Fast Ride Over to Airlie

Tuesday 19^th June 2012

20’15.817 – 148’42.157
Fast Ride Over to Airlie – Cassandra’s Birthday
Cold nights, cool crisp mornings, warm sunny days

Sunset in Pioneer Bay Airlie Beach

The night was very cool to cold; I woke up through the early hours looking for a bit more warmth and found it very hard to get back to sleep. The big doona will be placed on the bed tonight.

There was no great hurry in leaving Macona Inlet this morning as MrJ and I had to wait for the tide change before attempting the sail across the Whitsunday Passage. The wind would be blowing fairly strong once we left the protection of the inlet and we did need the wind to be running with the tide not the other way round.

Slicing through the waves

Leaving Macona Inlet just before 1000h with a reef in the mainsail and a few turns on the genoa proved to be a great plan. AR was hooting along at 8½knts with a fresh breeze and lots of sea spray. MrJ was in his element, the salt was pumping in his veins and I was hopping around trying to get a few photos of the sea. You can’t always show what the sea is really like.

As we came round Pioneer Point just out of Airlie Beach there was a large tourist ship, P&O’s Pacific Sun, anchored well out and ferrying it passengers into the Able Point Marina at Airlie. Even the Wave Breaker was in use as one of the many ferry boats. Someone must be paying big money!

Pacific Sun

MrJ and I tied AR up at the public jetty inside the Able Point Marina boat harbour to fill our water tanks and wash the decks down. A small fishing tour boat had pulled in as well and after all the passengers left the skipper of this fishing boat also needed to wash his decks. There were people in dinghies coming and going as well as the constant traffic of the ferry boats from the big cruise ship beside the other day to day boating activity around this boat harbour. What a busy place! I was truly glad to get out of there!

Giving way to the Wave Breaker at the marina entrance

MrJ and I did not go too far; leaving the boat harbour to anchor way off the marina wall on the western far out in the western bay behind all the moored boats. Neriki was anchored there too but no time to go visiting, MrJ wanted to go ashore to stretch his legs and get something to eat. We ended up at the local pub near the marina, Sorrento’s for a late lunch. Lunch consisted of a huge seafood platter for two for only $25. We had fresh oysters with lemon, BBQ prawn skewers with a seafood sauce, salt & pepper calamari, smoked salmon with rocket salad and a large pot of mussel in a creamy leek sauce. Yummo! And a great view from Sorrento’s top deck! 

At the public dock

On the walk back to the dinghy MrJ and I called into the boat yard to have a chat with Gary and Mercedes who had their boat, Forever Dreaming, out on the hard getting a couple of jobs done and antifouling the bottom. Glad it is them and not us, we have had our turn. From the boatyard we continued on to our dinghy at the public dock, the same public dock that just a couple of hours earlier we were at with AR. On the way home we did go over and say G’day to Ric on Neriki but didn’t stay as the air was getting chilly and I needed to be home in the warmth of my own boat.

Happy birthday Cassandra, it was good to hear your voice over the phone today and listening to little Jack trying to talk. Wonderful!