Peter James Fullagar: Whitsunday Islands part 2

Sailing Oasis a Beneteau 43 in the Whitsunday Islands

Monday 15th May

The yacht we are sailing is a Beneteau Cyclades 43. It is very well fitted out and new – with that well known boat show smell below decks! Oasis is fully equipped (less spinnaker gear) with an amazing amount of electronics that are sometimes a nightmare for us! We struggle mostly with the inadequate water supply (400 litres for six is not enough capacity when on a cruising holiday in these parts). Specifications give it as having a separate battery for the diesel engine and two batteries for the rest but Oasis is fitted with only one additional battery and this is clearly insufficient for the technology we have aboard. We have a massive freezer for example. There is a full array of navigation aids including an unbelievably accurate GPS in addition to the usual depth, wind direction, wind strength and compass readouts and a very good radio communications setup. There is a DVD onboard but we fail to understand how to play it and the speaker system on the CD player (that we can operate) along with the radio is wired incorrectly so that, it seems, we only have the right hand channel from both cockpit speakers but ‘proper’ sound in the cabin. Such trivial things to put up with – what a bugger! The yacht is 43’ 5” (13.26 m) long with a massive beam of 14’ 5” (4.43 m). Oasis draws 1.9 m and weighs 19797lbs (unladen, I presume). That is 9 tons! The design is from Barret & Racoupeau.

Peter, Iain and Kate enjoying the ride on leaving Butterfly Bay

Spectacular shoreline on the N side of Hook Island

Ross enjoying the bow ride as we punch out to the NE of Hook

Having a kip in fo'c'sle (phot by Hella)

Kate in the galley (photo by Hella)

First thing today in Butterfly Bay some good snorkeling is had by all (myself excepted) with swimming over the shoreline reefs with lots of good colourful corals and many types of tropical fish. Eventually we cast off and first move up the coast to see what the conditions are like to the north-east of Hook. We intended to poke our nose out and see if a run down the east side of Hook to some shelter at Border Island would be possible. We had in mind to see Whitehaven beach. A possible overnight in Tong Bay was also in our minds. It became obvious that it was not going to be easy to carry out this plan and so we revised our intended activities for the day and returned to see if we could find a short stay mooring somewhere along the northern shores of Hook. We eventually settled on a mooring in Maureen’s Cove. Here we went ashore for sometime. Entering the forest behind the coral beach was difficult because it was a massive rock field and progress up the hill required a scramble over huge boulders. Many butterflies were present under the forest canopy and several species were noted including the ubiquitous Orchard Papilo aegeus that can be found down south in summer in Canberra! Another conspicuous and beautiful butterfly was what I took to be the Blue-banded Eggfly Hypolimnas alimena. A stunningly blue insect with numerous almost translucent white markings across the wings. Very active. There were several other species about but I was unfamiliar with them. I take some pictures in the cove and the others go swimming. The marine life is not that exciting because the water is turbid and visibility poor.

Beach in Maureen's cove

Oasis at anchor off Mareen's Cove

Another view of the coraline beach

Male Orchard butterfly - photo taken in Canberra

Kate, Iain and Ross using the inflatable (photo by Hella)

Eventually we decide to retreat south for the night. In the channel east and south of Hayman Island we see a Lesser Frigatebird going past us heading north and a little later a Bridled Tern going south. We investigate Stonehaven Anchorage but decide it will not be comfortable in the gusts and bullets on a mooring at this site overnight so we continue. We head to Cid Harbour.
We drop anchor in a placid Cid Harbour and watch two Brahminy Kite wheeling about and harassing a small number of Silver Gull hanging about a nearby anchored catamaran. We occasionally see Welcome Swallow at sea. One or two often circle us when we are on our moorings each day. We have a spectacular sunset and it seems possible that the weather might just be going to change tomorrow - despite the forecast.

Sunset in Cid Harbour

Tuesday 16th May
No luck! The forecast was correct and the wind is still from the SE and as heavy as ever. Again, we wake to the calls of Laughing Kookaburra and the very distinctive local variant of call given by Pied Currawong which have been heard most places over the last few days when we have been near enough to the shore to hear them. These distinctive calls differ with respect to the calls of this species that I am familiar with in Canberra but as always it is clearly recognizable as a Pied Currawong calling. Hella had seen a Pied Cormorant while swimming at first light. We have breakfast.

Silver Gull on outboard motor

Silver Gull as Galley mate?

From Cid Harbour we sail down to Hamilton Island under part furled jib and take up a berth from which we can refill our fresh water tanks (400 litres). We go ashore and have a coffee and take a look at the marina area. The only notable thing was that the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo are smart enough on Hamilton Island to move in when patrons leave their tables to snatch and open the sugar sticks!
We see some Yellow-breasted Sunbird but not much else except Torresian Crow, a few Silver Gull and Pied Currawong calling. Also, some Rainbow Lorikeet. Very little about. I pay the marina fee for the 3 hours we are berthed and am caught at the Marina Office in a downpour and see a Striated Heron flying past in the marina when I return to the yacht.

Coffee time at Hamilton Island

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo tackling left over sugar 'sticks'

Cute Victorian era pillar box

Hamilton Island shoping area

Pseudo-lighthouse at entrance to Hamilton Island marina

View forwards in cockpit of our Beneteau - note GPS plotter!

Kate at the helm (with Iain) on the way back to Cid Harbour

We decide to go back to Cid Harbour for the night because the weather is not easing up and several showers pass through with strong bullets suggesting that it might be uncomfortable anywhere else we might consider as an alternative. Kate steers the boat back taking a long broad reach then after gybing we head up on a tight reach to round Cid Island and select a mooring a bit further to the N than the one we used last night. I see two Pied Cormorant feeding nearby and an Osprey fly past north. Rain showers and a solid tropical downpour pass through before dusk.