ISLAND HEAD TO THE WHITSUNDAYS

After having left Great Kepple Island, we headed to Island Head, a good day's sail further north but with us being early cruisers this year, there weren't too many other yachts to be seen so we were thrilled when we rounded the corner of Island Head to find 3 monohulls sitting at anchor. We were sure we'd spend time getting to know them over the following days as the weather had taken a turn for the worse & we knew we wouldn't be going anywhere for at least 5 days. Meanwhile, through having been to Island Head numerous times in the past & knowing where to look for the black-lipped oysters, we looked forward to continuing the seafood extravaganza for Mum & Dad.



Wet & very windy conditions kept us boat bound for our first day at Island Head but there was no stopping us the following day at low tide. Rees & I slipped & sloshed our way around the rocks until we had a good feed of huge oysters, taking some back in their shells to show Mum & Dad just how big they were. Next on the agenda, was whiting fishing & although there seemed to be plenty of them, initially the tides were all wrong for us. We needed a low tide & that wasn't happening until later in the afternoon so it meant that we were still fishing when we should've been indulging in our regular afternoon "Happy Hour"! Oh such problems us yachties have to contend with!



Because we'd tucked ourselves away into a little protected corner of the creek, we didn't actually see much of our fellow yachties at Island Head because it was just too miserable to be off our yachts most of the time. Therefore, when we weren't fishing late in the afternoons, we were usually laying around reading to pass the time of day. By day 3, I really needed to spend some time off the boat so Rees & I braved the elements & went ashore to walk the long sandy beaches. There was a lot of debris strewn around the eroding sand dunes so looking at the scattered flotsam & jetsam took our minds off the howling southerlies. There were the usual thongs, fishing lines, ropes & plastic buckets but suddenly something quite colourful took our eye so we scurried over to see what it was & found a native mask half buried in the sand! Where had it come from? Of course we let our imaginations run wild & pictured it having floated across the Pacific Ocean from PNG or some such exotic location, but it could've been created by some bored yachtie who had nothing better to do than paint an old palm frond.

Crabs were non-existent at Island Head but it wasn't for lack of trying so thankfully with the fish biting & the plentiful black-lipped oysters, there was still plenty of seafood on offer. Further north Rees promised coral trout & crayfish, something that Mum & Dad had never eaten whilst onboard, although they'd heard plenty about these little delicacies & looked forward to them if Rees could provide.

Meanwhile, after having been held up at Island Head for 5 days with the wind howling & the rain squalling, we were all ready for a change of scenery & hit the track as soon as the weather forecast looked promising. Quite unexpectedly, on Easter Sunday, we had a call for 15-20 knot S.E. winds so took off in a rush as soon as we'd heard the weather report. We weren't sure how rough the seas would be after such a long spate of strong winds but we were pleasantly surprised when we hit the open seas to find rather good sailing conditions.

Hexham Island was our destination, a 42 mile day, but with speeds averaging 7 knots over that time, we were at the island by early afternoon, thinking that we could've quite easily gone further to Percy Island & made it before dark. In hindsight, that woud've been a great idea as we'd forgotten just what an uncomfortable anchorage Hexham Island could be. With strong bullets of wind gusting over the mountain top & into the bay below, poor "Windy Spirit" rocked & rolled all night. She was like a wild animal trying to free herself from her restraints but thankfully the trusty new anchor held fast & we didn't budge, although none of us slept with the continual howling of the wind. We were all very glad to leave at first light the following morning where we made our way to Curlew Island, before then heading to Scawfell Island where Rees was keen to go diving.

After a few constant days of very early mornings & long days of sailing, we all looked forward to spending 2 consecutive days at anchor, even though we didn't have the best of weather. The winds had abated & left us with calm seas which was nice, but the sky was heavy & grey with sleeting rain that kept us locked away inside the boat most of the time. However, Rees didn't care about rain & was soon in the water looking for those elusive crays & coral trout. He dived for about 2 hours by himself, skirting the rocky headlands looking for his prey & returned to the boat with a big cheesy grin from ear to ear! I knew that I had to get the cameras out to capture the moment when he presented a lovely crayfish & 6 coral trout to Mum & Dad. Wow---were they impressed!!!!

Next stop, the Whitsundays.