Cruising Log—22...Whitehaven to Thomas Is

Leanne’s “Commodore’s Corner”

Before we came on this trip people said to us to watch out for the charter yachts. Charterers are generally less experienced and are told to look for private cruising boats and anchor where they do. We were therefore a little stressed when arriving at the Whitsundays as we thought these boats may anchor too close for comfort or not set their anchors properly. What we found was the complete opposite. We have not had any problems with the charter yachts, it has only been the private boats and commercial boats that have given us stressful moments.

While sitting in Cid Harbour for 12 days we saw some interesting techniques employed by charter yachts. I had commented to Grant on how many headsail furlers seem to look like barber poles or candy canes. This effect happens when white sail is visible wrapped beside the coloured UV protection strip, a sure sign of a badly furled sail. Also a number of boats had loose sheets attached to these headsails. Given the strong winds we thought it was only a matter of time until someone’s furler blew out while at anchor.

So one morning while having coffee in the cockpit and admiring all the boats in the harbour a charter yacht “Upyakilt” (that’s pronounced Up Your Kilt, a dreadful name for a boat) suddenly had a major problem on their hands. The wind caught the top of their headsail and pulled it out above the crossed over sheets. The wind was above 20 knots and they had this large section of sail billowing out in the wind with the rest of the sail furled in under strain. Each time it flapped from side to side it let out a sound like a pistol shot. The result was they couldn’t let the sail out or pull it in and they were heeled over at a dreadful angle. They were surrounded by many anchored boats (luckily not us) and were in danger of dragging their anchor and possibly hitting another boat. A nearby boat launched their dingy and went to their assistance. The guy went aboard but was unable to free the sail. The only option was to raise the anchor and sail downwind to release the pressure in the sail. This is what they did and some time later succeeded, much to everyone’s relief.

Another day we were admiring this very new chartered 50ft Beneteau steaming into Cid Harbour, probably around half a million dollar’s worth. To our surprise they suddenly dropped their anchor while still moving forward at a number of knots. We watched in horror as the anchor chain got pulled back against the hull. When the anchor and boat finally settled a large scrape mark was visible from the bow to the waterline. We were glad we were not the owners.

I spent my birthday at Whitehaven Beach and was treated to a day of swimming and relaxing in this picture perfect location. Grant donned his chef’s hat and baked me some date scones for lunch. He also prepared dinner (a yummy sardine risotto) and later we went to the movies by watching a DVD on our laptop. It was a perfect day all round!

So what was our overall impression of the Whitsundays? Does it live up to the hype?

It has become fashionable amongst the private keelboat community to knock the Whitsundays. Especially scathing are those who knew the place before it became overrun with day trippers and charter yachts, helicopters and float planes. I can understand this, as I have similar feelings about many remote places on land in Australia. However, as a first time visitor to the Whitsundays, I would say the overall impression is good and it does live up to the hype.

And would we come back? Definitely yes, despite the fact that it is windy, the water clarity is not good, access to many beaches is well nigh impossible at low tide, it is teeming with people and boats, anchoring is generally in deep water and not very easy, and there aren’t anywhere near enough moorings (all the things the brochures don’t tell you).

17/11/2006 Sixth and Final Epistle from Masala: Whitsundays to Brisbane (Scarborough Marina)

Hi Friends,

This Epistle covers the period from Saturday 30 September to Thursday 16 November.

You may remember from Epistle 5 that we had just celebrated Leanne’s birthday at Whitehaven Beach. From there we beat to windward heading for Shaw Island but the sailing was so good we continued on to Thomas Island for the night. The stress level was lower as for the first time we were returning to anchorages previously visited. It is amazing the difference it makes.