We had a lazy morning before lifting anchor to head to Airlie Beach. I had booked us in for a week @ $375.00 ($75 per night pay 5 & get 2 nights free). Our berth was available from 12pm. We had our very first day threatening to rain since leaving Keppel Bay Marina over 2 weeks ago. Thankfully it held off and rained in the evening.

We had 15kn NE with wind chopped seas. With full main & head sail we averaged 4.95 kn. I contacted the marina for our berth details, when we arrived there was a boat still in our berth. We popped into a vacant pen and waited a few minutes for them to leave. We packed up Time Flies and headed up to Sorrento Restaurant for a pizza and beer.

We unfolded the bikes and rode into Cannonvale to get a package from the post office. It’s great to be able to have mail sent to the local Post Office, all you need to do is address it C/O and they will hold it for a month. I bought a pair of turtle earrings to match my necklace.

Finishing off the day @ Sorrento restaurant with Della-Rue & Sea Fever.

Dropping the mooring we had 10 kn SE we headed to Nara Inlet to make it a short trip to Airlie Beach the next day. We also wanted to explore the Aboriginal Cultural Site. With tide against us going through the passage between Hayman & Hook Islands and 15kn wind bullets from land it made for an interesting sail. We would be doing 2kn one minute then 5kn the next we were in no rush so we left the motor off.

We made our way up into Nara Inlet which is a long narrow inlet where boats can seek refuge from all winds. We headed straight up to the top end as it was close to the Cultural site. As we came in there were 11 boats including us, by the end of the day there was a sea of anchor lights.

We went to shore to explore the Ngaro Cultural Site which has a rock shelter with art motifs. A 170m climb broken up by stories & interpretive displays. Definitely worth a visit.

As we headed back to Time Flies, I spotted King Billy 1. We stopped to say hello & enjoyed a cup of tea. We were then invited for a lovely vegetarian lasagne & apple crumble. They have also challenged us to a coconut sail boat race next time we catch up. The boats are to be made from coconuts & anything natural. We are however aloud to use glue & cotton. Looking forward to our next catch up.

13.31 nm, 3 hrs 30 mins, avg speed 3.76 kn, total motor sailing 1 hr

The wind calmed down over night. Swing moorings are great to use especially in deep water, they also help protect the reefs from anchor damage. The downside to one is the noise it makes when it hits the hull. It barely touches the hull but it resonates thru the boat. Not a very comfortable nights rest with the noise & swell.

We dropped the mooring and headed over to Butterfly Bay (Hook Island). We motor sailed with main sail 5-10 kn W. There are a few little bays on the north of Hook Island with good snorkelling& diving. We have decided to come back to these bays when the school holidays are over and less charter boats out on the water.

I spotted a mooring in Maureen’s Cove but we could see a couple of boats leaving Butterfly Bay so we continued the short distance. Unfortunately there were a couple of boats hovering and grabbed the moorings so we turned around a picked up the mooring in Maureen’s Cove.  

 

The snorkelling was great with lots of fish, including bat fish hanging around Time Flies. We had comfortable conditions and stayed overnight. We moved to the smaller mooring to let a bigger boat use the mooring we were on. The moorings are rated for boat size, being a 10m boat we are lucky to be able to use all moorings except the tender moorings.

9.08 nm, 2 hrs, avg speed 4.29 kn, total motor sailing 2 hrs

We lifted anchor and motor sailed to Border Island with 15kn SE. The bay had 3 moorings which were already taken, we were uncomfortable with anchoring as there were another 3 boats and it was a small bay with deep water. There were 2 moorings just outside the bay which were free.

The wind was gusting up to 20kn and it was a little uncomfortable, we saw a couple of boats leave but also some had arrived. We jumped in Time Spies and headed around to check the bay out and have a snorkel. As we got around the corner Times Spies lost some power, it seems that hitting the rock earlier may have caused some damage to the prop. We decided to head back to Time Flies, we also noticed a mooring was free.

We moved into the bay which was a little more comfortable and Dean inspected the prop, it seems the bush was quite worn. Another job to add to the list when next in port.

We had a great snorkel with lots of fish and soft corals.

8.38 nm, 1 hrs 45 min, avg speed 4.72 kn, total motor sailing 1 hrs 45 min

Lesson number 2, peaceful night sleep, this time it was karaoke night and all you could here were the not so tuned voices. Probably would’ve been best to have just got out of bed and joined them.

As we didn’t need to leave early I was able to do a load of laundry before heading to Macona Inlet to meet up with Beaujolais I.

We had 10-15kn wind on the nose most of the way, we decided to head out and then tack for a better angle.

As we anchored in Macona Inlet there were approx. 15 boats, by sunset there were over 50 masts plus motor cruisers.

We caught up with Beaujolais I for sundowners and discussed our favourite places to visit. Sadly they are heading to Mackay to close up Beaujolais for the cyclone season and head back home to work.

13.32 nm, 3 hrs, avg speed 4.66 kn, total motor sailing 0 hrs

We were in no hurry to get to Hamilton Island as we couldn’t get into our berth until 11am. With 5-10kn SW we put up our main & headsail and made our way doing 4kn, nice calm seas it was a very relaxing sail.

As a casual guest you are instructed to notify the marina on approach and they would send an escort out to show you where to berth. Once tied up the lovely staff would the organise payment on the dock. We decided to stay another night to enjoy the full facilities of the resort.

 

Once Time Flies was packed up we jumped on green resort bus and headed to the resort for a swim and a cocktail by the pool. Followed with a lovely dinner at Romano’s Italian Restaurant with Della-Rue and a big display of fireworks.

Cocktails with Della -Rue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few lessons learnt about Hamilton Island, 1^st don’t visit during school holidays & 2^nd don’t expect a peaceful night’s sleep until after 1 am when the pub closes. However we were greeted with another lovely day and the excitement of stretching our legs. We met with Della-Rue and tackled the 6km return walk up to Passage Peak where we enjoyed beautiful views of the Whitsundays.

 

Once we recovered from the walk we jumped on the orange bus and did some sightseeing before relaxing by the pool and listening to some live music.

There are 3 bus routes on the island. Orange bus goes clockwise & Purple anti-clockwise, these go to all areas of the island and is approximately a 45min round trip. The Green bus goes directly from the marina precinct to the resort.

We again caught the orange bus to One Tree Hill for sunset cocktails and antipasto with Della-Rue, a very popular spot to catch the sunset & try and capture that perfect picture.

The wind was expected to finally turn to the south, we could finally sail to our next island, we also had to move as the wind would place us lee shore (wind blowing boat towards the shore). The wind finally picked up at 8am so we lifted anchor and set sail with 1 reef in the main & full No.1 headsail, it seemed everyone chose to leave at the same time with 4 boats following us out.

We had a comfortable sail to Shaw Island and anchored in Burning Point. We had to anchor well away from the beach as it shoals quite a distance. We dropped the anchor in 4.5m of water 1 ½  hours after low tide. It was a day of wind coming from all directions but thankfully nothing over 15 knots.

Home baking

 

We decided to shout ourselves a night at Hamilton Island Marina. It’s quite expensive @ $115.00 per night checking in no earlier than 11am and out by 11am the next day. If we want to stay a few more hours it would be $18.00 per hour. We do however get full use of the resort facilities including swimming pool.

 

 



We have also organised to catch up with Beaujolais I in Macona Inlet, it will be great to catch up with them & hear about their travels before they head back home to work. The last time we saw them was on the Gold Coast 9 weeks ago.

7.63 nm, 2 hrs, avg speed 4.07 kn, total motor sailing 30 min

We woke to the amazing song of whales. I had heard others talk about hearing them on their boats, so I was glad to be able to experience it for ourselves.

We were looking forward to heading over to Thomas Island as the anchorage is described as having a “truly South Pacific atmosphere”, we left before the tide changed but as it was only 8nm away we didn’t mind going a little slow. We went between Goldsmith & Linne Islands and at one stage we were doing 0.9kn. The current was quite strong but as we got through we were able to average 4-5kn.

There were no palm trees but it did have white sand & turquoise water. It was also a very calm anchorage. We launched the dinghy and went exploring around the rocks and to the beach. It’s nice to have a swim off the beach. There was a fire pit and plenty of drift wood so we decided to have dinner onshore. Lamb chops, sausages, baked potatoes & corn on the cob a great way to finish off another day in paradise.

 

We had a white tip reef shark come visit us, unfortunately he disappeared before I could get a picture.
9.38 nm,  2 hrs, avg speed 4.7 kn, total motor sailing 2 hrs