Whitsunday Islands (13.08.2012): We spent the morning in Airlie today as we didn't board our sailing boat until 2pm. We had a nice walk along the beach checking out the market. Airlie is a lovely little town that is well kitted out for travellers. At 1:15pm we set off to Able Point Marina where we would board the British Defender. The boat is amazing. It has been on trans-atlantic races and has also sailed around the world winning many medals. Of course we were bound to love it - a bit of home on OZ waters. The boat was built in Southampton and the Tower Bridge was opened for it to pass down the Thames on its maiden voyage.

After we had stowed our belongings we set sail. The crew were complete adrenalin freaks and tilted the boat as much they could. I really thought it would swing over but alas they knew what they were doing. It was amazing. We have food included for our 2 day 2 night trip so making the most of having vegetables - all of our food has been very brown. We slept in the crew bunk beds which was an experience. Towards the evening we headed for Border Island where we took a sunset walk to a great lookout.

We have met some great people on the boat. The night was filled with beer, cards and uno. This is the life!