Guest contrributor, Katie Larson, onboard Aphelion with husband Cameron Larson August 8-13

After a stop in Sydney, Brisbane and a delayed JetStar flight into Proserpine, we joined Elizabeth and Peter late Saturday evening at Abel Point Marina in Airlie Beach. We first talked of this trip when aboard Aphelion in Sydney Harbour New Year's Day. Hard to believe we're here and that it's almost over with our flight back to Los Angeles, less than 4 days away. But, back to our first day on Aphelion...
We awoke Sunday to beautiful skies and excitement, pulling out of the marina a bit past 10:00am. The wind was up and so were the sails. A couple of hours later we were anchored off our first Whitsunday Island, Hook Island, in the Stonehaven Bay. It was time for lunch. Let me digress and state right now that Elizabeth is a great menu planner and cook. And she's versatile! Meals were made with the stove, the microwave, the toaster, the Weber, the barbecue and a propane camp stove. From stir fry to eggs on toast, all was great. Thank you for feeding us well and often. Sous chef Peter did a very admirable job on the grills, by the way. We also had great champagne, VB, gin and tonics, as well as great Sauvignon Blanc wines with each dinner.
After a windy night in Stonehaven, we tried to sail up and over Hook Island to Whitehaven Beach. The seas were a bit rough at the top, so we turned around, heading back past Hayman and the bottom of Hook Island to the beautiful Nara Inlet. P&E had been here a few times and we were very happy they decided to try it again, as we loved it. We visited the Aboriginal caves mentioned in a past blog and enjoyed our gin and tonics on the deck in the middle of the gorgeous scenery.
Tuesday we left Nara and motored along the bottom of Hook Island. The wind wasn't right to get the sails up, but we enjoyed the trip through turquoise seas and past wooded islands. As we passed through the narrow passage between Hook and Whitsunday Islands, Peter said "Now it's time for the whales". And just a few minutes later, there they were! At least three whales were at play, splashing and fluking and diving. We turned the boat for a closer view and enjoyed the whale frolics for about 20 minutes. Perfect!
Next was a visit to Whitehaven Beach where there were lots of backpackers and people from the island resorts. Helicopters and seaplanes were there, too. We had a walk and a swim and it was our first chance to admire Aphelion from the shore. What a beauty! After lunch onboard, we decided to sail for Cid Harbour for the evening. Around the bottom of Whitsunday Island, with Hamilton in sight, Peter called to see if there was an open berth for the night. We were in luck! We pulled into GN21 on Hamilton Island for the night. Dinner and drinks in town, the boat plugged in and laundry done.
Wednesday we rented a golf cart/buggy and toured the island before casting off into the calmest seas that P&E had seen their entire trip. While there was no wind for sailing, it made for a very comfortable ride on the front deck, of which Elizabeth and I took full advantage. As we approached South Molle Island, we couldn't raise them on the radio and no one appeared to be onshore. It reminded me a bit of a scary movie where you wonder why in the world those people are going on an island that appears to be deserted when there is scary music playing. Peter and Cam went ashore to check things out at the newly named "Koala Adventure Island". We lost sight of them but did hear a chain saw - visions of cigar smoking koalas attacking Peter and Cam with chainsaws... They did return, though, with not much to report. The four of us took the dinghy in, sat around the pool for awhile and had a swim. Elizabeth found out that only 8 people were staying at the resort and the bar wouldn't open until 6p. With that frightening report, we left. Calm seas over to Cid Harbour and whales twice along the way.
It's our last night aboard and we can't believe it's gone so fast. I just came in from looking at the Milky Way, the Southern Cross and stars that go right to the horizon. This has been a great time with dear friends and we will be talking about this for years. We look forward to reading more in the blogs to come. Thanks, Elizabeth and Peter for sharing Aphelion with us.