Back From Sailing

I am now back on land in Airlie Beach after 3 amazing days sailing the Whitsunday Islands aboard a maxi yacht named Siska. Led by a crew of Tris, Hayden and the skipper Luke, an almost United Nations feeling group of 22 snorkeled, swam, sailed, relaxed and had a great time. The group had 12 nations represented- France, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia and me being the lone American. It was really a great group of people with everyone being really cool and getting along pretty well. That really made the trip as it is a lot of time to spend with 22 people in a small place. The trip started at about 9:00 AM Friday and returned at 4:00PM on Sunday.

First day included my first ever day of snorkeling and what a place to start- the Great Barrier Reef. Seeing absolutely amazing coral and fish with colors that were so stunning it almost looked fake. Too good to be true. We were able to snorkel several times over the next couple of days, along with stopping at incredibly pristine, secluded island beaches. Hours from the mainland, the only people on the beaches were those dropped off from our boat. One of the most amazing was Whitehaven Beach which consisted of 98% silica sand. Incredibly fine and soft. So soft that some even used it as a natural face wash. Considering we were limited to 30 second showers, not a bad idea. Sleeping quarters on the boat were kind of tight and the first night, I actually just grabbed a pillow and a sleeping pad and for some time slept on the deck of the boat.

At times, the sun was absolutely blazing and brutally hot. By day 3, everybody was seeking out and crowded in the shady areas of the boat. On the 2nd night, we rafted up (parked) to another boat so you could easily hop from one to another. We stayed that way for the entire night and mingled with some different people. They also played some drinking games, where my cousin Debbie got extremely wild and out of control. This isn't really true, but she has threatened to tarnish my name on my blog and post some false allegations.

All things considered, it was really an amazing time. Now I am going to surf the web for a few minutes to see what is going on the world, than head off and take the longest shower of my life before heading to a local pub to meet up with all of the passengers and crew on the Siska. Tomorrow, I am heading off to Melbourne for a few days. Take care all.