Sailing Erica: October 2010 - 2nd Visitors in 12 Months

It's amazing what a difference a week makes in the Whitsundays, as our first visitors had a week of sunshine and no wind, and our second visitors, Dana and Barry, arrived with a strong wind warning and rain forecast. Not to be put off, we quickly bundled everyone onto Erica and had a very fast reach across Whitsunday Passage to the northern end of Hook Island arriving at the picturesque Butterfly Bay. We were all quickly in the water making the most of the "calm" 20knot conditions before the real wind came. Day two saw us snorkelling with waves breaking over the dinghy but it was still great fun. In very poor conditions, wind and rain, we motored to Cid Harbour to climb Whitsunday Peak as soon as the rain slowed down. It was great on the walk to see waterfalls working at this time of year and the views were still spectacular in spite of the clouds. Always staying positive, a break in the weather gave us the chance to sail up to Whitehaven Beach and enjoy a swim in the brief sunshine followed by a rolly night's sleep with the leftover sea. Next day saw us braving another sail through Solway Passage and onto Hamilton Island, where our guests jumped ship for a stationary bed in a luxury resort. Life in paradise is tough sometimes but we love it!!

Erica and crew in the calm of the Marina