. We followed the action with our torches, seeing the silvery fish skipping over the water desperately trying to escape from the dolphin. The dolphin, probably 2.5 metres long, calmly chased the fish and, almost playfully, snapped them up with ease as they flew into the air. On one occasion, a small fish right below us played dead as the dolphin slowly approached with its mouth open, and then darted away a split second before the dolphin’s jaws snapped shut. The dolphin seemed to take advantage of our torches lighting up the fish but we had no doubt it could catch fish just as easily in the pitch black of night. The performance lasted for probably an hour, with the dolphin circling around and under Debonnaire. Then a second dolphin joined the show. And if that wasn’t enough, the water was bio-luminescent and lit up the dolphins with a soft glow when we turned off the torches. I wish I had photos to share but unfortunately it was too dark for our cameras to capture this unbelievable sight.

We had a great time snorkelling at different reefs around the Whitsundays. We saw lots of tropical fish at Blue Pearl Bay. We also got a great tip from a local skipper who recommended a good reef for coral at Stonehaven. (Click on the photos below to enlarge them.) This trip we were bitten by something in the water, maybe sea lice or possibly stingers. It’s not the season for the dangerous stingers but Catherine and I wear stinger suits anyway and didn’t get many bites. The others got more stings but they were only a minor nuisance, no worse than mosquito bites.

We spent a day at Whitehaven beach enjoying the sunshine, warm water and soft, white sand.

Gigi ran a group yoga session, perfect for stretching our lazy muscles and getting our blood circulating.

We also got on land a couple of times for short walks at Cid Harbour and Nara Inlet.

Nara Inlet walk

Nara Inlet cave entrance

Aboriginal cave paintings

Listening to audio reflections

Anchored in Nara Inlet

Breakfast at Nara Inlet

We enjoyed spending time with the kids, cruising around the Whitsundays and playing card games and board games in the evenings after dinner. The week went quickly but this time Catherine and I didn’t have to say “goodbye” because we all flew back to Melbourne on Sunday. We spent the next 10 days with the family in chilly Melbourne so that we could be home for Catherine’s Dad’s 90th birthday celebrations.

It had been more than 20 years since George and Libby cruised the Whitsundays, so their return was long overdue. This trip was a chance for them to revisit these beautiful tropical islands and to share the adventure with Audrey and April. But most of all, it was an opportunity to relax and unwind from the bustle of work and study.

As everyone settled in to Debonnaire on Tuesday afternoon, we planned our cruise for the coming days. Our guests were especially looking forward to snorkelling, so we made sure we would visit the best reefs. Unfortunately, on Wednesday we had to put our plans on hold because it was quite windy. So we had a relaxing morning in the marina and in the afternoon went out for a short sail in the calmer waters in the lee of Airlie Beach. We returned to Abell Point Marina for the evening, preferring a quiet night secure in our berth.

On Thursday, the weather was a little better and we set off for Blue Pearl Bay to go snorkelling. The conditions were pretty good for the first half of the trip but as we headed into Whitsunday Passage the wind increased to 25 knots and the sea became unpleasant. We could see in the distance that there were no boats visiting Blue Pearl Bay, probably because it was open to the weather. We decided to divert to Stonehaven, the nearest sheltered waters, and to make our way to Butterfly Bay instead. (If you haven’t been following our travels on Google Maps, be sure to look at the Chart page here. For the Awburn’s trip, slide out the menu on the left-hand side, scroll down the Whitsunday layer, select the track for “11-16 July” and zoom in to see where we went.) Butterfly Bay was renowned for snorkelling but the coral has been severely damaged by Cyclone Debbie. Although not as good as George and Libby remembered, we still enjoyed our afternoon exploring the coral and tropical fish.

Click to enlarge

We back-tracked to Stonehaven and were lucky to pick-up the last mooring before the late afternoon rush of other cruisers looking for a sheltered anchorage for the night. The moorings are in high demand because they are secure, easy to use and located in the best spots next to coral reefs. If you can’t get a mooring then you have to anchor, and in some bays the water is quite deep and more difficult to anchor securely.

In the morning, the crowd moved on and we were able to relocate to a mooring further south in Stonehaven that was next to a great spot for coral. Later on Friday morning we cruised a short distance to one of our favourite spots, Blue Pearl Bay. There we found the crowd from Stonehaven! Luckily, there was one mooring still available. Blue Pearl Bay is the best reef we have found for plentiful tropical fish. Even in knee-deep water you can see schools of colourful fish. As you swim around you can be surrounded by a dazzling array of fish.

Friday afternoon we made our way to Nara Inlet for the night. We went ashore and walked to the aboriginal cave to look at the paintings and listen to the audio installation.

It had been a busy day of snorkelling, cruising and walking, and we were ready for bed early to have a good night’s sleep in this peaceful anchorage. But there was one more treat before the day ended: a surprise spectacle of bio-luminescence in the dark waters surrounding Debonnaire.

On Saturday, we circumnavigated Whitsunday Island and along the way stopped at the pristine beach of Whitehaven.

While we enjoyed the sun on the fine, white sand, George, always searching for adventure, set off through cyclone-ravaged trees to explore the scrub behind the beach.

Despite incidents with buckets overboard and close shaves with navigation marks, we had a pleasant cruise and made it safely to Cid Harbour for the night. Once again we had to hustle for a spot to anchor among the gathering crowd of boats. We nestled into a nice position and were then surprised to discover to whom we had anchored beside: Dino, Ricky and their families, old friends of mine from Adelaide who were cruising in the catamaran Mandala. What were the chances of that?

Sunday’s plan was for an easy cruise back to Airlie Beach. That was until Dan called us to extract him and Gigi from South Molle Island. After their voyage with us from Lizard Island to Airlie Beach, Dan and Gigi continued their tropical holiday with 5 days of luxury at Hamilton Island resort and then 5 days of austerity camping on the virtually deserted South Molle Island, and from today they were to join us again for a family cruise around the Whitsunday islands. They had booked a water taxi to pick them up later in the day but since we were in the area it was a good opportunity for us to rescue collect them. We arranged the rendezvous and used the tender to transfer them from the beach to Debonnaire. I’m not sure if we were more excited to see them or them relieved to see us!

We returned to Abell Point Marina later that morning. George, Libby, Audrey and April still had more unwinding to do and headed off to Peppers Resort at Airlie Beach for a few days. Catherine and I had a great time taking them around the Whitsundays. We hope they enjoyed the cruise, relaxing in the warm weather far from the daily grind of work, study and commuting; snorkelling among colourful fish and corals; and reminiscing about their previous holiday in the Whitsundays many years ago, including George’s romantic proposal to Libby on the foreshore of Airlie Beach.

We had a fun week cruising around the Whitsunday islands with the Harrisons: Eliz, Richard, Bennett, Myles and Oliver. They were much relieved to arrive in warm Airlie Beach and escape the cold winter in Melbourne. But before we could set sail, we had a busy day in port preparing Debonnaire, doing the laundry and buying provisions. As usual, there was some maintenance, like sail repairs and rigging checks which Dan looked after.

We kicked off the holiday spirit with happy hour at the marina bar overlooking the glistening sea as the red sun set on the horizon.

We spent the first night in Abell Point Marina and then set off on Thursday for Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island. The snorkelling was terrific with plenty of tropical fish. We spent the night moored at Stonehaven and then went to Butterfly Bay for more snorkelling. We had lunch back at Stonehaven and then made our way south to Nara Inlet for Friday night. We saw 2 whales along the way, which inspired us to keep an eye out for more whales the following days.

After a peaceful night at Nara Inlet, we went ashore to look at an aboriginal site. It took us some time to shuttle everyone ashore because we can carry only 3 people at a time in our small tender. Fortunately, on the way back a friendly boatie with a much larger tender helped ferry our passengers. Most of the time, however, we had to make several trips between Debonnaire and the coral reefs or beaches to shuttle the 7 of us back and forth. By the end of the week, Oliver did a great job handling the tender and was our ferry-man.

One of the highlights was Whitehaven Beach. We spent a glorious Saturday afternoon relaxing on the fine, white sand and swimming in the warm turquoise water. It doesn’t get much better than this beautiful beach!

We moored in nearby Tongue Bay from where we could see whales in the distance leaping out of the water.

On Sunday morning, Richard, Bennett and Phil got up before dawn and went ashore to a lookout to watch the sun rise over spectacular Whitehaven Beach. The outboard motor didn’t want to start* but we rowed ashore undaunted. Our efforts were rewarded with the most sensational view.

Sunday was a sunny day with a gentle breeze so we set sail and slowly cruised past Hamilton Island on our way to Cid Harbour for the night. We enjoyed beautiful sights and a stunning sunset. That evening, like others, we had fun playing board and card games.

Monday was yet another day of glorious weather and we took the opportunity for one last visit to Blue Pearl Bay to go snorkelling among the tropical fish again. We then returned to Airlie Beach feeling quite relaxed by the leisurely pace of cruising.

We enjoyed spending the past week with the Harrisons, sharing the adventure and having laughs along the way. It didn’t seem to matter that the accommodation was a little over-crowded, with some sleeping on the saloon floor and out on deck in a hammock.

Richard, thanks for letting me use your terrific photos in this log entry.

* Did I mention the outboard was submerged one night at Lizard Island? Although the tender was tied behind Debonnaire, a 30 knot gust of wind must have flipped it over and dunked the outboard. The owner’s manual said to get it to a service centre within 3 hours! That obviously didn’t happen. I did the best I could to save the motor from damage and it has run surprising well for the past couple of weeks. And since the dawn hiccup at Tongue Bay it has continued to run normally. Fingers crossed the outboard survives!