November 2021
The day we left Townsville behind we had a light north easterly breeze and a morning of tacking ahead. We had made the unfortunate decision to leave from the Duckpond in Townsville rather then Magnetic Island where all the rest of our like minded cruisers had left from. This meant that the morning we left we had a rather long slow upwind sail to round Cape Cleveland. From the Duckpond to Cape Cleveland it was roughly 12nm but it took us 5-6hours to make that distance due to Allagai’s poor upwind capabilities. However, even though there were many moments when we were ready to give up and turn back we kept going and eventually made it, even if it was many hours after the rest of the pack.
Once we finally rounded Cape Cleveland we were able to loose the sheets a little and gain some speed in the right direction, although the wind was so light that we still needed a little engine assistance to keep us moving above two knots. For the rest of that day we continued our journey south settling into night watches just as the sun dipped below the horizon of Cape Bowling Green. As we continued through the dark we had about three hours over the course of the entire night of engineless sailing meaning for the most part our sleep that evening was restless as the engine droned throughout the boat.
The following morning we watched sunrise as we passed Bowen while also dodging the anchored ships waiting to enter the harbour. That day we had decided to aim for Grassy Island which was about 10nm short of the Whitsunday’s. By the time we arrived at Grassy Island it was approaching late afternoon and both of us were ready for a little rest. Although some early rest wasn’t the main reason we had stopped at this island. During our previous visit we had gained much respect for the tides and currents swirling through the Whitsunday’s and so our main reason for stopping short was so that we could catch the appropriate tide the following morning.
Grassy Island was a lovely little rest stop and although we didn’t go ashore we thoroughly enjoyed our rest, catching up on the sleep that we’d missed the previous night. It was about mid morning the following day that we left our anchorage on Grassy Island behind. That day we still had fairly light winds but were able to set our sails and with the help of the tide were actually able to move without the engine. The silence and peace and moving along at 4kts was amazing as we aimed for Nara’s Inlet on Hook Island. We had decided that this would be our home for the rest of the week as we waited out the rest of the northerlies and the thunderstorms they were meant to bring later that day.
When we arrived in Nara’s Inlet that afternoon we were one of about 6-8 boats. However by that evening there was about 30 boats in the anchorage and by morning nearly 40. We were amazed by the sheer amount of boats squeezed into the inlet and glad we had arrived early and picked a good spot. We spent a total of four nights anchored in Nara’s Inlet waiting and watching for the supposed weather to arrive. However it seemed that the Whitsunday’s were in their own little protected bubble. As looking at the real time radar imagery on our weather apps we could see rain and thunder all the way up and down the coast and even inland, rivers seemed to be flooding everywhere, including the normally dry Todd River in Alice Springs. However the Whitsunday’s remained dry until finally on the last night of our stay in Nara’s Inlet the heavens finally opened up. Initially we had a proper tropical downpour with a spectacular light show from cloud based lightning, however eventually the rain abated to a steady light rain which continued to fall all night.
The following day the northerlies had finally come to an end so we decided that it was time to find somewhere else to anchor. Nara’s Inlet was a beautiful little anchorage but offered us little in the way of activities off the boat and after a week we were both feeling the need to get off Allagai and go for a walk. So with that in mind and following lunch we weighed anchor and headed to South Molle Island. The sail to Molle Island was rather uneventful and quite pleasant, however with little wind we spent more time motoring then sailing once again, arriving just on sunset.
After our arrival at Molle Island we only spent the one night there, enjoying a short walk the following morning before heading to Airlie Beach. With the passing of the stormy weather we were ready to continue our movements south, however before leaving we were in need of some more supplies. So we headed to Airlie, reprovisioned and then with the tide the following morning set off once more. With nearly a week still until the arrival of the next set of northerlies we decided to find somewhere out of the town to anchor.
Given the weather that day we decided to head back out to Molle Island. However instead of heading to the north side like we have previously done we decided this time to anchor off the south western tip of the island in Sandy Bay and spend the night there. This was a lovely spot which we had briefly visited on our previous stay in the Whitsunday’s.
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However this time we had a little more time up our sleeves and were able to enjoy a short walk ashore the following morning. But due to incoming weather, which we could see tracking towards us on the horizon, it was only a quick visit in which we were only able to complete a short walk up the walking track to the top of the nearby hill. This was another wide, well maintained track similar to the one on the opposite side of the island which we had completed earlier in the year. However with the dark cloud coming straight at us neither of us felt like going any further then the hill top, although this still offered sufficient exercise and gave us a lovely view of Allagai in the bay below us.
With more bad weather similar to what we’d had in Nara’s Inlet coming our way we decided that Molle Island wasn’t going to offer us sufficient protection. So it was soon after we returned from our walk that we headed over to Sawmill Bay on Whitsunday Island.
This ended up being our home for another four nights as we waited out a south easterly blow and some rain. While there we spent most of our time on Allagai as it continuously rained outside, although each day between showers we did find time enjoy the short walk from Dugong Beach to Sawmill Beach. This walk was only 2km return and alternated between winding its way through a beautiful rainforest and along a small cliff top which overlooked the water below and was the perfect way for us to stretch our legs each day.
When the weather finally passed we were itching to get moving again and thankfully with the arrival of northerlies we were able to leave. From Sawmill Bay we headed straight for the southern anchorage on Shaw Island. The day we left the winds were still light so once again even though the sails were set they did little to push us to our destination as we once more relied on the motor and favourable tide to move us.
This was the first time we had visited Shaw Island and with such a big sheltered bay Hugo was unable to resist launching the folding dingy as soon as we arrived to go for a proper sail and exploration of the bay. With a quick stop on the beach we had a brief walk on the island before retreating back to the dingy as the tide was racing out and any longer and we would have been dragging the dingy for miles to reach the water. With more favourable northerlies set to arrive the following day this was set to be our last night in the Whitsunday’s as it was time to continue our journey south aiming to go as far south as the winds would blow us with this next wind window.
