Day 1 on the Whitsunday Magic

While eating lunch at the Coral Sea hotel I watched what was unmistakably the Whitsunday Magic pull into the Harbor.  While the people at the next table were commenting on how large it was - "Ah, a 3 master just pulled in".  I was wondering how I was going to spend 3 days and 3 nights confined to such a small space.

All those boarding the Whitsunday Magic mustered at the Harbor.  I was the only person not coupled or part of a family but I expected as much - it is the Holiday Season, after all.  As we boarded the boat we exchanged introductions and greetings with everyone -- we were going to be sharing a small space for the next 3 days.  I was assigned to cabin 7 to room with a young woman from Northern Ireland, the oldest daughter of a family of 5.  The cabins were small but each room had its own bathroom which by sailboat standards is absolute luxury.  Our cabins are also air conditioned and given that it hasn't been blazing hot, sleeping is quite comfortable.  My bunk:

This is the portal above my bunk bed.  Since it’s quite close to the waterline the captain advised that if we didn’t want fish flopping in on us to keep it closed.  And there are fish that flop around – flying fish, I think.  Our first day out we also spotted a dolphin some ways away which started a discussion on how to tell if it’s a shark or a dolphin.  Sharks we are told don’t swim in an arc, where their fin surfaces and then goes under, sharks just circle at the same level, so it was definitely a dolphin.  Although, we are told there are sharks out there in the water, Great Whites even…

The Whitsunday Magic is part of Australia’s tall ship fleet.  It was built in Turkey in the early 1990’s and then sailed to Brisbane where it was at one time a floating restaurant and then later converted into a tourist boat for trips out to the Great Barrier Reef.  There are 16 cabins each with their own bathroom.  The bathroom is about the size of a airplane bathroom and showering is done by pulling the sink faucet out and using it as a hand-held shower head.  While not a luxurious shower, it’s functional.  The boat also has a large dining area inside, and large seating area under a cover and then a sun deck for sun bathing.  All in all a fairly big sail boat.