Whitsunday Islands
Trip Start
Sep 05, 2009
1
12
23
Trip End
Sep 11, 2010
Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The choices for sailboat operator are numerous and run the gauntlet from raucous party boats for those on a budget to grand tall ships a la Pirates of the Caribbean. Marion and I chose an adventure sailing boat, a former racer that accommodates smaller group sizes and offers a bit of adrenalin. We were joined by 12 other passengers and 2 crew members.
There isn’t much you need to bring with you for the trip. I put everything into long term storage before boarding the vessel except for boardies, a hat, sunscreen, and a toothbrush. In fact, as the trip is BYO, Marion and I brought on board more volume in booze than we did in personal items! This statement should not be interpreted as a reflection on our drinking habits, but rather on the simplicity of life on board. The basic day at the Whitsundays involved the following activites: sailing, snorkeling, sunning, swimming, eating, and a few drinks for a nightcap.
The snorkeling was amazing. Though not technically part of the Great Barrier Reef, many of the islands in the Whitsundays are surrounded by fringing reef of equal splendor. In fact, it can be argued that the snorkeling and diving here are even better than at the reef, as was attested to by a few of the passengers on board who have experienced both. Because the Great Barrier Reef is in open water, the quality of the experience is more subject to the prevailing weather conditions. High winds and waves can reduce the visibility and affect the dive experience. The reef at the Whitsundays is around the perimeter of the islands, so you can always find a spot on the leeward side of an island which is protected and offers excellent snorkeling. The water is exceptionally clear and visibility was good down to depths of several meters, though this was hardly necessary! Most of the reef and wildlife were within two or three meters of the surface.
This was my first experience with snorkeling and I was instantly smitten. The colors and variations in shape of the reef are astounding, and are only matched by the equally stunning diversity of the resident fish. I was amazed at how comfortable the fish were in the presence of humans; they hardly scattered when you swam past and some species would actually follow you around! At our first diving stop there was a fish that fell madly in love with my left kneecap, which was unfortunate for the fish as the kicking motion of my legs made this a rather frustrating experience for him. Most of the fish we saw were small, though we did spot a few that were quite sizable. There was one particular fish weighing > 100lbs that fell in love with the bottom of our raft and followed it around. You see, these fish aren’t too bright.
We made formal snorkeling stops at least once a day, and I took every opportunity I could get for additional quick sessions in the water every time the boat stopped. At one location, we were treated to several large sea turtles. These creatures are also pretty tame around humans, though they would swim away if approached. Some good it did them though! They’re not that fast, which allowed me to swim alongside one turtle for a good ten minutes, touching its shell (slimy) and taking an underwater video (later realized I had the camera pointed in the wrong direction and zoomed in on a rather non-descript section of ocean for most of the video).
On a side note, Finding Nemo is a movie of near epic proportions in reef areas. Everyone wants to see a ‘Dory’ (clownfish), and seven years removed from the movie’s release all the souvenir shops and aquariums still proudly advertise themselves as having stuffed (souvenir shops) or live (aquariums) replicas of all the species that were featured in the film. Even some of the adults on our sailboat were excited about the prospect of seeing a clownfish, though I played it cool and pretended not to care.
The weather was very accommodating for our three days on the boat. There were winds at 15-25 knots which made for great sailing conditions; we were able to sail to most of our destinations and rarely had to use the motor. We had rain off and on, but rather than spoil the mood we chose to enjoy it. You can’t really complain about getting wet on a sailing trip. These conditions actually confirmed the hardiness of our group; we got into a race with another sailing boat one day during a bit of a downpour, and I had the distinct pleasure of laughing at the passengers of the other boat who were all wearing full ponchos as I was decked out in a sleeveless shirt and cowboy hat. Most of the other passengers on our boat were dressed similarly. We had a fun group.
Though the bulk of the three days were spent on the boat, we did pass one lazy afternoon at Whitehaven beach, a pristine white sand beach stretching along one side of the largest island in the group. Marion and I had some interesting marine encounters here which provided one of the highlights of the trip. We were wading out onto a long expanse of knee-deep water, just relaxing and enjoying the stroll, when we suddenly found ourselves crossing a sting ray commuter lane! We got excited to see one swim by, but then realized there were a procession of them, one going past every 20 seconds or so. Despite the reputation that rays developed after the Steve Irwin incident, they are not aggressive. Upon becoming aware of their skittish nature, we decided to conduct a scientific experiment in which we slowly advanced upon their highway and proceeded to plant ourselves right in the middle of it! Well, to our disappointment but also probably for the best, they redirected and looped around us keeping about a two meter radius. This was providing a good deal of entertainment until the stakes were suddenly raised; we realized that on our other side was another marine visitor in the form of a reef shark! I noticed it first and immediately grabbed Marion’s arm in an alarmed way while stepping back, which I later spent a good deal of time explaining was actually an act of heroism in which I was positioning myself in a way to most effectively save her life. Now, I must admit that the reef shark was only about 1.5 meters long and no real threat to us. However, when you find yourself in water surrounded by two species that are well adapted to the environment and have evolved as underwater predators, it can still be a bit unnerving. We stood there rather still for a few moments waiting to see how the situation would play out. Predictably, the shark took little notice of us and went about it’s business. Around this time I conveniently determined that we had better get back to the group as the boat was about to depart, which made for a good excuse to exit the water immediately.
The evenings were spent up on the deck, having dinner and drinks while watching amazing sunsets over the water. In fact, I spent nearly the entire trip up on deck. I have a tendency toward motion sickness which manifests itself if I can‘t see the horizon so I spent as little time in the cabin as possible, even choosing to sleep up on deck under the stars one night. We were up with the sun each morning, in the water for a brisk swim before breakfast (I like to refer to this as a traveler’s shower), and off sailing soon thereafter. The crew was really good about getting the passengers involved in the logistics of sailing. This sounds like good fun, but the novelty soon wears off when you realize that your contribution to the sailing effort involves breathlessly tugging on a rope in a futile attempt to pull a giant white sheet 50ft up a mast under heavy wind conditions. Quite laborious, though it looks nice in pictures. I guess a few minutes of labor in the midst of an entire week of being pampered isn’t really grounds for complaint. I can’t say I am any more capable of navigating a vessel through the sea after three days on board, though I am a bit of a connoisseur on how to comfortably position oneself on deck and look casual while the boat is listing back and forth at 20 degrees on rough seas. I took the liberty of positioning myself at the very tip of the bow, seated with my feet dangling over the front of the boat during one particularly wavy patch. This was quite a thrill; as the boat heaves up and down you find yourself alternately feet in the water one second and lifted 15ft above the surface the next as the boat works its way over the waves, with nothing in your periphery of vision but the open seas. This was my Leonardo DiCaprio moment and another highlight of the trip.
I really can’t say enough about the Whitsundays. Nearly every moment of the three days was entertaining and enjoyable, the crew and passengers were lovely, and snorkeling the reef is an experience I will not soon forget. Suffice to say, if there is one thing I would rate as not-to-miss in Australia this would be it.
Thanks for reading,
Thomas
