WHITEHAVEN BEACH TO CID HARBOUR

Up early enough to catch sunrise and the morning view of the beach

We up anchored at Whitehaven Beach for a short motor up the beach to Betty's Beach at the north end of Whitehaven Beach to climb up to the lookout the provides a magnificent view all the way down the beach and into Hill Inlet

The views from the lookouts give you a real appreciation of the beauty of Whitehaven

The forecast for Saturday night is for strong winds early on Sunday morning (more than 25 knots) so we decided to head around the top of Whitsunday Island to anchor in Cid Harbour

 

A spectacular evening at Sawmill Beach which is in Cid Harbour

 

 

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THOMAS ISLAND TO WHITEHAVEN BEACH

We left the Rivieras behind, only problem is that then can travel much faster than us so they were soon hurtling past us. There are some polite ones and then there are the ones who seem to take pleasure in passing as close as possible to you at full speed to maximise the size of the wake causing you to rock.

Today our destination was Whitehaven Beach which is one of the iconic destinations in the Whitsundays. The sand is 98% silica which makes it very spectacular. The beach is more than 3km long (we know that because we walked the length of the beach).

To get to Whitehaven Beach you first have to pass through Solway Passage, where we encountered a current of more than 3 knots and unfortunately it was against us

We could not have asked for better conditions to visit Whitehaven Beach with almost no wind and no swell making the conditions perfect.

 

 

Along the beach you encounter helicopters "parked" on the beach. People pay $329 per person to be flown to the beach and spend 1 1/2 hours in the sun. Our 2 hour walk cost us nothing.

GOLDSMITH ISLAND TO THOMAS ISLAND

From Goldsmith Island we had a short sail (actually motor as there was no wind) from Goldsmith Island to Thomas Island. When we arrived at the island we anchored in a delightful sheltered bay and only the 4 boats from RPAYC plus one other catamaran (an really interesting guy from Alice Springs who has been sailing up the Queensland coast in this tiny trimaran that is only about 20' long).

We though we were in paradise and looked forward to a peaceful stay. Unfortunately we had chosen the same island that the Riviera club had chosen. First one motor boat arrived, then another and finally we had been joined by 17 motor boats.

We decided to climb to the top of the hill in the afternoon the take in the view of the southern part of the Whistsundays. You can see from these photos how spectacular the views are. Note the bay full of cruisers

And the obligatory sunset photo

BRAMPTON ISLAND TO GOLDSMITH ISLAND

Another great sailing day, we put up the mainsail and with a 12 knot south easterly breeze were able to sail all the way to our next destination - Goldsmith Island. Sailing along at 5 knots on a smooth sea, cruising does not get much better.

One thing you need to be careful of in the Whitsundays is the currents, even though it was almost low tide we still have more than 3 knots of current against us in the passage to get to Goldsmith Island

Interesting cloud formation this evening (instead of ABS)

MACKAY TO BRAMPTON ISLAND

Finally the weather was good enough to leave Mackay Harbour.

First stop was the fuel wharf to fill up with diesel. As most of the trip from Bundaberg was good sailing, Galadriel only required 63 litres. Even better after the refund from our marina key deposit, the total bill was $19.

There was still some swell left from the 2 weeks of strong southerly's so we decided to head straight for Brampton Island instead of going further out to Scawfell Island.

We were farewelled by the Canadian Navy (not sure if they have finished the joint exercises or just about to start)

Had a good sail with a 15 knot wind from behind with the conditions good enough for Sonia to even get some quilting done

When we arrived a Brampton Island we really felt like we were in the tropics with aqua blue water and coconut palms. It is strange walking along the beach looking at the deserted resourt which has been closed since 2011.

This is what it looked like in it's hey day

 

And this is what it looks like now

 

 

 
 

But the good thing is that you have the beaches all to yourself

But the best thing of all was while we were anchored of the resort we were visited by 2 whales, they were so close you could hear them breathing

 

And of course you finish the day with ABS