A couple of months ago, Kim and I attended the annual boat show in Sydney and were intrigued by the opportunity to charter a sail boat and explore some of the Whitsunday Islands at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. We decided that it would be a great way to spend some time with Tyler and Travis while they were here so we booked a large yacht (Catalina 445 - a 45-foot sloop) and made arrangements for a skipper to come along - since neither of us had ever sailed before.
In the 60 days or so that we had to prepare for the trip we decided to get some formal training so that we could make the most of the trip. We took a crash course that included an overnight trip (slept on the boat), Friday night racing, and Saturday afternoon lessons in Sydney Harbour.
On the big day - the four of us arrived in the Whitsundays to find perfect weather - but there was one hitch... Our "arrangements" for a skipper had not been noticed and they had to find a last-minute substitute.
The guy we got was kind of a nervous and spastic sort of fellow. Not the typical image you might have of a highly trained professional who would captain a 45-foot yacht for 6 days through treacherous reefs, sharks, etc.
But he had a very helpful first mate who held things together:
The crew had zero experience - but by the end of the first day they could tack, jibe, and trim sails like experts.
We hope you enjoy the video link below. Kim and I get teary-eyed every time we watch it - but we understand if you giggle at some of the clunky editing and cheesy sentimentality. We don't apologize.
My sincerest thanks to Van Morrison and the Zac Brown Band for creating the music and a special thank you to the late Steve Jobs for having the vision to create the tools to let me put this together in a few hours with just an iPhone and an iMac!
Important notice - YouTube would not allow my video since it has music attached... So I'm trying something that may be slow and unreliable... please be patient. Grandma's, Moms, and Aunts will find it worth the wait...
A new fast link to the video
