WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS  2nd November, 2011

Simon and Jo Davies and David and Jenny Saunders joined us when we arrived to collect them from Hamilton Island.  We were given a space in the marina.  Great fun, very much a holiday place some good restaurants and beaches. The Yacht Club restaurant was excellent.   We left on Monday the day after the Saunders joined us and having provisioned the ship, filled up with water we slipped the mooring lines and headed out.  Our first anchorage was off Lagoon Rock, Whitehaven Beach, we put on our stinger suites, to prevent jelly fish stings and Jo got in the water first, the tide nearly swept her away, so we decided it was not the best place to go swimming.  Change of plan and up anchor and over to Stockman's Beach where some of us had a swim.  Not the best place for an overnight anchorage so headed across to Whitehaven beach and anchored there for the night.  The following morning we went for a two hour walk over to Chance Bay very beautiful through the 'bush' .  Saw a few Sting Rays and a turtle in the water near the beach and on our trek back we saw a couple of Goanas and a very large colourful lizard.  Pictures of Goanas below.

At 11 a.m. we upped anchor and headed out to Cateran Bay where we picked up a buoy  whilst we had lunch.  The wind was getting up so we set sail for Hook Passage and dropped anchor in Nara Inlet Hook Island. 

This morning we went for a cultural walk a short one but up a steep hill where Aboriginal voices told us their history at the top was a cave with cave drawings which was once used to live in.

We attempted to head out to the edge of the Great Barrier Reef today as the forecast was calm weather, but half way out there we decided it was too rough and blowing 20 knots.  Just at that moment both fishing lines ran so I bought the yacht up into wind whilst 'the boys' brought in two 4 Kilo Tunas on the lines.

Spare ribs put away for tonight and tuna instead.

 

 

 Aqualuna at anchor