Hill Inlet - July 22, 1999

Hill Inlet - July 22, 1999

We got up early and motored the tender to Hill Inlet around Tongue Point.  The breeze was still quite fresh, about 15 knots from the southeast.  We faced the wind and waves as we left Tongue Bay and dinghied south into Hill Inlet.

Hill Inlet at low tide

Hill Inlet is mostly sand.  We had gotten up about 6:15am to get there at high tide (6:41am).  Dad thought we'd have enough water to explore the Inlet with the dinghy.  As it turns out, even at high tide there is less than 2 feet of water at the entrance to Hill Inlet.  Instead of using the dinghy, we anchored in the now-falling tide and hiked on the beach.
While Dad was anchoring the tender, he literally walked into a group of 15 or 20 small rays, about 18" to 24" wing tip to wing tip.  They were slowly cruising  the shallows off the beach at Hill Inlet.  Although it was hard for the others to see the rays as they looked east into the reflection of the rising sun, my sons and wife all saw some of the rays swimming off the beach.  My older son and I found sand dollars on the same beach.
My older son piloted the dinghy back to "Temptress," still anchored in Tongue Bay.
We tried sailing with both reefed main and genoa, but the main seemed to be blanketing the jib.  We then copied the other boats and dropped the mainsail to sail under the full genny alone.
We motored through Hook Passage and across Macona Inlet.  With the wind now on our beam, we raised the double-reefed main and the double reefed jib.  We were now off on the most exhilarating sail of the Whitsunday's trip!
In breezes of 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots, we sailed from Hook Island to Abel Point Marina, about 14 miles, in about 2.25 hours!  We were frequently sailing at over 7 knots and even hit 7.8 knots at one point!  Since we were double reefed, we were never heeled more than 20 degrees.  It was a bouncy ride, but the waves were choppy at 1 to 2 feet, never more than 3 feet.  It was a grand sail!
After being directed by CCY to a mooring, we dinghied ashore.  My wife and I made sure all took showers, did laundry, then made plans.  We "organized" a dive trip for my older son and I while my wife and younger son were setup for a day trip to "Barefoot Bushman's" wildlife park.
A cab took us the short ride to "Charlie's," a pizza pub in Airlie Beach.  After a nice, cheap dinner, we walked through the main street of Airlie Beach.  My older son, wife and I each checked our email at an internet café.  Since it was only half a mile, we walked to the marina.
The moon was quite bright, so finding "Temptress" at her mooring in the dark was pretty easy.