I was so excited about going on a sailing adventure in the Whitsundays. It’s certainly a trip I won’t forget in a hurry…

On our first day we decided to sail out to Whitehaven Island, the largest of the 74 islands inthe group. It features a seven-kilometre beach made up of pure white silica sand which is bordered by crystal blue water. Our coach transfer to the wharf was picking us up at 7am.

Our first point of call was breakfast at the McDonald’s down the road. Tip: If you’re prone to seasickness stay away from the Bacon and Egg McMuffin.

I ordered a Sausage and Egg McMuffin and the cashier told me it would take a few minutes. So I sat down and awaited my meal. A couple of minutes later a stack of pancakes was put down in front of me. They had mixed up my order but I didn’t bother to complain. Just as I was finishing my pancakes and syrup out came a Bacon and Egg McMuffin.
“Sorry, we’re still waiting on the Sausage McMuffin,” the cashier said. I was a little bewildered by the whole saga but thought to myself I may as well polish it off – it would be a while before I next ate.

After 10 minutes I had received four meals but not one was my original order – a Sausage and Egg McMuffin. I managed to eat the best part of three meals and after feeling well and truly sated, it was time to head off on our sailing adventure.

We finally reached the wharf and were advised to take a precautionary seasickness tablet before setting off because if you take one after you start to feel ill it’s too late and it won’t have any effect. “She’ll be right,” I joked to my friend. Big mistake.

The perfect storm

After a half-hour relaxing on the deck of the yacht, basking in the sun, the weather turned on us and the rain came down. The sea went from being serene and calm to a churning mess of monster waves (alright, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it felt like I was in The Perfect Storm). Wild waves rose and crashed into both sides of the yacht and I began
to feel very ill.

Moments later I was heaving into a brown paper bag. To make matters worse the other 10 passengers were down the other end of the deck laughing uproariously as the waves crashed over the top of them, drenching them from head to toe.
“Whooooo, again, again!” they cheered, followed by hysterical laughter, which plagued the rest of my trip.
“Just look at the horizon,” I kept telling myself but it was so dark I couldn’t make out where thehorizon actually was.

When we finally reached our destination things started looking up. A fabulous banquet was provided followed by, in true Aussie fashion, a game of beach cricket. Our tour guides kept telling me the best cure for seasickness was to get in the water and have a paddle as it stabilises your equilibrium.

Look out for stingers

However, being stinger season I couldn’t jump in with just my swim suit on. I had to wear a very unattractive full body wetsuit.

Looking and feeling very stylish I went in for a dip. Afterwards, I noticed my feet were swollen and red. As luck would have it, my feet (the only exposed part
of my entire body) had been stung badly. My swollen feet were a small price to pay however, as any feeling of seasickness had disappeared.

On the sail back, my stomach behaved itself but alas, the damage was done and everyone had a right royal giggle at my expense. Once docked back at the wharf, we decided to go out for a few beers and reminisce about the dramas that had unfolded during the day. My fellow sailors then decided to christen me ‘The Chunder from Down Under’. Has a nice ring to it don’t you think.