Aug01 Hamilton Island                          

Shear Madness at anchor - Nara Inlet

Hamilton Island to Cairns - August 2001

Wolfgang & Christeen

Kathy makes a fashion statement



Saturday Aug 18
After a couple of days of business in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney, I met up with Shear Madness in Hamilton Island where our friends Wolfgang and Christeen Tolle were already on board.  It was Hamilton Island Race Week and we went out in the dinghy to watch the big boats finish their race.  Had a nice dinner on board and played hearts.

Sunday Aug 19
Had a nice run on Hamilton Island – lots of BIG hills! Sailed to  Border Island and went snorkeling.

Monday Aug 20
Went to Whitehaven Beach and had a fun game of Pitonk and a nice run on the beach. 

Tuesday Aug 21
Got up early to return to Hamilton to pick up some more friends, Jeff and Lee Erickson and their daughters Carly and Lauren. Jeff is an old high school friend of Bradley’s and they were coincidentally vacatioining in Australia and were spending a few days on Hamilton Island. We planned for a leisurly day sail. As we were going out, one of the races was about to start so we decided to stay and watch. We were positioned at the first mark and watched the lead boats round it and raise their spinnakers. Then we rushed to the next mark and that was really exciting. Boats coming at it from all directions, raising and lowering various sails, trying to stay out of each others way, yelling at each other – a real brawl. Unfortunatly shortly after that the race was canceled due to multiple significant wind shifts.

We continued on our way and had a great sail, a good lunch, and some nice snorkeling before returning to Hamilton for a nice dinner out.

Chaos rounding the mark

Racers underway with spinnakers flying

Wednesday/Thursday Aug 22/23
Set sail for Bait Reef. Saw a wonderful whale show on the way.  Stayed at Bait Reef for two days. Wonderful snorkeling. There were several large fish camped right below our boat – one we named Mick because of his big lips – he was also 4-5 feet long. He was obviously hungry but Bradley didn’t want us to feed him, so we had to sneak him food. He became a good friend. The snorkeling was great, including tons of fish, a couple turtles, and even a small reef shark. Christeen was out of film on the first turtle sighting but fortunately we found another one. Fantastic sunrises and sunsets and a couple more whale shows in the distance. Played more hearts and backgammon. Wolfgang also teaching us a lot about bridge bidding.

Friday Aug 24
Another lovely sail back to Nara Inlet where we anchored for the night. Took a short walk to visit some Aboriginal caves, but took a small wrong turn on the way back and got a little lost.

Saturday Aug 25
Took Wolfgang and Christeen back to Airlie Beach where they had to leave. Went to the market and got some more fresh fruits and veggies. Had Bradley’s friends David and Marilyn over for dinner. They are the owners of Sail Whitsundays, a charter company and were very helpful to Bradley and Ron during their stay in Airlie Beach.

Sunday Aug 26
Took the boat into the dock for a hose-off. Checked emails in David’s office. After lunch, headed over to Nara Inlet for the night.

Coral formation at Bait Reef

Wolgang and Christeen hangin' out at Bait Reef

Mick waiting for dinner

Christeen, Wolfgang, Kathy & Bradley at overlook at Whitehaven Beach

Home Up Hamilton Island II