Cruise ship strikes fishing boat near Daydream Island

Three men escaped injury on Australia Day after diving into the water moments before being struck by a ferry near Daydream Island.

Cruise Whitsundays’ executive director Chris Jacobs said the unfortunate incident occurred just after 1pm last Thursday.

“One of the Cruise Whitsundays’ ferries hit a dinghy at anchor off the Northern end of Daydream Island. The dinghy was occupied by three men fishing who fortunately saw the impending collision and dived into the water before impact,” Mr Jacobs said.

The men were recovered from the water by Daydream water sports staff  who were close by at the time of the incident.

The men appeared to be unharmed though obviously shaken. The dinghy whilst badly damaged did not sink and was towed back to Shute Harbour.

“As soon as he heard of the incident the company CEO Peter Duncan went out to Daydream to meet with the men and assist where he could.

“The skipper who has worked for the company from the day it started some seven years ago was badly shaken.

“He, the management and owners of the business are all just glad that the men in the dinghy seem to have escaped serious injury and we are obviously deeply concerned that the incident happened.

“Our CEO has already assured the owner of the vessel and the others involved that the cost of the damage to the dinghy and any other equipment will be covered by Cruise Whitsundays.

Whitsundays travel show airs this Sunday

An eight-year-old will bring the Whitsundays into your living rooms this weekend in a special half hour broadcast on Southern Cross Ten.

Part of a five part series which showcases a family travelling with kids on a 8000km trip around Queensland, Ozzie Holiday will air at 1.30pm this Sunday.

The Whitsunday segment was shot over four days in October, says Steve Horrocks from Airtraxf, and in the segment on Long Island Jack Horrocks (the 8-year-old presenter) feeds the birds, goes kayaking, enters the belly flop competition and generally tries out the facilities.

"On Daydream he spends time with Living Reef manager Brett Jeffries meeting the stingrays Pancake and Pikelet.

"He also picks up and holds Bruce, a sicklefin lemon shark who gives him a whack on the cheek. From here he tries (for the first time) parasailing with his mother. In between this Jack tests the various pools and gives the island a firm thumbs up."

Whitsunday holiday leaves lasting impression

 Pam Ashdown plays host to a variety of interesting guests in her role as manager at Mango House Resort, but none have touched her more than stroke victim Sarah Gapp.

 Just three years ago Sarah was an active 21-year-old woman, working as a legal secretary in Brisbane, but on August 28, 2008 she suffered a massive brain stem stroke.

 On more than one occasion doctors thought Sarah might die, but she in fact lived, left with a condition known as ‘locked-in syndrome’, which only one person in 100,000 survives.

 Sarah’s mother Jane said her daughter was literally ‘locked in’ to her body, able to hear and think but physically only able to blink.

 So began a long process of rehabilitation, left largely to Jane, who never missed a day of her daughter’s care in spite of being stricken with breast cancer herself. Three years on, Sarah can now breathe independently, free-sit, take steps with a walking frame and talk - to a degree.

 Sarah’s journey to the Whitsundays dates back to her darkest days in ICU, when Jane brought various musicians to her daughter’s bedside, including Blues artist Michael Franti, who stayed in touch with the Gapp’s throughout Sarah’s remarkable road to recovery.

 This year, Michael invited Sarah and Jane to the Byron Blues Festival taking them on stage and telling their tale. In the audience was Whitsunday musician Nadine O’Neill, who had just won an accommodation prize in the Airlie Beach talent quest at Relay for Life.

 “Once I got home I had this voucher just sitting there staring me in the face,” said Nadine, who decided to offer it to the Gapp’s.

 When Pam Ashdown learned more about her guests she told them to “stay as long as you like”.

 “To me, Sarah is just an angel. This is a girl with a tracheotomy in her throat, yet when I asked her, “Did you ever feel like dying?” she said to me “I only ever felt like living”,” Pam said.

 While Sarah was in the Whitsundays she was able to make trips to the reef and Daydream Island, where she told the Guardian her favourite experience was “touching the baby shark”.

 Jane Gapp said the holiday was an extremely welcome break.

 “We spend most of our time fighting for something – everything we do takes a considerable amount of effort so just being able to get away from it all has been great,” she said.

 Sarah has a bright future with plenty more of these experiences ahead, but she needs therapy to enable her to walk independently and eat and drink.

 To learn more about Sarah’s story or make a donation visit www.developingfoundation.org.au/family/sarahgapp

Whitsunday Writers' Festival could be the last

 This weekend’s Whitsunday Writers Festival on Daydream Island may be the last. Local author and event organiser Gloria Burley says the Whitsunday Writers Festival grant application has been slashed by 40 per cent, putting future festivals in jeopardy. 

 “The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) has been the only source of funding for this event. Unfortunately Whitsunday Regional Council has been slow to see the benefits of funding an event, which attracts interest from interstate,” Ms Burley said. 

 Ms Burley said authors and publishers love the idea of a Writers Festival on a tropical island “where it is possible to snorkel at the end of the conference”. 

 “We have no problem getting writers to come and speak. In fact they are very eager to be a part of this prestigious literary event.

 “Basically for this to continue in the future, we need a sponsor to come on board,” she said.

 This year’s Writers Festival (July 22 to 24) will feature Sam de Brito (author of No Tattoos Before You’re Thirty and the blog All Men Are Liars) and author Susan Wyndham, whose experiences with maverick neurosurgeon Charlie Teo, are chronicled in her book Life In His Hands.

 Other guest speakers will include Malcolm Knox (who recently featured on the SBS investigation of the Norma Khouri hoax), Victoria Cosford (journalist with the Byron Bay Echo and author of Amore and Amoretti), and Joanna Savill, who will talk about her passion for food and turning it into an art form. 

 The ferry to Daydream Island leaves Abel Point Marina at 8.00am returning at 5.30 pm. A cost of $120 includes morning and afternoon tea and lunch. Tickets are available from Proserpine and Cannonvale libraries.

 “Make the most of this final Writers Festival and let’s go out with a bang,” Ms Burley said.

 For more information see wowfestival.blogspot.com or call Gloria Burley on 0422026793.