Whitsunday Sailing Holiday

What a great way to end my six month long adventure in Australia: sailing off the Great Barrier Reef with the Bradys!

Our catamaran was called Lunasea and we were sailing with one of the best sailing companies in the world called Sunsail. Every morning and evening we would have to call in to Sunsail and tell them where we were. The conversation would usually go like this:

'Lunasea, Lunasea this is Sunsail, Sunsail.'

"Sunsail, Sunsail, this is Lunasea, Lunasea. We are planing on going to Bluepearl Bay, then anchor at Butterfly Bay. Over."

'Thank you Lunasea. I hope you have a good day.'

The first couple of days we weren't in snorkeling territory yet, and the second night we were staying next to an inlet (Nara Inlet) that had hammer-head sharks, so we decided to go for some walks. We walked up to a cave with aboriginal art, and I thought they looked like the basket of lacrosse sticks.

On the third night (Butterfly Bay) the water was about 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and there was some coral, so Alice, Leah and I jumped in, even though it was getting dark. We saw some pretty cool coral and some baby-head size clams.

The next day we went to One Foot Island to snorkel. There was an amazing variety of coral! There was some fluorescent blue coral, some pink, yellow, orange, and green coral in stag horns and brain shapes. There were some fish, but the fish at the next bay we snorkeled at (Blue Pearl Bay) were better with more variety (parrot fish, needlefish,moon wrasse).

Also, Leah and Alice were swimming off the back of the boat and there were huge sixbaded angelfish. I wanted to see them better, but I was too chicken to jump in, so I stuck on a snorkeling mask and put my face in. I think one of them thought my hair was breadcrumbs, so he came kissing up to me! I freaked and and pulled my head out of the water, because I almost got a kiss from a fish!

On the fifth day we did some REAL sailing. We went out into the ocean where there were huge (well, 6 foot) waves! When we were heading out we saw a few 4 foot turtles. At first we were all in the front of the boat getting all the wave action, but then we got really wet and the waves were getting so violent that the parents were worried we'd go flying over board! That was a full-on day of sailing.

The next day we snorkeled in Cateran bay, which has some of the best soft coral in the Whitsundays. It was really shallow at first, but once we went farther out we could really enjoy all the pretty colors and the unique corals. There were also some pretty big fish, including blue and pink parrot fish. My dad and I saw a HUGE clam, like the ones in the Great Barrier Reef. At first I thought it was a giant purplish-blue soft coral, but then I realized it was a Leah-sized clam! Wow!

On the sixth day we got to go to one of the best beaches in the world: Whitehaven Beach. Its name truly describes the beach. It is so white, fine, and squeaky when you walk on it! The water is a beautiful turquoise color. And to make everything seem even better the beach is 3 1/2 miles long!

On the last morning we all got up at 7am to go for one last walk on Whitehaven Beach. Then we sailed back to Hamilton Island, where we first came from. I definetly want to go back to the Whitsundays again!