Sailing around Australia; Joining the Shaggers

Gloucester Passage, Queensland

14/9/2015 Joining the Shaggers

Our Sailing around Australia adventures aboard Easy Tiger have brought us to the mecca of cruising sailing in Australia, the Whitsunday Islands. The capital of this cruising sailing heartland is the town of Airlie Beach.

Airlie Beach is home to a number of yacht and catamaran charter companies. This is where many a novice sailor (including us seven years ago) can simply hire a yacht or catamaran just like hiring a car.

For aspiring cruising sailors, we would highly recommend this avenue that gives a true test or try before you buy.

Our first experience involved flying in to Airlie Beach. Then a four or five hour briefing starting at the front of the boat and ending with us anchored in the middle of Funnel bay, just around the corner from Airlie.

The next ten days were an absolute delight as we sailed our way to the more popular destinations like Blue Pearl Bay, Whitehaven Beach, Hamilton Island and Nara Inlet. We were really disappointed to have to give the boat back when our time was up.

Now it is so nice to be here again, this time in our own boat. We will be able to explore further than the charter bareboats are allowed, and we won’t have to give the boat back, before we feel we’ve had enough.

After a couple of nights in Airlie Beach, we caught up with Neville and Amanda on Bossa Nova. Rather, they caught up with us. We departed Airlie Beach in quite stormy conditions, about half an hour after Bossa Nova departed Hamilton Island.

I decided that with the wind behind us and storm clouds in front, that we would just use our headsail, as it is the easiest to put away if the winds picked up to any great strength.

The fearless crew on Bossa Nova threw up all their sails and made some great speed surfing off big swells in Whitsunday passage. We know this because they sent us photo evidence of their chart plotter!

By good management, more than good luck, we made it to Gloucester Passage and Shag Islet almost in a dead heat.

Our destination, Gloucester Island, is another beautiful tropical island type location. We could almost be accused of being a little complacent about the beautiful beaches, turquoise waters etc.. etc… but I assure you, we aren’t.

Here, there are two resorts on the beach, Montes’ and The Gloucester. These both offer the land base cabin accommodation with swimming pools, bars and café type dining. Yesterday we went to Gloucester for lunch with Bossa nova, their guests and Chris and Ian off China Grove. Their was live music and a well priced lunch, although we had trouble keeping our lunch on the plate due to the strong wind whipping through. One ladie's lettuce ended up a few tables away.

A small islet sits on the corner of the mainland across the Gloucester passage from the Island. On the chart it is called Passage islet, but the cruising guides and everyone you speak to calls it Shag Island, due to a high number of shags (birds) that occupy it.

A few years ago, Ken Thackeray and some others, decided to start a unique sort of club and named it after Shag island. It is now known as the Shag Island Cruising Yacht Club.

The concept was created to provide a network for Cruising Yachties and individuals who enjoy boating. When you join, everyone becomes a “Vice Commodore” representing an individual Nautical Location ie an Island, Islet, River, Bay, about which they have some knowledge so as to be able to provide advice or assistance to other "Vice Commodores". However, they say, in SICYC, your social commitments could be the most demanding responsibility.

At the end of August each year, the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht club members (of which there are now 3800 vice commodores) or “shaggers” as they are called, gather for four days of music, mirth and mayhem here at Gloucester passage.

Normally, as this year, there are over an hundred and fifty boats anchored and three or four hundred people take part in the activities. This is all presented with the main purpose of raising money for prostrate cancer research. To that end I heard that over $80,000 was raised this year alone.

Seeing as we are here in the “shagger” home base, Leanne and I set to and became shaggers right away. Leanne is now vice commodore of Koombanna Beach and I am the head shag or vice commodore of a place called Eagle islet. (near Hinchinbrook island).

Our official shirts and small flag or burgee should arrive any day and we will wear them with pride.