It's almost 5pm now, sunset still an hour or so away. Without Buddy here, we must remind ourselves of the 5:00 alarm that would go off reminding us of cocktail hour. No worries, alone here at Hardy Reef, the compressor is filling the first of two dive tanks, thanks to our first dive at Great Barrier Reef. We finally made it to the reef today, after our first attempt was unsuccessful as the winds on Tuesday were gusting +30 knots. And after arriving today, we realized what a good idea it was to turn around a few days ago, as the winds, though gentlely rocking Sea Child at 12 knots SE, would have turned Bait Reef into a swirling nightmare of whitecaps, swells, and current. Not much to do out here in those type of conditions, so we waited until more favorable winds took hold. And today & tomorrow show the best promise of our visit to date. We overnighted at Hayman Island, a spectacular anchorage just on the west side of this picturesque and charming island. The rocks jut ted out of the deep waters that were well over 100' just offshore, and what appeared to be pristine white sand revealed itself to be pure white coral beaches, not too unlike those we saw at Luncheon Bay at Hook Island. We enjoyed an idyllic dinner as we gazed westward toward Airlie Beach and the mainland of Queensland, Australia. Early this morning we would be dropping the blue triangle buoys that are scattered along the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and headed on a course of 30 degrees to Bait Reef, 16 NM offshore. When we arrived at Bait, there was one other sailing vessel, a large ketch with several dozen people. We noticed the current at the anchorage of Bait Reef, flowing steady toward SE, while the light winds were opposing at 12 knots, Sea Child was literally abeam to both the swell out of the SE and the current out of the NW. Eric took a recon snorkel to layout our first dive at Great Barrier Reef, and found the stepping stones of Bait Reef to be just perfect for today. We geared up, launched the dinghy, and headed a short 200 yards from Sea Child, to drop into the 74 degree water. Our dive route was not that deep, 62' at depth, and the water was almost balmy at 71 degrees. Almost. We cruised around bommies and swim throughs, and took note of the damaged and scattered coral bottom. All along the dive, we found unique fish, and schools of giant trevally. Not as spectacular as Vanuatu or Fiji, our first dive and therefore, our first impression, of the Great Barrier Reef leaves the door open to explore more and find those beautiful deep purple and orange corals that populate the tourist postcards along the gift shops. We have not given up yet, no! We just started our exploration of Great Barrier Reef.

What is interesting to note, however, is the pontoons that are quite large around Hardy Reef, where we are currently anchored. Two barges actually have one blue R-22 (helicopter) ontop of each. Another large structure has a canopy system on its roof, reminiscent of those above Kahumanu Center on Maui. We wondered, as we motored into the lagoon, if maybe we should book a reservation for dinner and literally see what is offered out here at the reef. Nah, dinner on Sea Child is much better. Now, back to that 5:00 alarm. I can hear the ice cubes hitting the cups now.

CURRENT POSITION: 19 DEGREES 44.009 SOUTH 149 DEGREES 11.537 EAST