Sailing in the Whitsundays - A view from above...

After several successful flights of our Mariner Drone from a stationary platform it was time for the next step - aerial images of Lucey Blue sailing.

The task of sailing while flying the Mariner Drone was a little daunting, but the promise of unique photographs helped us overcome our concerns. With Lucey Blue gently sailing out of Cateran Bay we launched the Mariner Drone from the flight deck – our rear solar panels.

The images of Lucey Blue underway were nice and we landed safetly back on the forward trampoline after about 10 minute in the air. However, the majority of the photographs were taken from too far away for the wide angle GoPro camera to show much detail.

Given our partial success the decision was made to haul up the spinnaker and try a second flight. This time the plan was to fly the drone right alongside Lucey Blue. The images from the second flight were substantially better, but there were a few tricky moments - including when the Mariner Drone disappeared from view behind our spinnaker!

Flying a drone blind while sailing towards your airborne position certainly adds to the excitement level. I am glad to say we experienced no mid air collisions and despite running out of battery power before landing back on Lucey Blue we declared our mission a success.

After the Mariner Drone adventure we decided to take a few photographs of Lucey Blue under different sail configurations from the dinghy. Have we ever said we love our new radial sails?

The kids all enjoyed the dinghy ride – you don’t often get to see your own boat sailing and even though we never cracked five knots it was a great way to spend a morning!

Esk Island - Marine Safety Training 101

When the Captain calls abandon ship we all know what to do!

Jump – preferably with all the kids in tow, but if the weather is nice you can always repeat the training course as often as required…

Eric are you ready to take the leap of faith?

Fitzroy Island to the Whitsundays - A little leap down the coast...

At 2030 on the 12th of October we departed Fitzroy Island for somewhere further south. The conditions had improved, but we still had to motorsail all night into southeasterly winds. By the sunrise we were approximately 15 nautical miles east of Dunk Island with light easterly winds.

We decided to continue down the edge of the reef and see if we could make it to the Whitsundays before the predicted strong southeasterly winds arrived. If the wind looked like it was about to kick in early we had the option of stopping on the outer reef or pulling into Magnetic Island before nightfall.

The conditions remained perfect for the day and we landed several fish, however, we only kept the Spanish Mackerel. Eric and Ryan supervised the fish filleting operation and helped clean up after the task was complete.

The wind picked up a little overnight as it started to swing back to the southeast, but by dawn we were off Gloucester Island. We pushed on to Langford Island and picked up a mooring around 1030 on the 14th of October before hitting the water for an early snorkel.

The 260 nautical mile trip down was fast and we missed some of the coast we had wanted to explore, but we made up sufficient time to allow family to visit us in the Whitsundays. Life is about trade-offs and everyone was happy to be moving again!

Snorkelling in the northern Whitsunday’s and Bait reef

Eric continues to enjoy his time in the water and whenever we get a chance we all hit the water together. The conditions were quite nice so we spent a few nights at Langford Island and then sailed out to Bait Reef.

The trip out to Bait Reef was unusually eventful with a large fish (that got away) causing no end of trouble. As a tip - do not set a large code zero and then hoist your full main in 20 knots of wind if you want to slow down in a hurry.

The net result of our failed fishing adventure was: one code zero in the water; one halyard lost halfway up the mast; and two hands with rope burn!

We detoured back to Luncheon Bay at the top of Hook Island to affect repairs and then headed back out to Bait Reef in the afternoon. With a more conservative sail setup – blade jib and full main – we made the journey in just under two hours.

Snorkelling on the Stepping Stones at Bait Reef remains impressive.

However, the best part of our time back at Bait reef was the amazing song of a Humpback whale and her calf. The two whales swam up and down the edge of the reef for over 48 hours and on the way out they treated us to some spectacular breaching approximately 100m off our port bow.

Daydream Island

We spent Sam’s birthday at Daydream Island lounging around the pool and enjoying a special lunch (or two) at Mermaids Restaurant.

Daydream is well setup for families and as a guest of the resort you have the run of the island and all its facilities. We had fun on the stand-up paddleboards and sailing catamarans. In the evenings also went ashore to watch a movie at the free outdoor cinema.

Everyone enjoyed the change, but we were keen to go snorkelling again so we soon headed back out to find the reef again.

South Mole Island

We enjoyed a quick downwind sail from Henning Island to South Mole Island and anchored off the wharf before heading ashore to explore the island.

On the beach at Paddle Bay we met another couple with a young child and Eric enjoyed the afternoon/evening with a new friend – Cooper.

South Mole Island has a number of great bushwalks and we took the short stroll up to the Spion Kop lookout. Hamilton Island Race Week was still underway which added another dimension to the view from the ridgeline…

Hamilton Island Race Week - 2015

The first race of Hamilton Island Race Week commenced with a spinnaker start. The windy conditions made the staggered start a little more exciting than normal.

The first boat out was Wild Oats and the field was not crowded until the smaller boats got underway.

We think John Travolta must have flown in to see the end of the race as a Qantas jet – decked out in the company’s old colour scheme - flew into Hamilton Island cutting a path through the start line.

The Racing and Cruising Multihull Divisions were some of the last to start and the wind had dropped a little. However, before long the racing catamarans had quickly passed the majority of the monohulls already on the course.

After the start we moved to Henning Island to watch the yachts sail back up the course to the finish line.

To cap of a nice day we found an official race photograph online with Lucey Blue in the foreground as the last of the yachts sailed home.

Gulnare Inlet and Henning Island

We hung around Gulnare Inlet and Henning Island for a day or so to be ready to see the start of Hamilton Island Race Week.

The kids made a cubby on the beach one afternoon and we all enjoyed our newly purchased fresh food.

We even managed to catch up with Rick and Dot aboard Manaia – a brand new catamaran that Rick built. They had visited quite a few places since South Percy and the boat was still looking amazingly clean! Eric always likes to socialise and it was nice to have a look around such a well designed and built catamaran.

Party lights and Hamilton Island

After a lovely afternoon spent by the Main Pool (mocktails in hand), we had a little impromptu party on Lucey Blue last night because it was to be our last night at Hamilton Island, and I am going to miss it.

The previous evening we had met and chatted with a lovely couple (Trevor and Pam) aboard their beautiful motor boat Triton. In addition to donating us one of their lures (I think they felt sorry for us and our terrible fishing record), they gave us some of their fresh caught Cobia (or Black Kingfish). Nick crumbed and pan fried it, and served it with salad, and it was SUPERB! Big thanks to Trevor and Pam for making our farewell party dinner such a good one.

Here are some of my favourite shots taken around beautiful Hamilton Island...

The stylish Hamilton Island Yacht Club, one of the first buildings you see upon entering the marina.

Another view of the yacht club.

The hanging verandah of the Hamilton Island Yacht Club, looking across the passage to Dent Island.

Lucey Blue alongside F-arm at the Hamilton Island Marina.

Looking out over the Hamilton Island Marina, with Dent Island in the background.

The Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo, a not-so-welcome visitor on Lucey Blue. These pretty devils will chew holes in anything if you let them hang about.

The kids spent hours in the huge main pool (which also had a pool bar...bring on the pink lemonade)!

Island touring in golf buggy style.

We left Hamilton Island this morning, and are currently motoring towards the north end of Hook Island. Our plan is to overnight in one of the bays up there, and then tomorrow we may head back out to the reef for some more diving and snorkelling.