Airlie in the morning

Airlie Beach was my stopover for two days until the rest of the crew arrived on Sunday. I suppose this was really my first main destination all along when I left home on 14th November so it has taken me exactly 28 very enjoyable days to get here. Michael & Jane, on the other hand, managed to make it from London in a little over 24 hours - how boring is that ?

Airlie is a real backpacker centre with plenty of hostels, shady bars, and eateries and the prices are good value compared to the inflated Irish prices we have all become used to in recent times. Last night, I had an excellent dinner of sole (on the bone) and chips for AUS$21.95 (about €11). Wines start at AUS$25 a bottle, with most mid range wines (e.g. Oyster Bay SB) being priced at about AUS$35 (approx €17).

Just around the corner from Airlie Beach is Abel Point Marina. This is the last marina we’ll see until we hand the boat back at Hamilton Island on Monday 22nd as all of our overnight stops will be at anchorages for the next week. The latest forecast I have seen is for F5/F6 (20-25 knots) from between SW and SE. Just like sailing at home, tides will need to be factored into our passage and anchoring plans. We are just coming off springs now which means that we can expect tidal streams of 4 to 5 knots in some of the passages between the islands (not quite as bad as between Rathlin Island and Fair Head) and the range (at springs) is about 4 metres so anchoring in shallow waters will need careful planning.