Sailing in the Whitsundays

Ahhhhh.... That is a sigh of contentment. I am, as they say here, a happy chappie. The British also might say happy bunny. Anyway. I am also sitting in an air conditioned internet cafe in Airlie Beach, sweating buckets, which is not my favourite state of being. But so is everyone else.

01-Whitehaven sand

My world still feels like it's rocking on waves. I just got back from a 2-night, 3-day sailing cruise on a tall ship called the Defender. It was built in Launceston, Tasmania, circa 1900, and it's beautiful. I lucked out. We had a good group of people, good weather, and a fabulous time. I feel like a broken record saying this, but it was sun and ocean and sand and happiness. No sunburn. New hat. Also new sunnies--big, black ones that even my cool little cousins would approve of. A bit of 40's chic? They broke yesterday, but the very sweet lady in the shop I bought them from just gave me a replacement pair. Another friendly Aussie!

02-Sleeping on deck

There were about 25 of us on board plus 5 crew and 2 vollies (Aussie-speak for volunteers). Sandra from my dorm room at Backpackers on the Bay was one of the vollies--free passage in exchange for being general dogsbody. A good deal, although I wouldn't fancy the toilet cleaning. Jo was also in my dorm room and also coincidentally booked onto the boat--so off to a good start, after my previous conversationless days!

I hardly know where to begin, since everything was just great. We were assigned bunks below deck, but a lot of us chose to bring mats up on deck and sleep under the stars. Jo and I were chock-a-block with a bunch of other people in the bow, but it still had more room with more view, even though our pillows and blankets were wet with dew in the morning. Part of our sailing introduction was "toilet training" from Scotty. On board, flushing and showering were a whole new world. And yes, I did manage to take 2-minute shower, but it was a challenge. The food was great, and I once again slipped into the tradition of afternoon tea. We did colourful snorkeling, jumped off the boat for morning dips and laps around ship, and spent a lot of time just relaxing on deck. I even read the Da Vinci Code from cover to cover, which I'd been putting off for a while. (It seems, though, to be something every backpacker has to do at some point, and I surprised myself by really enjoying it.) We chatted and mingled and flaked out in the bow net, a rope net suspended from the bow which may be the best seat on the ship. We walked through gnarled bush (reminding me of the old Hecla fitness trail days) to visit Whitehaven Beach, which has the finest, whitest sand I've ever seen. We laughed at the squoogy noises the sand makes when you walk on it, and used it to exfoliate our faces and clean silver jewelry. All this was in our most attractive stinger suits, aka "gimp suits". Georgie, the first mate, described it as the only time permissable to wear lycra from head to toe. Most chic, even if we couldn't wear sunnies with them. But worth it to protect from vicious jellyfish. The beach was just beautiful. And the next day, we did a little hike and saw the beach from above. The sailing trip, for me, was a series of pinch-me moments, but the view from up there just blew me away. One of the most beautiful sights in my seven months in Australia, and let me tell you, that's saying something. In the evenings, the bar would open, and we'd chat, drinking beer and terrible box wine with kerosene mood lighting against the night sky. Eventually it would be time to sleep under the stars.

03-Sunrise

Did I mention there were 7 Canadians on board? Also something like 4 Swedes, and the requisite bunches of English and Irish, with some German and Dutch stuck in for good measure. A good mix of people. And tonight we will all meet at "Beaches" to see what damage the crew can do when they're allowed to drink too. Which should get me ready for a good night's sleep on my night bus to Great Keppel Island...

04-Boat in sunrise

05-Boat

06-Sleepy

07-Defender in Sunrise

08-Whitehaven postcard

09-People on boat

10-Bow net

11-On deck with Helge

12-Defender