Big Mama – A Sunset Sail at Mission Beach

Remember a few weeks ago I posted the first of a few posts that were to come about our few days away at Mission Beach?  Well here is a quick post about an awesome afternoon sailing aboard ‘Big Mama’ a charter yacht, which my friend Mel hired to celebrate her last night as a single lady!  It was a magic afternoon and something I had been looking forward to for many months!  I was a little nervous about leaving Matt with baby Kipp and all the kids but told myself they could manage for a few hours surely without any major tears!

The best thing about the ‘Big Mama’ sailing adventures are that they are designed for small, intimate groups of twelve people or less – perfect for Mel’s Hen’s Night Sunset cruise!  So twelve lovely ladies, all friends or family of the bride to be, met at the Clump Point Boat ramp at 4.30pm in the afternoon ready to sail off into the sunset and leave our husbands (and husbands to be), partners, kids, pets and all the other worldly worries behind us for the evening!!We were met by Stu from ‘Big Mama’ with the dingy, who ferried us all out to our sailing ship over a couple of trips!  Climbing aboard the yacht with quite a choppy sea at our feet was quite a challenge in itself!  Matt had the camera on zoom trained at us from the shore hoping to capture one of us wobbling into the drink but thankfully we all made it aboard without mishap!

We were kindly helped aboard by Lisa and we could not have hoped for a better host for the afternoon!  Lisa made us all feel so welcome, brought out the champagne and really ensured we all had plenty to eat and drink for the whole time we were onboard ‘Big Mama’.  The 18foot yacht is the home of Stu, Lisa and their son Fletcher, complete with their little dog and it was super comfortable on deck.  There were bean bags that could be taken around the deck to sit in and enjoy the view, and as Lisa and Stu have been sailing the region around Mission Beach most of their lives – they can show and tell you so much about the area!  Guests are even allowed to take a turn at the wheel of the vessel if they are so inclined – our group had our hands full with our champagne glasses and finger food on this trip – maybe next time! It is difficult to convey in words just how fun, relaxing and beautiful the afternoon was out on the water!  We sailed just off the Mission Beach coastline and headed towards Dunk Island – Matt managed to get this fantastic shot of ‘Big Mama’ out on the open water from the beach at Wongaling where he spent the afternoon playing with the kids – they were so excited to spot the boat offshore!

I was too scared to take the big camera on the yacht – worried that the mix of waves and champagne might see it end up overboard, but I am really bummed now as my iPhone just didn’t quite capture the spectacular sunset we got to witness on board – but these photos will give you an idea – you’ll just have to do a cruise yourself to see how stunning it really is out there on the water!

As it started to get dark, Stu turned the yacht back to shore and we couldn’t believe how fast the few hours had flown!  It did get a little chilly once the sun went down so a good tip would be to take a small coat or shawl with you if you do the sunset cruise.  We honestly all could have kept sailing for a few more hours – the cruise was over way too quickly – a sign of a good time had by all!

We thought it was tricky climbing on board in the daylight and before champagne – it was even more interesting trying to climb back off the yacht and into the dinghy to head back to shore in the dark at the end of the cruise – definitely made for a few good laughs!  We finished off the night with dinner at the Longhouse restaurant, Eco Village Resort, which was only just up the road from the Clump Point Boat Ramp.  It was a fantastic Hens Night – the best I have ever been to.  So lovely catching up with old friends and kicking off the wedding celebrations of one the nicest people I know!  Thanks for a fantastic night Mel!!

Once again this was not a sponsored post (one of these days we might land an exciting blogging gig like that!), I just really, really enjoyed my time on ‘Big Mama’ and wanted to share it with you!  If you are interested, ‘Big Mama’ does all sorts of sailing, diving, fishing and exploring trips out of Mission Beach – pretty much if you can wish for it – Stu and Lisa will help you do it!  We have absolutely put a family day trip out to the Reef with ‘Big Mama’ on our list of the ‘things to do with the kids’ in the next couple of years !  Check out their website here for more information and start planning!