Black swivelling silhouettes against a cloudless yellow-blue sky where the sun has just melted into the sea; shearwaters, sooty terns and boobies swoop with effortless precision around our mast looking for a perch. A runny mound of guano on the solar panel left behind by last night's guests remind me of the less romantic aspects of these graceful air- acrobats, but I still cant stop myself from loving the company.

After three days at sea, we've stopped for a short rest half way on our route to Townsville to wait for easterly winds. We are lying at anchor just off North cay in the Willis islets, a thin strip of sand in the middle of nowhere, inhabited only by a cloud of sea birds.

Time to catch some sleep to get ready for the next leg through the barrier reef and back to what is known as civilisation. But for now we are happily ignorant of it all and quite content to just hang around and admire the elegance of our free flying friends.