.: Sailing the Whitsunday Islands

This is a shot of our boat taken from the dinghy

I never thought for one second that sailing would be on our agneda. At least not on this trip. We were fortunate enough to spend 3 days and two nights onboard Matador, the largest racing yacht ever built, and sailed around the many beautiful islands of Whitsundays. The boat has competed in 52 races, 8 regattas, and 2 World Maxi Championships undefeated. To purchase one of these speedy little sailing boats would set you back a mere US$20 million.

On the day of departure we were driven to the harbor early in the morning to meet the other guests and board the yacht. I think there were 12 of us in total. I looked up and frowned at the overcast sky which threatened to rain at any moment. I wondered what the weather had in store for us over the next three days and asked one of the crew members for a forecast. As he gathered what seemed to be a neverending piece of rope he replied, "maybe 25 knots". I wasn't exactly sure what that meant and asked him the same question again but in a slightly different way... "will it be sunny and stay dry?" He confirmed it should be nice weather for the most of the trip, but as for the knots... I'll get to that later.

It wasn't long before we made ourselves comfortable on deck and started cruising. In addition to the 12 guests on board we were accompanied by a host, two crew members and a skipper. The skipper, who looked a bit like Jack Nicholson (so I called him Skipper Jack), briefed us about what to expect over the next three days and also, more surprisingly, what was expected of us. Because the Matador is a racing yacht, it requires a minimum of 14 people to opperate it successfully. Apparently we had just joined the crew. Within minutes after his talk he cut the engine and asked for 8 volunteers to assist in pulling up the sails. Ali and I both volunteered. As we frantically started winding I could see the sail above us getting pulled higher and watched as it started flapping in the wind like crazy. Once it stabilised we sailed swiftly towards the islands in the distance.

The front of the boat during sail

After about an hour of sailing I couldn't help but notice an eerie dark patch of sea up ahead. It was a storm. Skipper Jack told us to hold on tight as he sailed right into it. First, it started raining. Heavily. Then the winds picked up. And then they picked up a bit more. The next thing we knew, our boat was almost horizontal and the top of the sail was way too close to the surface of the water. The entire group grasped onto the opposite edge of the boat in fear. It was at this point when I realised what the ledges on the surface of the deck were for. Feet! At first it was fun, but after a while of it progressively getting worse I started to panick. The problem was that we had not been told to expect such conditions. I had no idea if what we were experiencing was normal. I studied Skipper Jack´s facial expressions to determine whether he looked scared or not. Surely that would be an indication. I mean, if he was scared, then I should almost certainly have been soiling my pants!

We survived the storm and I later asked one of the crew members how intese it was on the grand scale of extreme sailing. It wasn't even close. We had experienced wind speed of about 22 knots. Gale force is between 30 to 40, and the Matador has survived almost 60 before! From then on, my mind was at ease and I enjoyed every second of it. In fact, I could hardly wait for the next one.

Taken just before we sailed through a storm

Throughout the trip Skipper Jack anchored the boat for lunch as well as in the evening to eat dinner sleep. He would often sail into a small enclosure that offered superb views of remote beaches and other islands in the distance. The food was consistantly good and our group was full of friendly people to talk to.

The crew and it's passengers

Ali and I both snorkeled at various locations which was great except for the stingers. Unfortunately it's that horrid time of year when lethal jelly fish litter the waters around the Great Barrier Reef. Stinger suits offered 98% protection against their attack but I was still apprehensive. I always entered the water with confidence and optimism. I had loads of fun seeing all types of different fish and diving down to take closer looks. I would just start to think about how wonderful it was that there were no jelly fish until all of a sudden I would look up and see eight of them bobbing up and down all around me. A mine field! My usual course of action would be panick followed by extreme kicking and crazy arm movements in all directions while trying to establish an exit point. After about 30 minutes or so of dodging these nasty creatures I would eventullly realise that I was no longer having fun any more and retire back to the yacht for a cup of tea.