A brave new world

 AFTER seven years of more than full-time media work - firstly as a reporter with one of Queensland's last independently owned newspapers, the Whitsunday Coast Guardian, then as the senior journalist of APN's Whitsunday Times and finally as the editor of News Corp's Whitsunday Coast Guardian and Whitsunday Times - a lot of people have been asking me "what's next?"

The front page of my last Whitsunday Times. This one was about the 2017 Airlie Beach Race Week featuring a drone shot by local company Th3rd Dimension Media.

Coming out of my corporate cocoon it's certainly a brave new world out there, but one I intend to embrace as a freelancer for a while.
The Whitsundays and its watery playground boast a plethora of stories to be told and illustrated.
There are wonderful people and events in our communities with whom I still want to be involved.
Meanwhile just as some things change, others stay the same.
This morning I chatted as normal to ABC Tropical North's Meecham Philpott about all things Whitsundays.

Talking to Meecham Philpott from ABC Tropical North earlier in the year at the Airlie Beach foreshore markets.

And that included the 2017 Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club Rendezvous, which I am heading off to today.

A couple of views from last year's SICYC Rendezvous 'Hands Across the Blue' event, in which participants make a human version of the logo for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia in the waters off Gloucester Passage. 

To keep all my valued readers up to date for now, I've metaphorically dusted off this old blog.
So please follow, like, share and allow me to tell your stories.
Hopefully I continue to do them justice.

Sharon Smallwood
Photo-journalist / Editor / Communications Professional
Email: j-s-smallwood@hotmail.com
Phone: 0402 126 461

Tropical Cyclone Ului

On Sunday 21st March at 1.30am, Tropical Cyclone Ului crossed the Queensland coast here at Airlie Beach. The tropical revolving storm re-intensified to a Category 3 system before making landfall. The following images (courtesy Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Sea Breeze) show the accompanying rainfall and live weather readings from Hamilton Island during the event. (Click to enlarge.)

For several days prior to the cyclone's landfall, we nervously watched the weather reports and formed our cyclone plan. We decided that in the event of a direct hit (of Category 2 or more), we would get off the boat and stay on land. By saturday afternoon we had prepared Brilliant II for the inevitable. Items that could possibly become airborne were either lashed down or removed. Our floating home was secured to her marina berth with no less than eleven mooring lines. We disembarked, leaving our beloved boat to her fate.

We arrived at a friend's flat in Cannonvale with our eight week old baby and two cats. We all went to bed quite early in an attempt to get some sleep.

I woke up about half an hour before the cyclone struck. We lost power and it was stiflingly hot without the ceiling fan. The next thing I remember was the noise - the hissing rain and roaring wind, then deathly quiet as the eye of the storm passed right overhead. In the strongest gusts the building shook, but none of this woke baby Joshua who slept peacefully through the carnage.

It was a tense few hours while we waited for the dawn, worrying now about our boat. We were just about to head to Abel Point Marina when a text message came through from our neighbours. Brilliant II was alright.

Breathing huge sighs of relief we drove home via the foreshore of Airlie Beach. Here we saw that other boats had not been so lucky. The charter yacht Anaconda II lay on the rocks beside the Whitsunday Sailing Club. At Shute Harbour (where we previously moored) the anchorage was devastated. Here Whitsunday Rent-A-Yacht were among the worst affected, suffering substantial damage to their fleet. It was very distressing to see so many boats wrecked, beached and half-sunk. To me they represented shattered dreams.

I felt extremely fortunate to step back aboard our own boat later that day. Although there was no power to the docks, we were in a much better situation than most, thanks to our fully charged battery bank and solar panels. Cyclone Ului left 60,000 homes across the region without electricity and gave Ergon Energy a round-the-clock job for some time.

I am pleased to report that five days later, power has largely been restored and our resilient community is moving on.

To see video footage of before and after Ului struck, click on the play button below.

Wild Weather and a Baby on Board

Joshua Jesse Smallwood

The day we'd been waiting for finally arrived. Our new crew member turned up on Sunday January 24th at 9.20am. Joshua Jesse Smallwood was born at Proserpine Hospital, which is about 20 minutes by car from Abel Point Marina.

I went into labour early on Saturday morning, as not one, but two cyclone systems hovered off the Queensland coast. Tropical cyclones Neville and Olga seemed determined to distract me from the task at hand!

By the time we got to the hospital that night the contractions were five minutes apart. Initially I coped quite well, but in the early hours of Sunday morning we hit an obstacle. The midwife informed us that labour had stopped progressing and there appeared to be a problem. Shortly after this announcement a doctor was brought in to assess the situation. There were issues with the fetal heart rate and it was quickly decided to proceed with an emergency c-section.

When Joshua eventually emerged the surgeons found the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice. He had also managed to tie a knot in it, which, they informed us, is quite rare. "I can't believe he's already tied his first knot", said a rather stunned new dad.

Although we hadn't imagined I would end up in the operating theatre, we are extremely grateful to the midwife and surgical team at Proserpine Hospital for their prompt diagnosis and intervention. Our little boy was delivered safely thanks to them.

Joshua's first day of life was also a day of wild winds. Julian returned to the marina to double up on mooring lines securing Brilliant II to her dock. Meanwhile at the hospital all hell broke loose. Suddenly the place was full of an unprecedented number of pregnant ladies giving birth. Apparently when cyclones threaten and the atmospheric pressure drops this is exactly what happens. It certainly shows how human beings are governed by the forces of nature on our planet!

Four days after Joshua was born we were cleared to go home. The weather had subsided significantly and we were ready to settle back into life afloat with our tiny newborn. Below is a proud dad making his way down the dock.

And mum with her new baby on board...


Inside Brilliant II we had to make some modifications to our living space. Because of the surgery I wasn't able to bend through the little walkway we call the 'hobbit hole' and I couldn't climb onto the aft bunk. The solution was to move out of our aft cabin for a while. Thankfully we could set up camp in the saloon where the dinette folds down into a comfortable double bed, with the added advantage of being closer to both the aircon and baby Joshua's cabin.

Now we can enjoy nurturing Joshua and watching him grow.

December 2009 - January 2010

Happy New Year. It was a busy end to 2009 despite the fact that I'm now so pregnant I can barely move! We set sail from Shute Harbour (as seen above) for a trip to Hamilton Island or 'Hamo' as it's often known. Once inside the marina we were given a berth on E arm next to the recently opened Yacht Club.
Our neighbours had just taken delivery of their brand-new custom-built Riviera 70 and we were lucky enough to be invited aboard for the guided tour. The interior finish was impressive to say the least and the fishing gear - well that's another story.
Our main reason for being on Hamilton Island was work. Julian had a shipwright job on the luxury charter boat Zanzibar II, as pictured below.
"If only Brilliant II had a saloon this big", I thought when I dropped by!
Julian spent the best part of a week repairing exterior gelcoat on Zanzibar II so she would look her best for the festive season and beyond.
Meanwhile I made some work-related visits to some of Hamilton Island's more recent additions. These included the Great Barrier Reef Yacht Club, Hamilton Island Golf Club and 'qualia', a 6-star luxury resort. Below are a couple of shots of the Yacht Club and Golf Course.



The Hamilton Island Golf Club (located on neighbouring Dent Island) was particularly spectacular (if a little dry at the moment due to the lack of rain). To read my write-up on the Golf Club please follow this link to Suite 101.

All too soon our five days on Hamo came to an end and it was back to Airlie Beach for Julian to continue renovating our v-berth. No rest for the wicked, or so they say.
Our working Christmas was held in Abel Point Marina. Here we made friends with a new set of neighbours - the crew of a catamaran named Nirvana Seafari. Carlos was fascinated by their dog Lulu, although he disgraced himself by stealing her food.
On Boxing Day we took off for a couple of days r&r to Stonehaven Bay on Hook Island. Here Julian was especially pleased to catch a coral trout.
I took up residence under our Bedouin tent-style awning on the foredeck. Stonehaven is a hilly anchorage where the wind funnels down from the peaks. In tradewind season we tend to avoid it because of these 'bullets' but in the summer heat we're now experiencing it's one of the more comfortably exposed spots.
It was back to Airlie Beach for a tropical New Years Eve complete with fireworks under the palm trees on the beach - a great start to 2010 with lots of excitement ahead.

Shute Harbour - A New Home Base

View across Shute Harbour

Shute Harbour is a little oasis just south of Airlie Beach where we are currently holed up on a rented mooring. Our journey is at a temporary halt while we embark on our latest project - preparing for a family. Our new crew member is due in January 2010. When he is strong enough to set sail we will continue on our travels but for now the best place for him is inside his Mum, although he's starting to get noticed as you can see!

For the next few months the Whitsundays will be our home and right now Shute Harbour is an excellent base. Sheltered from the winds that plague the anchorage at Airlie Beach, Shute Harbour is calm and secure. Moorings are available through Whitsunday-Rent-A-Yacht, one of the longest-running charter companies around.

Other than its stunning scenery some of the great things about stopping in the Whitsundays are the opportunities here. We are currently celebrating the issue of Julian's Coxswain's licence. This allows him to work for the resident bareboat companies in the capacity of a briefer. Briefers instruct the holidaymakers who come here to charter a yacht, catamaran or power cruiser. A good briefer will talk the charterers through all the elements of sailing in the Whitsundays, with particular reference to the type of vessel they have chosen.

Lately Julian's also been doing quite a few de-briefs which involve meeting the charterers on Hamilton Island at the end of their trip and returning the boat to base. This is good fun and a great chance to try out a wide variety of boats. The boat in the photo below is a Perry 43 catamaran - an interesting ride for a die-hard monohull sailor!

I have been busy as usual with various writing and photography projects. My latest assignment is a series of articles for an on-line magazine called Suite 101. Hot off the press are travel pieces about the Whitsundays and Hamilton Island, full of information for prospective visitors on where to stay and what to do. Also just published are articles on sailing Hamilton Island Race Week, visiting Hamilton Island by boat and hiring Whitsunday charter boats and bareboats; essential reading for skippers planning on sailing these seas.