We have had the special delight of family on board for the past 5 days! Eric's parents flew into Hamilton Island, on a bright sunny Saturday. The weather for the first day was incredible, the perfect way to experience world famous Whitehaven Beach. We were able to time our visit to Tongue Bay, between all the visiting tourist boats, to explore the incredible silica beach that was appearing beneath our feet as the tides retreated. We had the whole beach to ourselves, for almost 2 hours, and enjoyed the incredible blues of the waters, white silica sands, and green hillsides that frame Whitehaven Beach. We continued on to Sawmills Anchorage on the west side of Whitsunday Island. After exploring the nearby uncharted estuary, where we were sure crocodiles were hiding among the low mangroves as we flew up the waters in our dinghy, we hiked up the 435 meter Whitsunday Peak, the Everest of hiking in the Whitsunday Islands. Eric's parents are quite the athletes! Up and up and up, over boulders and up the muddy track, we ascended the peak in one hour and 15 minutes. The views from the top of the Whitsunday Peak include Hamilton Island to the south, Hook & Hayman Islands to the north, and the mainland near Shute Harbor & Airlie Beach to the west. The light rains that we hiked through did not dampen our spirits and as we enjoyed the views from the summit, we noted that our morning estuary ride would now be a mud bath, as the waters near Sawmills Anchorage were now at low tide. As we descended the trail, we couldn't help but smile at the beauty surrounding us, the canopy of hoop pines and eucalyptus trees protecting us from the rain, and the birds singing in the trees kept us thankful for the opportunity to visit these incredible islands.

We are now sailing to Townsville, 140 NM to the NW of Whitsunday Island. The weather could definitely be better, the winds are 25-30 knots out of the SE, swells to 3 meters from the east, squally and rainy skies. We are sailing fast under full main and screecher with our top speed this morning at 17.7 knots, but the side swells are keeping us rolling and rocking and pushing forward towards Townsville. Again, Eric's parents are amazing crew, smiling and laughing and bearing with Sea Child as she surfs down each wave. We expect to arrive at Magnetic Island this afternoon, and on to Cairns by the end of the weekend.