HAMILTON ISLAND TO MARCONA INLET

Unfortunately our stay at Hamilton Island came to an end so we sailed up past Whitsunday Island to Macona Inlet on Hook Island. This was the same piece of water wjhere we had experienced the nasty conditions a few days ago, however with a following wind we had a pleasant sail all the way from Hamilton Island past Whitsunday Island to Marcona Inlet on Hook Island. Perfect sunnay day to say farewell to Hamilton Island. I am sure we will be back.

In Marcona Inlet we were able to tuck in close to the reef which made for a nice sheltered anchorage

 

 

 

HAMILTON ISLAND

After a day of lazing around on the island we decided to climb to the top of Passage Peak which is the highest point on the island and affords magnificent views across the Whitsundays. Note quite a high as Whitsunday Peak but much steeper as you can see by the health app.

 

 

 

We had been lucky with very few issues with the boat. Unfortunately the swimn platform on Galadriel decided to stop working (luckily in the down position so we could still get on and off the boat. After much tracing around with the multi-meter to eliminate the obvious things (blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker) and a call to the friendly marine electrician on Hamilton Island the issue was isolated to a faulty proximity switch on the transom which was bypassed so we could depart Hamilton Island in the morning. This took up most of the afternoon.

Our friend David Taylor from Kailani co-incindently had a birthday the day after mine so a second birthday drinks and dinner was celebrated. We had enjoyed the fusion Thai food at coca chu that we went back for a second night in a row. I have included the menu to make your mouth water.

We found another spot to have sundowners with a different sunset.

The red dots are Wednesday night dinner selection and the red dots are Thursday night selection.

 

 

 

GULNARE INLET TO HAMILTON ISLAND

Today was not only my birthday but an opportunity to cross off my bucket list one of the things I had long dreamt of doing - sailing into Hamilton Island.

The day started with re-tracing our steps out of Gulnare Inlet with Sonia intently following the track we had made on the way in.

From there it was just a short trip across Fitzalan Passage to Hamilton Island. Luckily the conditions were much better than the previous day.

Entering Hamilton Island marina is very civilised, you radio ahead and as long as you have sent them copies of your boat registration and insurance certificate they will come out and escort you in to your berth. They will not tell you your berth number in advance to prevent you from sneeking in. Luckily we were the first boat in after the allowed 11am arrival time (actually we were the second boat but the first one had not sent his insurance certificate so he had to wait.

The best way to describe Hamilton Island is a marine version of Disney Land. There are very few cars on the island and most people drive around in gold buggies. We of course hired one so we could explore the island. Just like in Disney Land there is a main street with shops, restaurants and bars.

On the way in you go past the iconic yacht club.

Birthday lunch was a platter at the pub

And pre-dinner drinks were at the Yacht Club with another sunset.

CID HARBOUR TO GULNARE INLET

Today we decided to move from Cid Harbour around to Gulnare Inlet which is on the south side of Whitsunday Island. With wind against tide we ended up heading south into a fresh 15-20 knot SE wind with a 1-2 metre swell. Certainly not a pleasant trip. Luckily it is only about 5 nautical miles so it was quickly over.

 We anchored in Gulnare Inlet from where you can see our next destination of Hamilton Island

The entrance to Gulnare is quite shallow with the entrance being less than 1 metre deep at low tide (and our keel is 2.1m deep). Fortunately a) the high tide was at 10am, just the right time to go in and b) we had our friends in a catamaran to act as a pilot boat on the way in.

 Apart from our two boats the only other boats in the bay were three motor boats that were "unattended" so we had it all to ourselves.

Once inside it is a nice sheltered anchorage. It is only just over other side of the ridge on Whitsunday Island but such a contrast from Whitehaven Beach.

Thought I would include a picture from the chartplotter so show how much the boat swings around whilst at anchor with a combination of the winds and tides

 

CID HARBOUR

A second day enjoying the western side of Whitsunday Island at Cid Harbour. The weather is improving but the winds are still strong enough to encourage us to stay put.

We decided to have a lunch ashore at Dugong Inlet. There were no dugongs but plenty of goannas keen to share the lunch. Of course as usual the wives excelled at whipping up a small feast.

It certainly is a lovely location as the photos from the afternoon show

 



An it seems every evening the sunset gets better

CID HARBOUR AND WHITSUNDAY PEAK

As the wind continued to be strong we decided to stay anchored at Cid Harbour and climb to Whitsunday Peak. It is a 2.5km walk to the peak which is 434m high. According to my calculations this is a 16% gradient (or 1 in 6).

You are rewarded by spectacular views from the top

 

Evening was another spectacular event

 

 

 

 

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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