Whitsunday Sail and Snorkel

It was perfect Whitsunday dry season weather as we set out from Abell Point Marina last week: clear, blue skies, 15 knot south east breeze and 28 degrees Celsius. Perfect weather for a sail to Whitehaven Beach and The Great Barrier Reef.

With husband Gary at the helm it was a two hour sail on Emperors Wings, an 18 metre sailing catamaran, to our first snorkel at Blue Pearl Bay off Hayman Island. The late afternoon light and low tide provided good visibility of the various coral and fish close to shore. The water temperature was about 27 degrees Celsius making it very comfortable to stay in the water as the day faded away.

Dinghy lesson, Blue Pearl Bay

A sunset cruise to Hook Passage had us rounding the southern end of Hook Island, past the sheltered waters of Nara and Macona Inlets displaying several white dots of masthead lights, before dropping our own anchor for the night on the north eastern tip of Whitsunday Island.  

It was dark when the alarm went off the next morning and we pulled up the anchor to head to 'the beach'. The sun rising over Border and Dumbell Islands lit the water and the tips of the majestic hoop pines that cling to the rocky edges of the islands.

Sunrise over Border and Dumbell Islands

The anchor was dropped in Tongue Bay for a 7am breakfast before being ferried in the dinghy by the skipper to Whitsunday Island National Park.

Tongue Bay, a popular anchorage for Hill Inlet Lookout walk

It's a short walk through dry vine forest, pandanus and palms across to the silica white sand of Betty's Beach, which faces the seven kilometre silica white sand stretch of Whitehaven Beach, one of the world's best beaches, and the beach that every tourist to the Whitsundays wants to visit.

Betty's Beach

After frolicking in the sand and aquamarine waters it was another short walk up a steady incline to Hill Inlet lookout. This is the postcard view, and although the high tide didn't quite have the same striking effect of wavy sweeping streaks of white interspersed among the blue, it's still a beautiful vista.

Northern tip of Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet

Lunch was on board as we made the three hour sail to Bait Reef, the closest outer reef in the Whitsundays area. With the wind astern and the tide ebbing in our direction (north), it was a relaxing journey as we left the islands behind us.

Again, the afternoon light enhanced the colours of both soft and hard corals, and lit up the fish as they darted all around me. The water was crystal clear; it was stunning. I could see the sandy bottom and, if you know what to look for, sting rays resting on the bottom camouflaging themselves with sand. It was low tide so I could almost touch the coral; leather coral, sea fans, plate and brain coral. There were hundreds of different fish, and lots of schools of fish, including iridescent Damselfish, blue-green Chromis, Tomato Clownfish, 7-banded Angelfish, multi coloured Parrot Fish, and yellow spotted Boxfish. There were moray eels, green sea turtles, reef sharks, blue spotted rays, blue star fish and the very small but striking nudibranchs. The list goes on, and it's time I bought myself an underwater camera to capture the wonder of The Great Barrier Reef.

Our boat was the only man-made structure for as far as the eye could see, and we were surrounded by reef and the Coral Sea with only an outline of the Whitsunday Islands in the distance off to the east. To spend a night on the reef is special: bobbing around in the lagoon, stargazing and being rocked to sleep.

Bait Reef

An early morning snorkel of the Stepping Stones surpassed all expectations. I could have snorkelled all day but we needed to head back to shore. So, we dropped the mooring and hoisted the head sail for the three hour journey to Langford Island for the final snorkel of the trip. The tide and wind were against us this time, so it was a little rough for some of the passengers as we crossed the open water from the reef to the shelter of the Whitsunday islands.

The wind dropped as we took up a mooring alongside Langford Island, also a national park, consisting of a small timbered outcrop with fringing reef and a lengthy sand spit depending on the tide level. There are scattered coral bommies surrounded by abundant fish life that run parallel to the beach, making it an easy snorkel in the shallows.

Black Island with Langford sand spit in foreground

Two hours sailing and we were back in civilisation and Abell Point Marina, bringing to a close a wonderful three day two night sailing and snorkelling adventure in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Wings II and Emperors Wings, Hook Passage