sailing the whitsundays

i just got back from three days and two nights sailing the whitsundays. i got into airlie beach at 6:30am, booked my tour at 7:30, checked in at 8:30 and was sailing by 9:30. there are sooooo many boats that go out of this port that is it IMPOSSIBLE to choose one. i couldnt. and i knew i wouldnt be able to. i found a nice lady, told her what i was and was not interested in, and asked if there were any last minute discounts. forecasted winds were 20-30 knots. she said if she could go out, she'd be on the matador. i said ok good book me, and off i went.

the matador won some world championship sailing competition twice about 15 years ago and the crew was superexcited and stoked for some of the sailing we did. it was AMAZING. we were 45 degrees and traveling 10 knots or more, getting whipped by the wind and spray - it was quite fun. you basically sit at an angle - or hang your feet off the high side.

we afternooned eveninged at a resort to escape the wind and saw a local musician. the harbor here was full of sea turtles and we saw a lot of them. and at night coming down the dock there were some sweet squid hanging out next to the light. i was mesmerized.

the next day we encountered some massive waves. captain pete likened it to ocean swells and i concurred (yay harvey gamage! c watch forever!). it was a rough day... i was feeling a bit under the weather but never actually got sea sick. we saw whitehaven beach from the lookout and then walked on it. it is indeed white and quite spectacular. pirate tom said it was the 4th most photographed spot in aussie (the first three are sydney harbor bridge, the opera house and uluru - i should have asked what the 5th was). we sailed in the afternoon to the top of the whitsundays to a calm harbor and went snorkeling and diving.

the whitsundays are in the lowest part of the great barrier reef ecosystem so i was stoked to snorkel. with the matador though i had the oppurtunity to do an intro dive and go for about 25 min. i didnt have any problems and it was cool to actually DIVE (i am not certified - it costs too much) and have the fish swarm around you. i snorkeled after the dive and the next morning i snorkeled in another section. there was a lot of different kinds of coral that i hadnt seen before. i also saw a lot of fish but not much that i hadnt seen before. i didnt really see any invertebrates. but it was pretty awesome.

then we sailed on back to port through crappola rainy clody windy weather. the sailing was awesome. and by then you knew you were just going to be wet anyway. right as we got into port the defender was leaving - so we turned around and raced them. two maxi sailing yachts tilted 45 degrees and going top speed - absolutely breathtaking and hard work as i was busy grinding some lines back and forth.

so i have had a shower (my first since i arrived - goodbye three days of salt) and dinner and am off to party a bit with my former sailing companions - unfortunately they are all heading south. and some rough decisions about getting into the bar by 3 to see the world champion rugby match at 5am. on the bus at 8 and north to townsville and magnetic island.

so off i go - a bit pink around the face but still having a FAB time. :)

pictures when i am somewhere with not so expensive internet.