By the time we sailed to Airlie Beach the wind was so light we were down to 3 knots – kick back and relax time.  The anchorage near VMR was very calm, despite all the fishing boats and dinghys coming and going.  To add an extra challenge, trucks were unloading jetty sections which a barge was ferrying around to the marina a few hundred metres away.  Cyclone repairs are in full swing all around here and they’ve done well to minimise the impact on tourists.

The dinghy does a runner... while Skipper Pete was installing the new toilet (Yay!!) we had a phone call from another yachtie asking if we had lost our tender.  What???  It should be astern where we tied it!  Alas, all that was left was the painter, so the kind gentleman came over to collect Peter to retrieve the errant tender, which had broken the loop on the painter. 

Airlie to Nara Inlet on Hook Island was an easy sail and the anchorage where our sister ship “Kathamaria” was suited us.  We decided to leave the walk until better weather, next visit and allow Peter’s foot to heal.  The Whitsunday islands and anchorages are close together but very busy with charter boats.  Like popular campgrounds, you need to get in by lunch to get a good spot.

Around the next corner is Stonehaven, where we rode out some wild southerly winds for a few days, cleaning and pottering around the boat.  As the weather improved, but still gusty winds, we sailed with double reefed main and jib up to Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island.  

Just off the sand and coral we saw Proserpine rock-wallabies, which have been introduced by Qld DEH for conservation.  They are very cute, have black paws, a mostly black tail with a white tip.