Photos from Our Sailing Trip to the Whitsunday Islands
Matthew and I had a wonderful time on our 4 day sailing trip to the Whitsundays. We booked with Intrepid Tours again, and once we were there, we learned this is a new area for them, and they rent the boats from Sunsail Yacht Charters. We were on Sunshine, a 4-cabin cataraman, which was about 38 feet or so.
It was a very small group -- just our skipper Lance, a Kiwi who's been sailing for more than 15 years, and only one other passenger, Mairead, from Ireland.
Day 1: Arrived early afternoon and wandered around Hamilton Island on our own before meeting up with the tour at 5 pm for a quick introduction on the boat, and then dinner at the Marina Tavern. We slept on the boat in the marina, and sailed the next day.
Rainbow at Hamilton Island Marina |
Matthew at Chalkies Beach |
Lance, Matthew and Mairead walking along Whitehaven Beach at sunset |
Lunch on the boat, then we sailed to Nara Inlet on Hook Island. I got to pilot the boat a bit, which was fun, but also a little nerve-wracking as I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing! ;) Matthew took over when we got to Nara Inlet, and Lance let him pilot the boat up the beautiful inlet, where we anchored for the night.
Nara Inlet, Hook Island |
Next we sailed to Cid Harbor on Whitsunday Island. We anchored and took the dinghy to the beach to do a 3-hour bushwalk from Sawmill Beach to Whitsunday Peak. The walk was very humid!
Back at the boat, we packed up and relaxed while waiting for the chase boat to pick us up and take us back to Hamilton Island. We only opted for the 4-day tour, while Mairead was on the 7-day tour, so it was just Lance and her for the rest of the trip!
The chase boat was a large dingy with a faster engine and a canopy top, but otherwise all open and we got quite wet. Partway through, we stopped and Luke said, "Just a little steering trouble, guys." He called the base to say he'd lost the steering. It was cold and windy, we were in open water, and only able to go in circles! Lots of deep breathing! Another call, and he was able to fix it. We made it safely back to Hamilton Island, thank goodness!!
Sunsail dropped us off at our hotel, and we took a nice, long hot shower before a relaxing dinner at the Beach Club. Then, flew back to Sydney the next day. It was a great trip!
Here's the album with our photos from the trip.
Whitsunday Islands Sailing Trip |
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