Cyndi and Rich aboard Legacy
May 29, 2024
We’re currently in the Banggai Islands in Indonesia, and Rich has been getting nice drone footage by keeping the camera still and letting nature provide the movement. I’ve thought some of these would be nice to share.
This footage was taken early in the morning off Peleng Island, in the Banggai Islands off Sulawesi, Indonesia. –Cyndi
May 28, 2024
While doing some research as we made our way up the Queensland coast, both through the internet and conversations with Aussie cruisers, I got the impression that peak season in the Whitsundays can be a bit of nightmare. Strong winds not only limit the tenable anchorages, they can also make those anchorages rolly and uncomfortable.
Then there’s the overcrowding. It’s advised that Whitsunday boaters always have a plan B anchorage since it’s common to arrive at one’s destination and find no room. With peak-season crowds, one also needs Plans C and D, or maybe reservations at a marina.
So, why do so many boaters crowd into the Whitsunday Islands between June and early September? The main reason is to avoid cyclone season.
Technically, cyclone season ends in early May and begins in November. However because of the time it takes yachties to make their way up the Queensland coast, many don’t arrive until June. This also means the cruising fleet needs to head south well before November to get out of Queensland (the border of which is a 650-mile, multi-stop journey south of the Whitsundays) before cyclone season. In fact, I’ve noticed that even October makes Aussie cruisers nervous about cyclones. Many prefer to head for the safety of the southern states or cyclone-rated marinas by mid-September. Of course, work schedules can also shorten one’s cruising window.
Cyclone season also coincides with the arrival of tropical heat, humidity, rain, and the proliferation of deadly jellyfish (particularly box and irukandji jellyfish), all of which make chartering a boat or even visiting as a land-based tourist less appealing during that time.
Meanwhile, two major regattas, Airlie Beach Race Week and Hamilton Island Race Week, take place in August. The excitement of sailboat racing combined with numerous festivities is a huge draw for the yacht club and racing crowds. Many people want to be here for race time!
Other than race-week partakers, the best time for anyone, whether they are boat or land travelers, to visit the Whitsundays is during the second half of May (since the first half is both windy and the tail end of cyclone season) and the second half of September through October (when the trade winds die down and the crowds disperse). These periods offer both settled weather and reasonable crowds.
I made this chart below. The good times are highlighted with bold font.
Best Whitsunday Cruising Times
| January | Cyclone season, heat, humidity, rain, deadly jellyfish |
| February | Cyclone season, heat, humidity, rain, deadly jellyfish |
| March | Autumn windy period, cyclone season, heat, humidity, rain, deadly jellyfish |
| April | Autumn windy period, cyclone season, heat, humidity, rain, deadly jellyfish |
| Early to mid-May | Autumn windy period, cyclone possibility, deadly jellyfish |
| Mid to Late May | Good time! Early fall windy period and cyclone risk fading, crowds not yet peaked, jellyfish dispersing |
| June | Strong Tradewinds, Overcrowding |
| July | Strong Tradewinds, Overcrowding |
| August | Strong Tradewinds, Overcrowding, Race Weeks mean extra crowds. |
| September (1st half) | Better: crowds start to disperse, trades start to die down. |
| September (2nd half) through October | Good time! Although dangerous jellyfish do show up during October, necessitating the need for stinger suits. |
| November | Cyclone season begins, heat, humidity, rain, deadly jellyfish |
| December | Cyclone season, heat, humidity, rain, deadly jellyfish |
This adds up to a total of about 2 months of good cruising time, but only 1 ½ months of this is consecutive. It’s sobering to see the limited times when the Whitsundays are actually nice for cruisers spelled out so plainly.
Incidentally, mid-September through October is a popular (and expensive) time for yacht chartering, but with the privately-owned boats gone, anchorages are less crowded.
It’s amusing to read the websites of charter-boat companies urging people to rent in November and December with statements like, ‘Brief, light showers add charm to the warm weather.’ What a creative way to describe the hot, humid, and rainy season! There’s little mention of cyclones or the need to wear stinger suits in the water because of the jellyfish. Naturally, any discussion about sharks is totally avoided, although it seems they warn their customers before they actually head off in their rented yachts.
Now that I’ve exposed some hidden issues behind cruising the Whitsundays, I should resume blogging about our actual time there!
I guess ‘exposed’ seems like a strong word since these issues aren’t really secret; they just aren’t made apparent. Something all travelers need to keep in mind is that people involved in the tourism industry (which includes travel writing, running hospitality or retail businesses, managing boat and equipment rentals, or promoting rallies) don’t really have the customers’ best interests at heart.
They certainly want you to have a good time, but in the end, they have their own best interests (profits) at heart. This means that some things get over-hyped while other issues are kept firmly on the down-low. I’m not criticizing anyone for this—after all, Rich and I have been business owners and know about facing ethical dilemmas while trying to make a living. This is more of a ‘buyer beware’ sort of stance.
It’s easy when listening to a so-called ‘authority figure’ to hear information that jibes with what you want or expect to hear. But while ignoring or discarding unpleasant truths might make us feel good in the short term, it doesn’t serve us in the long run.
I’m getting into other issues now, so I’ll wrap this up and get back to our own Whitsunday experience. –Cyndi
Posted May 25, 2024
about September 22, 2022
Today, I felt excited and nervous as we prepared to set sail for the Whitsundays. I was excited to finally visit these islands, yet anxious about figuring out how to cruise through them in a timely manner.
The Whitsunday Island group includes dozens of islands and islets. While only a few of these islands have good anchorages, it would still be a challenge to choose the most worthwhile spots, visit them during suitable weather conditions, and manage to do so in a sensible order to avoid zig-zagging around. Last but not least, I wanted to make this excursion as enjoyable as possible for Rich.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Rich was not much enjoying this part of Australia. If it were up to him, we would have skipped the Whitsundays entirely. But for me, this was a dream destination; skipping this area was unthinkable! Rich agreed to go for my sake, and I agreed to choose just a few anchorages and get us through this area as quickly as possible. In a sense, Rich would be like a survivor contestant suffering through an endurance trail. I would try to make this endurance trial as comfortable as possible for him. Maybe he could even enjoy it.
I’ve developed a lot of skills during our years of cruising, but my greatest superpower is getting my sometimes-wary partner to enjoy places he’s not quite convinced he’ll like.
We had one lucky happenstance: we were arriving late in the season, which meant the trade winds were dying down. These winds make many of the east and south-facing anchorages nonviable. In fact, we had entered a period of light northerlies, which would make the cruising here much easier.
Below is a map of the Whitsunday Islands. As you can see, many of the most interesting-looking bays face south or east, making them ill-suited for the trade wind season (which is also the peak cruising season). We were lucky to be here after those winds died down.
I had made my first choice for anchorages. The forecast called for a few days of light northerlies, so it was a perfect opportunity to visit the two large bays on the south end of Whitsunday Island: Turtle Bay and Chance Bay. They both featured white sand beaches and water in tropical shades of blue. Chance Bay also boasted a walking trail to the area’s most famous landmark, Whitehaven Beach. Below, a map.
I decided we should start with Turtle Bay. The trip there would take only three hours; so we could spend a relaxed afternoon exploring the area by dinghy after we arrived.
And so we set off into another misty morning, the glassy sea making a mirror reflection of the sky above. The view surrounding us was filled with island landscapes. It was difficult to tell what was what!
We marveled at the large angled peak of unusually-shaped Pentecost Island, which seemed to change its appearance from every angle. There aren’t any good anchorages there, but adventure-seekers sometimes hire a speedboat to bring them over so they can climb to the peak.
We also got a good look at Hamilton Island, which I planned for us to visit for some marina and resort time. Although Hamilton Island is considered part of the Whitsunday Islands, it’s not part of the National Park, which has allowed for quite a bit of tourism development. And it showed! The photo with the high-rises is actually from the more remote backside of the island. The other side is much more developed!
Whitsunday Island, on the other hand, is completely undeveloped, its beautiful green mountains covered with pristine forest. However, it sees quite a bit of boat traffic. Speed boats bring tourists from the mainland for afternoon jaunts, while visiting yachts crowd the anchorages. This is exacerbated by the large number of charter yachts available. Another advantage to our late arrival is that the crowds had died down, and it looked like Turtle Bay had plenty of room.
Below, photos of our approach to both Whitsunday Island and Turtle Bay.
At this point in the post I went on to talk about the issues with cruising the Whitsunday Islands. I have decided to make it a separate post, coming up next. –Cyndi
May 14, 2024
This is how we feel walking down the streets of Indonesia…
Every time we take to the streets we’re met with love and almost adulation from the locals. They often stop us to take selfies with us. We try to communicate the best we can but there’s a big language barrier. Duolingo for the past few months and Google Translate have helped somewhat with that.
“Halo Mister!” and even “I love you!” are shouted by the locals. Cyndi always wonders what we’ve done to deserve this. The locals are truly wonderful, making us feel incredibly welcome here. We’ve also been made to feel the way Taylor Swift must feel walking down a New York City street. If you want to know what fame feels like, visit Indonesia.
-Rich
Update: May 17, 2024
Imagine our surprise when we found the real deal on the street in Luwuk, Sulawesi!
May 12, 2024
… even when anchored too close to the reef!
This was a place called Luk Panenteng. This was our second time trying to anchor here. It’s either too deep (300+ feet) or too shallow (less than 3 feet). I guess we were a little desperate this time. We found a spot about 45 feet deep but too close to the reef to put out enough scope¹.
All would have been fine if not for the ripping current that runs through here. We drug anchor but fortunately, it was along the reef and not into it. We had a very tight anchor alarm zone set that woke us up at 3AM. We saw that the anchor grabbed and after a bit of watching and worrying, went back to sleep.
The picture above was taken at the change of current as the boat was turning. I was shocked to see how close to the reef we got, but I guess no harm, no foul.
-Rich
1. We usually try to anchor with about 5 or 6 to 1 anchor chain to depth ratio. That would have meant 225 feet of chain. When in deeper water, we feel like 3:1 is okay. That would mean 135 feet of chain. If we got a squall blowing us towards the reef, that would let us hit. Instead, we only put out 120 feet of chain.
If you add our 3 feet of freeboard to the 45 feet of water, that makes a ratio of 2.5:1. This is really not enough scope and that’s why our anchor drug at current change.
