I’m Dreaming of Sailing the Whitsundays…
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
The thing is, I’ve actually done this myself. Perhaps this is why I was so envious. A friend’s dad is what we in Queensland-Australia call a ‘grotty yachtie’. He lives permanently on a boat in a local marina. One day a few years ago, my friend asked me if I wanted to go with them on a cruise around the Whitsundays, in Queensland-Australia. Is the pope a catholic? I thought. ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘I haven’t got anything else on, so why not?’ And so, I was lucky enough to spend two glorious weeks island-hopping amongst 74 snippets of paradise (there are 74 Whitsunday islands in total).
There’s really nothing like sailing. The wind in your hair, silence but for the sound of the boat slicing through the water (and sometimes, depending on how many rums my friend’s dad had had, the sound of ACDC blaring from the on-board speakers). The smells of sea salt and sunscreen. The mornings were spent sailing to some new destination, based on what the winds were doing. By mid-morning, we’d be anchored somewhere and, after a quick picnic on the deck in the sun, we’d spend the afternoons swimming in the crystal-clear waters. We’d go snorkelling, trying our best tofind nemo (we found him!), or just spend hours sitting on the deck and chatting, enjoy the day. At night, we’d enjoy a few bevvies over sunset, and my friend would get out his guitar and we’d sing a few tunes. We’d then bunker down for some shut-eye before doing it all again the next day. It really was heaven on earth.
The thing is, this experience is not just for the rich, or people who have friends whose father’s happen to have yachts. Down in the Whitsundays, in Queensland-Australia, you can actually hire a yacht to skipper yourself. It’s called a Bareboat Charter. You can roam around until your heart’s content. Sounds expensive, right? Wrong. Provided you get a few friends together, you might find that this experience is really very affordable. No more than a night’s accommodation at a modest hotel. Take your own food and supplies and it becomes borderline cheap! Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
Admittedly, my friend’s yacht is not in top knick. It looks a little rusty and a little well-used. Nonetheless, seeing those photos sparked something inside me. I’ve added ‘Do a Bareboat Charter’ to my to-do-list. Just before doing the washing and cleaning the house, in fact.
Colin Burnett
PS have you seen this opportunity? Check it out!
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