Tallship sailing
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2007
1
52
59
Trip End
May 28, 2008
Whitsunday Islands,
Queensland,
Australia
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Our boat was Solway Lass, a 127ft steel hull tallship. She was built in 1902 in the Netherlands as a coastal trader for use in the Baltic and North Seas. She was seized by the British in 1915 and used as a decoy in WWI. In WWII the Germans used her as an ice breaker, and until the 1980s she was used as a cargo vessel in the South Pacific. We had 32 guests on board, mostly Europeans and a few Canadians. She was a very comfortable boat with plenty of deckspace and shade for lounging around in. The crew of 6 were fantastic at looking after us, especially Kylie, our chef.
We set "sail" (actually engine) on Saturday night and by 10pm we were anchored in Hook Passage off Whitsunday Island. The sun set around 5pm so we didn't get to see the island until early the next morning. We motored over to Tongue Bay and went for a bush walk to a viewpoint overlooking the stunning Whitehaven Beach, one of the best beaches in the world. The sand is apparently 99.8% pure silica and it is really fine and smooth. When you walk on the sand you can hear a strange squeaking sound. We went swimming in the sea where I saw a few stingrays and plenty of smaller fish. It is currently the end of the stinger season so we had to wear wetsuits to protect ourselves from the jellyfish.
In the afternoon we headed up to Luncheon Bay on hook island. This was our first taste of true sailing. I helped to raise the top sail, but due to stupid health and safety laws passengers weren't allowed to climb the rigging. I spent most of the trip relaxing on the netting at the front of the boat.
The next day we went snorkeling in Luncheon Bay and Maureens Cove. The coral was fantastic and there were hundreds of colourful fish, but there weren't that many large fish. We also had time to go swimming and to play on the huge rope swing. before heading over to Blue Pearl Bay in the exclusive Hayman Island. Just after dinner we were joined by 3 dolphins who were busy feeding around our boat. I also saw a few small sharks, so I was looking forward to our snorkeling in the morning.
The snorkeling turned out to be quite good, with some bigger fish including a 1 meter Giant Wrasse. We didn't get to see any sharks though, and it didn't live up to the Galapagos Islands. After lunch we helped to raise all the sails as we sailed all the way back to Airlie Beach. It was the only part of the cruise where I needed my sea sickness pills, but it wasn't too rough. In the evening we all went out to dinner at Australia's 2nd best fish restaurant where they do a bargain fish and chips. I really enjoyed the Whitsundays and recommend Solway Lass.
