On Thursday we had a very long drive from Hervey Bay up to Airlie Beach. After 10 hours in the car we were exhausted so got some dinner and had an early night ready for our Whitsundays boat trip the following day.
At 8.20am we were picked up by coach and taken to the port where we boarded the 'Ragamuffin' yacht. We were told by the crew that the 'Ragamuffin' yacht had up until very recently held the title of winning the Sydney to Hobart yatch race the most times. This is the famous race that takes place every year between Boxing Day and New Year.
On board after a safety briefing we set off towards 'Hayman island,' a two hour trip. Unfortunatley it was raining pretty heavily so we couldn't see much of the Whitsunday islands but sat up on deck in yellow waterproofs enjoying the sailing anyway. We arrived at 'Hayman Island' at about midday where we got decked out with all-in-one stinger suits to protect from the jellyfish - figure flattering, NOT! We also got our snorkel gear and flippers. The water wasn't as clear as we would of liked because of the rain, however, we got to see loads of fish and beautiful coral. One of the crew also came out in the speed boat to through fish food into the water. We were nearby and got completely swarmed by fish flapping around and literally swimming straight into your mask. Hopefully our underwater disposable camera should capture some of these pictures.
On board after a safety briefing we set off towards 'Hayman island,' a two hour trip. Unfortunatley it was raining pretty heavily so we couldn't see much of the Whitsunday islands but sat up on deck in yellow waterproofs enjoying the sailing anyway. We arrived at 'Hayman Island' at about midday where we got decked out with all-in-one stinger suits to protect from the jellyfish - figure flattering, NOT! We also got our snorkel gear and flippers. The water wasn't as clear as we would of liked because of the rain, however, we got to see loads of fish and beautiful coral. One of the crew also came out in the speed boat to through fish food into the water. We were nearby and got completely swarmed by fish flapping around and literally swimming straight into your mask. Hopefully our underwater disposable camera should capture some of these pictures.
After our snorkel we went back on deck for lunch on the boat and thankfully the sun had come out. On the way back the wind picked up and the sailing was fantastic fun. The yacht was flying with about half the hull out the water. You had to cling on at the high side or you'd end up in the drink! The people at the front of the boat got a real battering from the waves but fortunately for us we were sat dry at the back. Also on board was a film crew and presenter filming a travel series for an Australian music channel, so somewhere sometime soon we might be on TV.
Overall it was a great day and despite the rain in the morning we were lucky to get some proper wind coming back to experience real sailing.
Tomorrow we drive up to Mission Beach for a short stop over before heading up to Port Douglas.
Love to all at home
Rach & Mark. xxx
Below are 2 more updates of Fraser Island and Mon Repos Turtles!
Happy Birthday Mark. Glad you had a great day.
ReplyDeleteTV stars - whats that all about - I picture some scenes of you clinging on as the sails fill and the speed picks up. Love to both xxx
We had rain in the whitsundays as well! Glad to hear that you had a nice bday mr twine, weve got a few things to celebrate when you get back.
ReplyDeleteoff to heathrow today to see the hockey girls of on their travels, the first stop - india!!
Lots of love
xxxx
Yer sounds like your Whitsundays trip was similar to ours, apart from you atually stayed on your boat! We had to take the ferry back from one island cos beck thought the other one was too rough! xxx
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