Whitsunday Islands:
Sailing bliss on a tall ship
There’s so much you can do in Australia, the possibilities are truly endless. But, most people think of the beaches and surfing, scuba diving or outback adventures. There’s so much more. One of the best times that I’ve had on the continent was six days I spent sailing on a tall ship, the Solway Lass.
Sailing from Airlee Beach, the Lass runs three day cruises of the Whitsunday Islands, a beautiful archipelago inside the Great Barrier Reef. When I did the tour, I did a six day option that they don’t offer any more.
Living on a working tall ship is interesting. Although there are around thrity passengers and only five crew, the crew does most of the work. Passengers are expected to haul or hold ropes occasionally, but all of the rigging work and heavy work is done by the small crew. You travel with your own chef, and eat five or six times a day (you’ll need it).
You can add scuba diving to your adventure for an extra fee (snorkeling is free, and the time we saw a sea turtle was while we were snorkeling in relatively shallow water – maybe 3 metres). The scuba diving is well worth the money (as is renting a wet suit, which I would recommend even if you’re only snorkeling).
We anchored in Hayman island (on the opposite side from one of Australia’s most exclusive resorts) the first night. Hayman Island may have one of the most expensive resorts in the southern hemisphere, but our beach was a pebble beach and not very comfortable.
If you know the Whitsunday Islands at all, you know Whitehaven Beach. It always is in the top ten lists of best beaches by Condé Nast and other snotty travel magazines. Whitehaven beach is 7 km of the purest sand you’ll ever see. To the north is a shallow river mouth that is full of stingrays, and behind the south end there are monitor lizards big enough to give you nightmares. The sand in Whitehaven is so fine that it will get into and damage electronics and cameras.
From the look out over Whitehaven Beach, we could see the sleeping sting rays in the shallows were the river met the ocean. Whitehaven beach is said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It was very beautiful, but very crowded, as every resort sends out ferry-sized ships full of their guests. We got to the beach about an hour before the crowds arrived, so that was good. We had some time there alone.
From Whitsunday Island, we went to Haslewood Island, and climbed a sandy hill to watch the sun set. The view was beautiful, but it turned out that this uninhabited island is full of poisonous snakes, and we weren’t supposed to climb that hill. I saw a nice pattern in the sand and showed someone who said that it was a snake’s trail.It was while we were approaching Haslewood beach that we observed a small pod of dolphins playing in the shallow waters.
We went down almost as far as Lindeman Island and Shaw Island that trip. although that is not usually part of the itinerary. The winds will partially dictate your course, just like in the olden days. The ship does have a motor, but it is most fun when it’s running under sail. It was on the Haslewood to Lindeman leg that we saw distant whales surfacing.
We visited Hamilton Island, another famous resort island, and bombed around in golf carts (a word of warning, they don’t have good brakes and some of the hills are deceptively steep. I think that’s when my hair started going grey.) On Hamilton Island there are a bunch of secluded celebrity houses including the late George Harrison’s last home.
As we came from Hamilton Island back toward Airlee Beach, we were running under full sail with a trailing wind pushing us along. The sailing was incredible, even more so on the second leg of the trip, when the weather was a bit rougher, but the winds were much steadier.
Running from Hamilton up to Airlee was an odd experience because under full sail, the Solway Lass becomes her own tourist magnet. We had helicopters and sea planes buzzing the ship, small (comparatively) yachts and cabin cruisers pacing us and everyone shouting and waving. It felt like we were celebrities.
Onboard life is nice if crowded. You’ll be sharing a cabin with three or more others. The showers only work when the ship is at rest, which is usually at the end of the day, so you’ll have a crusty build up of sea salt in your hair by then. Ladies, don’t even bother with make up or hair dryers. But bring sun block!
The food is good, and generous. The crew is approachable and out for adventure also, and they will make sure that your evenings are entertaining. The bar runs a tab, which can be dangerous if you aren’t wise.
When at anchor, you’ll get a chance to try the “Tarzan rope” a rope that is attached high up on the mast and that has knots at the bottom. You walk forward to the bow, and holding the rope jump out over the water. Theoretically, you let go at the rope’s apex. Most people fall in earlier than that.
On the second leg of my six day adventure, I had a mostly new group of fellow travelers (as most only take the three day trip) and rougher weather. It was a completely different experience, and a good one as well. Even with the odd storm, no one was noticeably sick, as the waters are fairly protected by the islands and the reef.
The whole trip is well worth the cost, but it may be outside of a backpacker’s budget. three day trips start around Aus$500, including accommodation in a hostel one night each before and after.
