Yes, we finally left Mackay yesterday, and this is being written on passage. We've got our spinnaker up and it would be nice to say we are flying along. Actually we are doing about 5 knots, and occasionally having to give a little bit of motor. Still it feels fantastic even if we could do with a bit more wind. We must admit that we were not sorry to say goodbye to Mackay. Through being there a long time we discovered some interesting aspects. The town has some quite nice art deco buildings in the middle. There is a small farmers market where you can get fresh vegetables. In town there are some good restaurants, not as overpriced as the marina ones, notably a good value Italian and a Thai restaurant. A lot of work is taking place on infrastructure - new bridges etc. Farming looks in difficulties, but aside from that the boom in minerals has made Mackay wealthy, and its hotels, restaurants and marina do not believe in doing anything much for their money. Money is easy to come by so why put themselves out seems to be the abiding motto.

We sailed first of all to Brampton Island, and from there to Whitsunday Island. Whitehaven Beach is a long white strip of sand. We had visited it before when it was overflowing with boats. It was still busy when we arrived with day trippers who land on the southern shore, equipped with identical blue sun shades. However, at 4pm it is transformed all the day trippers disappear, along with their boats. Silence descended and 6 miles of gorgeous white sand, three boats and only a couple of people on the shore. A total transformation.