To get to Airlie beach I fly an hour and a half from Brisbane to Proserpine aka the Whitsunday Coastal airport. It’s another hour or so drive to get to Airlie Beach (where the boat to the Whitsundays will leave from) and I have an overnight stay ahead of my cruise tomorrow. I’m arriving a day ahead of the cruise so I can fit in another parkrun. I’m not too impressed with my hotel as it’s quite a distance from the town but I walk in and get some dinner before an early night ahead of a 7am parkrun tomorrow.
Saturday morning parkrun no. 10 – my second to last in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a really nice one along the boardwalk to Abell Point Marina and the crowd are really friendly and cheer for Ireland as I finish!
I have a few hours before getting on the boat so after a lovely breakfast at The Deck on Main Street I wander around the little town and shops and buy some beach gear and a hat. I must say I’m a bit anxious getting on the boat but I get over it fairly quickly. It’s a catamaran with 4 sleeping cabins. I get one to myself… thank heavens, sharing one of these would be tough and there are three couples on board plus the captain and helper (who does everything else!).
I’m so lucky to have a really nice bunch of people to share this 3-night adventure with. There’s John and Joanne from Arkansas who I get chatting to before we board and straight away know I’m gonna hit it off with them. Then a couple from Vancouver – Azim and Fawziyah and Daniel and Franzie a young couple from Salzburg. It doesn’t take long for us to get to know each other.
We spend a couple of hours on our first day sailing out from land among the various islands and it’s beautiful. Although there’s a motor on the boat Peter the captain likes to put the sails up as much as possible and it’s so nice when the motor is off and we are gliding with the wind literally in our sails!
I’m feeling a bit more relaxed and gaining confidence moving around the boat so I decide to sit up front and enjoy the breeze and the calm sailing. Most of us are out front enjoying the good weather and calm sea and the captain decides to change the direction of the sails. Now this is my first time sailing and I really have no idea how this works but in hindsight I would move to the back for this maneuver. Somehow, in the effort to turn the sails the ropes became lose and were flapping around over our heads and all around us. The rope caught around one of the girls arms and as she wriggled free it caught my leg.. I let a scream because firstly I was watching her and thought she was going to get thrown overboard and I thought I was going to get dragged up by my leg…it was terrifying. The captain let a roar for us all to put our heads down and as I followed the instructions I got a massive lash in the face off the rope. Oh my God it hurt and I was afraid to move as I didn’t know if the ropes and sails were under control yet. Eventually (probably about sixty seconds later) someone asked if I was ok and I got up and came to the back of the boat. I had a red stinging face but thankfully no rope mark and my sunglasses protected my eye. I put some ice on it and it calmed down. I was very shaky, talk about knocking my confidence and really mad at the captain – that’s something that really should not happen on a boat with tourists relaxing on deck. Why he didn’t ask us to move to the back while they did what they needed to do is beyond me but lesson learned I’ll never allow that to happen again.
Anyway… deep breath and moving on… we all brought our own booze on board so it’s party time once the sun goes down. Well actually, most of the group have a few earlier in the day but I don’t like to mix daytime drinking with the open seas so I’ll wait til the sun has set and the boat is no longer moving. Of course I was happy to partake with my new pals once the sun went down.
On our second day we start with breakfast around 7 and then head toward Whitehaven beach. It’s absolutely stunning and I walk a few kilometers up the seven kilometer stretch of sandy beach.
When I get back from my walk everyone is swimming and the water is so nice and calm I join them.
Back on the boat we sail onwards to Tongue Point lookout which is truly amazing. How the water and sands mix colors and shapes is beautiful to see. It’s a short hike to the top and the lookout allows you to see this :
It’s hard to walk away from that view:
In the afternoon it’s time for some snorkeling. We go out in the little dingy and go in the water from there which is a little nerve wrecking as I somehow manage to launch myself under the boat…. I get my act together and swim around and see some fish but the coral is not great – most of it in this area is bleached.
That night we have a gorgeous dinner of steak cooked on the grill and there’s plenty of wine and beer still to be drank.
We find out that Daniel is a ski jumper and it’s fascinating to hear about his training and competitions. We get to see a YouTube clip of him and it is amazing – he now has a whole new fan base in us and we’re hoping to see him in the next olympics.
On our next full day at sea we start by going for a snorkel in an area where the coral is a little more colorful. This time John is kind enough to help me out of the dingy and hold my hand for a while til I’m relaxed enough to swim around myself. It really does make all the difference and I’m in the water for ages (apparently 45 minutes!) before I decide I’ve had enough. We do see some nice coral and colorful fish here.
That evening we see batfish in the water
And later we see a beautiful sunset
We wake up on our last day to some rain so we don’t get a final snorkel in, we head back to shore after a very healthy breakfast and say our goodbyes. It’s been a great few days and I couldn’t have been with a nicer group.
This time when I check into the hotel I’m delighted. I have a beautiful apartment looking out to the seafront. I’m tired and a bit worn out from the sun and the sea so it’s nice to have a bit of luxury and hang around on the balcony. It’s also nice to be eating when you’re still and not having to hold onto your glass to make sure it doesn’t spill!
After a very lazy day I head to Airlie Beach main street and meet with my Arkansas buddies at the rum bar. After a very nice rum cocktail we decide to hit the Irish bar but it doesn’t open til 10pm, ha ha there’s no chance we’ll be waiting for that so instead we hit one of the bigger bars which is full of backpackers and I’m guessing we’re the oldest people there. Ah well we have some food and drinks and a good night.
Next day I have time for a final walk along the seafront and then it’s time to head back to Brisbane.
odohertyelaine 
Thanks Elaine for the great recap of our sailing adventure! I have enjoyed reading the whole blog. Inspiration for our next jaunt to Australia! Cheers! It was a real pleasure to meet and get to know you! Hope to see you in Dublin this fall.
PS: I held John’s hand snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef! It was quite rough water. But beautiful!!
LikeLike