Whitsunday sunset sensation

When David Colfelt first published his guide to Australia’s finest cruising ground in 1985, his exhaustive, reliable detail on each nook and cranny of the Whitsunday islands has been, and continues to be, appreciated by all those who explore these turquoise waters. One must not leave home without a copy!

Named the 100 magic miles for a reason, there’s always a safe anchorage to go to no matter what the weather throughout the Cumberland Island group – or for marketing purposes, the Whitsundays.

Plenty of beach to explore

Time to watch one of nature's best shows

With constant south easterly winds blowing between 15 and 25 knots, our planned journey south was diverted to Plan B – go where the wind blows. Which actually should always be the only plan, as true cruising yachties will testify. So, in this case we re-entered the southern group of islands under headsail alone and made our way to the less frequented anchorage of Burning Point, on the western side of Shaw Island.

It's easier sailing with the wind behind you! Thought we'd do a fire pump drill on our way to seeking refuge at Shaw Island.

Avoiding the extensive fringing reef, we practiced our skills in dropping anchor while under sail and sat back and admired the view. We could see Lindeman Island with its deserted resort to the north, Seaforth Island opposite, and reflected on a previous adventure with our International 23 catamaran. And if I remember rightly, we were going against the breeze that time too!

The first Lady K beached at Seaforth Island, opposite Shaw Island, on our delivery trip from Mackay to Airlie Beach two years previously.

This time visiting the area we were a little more comfortable onboard our Peterson 43, but to access the beach we had to take the dinghy instead of beaching ashore. I’ll let the photos continue to do the talking on this stunning anchorage. If you wish, Lady Katherine can take you there!

Our calm anchorage in a 25 knot south easterly -  Lady Katherine in the distance

These mangrove roots provide a sanctuary for small marine life. We spotted a few rays and fish in the shallows on the shoreline.

Looking-glass mangrove (Heritiera littoralis)

Lindeman Island in the distance

Burning Point at its best

Lady K test sail

We managed to get our International 23 catamaran on the water for a test sail after a month's work tidying her up. Not before we spent a morning putting everything back together, including the trampoline.

Nearly finished!

The arduous task of replacing the trampoline.

The trailer set up worked well for launching the boat, although we have to make sure there is enough water under her each time so a tide table will come handy. 

Trailer set up

Down the ramp she goes

The winds were a favourable 15 knots from the south east, a lovely change from the hideous hot northerlies we can sometimes experience over summer in the Whitsundays.

She floats!

No bottle of champagne for her relaunch, but we did have great sail in Pioneer Bay, surrounded by the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. Gary ran us through some drills of hoisting the spinnaker, trimming sails, tacking and gybing, to get us ready for Wednesday Twilight racing. We made some classic rookie mistakes - wineglass and trawling for prawns just to name a couple, but Gary's expertise and training will put us on track.

Check out the video of Lady K with her spinnaker flying. 

Hose down

After wash down, we celebrated with beer and pizzas by the pool and looking forward to our next outing.