Hamilton, Whitsunday, and Hook Islands

Shaw Island Sunset

Monday, June 4, 2012 - Cid Harbor, Whitsunday Island

By 0845 we had pulled up our anchor at Shaw Island and with not a cloud in the sky and less than 10 knots of wind, we motor sailed toward Hamilton Island dragging our fishing line behind us.  Our son and daughter-in-law will be arriving next Saturday at Hamilton Airport and we wanted to check it out before their arrival.  

The fish aren't biting!

We motored into Dent Strait between Hamilton and Dent Islands.  Dent Strait is a no fishing area, so we pulled in the line with not even a nibble.  The tide current was with us and pushing us at 8 knots through the channel.  There were was a lot of tidal debris floating through the channel.

We had the opportunity to scout out the airstrip, harbor entrance, and buoys across from the Hamilton Marina.  We won't be staying long here as the buoys are $90.00 a night and a slip $120.00 night.  There are a dozen resort owned, red mooring balls, and two blue ones that are free.  Must be quite a scramble for the 2 freebies.

Hamilton Island Marina and Resort

Red = $90.00, Blue = $00.00 - Big Scramble

The marina is a bit pricey.  We've been told that we can pull up to the fuel dock for a pick up for 15 minute or less with no charge.  Otherwise the guest dock is $17.50 per hour.  Hope Garyn and Jess's plane is on time, and we can get in and out quickly.   Although I would like to stay a little longer and pick up a few supplies at the Hamilton Marina Grocery Store.  I guess we'll have to just wait and see how it goes.  The weather forecast for Saturday looks like rain and wind which mayl complicate the pickup.

After our recon of Hamilton Marina Area we scooted around the corner to Whitsunday Island and Cid Harbor where we dropped the anchor by 12:15 in 23.2 ft of water at 1/4 low tide.  We should still have plenty of water under us at low tide.  There were about 5 other boats in the bay with us.  Data cell coverage was painfully weak, so we didn't do more than briefly check our mail before giving it up.

S   20 15.758

E 148 56.456

Cid Harbor on Whitsunday Island

The bay was well protected from the wind, but there was a small swell that rocked the boat throughout the night in the light of the full moon.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - Butterfly Bay, Hook Island

As the tidal currents would be most beneficial around noon for a run to Hook Island, we spent a leisurely morning in Cid Harbor.  I slept in late, but Russ awoke early and took this lovely photo of the moonset in the rosy glow of the dawn.

Moonset at Dawn

At 11:15 we pulled up the anchor, turned on the motor, and cranked up the water maker.  It was the first time we had turned on the water maker since we had been in Vanuatu.  For the two hour journey to Butterfly Bay we made about 24 gallons.

Rock Peninsula Between the Wings of the Butterfly

Butterfly Bay

Butterfly Bay is on the east side of Hook Island and is shaped like a butterfly with a peninsula of high rocks separating the two wings.  We tooled around the east wing before deciding on snagging a buoy in the west wing.  This looked like the most protected of the two bays from an expected southwest wind.  Since we were the first boat in, we had the pick of buoys.  Technically, you aren't to tie up for the night until after 3:00 p.m.  We were an hour early, but there were a dozen buoys and not another boat in sight.  Alas, there is no internet connectivity in this bay.

S 20 04.442

E 148 55.470

This bay is supposed to have the best snorkeling in the Whitsundays.  The sun was out, but breeze and ambient cool temperature made getting in the water unappealing.   Since we plan to come back with Garyn and Jessica, we decided to wait for a snorkel and hopefully a warmer day.  Boats started to trickle in around 3:30, which is the anchor time expected from the charter boats.  We pulled out the table and chairs and arranged ourselves on the Lido deck to watched the boats come in and snag their buoys.  Everyone seemed to be pretty proficient so there wasn't much entertainment value in the watching.

A big motor cruiser pulled in an moored up next to us.  There were seven men and no women on this boat.  Two of the guys came over to talk with us and were very impressed that we had sailed from America.  When they returned to their boat, we could hear them tell the others that we had sailed from San Francisco.  As a response one of them started singing without the actual words, New York, New York.  We think he meant to sing, I left my Hear in San Francisco, got his geography mixed up.  No worries mate.  It was party time for these blokes.   I wore my earplugs to bed.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012 - Stonehaven Bay, Hook Island

Once again we waited for the tidal current to be close to slack before heading to Stonehaven Bay.  With no Internet connection, we broke out the satellite phone and gave my mom a call.  She is in a rehab center right now getting her strength back after a pulmonary embolism and blood clots in her legs.  It's definitely hard to be so far away at times like this.  It was nice to hear her voice, and she promised she is working hard to get out of the rehab center...not a very restful place.  Wish she was here with us.

We ate lunch and pulled up our anchor for the one hour hop around the corner.  Russ had set up a nice route through the passage between islands and we skirted potential hazards.  There are many islands some of which have long shallow reefs connecting them.  The reefs are exposed at low tide, but dangerously concealed at high tide (until you hit them).

Sticks mark the shallow reefs

The Whitsunday Islands look a lot like the Pacific Northwest, San Juan and Gulf Islands.  There are rocky cliffs and pine trees that come right down to the water.  Our night in Butterfly Bay reminded us of being in Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe, particularly with the bullet winds that zipped down  from the mountains periodically and blew the boats to end of their mooring tethers.

When we arrived at Stonehaven, again about an hour before official tie up, there was one other boat in the bay and the people on the boat were snorkeling in the reefs that were beginning to be exposed as the tide started to drop.  

Can you see the coral head just under the water's surface?  

We tied up on a mooring, narrowly missing a coral head as we approached our buoy pick:

S   20 06.181

E 148.54.260

Tidal Drop Exposes the Reef

On Golden Pond

Hooray, we have Internet.  Yesterday, was the due date for Garyn and Jessica's New Zealand Friends, Jessie and Simon, to have their baby.  No word, so I guess Baby is late.  Garyn and Jess are in New Zealand this week so I know they would let us know if the baby arrived.  After we checked our mail, we broke down and decided to go snorkeling, even though it seemed a bit cool.  The late afternoon sun was casting a golden glow on the rocks and water, and we couldn't resist.

We dug out the stinger suits (which we didn't really need - not one jelly fish in sight), and our short dive suits, snorkels, fins, masks, gloves, etc., lowered the dinghy into the water and did a drift snorkel around the coral reefs as the tide was dropping.  The water clarity is not the best due to the tidal swings stirring up the water, but we saw stag horn coral, soft corals, cabbage corrals, and lots of fish. I saw one fish that was about a meter long.  Not sure what it was, but it gives me the creeps when the fish are that big, and lurking underneath me.   It was a shock to get in the water after almost 9 months of being dry.  The water wasn't freezing, but it wasn't real warm either.  We lasted about 45 minutes and were glad to get out and take warm showers.

I fixed tacos for dinner, and we finished listening to the Overlanders.  It's quiet in the bay, and the boat is hardly moving in the still of the night.  If it weren't for an occasional bump of the buoy, we could be on land.

All is Well with the 2 Sail R's on SV Worrall Wind.