Sailing the Whitsunday Islands, located between the Great Barrier Reef and the Australian mainland is a very popular activity of sea going, island hopping, kayaking, boarding, relaxing, boating, sailing, yachting Australians …. and people from many other parts of the world. Sailing the Whitsundays is something Nancy and I have often talked about and had a great interest in doing. We agreed that sailing the islands in either a monohull or catamaran would be the way to do it. However, there was a doubt on one of our parts regarding my ability to safely operate and navigate a large sailboat over this vast and rugged part of the Australian coast. I did not want to hire a Captain. We came up with a solution both of us were happy with. We would get a boat big enough for the two of us and the five people in our son Andy’s family. The doubters or faint of heart members of the groups were comfortable with the combined sailing capabilities of Andy and myself and it looked like we had a window of opportunity over the last two weeks of the young folk’s Summer School break, in mid to late January. I found a company willing to lease us a 12 Meter (40 Foot) Catamaran for the period and we were ready to go. This all occurred during the September through December period. So where are the Whitsundays you ask? Lemme show you.
So now you know where we went. Now a bit about the boat. The Catamaran, “Mandala”, was offered for charter by Carter Yachts Australia, located in Arlie Beach, Queensland. The Mandala has four staterooms, two bathrooms with showers, (one on each side servicing two of the four staterooms), a large galley/living area, a large outdoor seating area, and air conditioning in the main galley. Plus it had a large flat area, part of which was a net, in front to use for relaxing. We figured it would meet our needs. Nancy and I got one bedroom and the five other Rumpel’s got the other three bedrooms. All bathrooms were available for all to avoid long waits. Here’s some pictures of the Mandala that I borrowed from their website.
The time that passed between September and 9 January was used to complete our planning and preparation. First, Andy and I needed to present our sailing qualifications to the charter company for their review and approval. This helped satisfy the state government and insurance company requirements. Then everyone had to submit a list of height, weight, shoe size, and IQ to be fitted for sting suits, flippers, goggles, snorkel tubes, and a paddle board and a kayak. Lastly we needed to decide how we were going to feed this small crowd over the seven days and nights we would be sailing. The charter company recommended we review the Whitsunday Provisioning website.
Mandala has a fairly generous freezer and refrigerator. One option we looked at was making a list of what we needed for the 49 dinners, 49 lunches, 49 breakfasts, as well as morning and afternoon tea, and snacks and drinks for all in between. We would then descend upon a grocery store when we got to Arlie beach (A five hundred kilometer drive), buy all the stuff, and bring it on board the night before we sailed. The charter company allowed us to board Mandala the afternoon before our charter started and stow our gear, food, and kids, as well as spend the night on board before Andy and I would attend a 4 hour brief the next morning before we sailed. The next option was to prepare all the meals at home, before we left, package them, and bring them with us. The third choice was to use WhitSunday Provisioning which offered three levels of provisioning with the highest level being Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, and Dinner being provided for each day for each person. They had a planned menu that listed what foods you would have for each eating event, and instructions how to prepare it. Everything was fresh and eating/dietary restrictions were accounted for.
Not knowing if we would find all the groceries we planned to buy when we arrived, nor how expensive they would be in this high density tourist area ruled out option one. I didn’t really feel like (call me fussy) dealing with 98 precooked meals as well cereals, juices, bread, chips, etc for breakfast, teas, and snacks, then eating what would equate to eating leftovers for the week, ruled out option two. Whitsunday Provisioning was our choice. Bring your own drinks and extra snacks, everything else was there, fresh, packaged by meal, and ready to go. I’m sure it was most likely a bit more expensive, but not knowing the cost of groceries in Arlie Beach, and getting everything at one time in one place was well worth the cost if it was more. That took care of provisioning. Lorna, at Whitsunday Provisioning was exceptionally helpful, cooperative, and had a great deal of advice. She made it obvious that our needs would be met … and they were.
We had everything pretty well nailed down by the holidays so all we needed to do was enjoy Christmas and New Years, then get packed and ready to go. We would leave early on the morning of the 9th of January and get to Arlie Beach by mid afternoon … and that’s pretty much how it happened. So here’s the story … and a few pictures.
9 January, 2024 – We hit the Bruce Highway (A1) just outside of Tannum Sands and headed north. We were on the road within 15 minutes of our proposed departure time, traffic was light, and the weather was cloudy but not raining. We made occasional pit stops for food, fuel, and relief but stayed pretty much on schedule. Around noon we started picking up rain showers that were squally at times but kept pressing on. At MacKay, Andy and Candy decided to stop and feed the family, Nancy and I elected to press on, get to the boat, check in, unload our stuff in case Andy and Candy were late and needed a car to pick up some groceries they had ordered from a local grocer in Arlie Beach. As it turned out, Andy and Candy elected not to eat in, did a pit stop, got some carry-out and were on the road about 30 minutes behind of us. We drove through some really heavy rain storms, including road flooding, but made it safely. We had just checked in and were finishing unloading our car into a cart when they arrived, It was still fairly early so they unloaded as well and we all hauled our stuff out to the pier where Mandala awaited us. We had about two hours to unload, unpack, find places for all our stuff, get a briefing on how to live through the night on the boat, get to the grocer, and find some ice … as well as pick up our diving gear and make sure it fit. We then ordered pizzas for everyone, relaxed on board our yacht, and enjoyed a relaxing dinner. It was an early up the next morning for our departure prep, pre departure orientation and operating instructions so we went to bed early. Let me mention here that when you are north of the tropic of Capricorn, in the middle of January, it is HOT. Mandala did have air conditioning but very little of it got into the staterooms. Consequently we quickly learned to take advantage of the sea breezes and wind direction. Helpful but still a tad on the warm side.
10 January – The day has arrived!!! The adults were up before six seeking coffee and cool air. The younger ones were sleeping in. It was raining outside but looked like it might stop in a while. Our briefing was scheduled to start at 8 and our provisions were supposed to arrive before ten. Our guidance was we were to be out of our spot before 10. We were enjoying some morning coffee and some cookies one of the Mom’s had brought when Lorna from Whitsunday Provisioning showed up with a massive cart filled with boxes of produce, and many styrofoam boxes of frozen products. All we had to do was transfer it onto Mandala, and the Mom’s find room for it all in the fridge, freezer, cupboards, and stow spaces. Whilst Nancy and Candy were stashing the food products, Steve, from the Charter Company showed up to start our brief.
Steve was a self proclaimed surfer who worked a couple months a year briefing people who rented or chartered yachts for the many yacht leasing companies in Arlie beach. He had been sailing the Whitsundays for many years or had listened to enough briefings to have a standard spiel about where to go what to do, and what not to do. Most of it was common sense but then I would guess there are many people who charter these yachts who don’t possess that attribute. He did make a big impression on the folks who knew little about sailing and that proved to be the hurtle Andy and I had to deal with each time we made a decision regarding the boat. “Steve said we needed to do this”, or “Steve said we needed to go here” … jeez, it was like tides, depths, currents, and winds were something we had never heard of. I finally figured out Steve sought admiration and his limitless knowledge was most assuredly a source of admiration from a few of our party. He ate that up like a self licking ice cream cone and it was only when Andy or I asked a question that he would focus back on what he was trying to tell us.
At ten we sailed, with Steve, to do mooring, anchoring, starting, stopping, and man-overboard exercises so we would know what to do if we moored, anchored or someone fell overboard. I guess he figured the certifications Andy and I had from the American Sailing Association didn’t cover those remote or unimportant events. Finally, by noon, he called it done, jumped in the dingy we had been towing all morning, and left in a cloud of dust … or something.
In all honesty, I think he was seriously concerned that we all enjoyed a safe vacation, he just didn’t read his audience very well. Mostly lost the ones who needed the info and spent too much time telling things to people who had no idea what he was talking about and couldn’t remember what he said a day or two later but were fascinated with what he had to say..
We continued on and motored across a rather expansive bay and tied up to a mooring ball in a sheltered cove. Part of Steve’s briefing included the types of Jelly Fish that live in the waters around the Whitsundays. He emphasized a certain type that was smaller than your finger nail, you could not feel it when it stung you, and there were no side effects until a hour or so later. Then pains immobilized your arms, stomach and back. You had to be rushed (by Helicopter) to a medical facility that could treat you. Most people survived, if treated quickly enough. I asked him how many cases of these horrible stings occurred last year here in the Whitsunday’s. His answer was a vague, “maybe 4 or 5 out of the two million visitors they had last year”. More people than that had been struck by lightening but he had made his point. Now everyone was afraid to go in the water. We had sting suits, boots, etc. Finally the younger Rumpel family took our tender/dingy and drove over to the Island we were moored next to and did a little jungle hike (no danger there!) They did see, and we saw a few times after, wild goats that lived on these islands. I explained to them that the goats had walked across the ice during the glacial period to get from the mainland to the island. My input was greeted with skepticism but no one else had a better answer. I will stick to my story.
Okay!! So now we are on the boat, fully checked out, fairly settled in, and ready to explore the Whitsundays. The things to do were, sail or motor to and around the various islands, explore the islands on shore (several had hiking trails to lookout points on top), snorkel to view the coral reefs, fish, kayak, paddle board, or just chill out on the boat enjoying the breeze and tranquility. We had the boat for a week so there was ample opportunity to do all of the above … and we did.
In order to keep the galley from getting over crowded or the same people being stuck with cooking all the time I made up a roster for the kitchen. We had six adults so two were in charge of KP each day. Worked out each person worked two days during the trip. Christian, our Grandson had “Fish Watch” every day, and Andy and myself, in addition ot doing our share of the KP, alternated being Skipper and First Mate.
Looking at my pictures I find the scenery a bit redundant so rather than do this post day by day, the rest of it will be a summary of the days we were sailing the Whitsundays. Steve did tell us that the coral reefs had been killed by a severe storm a few years back and were in the process of regenerating. That kinda killed the coral viewing part but people in our group did snorkel, some reported seeing coral. So, here are the rest of the photos. Many of the pictures are of the islands with many trees and rocky shores. The beaches are not sand but actuall coral that has broken off and washed ashore. Enjoy.
Australia sold one of its islands to China. Here is China’s attempt to build a resort on that Island. It appears finished but no one was there.
We docked at a resort on Hamilton Island (HI) for two days. We had originally planned to dock there just one day but everyone was kinda salted out and wanted to enjoy a little shore time so we extended a day. We ate at the resort, swam at the resort pool (no jelly fish), and spent the time kinda recharging.
Here are some photos I took at Hamilton Island. There are no private cars on Hamilton Island. Golf carts are the principle mode of travel and you can rent them, or just take one of a couple buses that take you around the island. The resort there is big and there are other establishments to provide food, drink, and souvenirs.
So that was our trip. We made reservations at a hotel in a town named MacKay that was about an hour south of Arlie Beach. We turned in the boat, transferred all our gear, and headed south to MacKay. The reason for the hotel was two fold. One, we were all tired and a six hour trip on a hot road after getting off and unloading the boat was just asking for problems. The other was everyone wanted to take a long hot shower, maybe swim in a freshwater pool, relax for a while, have a nice dinner, and drive home the next day. That’s what we did and it all worked out fine. Had a nice family dinner right at the hotel dining room and turned in early. Driving this far north is a challenge because of all the big mining equipment they move around. The roads are all narrow two lane roads with passing zones every ten miles or so. Here’s a sign I saw along the way that highlighted the problems.
And they all drive on the wrong side of the road!!!! Thanks for coming along. Next trip to Thailand, India, Nepal, and Indonesia.
