Being the consummate professional she is her answer was of course “yes I’d love to”. Little did she know I’d hold her to it!

We’d been chatting about what we could do as an event around the Whitsundays to bring in some media attention for the area and the Season of Sailing that Tourism Queensland run over the next few months.

How about a kayak race around the Whitsundays? – hmmm too far really!

Ok then a sailing trip with us for a few days? – Jess is far too busy for that!

Well in that case how about camping with us overnight and then racing a couple of identical Hobie Adventure Island kayaks from Whitehaven Beach to Hamilton Island? – sounds perfect!

After a rare long night’s sleep Jess was up and ready to take on a new challenge. It’s not sailing around the world but it would be a fairly interesting challenge considering the wind was up to 20 knots.

I had Tim onboard and Jess had Damian, two journalists with almost two days kayaking experience between them…this could get interesting.

3…2…1…and they’re off! Out went the sails, the peddling started in earnest and…my damn rudder broke!

Jess said I was too scared, I said it was sabotage during the night. Whatever the reason my kayak was going nowhere.

Plan B – jump into a single boat and travel to Hammo together. Damian and Tim would have to watch from yacht Sunshine, but the journey was back on.

Our first mark from Whitehaven would be the Solway Passage; renowned for its strong current and ripping tides. As we turned the corner into the wind our sail was furled in and it was pure peddle power….for nearly 40 minutes! Jess hadn’t signed up for this but she was up for it.

Finally we cleared the channel and turned downwind allowing us the chance to get the sail out and start to build some speed. With Jess at the helm it was fantastic just to sit back and watch how the experts do it. She surfed us down the waves making the most of the blustery conditions.

With a press boat alongside we were dwarfed by them and the waves but it felt excellent to have water spraying in my face, the kayak zipping along and the experience of a lifetime.

An hour later we pulled up onto Pebble Beach at the luxury resort of Qualia to one of Jess’s fantasy arrival dreams – BIG FLUFFY TOWELS!!

Although the temperature outside was 24c the windchill had given us both a rough ride and our fingers were numb through. I really should toughen up at moments like this…I mean Jess at the age of 16 had sailed around the world through the Southern Ocean in temperatures around 0c.

Jess thanks so much for the experience, you’re a true inspiration to us all and the crew of the Best Expedition and I wish you all the best for your next adventure. Taking the youngest ever crew on the Sydney – Hobart Yacht Race on Boxing Day 2011.

Yours expeditionally

Ben

P.S. RACE VIDEO TO FOLLOW…..

Damian Stannard and Tim Spicer, two journalists from the Courier Mail and Men’s Fitness respectively, joined me for a Boys Adventure Tour around the Whitsunday islands.

Scamper, the barge that services the islands, dropped us off at Dugong Beach, on the western side of Whitsunday Island. We met my support vessel, yacht Sunshine, there and collected our kayaks.

Camping is a particularly easy thing to do in the area, there’s loads of stunning beaches, serviced sites, and cracking sunsets to be had. All you need to do is give up your backpacker bed or hotel room. Book your gear with a local company and get dropped off!

Once we’d set up camp and told a few stories it was time to bed down for the night.

When you’re out in the wilds you operate with the sun, when it reappears at the start of the day, it’s time to get up and do something. I headed out on the kayak and was treated to an appearance from one of the rarer creatures that call this part of the world home – the Dugong. You have to be pretty lucky to spot one…so this photo is about as good as I could hope for:

With around 25kms to travel we hit the water early and made our way to Henning Island in time for lunch. With the Hobie kayaks you don’t have to be an Olympic paddler as you can paddle or pedal…Tim decided on the latter to save his shoulders!

As the day drew on we progressed towards Whitehaven Beach, our destination for the night. The current and wind through the Solway Passage made it a true paddling and pedalling fight. By the time I hit the beach I was exhausted and just in time to meet our special guest for the day, Jessica Watson.

I’ve always had great admiration for the amazing acheivement that Jess completed last year when she became the youngest person to sail around the world. Since she came to Tourism Queensland last year as our Sailing Ambassador we’ve kept in touch and I asked her to come and join me for a few days during the expedition.

The boys did particularly well out on the water and after the tired legs and arms recover I hope they think so too! Once their articles are published I’ll post them here on the blog. Damian and Tim headed back to their offices and we headed back to our comfy beds at YHA Airlie Beach.

Job done…..

I’m just editing the video and blog of our ocean adventure together so come back tomorrow to see the results!

Yours expeditionally

Ben

I’m in the process of editing some videos and writing a blog about the last few days, but in order to keep you amused and the blog turning over, have a look at the photos we’ve been taking over the last couple of weeks courtesy of the superb Nikon cameras we’ve got on board…

Enjoy

Sometimes I think I’ve become too spoilt when it comes to the Great Barrier Reef.

Having visited and dived at loads of different locations from the Torres Strait in the north, to Lady Elliot Island in the south my mind remembers all of the incredible sites and trips to the outer reef with the BEST coral, the BEST fish life and the BEST diving experiences.

But two days in the Whitsundays have reminded me that some of the most impressive locations are right here on our doorstep and are achievable for the day tripper, backpacker or casual diver alike.

Day 1

At Sunrise we left Hamilton Island on-board yacht Sunshine with Richard and Christophe from Underwater Earth onboard. Our task for the day – to photograph and video the fringing reef of Hook and Hayman Islands at the northern tip of the Whitsundays.

We had the most incredible conditions. Not a puff of wind, clear blue skies and an ocean akin to a millpond. These days are ones to behold and savour.

On a daily basis there are many operators who visit the locations we went to – Pinnacle Point, Manta Ray Bay and Blue Pearl Bay. Donning a snorkel and mask takes you into another world…huge, healthy coral bommies, teeming fish life and all within a couple of metres of water.

If you think that tourism has had a negative effect on these local reefs then think again. Yes there may be the occasional piece of fragile Staghorn coral broken off or fish who have lost the fear of humans but this really is as accessible as the ocean gets.

Have a look through these photos and then follow this link to see more…

Day 2

Having lived on Hamilton Island for six months it was about time I went out with H2O Sportz for a visit to their little piece of aqua-paradise.

We jumped onboard their boat Reef Spirit and after a perfectly calm two hour trip through the outer Whitsunday islands we arrived at Bait Reef. There’s a number of moorings out there which the operators take turns in securing to. We however got there too late and had to make our own arrangements!! No problem though there’s plenty of space and so many different locations to dive.

Rumour had it that Cyclone Anthony and Yasi earlier in 2011 had smashed into this area of the reef with 9 metre waves damaging many of the more sensitive Staghorn and Plate corals. I’d also heard that an outbreak of Crown of Thorns Starfish was happening….what would we find?!

Two dives on two different locations treated us to some of the most perfect diving conditions on the trip so far.

Yes, I did see the Crown of Thorns Starfish, maybe eight in total in two hours of diving. Yes, there were areas on the windward side of the reef that had been hit by the huge seas. But the evolution of a reef takes knocks, it goes through cycles of decay and repair and where we dived showed good signs of regrowth…already, only 6 months on!

Every day H2O and other operators allow tourists to explore the outer reef, to try a dive for the first time, to understand just a little more about the most important thing on the planet. The Ocean.

Yours expeditionally

Ben

Since 2009 Libby and her volunteers have collected over 55,000kgs of jetsam, brought it back to the mainland where its recycled and disposed of properly.

Most of the waste is ocean-born from other parts of the world or washes down storm-drains from the mainland. With the Queensland floods being so prolific this year she’s really been a busy bee!

Libby on behalf of everyone who enjoys the wonderful islands and beaches of the Whitsundays….thank you!

Over the last few weeks we’ve been working with the team from Channel Ten who produce the Totally Wild television show. We’ve been building a story all about the Best Expedition in the World and the first of the episodes went to air here in Australia on July 1st.

Skip through to 1:20 to see the clip…

So when the winds started to build and hit 25 knots there was no hiding to be done. The Hobie Adventure Island had to the tested and there was no better place than out on the open ocean.

I left Brampton Island at 9am and headed north towards Lindeman Island, our destination for the evening. The winds were gusty and directly behind me which meant gybing all the way. I really hadn’t been out in conditions like this before so was very much learning on the job!

The 24kms flew by in just under two hours. I was growing in confidence all the time and letting more and more sail out to build my speed up.

As I turned around the final headland under full sail a huge gust caught me, caught my totally off guard and launched the kayak into the ocean!!

I had finally capsized

This time a fairly simple 30km crossing to Keswick Island and the incredibly hospitable Keswick Island Guest House. As part of Mum and Dad’s Queensland Road Trip they were also heading there but by plane not kayak. It was time to set a challenge…a race to the island. Now I was pretty confident about beating them. 30kms with a four hour head-start – surely not that difficult? Ahh maybe not in theory…but when the tide changed and the wind died suddenly the achievable seemed a long way away! Watch the clip below to see what happened:

Brian and Lyn run this place in such an incredible way; from their impeccable attentiveness to the sumptuous spreads produced at every meal it’s a wonderful place to arrive at, stay at and document. Thank you so much for the amazing experience.

But with the expedition there’s no time for waiting around places…it’s onto the next destination and tonight, after an epic peddle and sail in 25 knot winds, I’ve made it safely to Brampton Island. Tomorrow I’ll meet up with the crew from Channel 10′s Totally Wild for a day of filming…

Yours expeditionally,

Ben