We took yesterday off and since the weather was rather unsettled, we just relaxed. Mary Margaret did her favorite pastime (reading), and since I can't keep still, I finished sewing the hem on our shade tarp. Hooray! It is done.

This morning, while I was opening up the sail cover, I heard the fellow on the nearest boat yell my name. It was a blue hulled monohull that I did not recognize. I waved back and continued my work since we were anxious to head out. After we started the engines and turned on the chartplotter, their boat came up on our AIS. They had since weighed anchor and were heading in the general direction of the mainland. I looked up their boat on the AIS and discovered it was Michael and Susan of S/V Infini. We last saw them in the Outer Tuomotos (French Polynesia) almost two years ago. At that time, they had just come northwest from Easter Island. They were about to head over to Hawaii. Talk about an unconventional route to get here!

As we were raising the mainsail, prior to weighing anchor, Susan hailed us on the VHF. They had just arrived yesterday from a direct sail from Bundaberg. They had sailed from New Zealand to Bundaberg. Susan said they were heading over the Airlie to fill their fuel tank before continuing north. She said that they were heading to Darwin to participate in the Sail Indonesia Rally.

I said that we were not planning to head north until around June 1 and then spend about a month dinging up the coast until we get to Lizard Island. From there we would be heading directly to Darwin. I told her there really isn't much to do in Darwin as they waited for the rally to start. Plus, they were missing some of the best diving and snorkeling areas in Australia by skipping the Whitsundays. I know they are avid divers and to my statement she said maybe they would reconsider and meet us out here. We will have to wait and see.

We weighed anchor at 0700 and sailed out of the anchorage. The winds were 15 to 20 knot from the SE (where else???) but this time, we were heading in a more NNW direction and had a great broad reach. Leu Cat was frisky and rearing to go after spending so many days just running with the wind. She made an average of between 8 and 9 knots and once caught a puff and zoomed up to 14 knots. The seas were mild and behind us so it was just an absolutely great sail. The best one we have had in Australia.

We were heading to the north side of Hook Island which was about 36 nm from our anchorage at Shaw Island. We pulled into Butterfly Bay at 1130, making the 36 nm in just 4.5 hours.

We can see why the Whitsundays are the best sailing destination in Australia. In sailing through and around the islands here you would go mostly east and west and north and south. Thus, the south easterlies would make for great sailing angles no matter where you went. Plus, the islands are very scenic with rugged, wood covered hills, a number of great looking beaches and numerous nooks and coves.

Last night our anchor light stopped working so I spent this afternoon jerry rigging our old anchor light so that we could use that while we wait to find a place with an electrician to fix the one that stopped working. It is only a year old so I don't I think the wiring at the top of the mast is bad. I have voltage leading to the mast.

The weather was squirrely today so we did not want to go snorkel in such unsettled weather. We may have to wait a number of days to go diving since the weather is suppose to deteriorate through early next week as the ridge we have been enjoying falls apart and gets replaced with a trough. Isn't that the way it goes we finally arrive, all hot and lathered to go diving and we get to wait. Oh well, we have the time and it is such a beautiful anchorage.