Whitsundays sailing – 8 itchy feet

One day – at Weston Park…

We met Paul…

Not sure how, but dreams of sailing found their way int the small talk. ‘Yeah I’ve always wanted to do that too’. Maybe one day.

So what time does the supermarket close?

The ferry doesn’t usually get in this late and the shops close at 6.30 Tiana told us. They actually closed at 6.00. Khia and Emma dumped their bags and headed for the shops. They arrived at 5.05. ‘You start that side, I’ll start this side and we’ll meet in the middle.’ About 500 decisions and $700 later we were set.

Is that the first reef or the second?

‘So ahhh… Mike… that’s called a sail, is that right? And if I pull the blue one it does what? And we shouldn’t ‘jibe’ the boat. Got it. Captain Paul, First Mate Khia – what do we do now?’

Nara Inlet

‘So Gary, 100 Magic Miles’ says that Nara Inlet is a nursery for hammerhead sharks – is it safe to swim?’

‘Yeah my daughter read that too and she hasn’t swum there since’.

But, what can you do. Last one in’s a rotten egg!

Dana goes native

The shore party set off on a expedition to explore the unknown continent. Just six intrepid explorers. Oliver and Dana wasted no time finding spears to catch our dinner.

The Mooring dance

We danced a merry jig we did, a jig that went like this. We cheered, we’d found a mooring ball to ensure continued bliss!

Look at all the tourists

We pulled our heads up from the wonders of the coral at the sound of a propeller. ‘Time to go’ the young fellow on board called. ‘Think we’ll stay’, we replied. ‘Thats our yacht over there.’

Surfing the swell

Razzle Dazzle was rising and falling under our feet. Dana, Amy, Evie and Oliver were surfing the swell. Khia was right where she wanted to be – at the helm. Luncheon Bay, another beautiful snorkelling spot, was round the corner. We dreamt of keeping Razzle Dazzle and pondered how we got so lucky.

Whitehaven

‘How deep is the water?’ Khia asked as we considered dropping anchor. ‘Plenty’, was the reply from Paul.

One morning at Whitehaven

‘Come on time to go’. We raced to gather up our things. Storm clouds were brewing on the horizon and it was clear they were headed out way. Dana, Amy, Evie and Oliver reluctantly tore themselves away from their drip castles. As we walked back over the point to our dinghy a little competition broke out to see who could get the stream of backpackers flowing the opposite way to acknowledge us. We headed over the water Razzle Dazzle as the rain started to pour. ‘Suckers!’, Paul muttered at the backpackers, to guffaws of laughter from the rest of us.