We slogged through 30 knot winds and steep choppy seas this morning to arrive at Hamilton Island Marina around noon. It was not the most enjoyable sail but we have had much worse. The pounding was not fun.

When we pulled into the slip at the marina, we were greeted by Marian, of S/V Kilkea. She was so sweet and in no time the dock lines were secured and hugs and kisses were enjoyed and cherished. We last saw Marian and her husband David in September of last year in Noumea, New Caledonia. Soon David arrived and completed the reunion.

As we were talking, Marian spied S/V Sea Mist coming into the marina and we all ran over to where they were docking and made the reunion complete. Soon John had Sea Mist secured (despite the cat calls that I and David were making about him docking their boat) and the six of us were all hugs and slaps on the backs. The day was a rare sunny day and being surrounded by the special friends from Kilkea and Sea Mist just added to the warmth.

We spent the afternoon having lunch and touring the island on the free jitney bus that takes you all around the island. Lunch was a hoot as we ate outside along the waters of the marina and were soon surrounded by Cockatoos. Mary Margaret could not resist sharing the bread from her sandwich with them and they responded by lining up on the guard rail next to her, all vying for her attention. In a few minutes she was screaming as one jumped on her shoulder like the parrot did on the pirate Long John Silver in the famous book "Treasure Island". Arrrr, matey. The bird enjoyed his post and after awhile even climbed on top of her head, which generated more screams as Mary Margaret shooed the bird away. I wished I had brought my camera to capture all of this. We will just have to do it again while we are here so I can get my pictures.

After lunch we strolled past the shops that lined the wharf. While the girls did their window shopping, we men did our manly thing of making a bee line to the ice cream shop and devouring chocolate coated ice cream bars. When you cruise, ice cream is a pure luxury and nothing tastes as good as ice cream when you can find it!

Next we all hopped on the island bus and began our exploration of the island. With us were a couple of large groups of Aussies who were here to attending weddings. We soon were all telling jokes and having a grand old time. Everyone was laughing and howling away as the bus passed one remarkable view after another. Of course, none of us had our cameras so you will just have to take my word for how beautiful the island was and as spectacular the views of the bays and channels between the other islands were that we saw from the top of the island. Sorry about that...

After our bus tour, Mary Margaret and I returned to Leu Cat where we enjoyed hot showers and got gussied up for sundowners at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club and then a special birthday dinner for the birthday kids.

We arrived at the Yacht Club right before sundown and took lots of pictures as the sun set. I will post them to and above this blog. The lass who served us said that she could make any type of cocktail we desired so I ordered my favorite: a Manhattan. I told her that to make the drink properly she really needed a couple of maraschino cherries and that I knew Australia does not have them. But she surprised me and said that they had imported a few bottles just for occasions like this. Thus, as the sun set I was a happy camper toasting my birthday cohorts and friends with a tasty Manhattan in my hand with two not one maraschino cherries!

Once the sun went down the wind became the dominant weather feature and the wind chill factor chilled us all to the bone. Thus, we scurried over to the Italian restaurant where we had made reservations for dinner. The six of us were joined by our friend, Frank, of S/V Tahina. His wife, Karen, had just returned this afternoon from a long flight from the States and was in bed asleep.

The seven of us had a wonderful time eating, drinking, laughing and celebrating not just a trio of birthdays but a quartet of birthdays. Cheryl had her birthday less than two weeks ago so we insisted that she also be celebrated along with Marion (May 26th), John (May 28th) and myself (May 29th). A wonderful time was had by all!

We ended up stumbling back to our respective boats at the ungodly hour of 2130. After all, cruiser's bedtime is usually around 2000....