The Whitsundays - Sailing with Mick

The Whitsundays are a collection of islands off the Queensland Coast, a place that we had planned to explore on a backpacker tour. We couldn't believe our luck while going through the help exchange site, coming across a chap that was looking for some help on his yacht. We contacted Mick, set up dates and after an overnight bus ride to Airlie Beach we met him at the Sailing Club. All of our bags were stuffed into the boot of his car and with only bare necessities in hand we set off on a tender to Yandeena, his 42 foot yacht.

Mick is 50 years old and after a divorce 3 years ago decided to buy and live on a yacht. He works at a nearby coal mine and has a roster of 4 days on/ 4 days off. He's absolutely mad about sailing and loves showing people his backyard. We sailed for 3 days and besides helping with the good stuff, like steering and deck duties, we did absolutely no work. We only took some beer and wine and Mick took care of everything else (and even did the cooking).

Our first afternoon was spent sailing through the Hook Passage to Border Island, where we moored for the night. Day 2 took us through the Whitsunday Passage in strong winds and a big swell. Mick showed us Hill Inlet and Whitehaven beach and then we retraced our route back through the passage and around Pinnacle Point to Maureen's Cove. Here we put on our stinger suits (protecting us from the deadly jelly-fish sometimes found) and spent an hour snorkelling amongst amazing coral and wildlife. We spent the night in Stonehaven Bay, a place with great sunsets and good protection from the persistent south-easter.

The sail back to Airlie Beach was fantastic with calmer seas, a great wind and a couple of dolphins surfing alongside. After thanking Mick and saying our goodbyes we walked back into town, shocked that we'd just had an unbelievable 3-day adventure that cost us nothing.