He was a sailor – I was not…

-Written by guest blogger Iris & Andrew who chartered our Grainger 40 in June 2017

We’d talked about it many times. He was a sailor and I was not.  Sailing was in his blood. He had put it there and it remained. When life offered a space to dream, it was cruising to remote islands that occupied his mind.

I had been on his monohull yacht with him, and enjoyed it, but it was cramped below deck and the smell from the loo was pretty strong. You had to be keen. So we talked about hiring a yacht, perhaps a small one – we could share the cost – and take a week sailing around the Whitsunday islands.

As we trolled through the available yachts for the first week in June we came across a Grainger 40 catamaran.  Whitsunday Escape offered the yacht at an expensive but manageable price.

‘Why don’t we charter this one, ’ I suggested.

‘Way too big,’ he replied.

‘Couldn’t you handle it? I’m sure you could?’

He paused for a moment and then decided.

‘Let’s do it. It will be strange sailing another boat, but this one’s a beauty.’

The destruction meted out by Cyclone Debbie spared the yachts moored at Abell Point Marina. We had paid our deposit and thought perhaps our little dream holiday had been destroyed by the high winds. This was not to be – the day arrived and we caught the bus from Proserpine Airport to Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Escape office. The staff were extremely relaxed, professional and helpful from day one of our trip.

The yacht, ‘No Ties’ was great, really comfortable and set up for a couple or a family to relax. The basic open plan of the catamaran allowed for easy access from the living space to the galley. Lighting options gave us soft lighting in the evening, and the stereo system, the means to create the mood of our choice. The bathroom was spacious, with flushing (no pumping) toilets.

Probably my favourite time of day was lying on the crisp white sheets looking out at the stars, whilst being lulled to sleep by the moving tide.

We would recommend Whitsunday Escape and will be returning for another idyllic week in the Whitsunday Islands as soon as life and time allow it.

Some more photos of ‘No Ties’ our Grainger 40 sailing catamaran:

Want to go bareboating in the Whitsundays?

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