This might not look very interesting but for us it’s an absolute joy; secure on a mooring buoy at Airlie Beach. The buoy belongs to a yachtie from Mackay and he mentioned that we could use it whenever we were in the area....so we hooked up. It’s located just outside the marina and is well protected from winds from the east and south. But more importantly, being on a mooring means there’s no chance of dragging which is a perennial problem in this bay.

Going ashore is easy; it’s a short dinghy ride to the public jetty in the marina and then a lovely 5 min walk into Airlie Beach; or a ride in the opposite direction to the VMR boat ramp at Cannonvale and an even shorter walk to the shopping centre. Grocery shopping has never been one of my favourite chores but it actually becomes fun when you have to load everything into a dingy on a slippery boat ramp and then try to keep things dry as you zip back to boat.

Also found a hairdresser which is another adventure of sorts – I visit 3 or 4 salons when we’re sailing, never the same one twice, and I never really know how it’s going to work out. Only ever had one real disaster and that was years ago in Cardwell when I was desperate for a cut and told the 3rd year apprentice I’d like it short, and she didn’t know when to stop and gave me a crew cut!!

We popped into the Airlie Beach market on Saturday morning and were delighted to see that things are picking up; the tourists are coming back and the locals are smiling. The weather is looking great for the next week so we plan to drift around the Whitsundays enjoying the ambiance while avoiding the charter boats.