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Published: October 29th 2005
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Ahoy! (yes this is cheesy, but we're running out of salutations for these entries) Just got back to Airlie Beach after a wonderful sailing adventure in the Whitsunday Islands. For three days and two nights we (and 35 other people) were packed onto a 100 year old sailboat called the Defender. As it didn't have any gun ports in the sides, we wondered exactly how the boat got its name.
Thankfully, this boat was not one of the "party boats" packed with 18 and 19 year olds drinking all night long.....this one carried a variety of people, most in their early 20's to mid-30's ---- finally we run into our own demographic!! There were Aussies, Brits, Germans, Danes, New Zealanders, Korean, Irish, and us. Quite the floating united nations. Most people were a joy to hang out with, only a few were antisocial and thankfully only a couple snored. One fellow was quite possibly the loudest and most alarming snorer we've ever seen -- a couple of the German girls actually wanted to throw him overboard one night. Not too many people would have objected. Of course, as soon as we got on the boat and saw this rather socially
2,6, HEAVE!
Old sea dogs ply their craft. awkward gentleman, we KNEW he would be in our room. Sure enough, we went down below decks and there he was. It didn't matter in the end, because we ended up sleeping up on the deck on a thin mattress, and it was warm enough that we were fine with a thin sheet or two over us. The gentle rocking and cool breezes made for some amazing nights!!!
Some of the Brits on board started teaching Nick some cockney slang phrases like "having a bubble" and "just go up the apples and pears to find a whistle and flute (don't have a Tommy)". Sarah is already going crazy. She doesn't think she can handle another eight months of cockney-isms.
The washrooms were, ahh, interesting. As you can imagine on a boat they are always quite small, but there were some added complications. There was a salt water lever that filled the bowl, the lever that switched the pump from shower to toilet, and of course the pump. The first time we used the toilet it felt like we were operating some heavy machinery. Sorry Dennis, we FORGOT to take a photo of this one for the "Places We
Have Shat" coffee table book.
While we were running on engine power most of the time (the winds didn't cooperate enough for them to trust our schedule to sail power), we did get to raise the sails all together a few times (Nick's first sail, but hopefully not his last). We travelled around the Whitsunday Island group, which is inside the Great Barrier Reef and just off the coast of Airlie Beach and Mackay. On the first day, we travelled to Whitehaven Beach, on one of the islands. This is quite possibly the single best beach we've ever experienced. The silica sand was BRIGHT white, almost glowing in the sun, and was as fine as talcum powder on the feet. Add the warm water and the nearly kilometre wide beach was a joy to swim at, sun on, and throw the football (American, that is) around at. The sand also made an odd squeaking sound as we dragged our feet across it.
Oh yeah, did we mention the stinger suits yet? This is apparently the beginning of stinger season, when some rather dangerous jellyfish appear and throw their weight around. Okay they're not heavy, but they can kill
you. And so our tour was required by regulation to wear these "stinger suits", which made us look sooooo cool. Think Jamaican bobsled team. We can't wait to come back home and wear them around all the time. And yes Mark, Sarah says this IS cool.
After the beach, we got back on the boat and went to a little bay in which to go snorkeling (or "schnorkeling", as it was fondly known) amongst the Barrier Reef corals and fish. We managed this activity a few times, and while none of our underwater pictures from our cheap disposable are anything to shout about, the experience was a great memory in itself. Such a variety of colours and textures in the coral! We couldn't describe it properly if we tried. Our favourite memory was the school of fish that came right up to us and swam around and between us. We think they must have been attracted to the stinger suits. They are such fish magnets!
Did we mention that there is no ozone here? Both of us got a few burns despite pouring on the sunscreen every half hour or so. It is INTENSE. Burns and sunstroke notwithstanding,
Sexy Sarah's Sandy Stinger Suit
Calvin Klein, eat your heart out. the trip was fantastic and we would recommend Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays to anyone that comes. Beautiful scenery above and below the water!!!
This afternoon we are heading down on the bus again, bound for Brisbane (ouch! a 19-hour bus ride....bring out the iPod).
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Stef
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flashy suits, guys. Nick, you are barely recognizable in a beard. lol. The signs you guys come across on your voyages crack me up. I never would have thought that they would have jellyfish on signs. It really is quite amusing. Love, your cousin Stef.