After a beautifully calm cruise down from Papua New Guinea the wind died off completely about 20nm north of the Willis Islands around 200nm from the mainland. With no wind we weren't going anywhere so we decided to drop anchor just behind the northern most cay after motoring the last few miles. By the time we arrived a 5kt headwind was blowing from the southwest but the forecast predicted this would swing East so staying the night would be a good plan. What luxury! Not only great weather so far but a full nights sleep after 3 days of 4hr shifts on watch.

The sun set a deep orange on the horizon and an array of seabirds flocked around the boat from the bird colonies on the island. After a deep sleep we awoke refreshed and ready for a swim. We'd anchored in 13m of water far enough from the reefs to allow for swing in the event of a wind shift, I'd therefore put out 60m of chain and the first thing I noticed when I jumped in with a mask was that I could see the anchor as if it were right next to me but very small. The water visibility here was phenomenal - I'd estimate 50m - crystal clear. It just so happened that we still had two full dive tanks so the temptation was too great. Ul fixed the breakfast and I sorted the inflatable boat and the dive gear.

We had a look at the drop off (a 500m deep wall) but given that we we're in the middle of nowhere and probably not even supposed to be there we decided on the safer option of a dive inside the reef. We anchored the boat and jumped in. The coral was quite different from PNG - less colourful but still beautiful, probably not as productive due to the lack off near shore nutrient enrichment. One thing that was obvious was no-one much fished there as there were loads of big fish, groupers, snappers, rays and lots of weird ones that had heads a bit like a dolphin!

After a great dive we had a brief encounter with a huge turtle, some small sharks and a tonne of sea birds. The breeze had begun again from the East and so we packed up and upped anchor, taking in yet another tropical sunset before continuing our passage towards Townsville. Another day in this tropical wonderland!

The stars are out in full tonight so I'm trying to learn some new constellations - always something to keep me entertained :)