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Published: January 10th 2009
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Entry by Rich
Tuesday 06/01/09 The company which operates the trip to the Great Barrier Reef also has a day cruise out to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. We decided instead to head out to the same beach on a sailing boat - the Maxi Ragamuffin. This is a famous boat in Australia as it won the Sydney to Hobart yacht race three times before being retired to operate as a tourist cruiser. At 24 metres long it is a sizeable yacht with reasonably comfortable accommodation below deck. Of course nobody wants to spend time below deck on a sunny day in the Whitsundays!
As it turned out this wasn’t an entirely sunny day. Very strong winds were forecast with waves reaching 3 metres high in places. There was also the chance of some rain but as we headed out of Shute Harbour the conditions were perfect. The biggest concern with a day on a yacht is sunburn - the rays bounce back off the water and off the deck of the boat, so lots of sunscreen was required.
Initially we used the onboard engine to move out from the harbour but after a brief stop to
pick up a couple of extra passengers we raised the sails and headed out under wind power. I was lucky enough to get the chance to raise one of the sails using the winches on the deck. This was very hard work once the wind was in the sails but good fun all the same. Jules had a go later in the afternoon too.
The passage out to Whitsunday island took us into open sea. By now the boat was tilted heavily in the wind and the deck had passed 45 degrees. We were all sitting along the high side (I’m sure there are technical sailing terms for all of this!) and holding on tight. Jules and I edged our way to the front (or ‘pointy end’) of the boat. We were warned we would get wet but weren’t prepared for the drenching we got. In the open sea the yacht pitched up and down, rolling over huge waves. At times the front quarter of the deck was covered by water and we were right on the edge of this. To add to the fun we hit a pretty heavy rain shower. The crew passed around rain jackets but
there wasn’t too much point for us two as we were thoroughly saturated already.
As quickly as the rain started, it ended again. The sun was out and we had passed back into the protection of the islands. We reached Whitehaven beach in bright sunshine and were drying out nicely. The yacht dropped anchor and we headed into the beach on a small dinghy with an outboard motor.
We spent a very pleasant two hours on Whitehaven beach. It is a stereotypical tropical island beach, unspoilt with beautiful white sand. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, a swim in the sea (back into those stinger suits!) and a brief game of beach cricket with some fellow Poms.
The beach started to fill with other tour groups just before we left so it was perfect timing as we headed back out to sea. The journey back was slightly calmer and definitely drier than the way out. We were able to stretch out on the deck and soak up the sun before we reached Shute Harbour. I did manage to liven things up by cracking the top of my head as I climbed the stairs from below deck.
Back
in Airlie Beach we headed to a seafood restaurant to eat some of the fish we had enjoyed watching over the previous two days.
Wednesday 07/01/09 Not a great deal to report from Wednesday. We had a few hours to kill at Airlie Beach before our departure so we mooched around the shops and did a bit of shopping.
The journey from the Whitsundays back to Sydney involved an hour on a coach to Proserpine airport - little more than a shed in the middle of nowhere - then a flight to Brisbane and a connecting flight to Sydney. The last half hour before landing in Sydney was the highlight of the day. Clear weather allowed us some great views of the harbour as we flew over the city.
We were lucky enough to meet a Japanese couple at the airport who had travel tickets which they no longer needed so we were given four days worth of free travel in Sydney.
We checked into our last Australian hotel, the Radisson Suites in Sydney, and had a quiet meal in an Italian restaurant over the road. It is good to be back in Sydney
with lots of things planned in the coming week.
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