We were in the dinghy and heading over to the point by around 8.00. There were already about 3 other dinghies on the shore and another large one followed soon after us. We had noticed there was a large tourist boat anchored in the bay after we had arrived. And this time of the morning was obviously the best time for doing this walk – and all the visitors were making the most of it. It was a shortish walk – only about 15mins to the lookout. And once again, a spectacular view out over the NE side of Whitsunday Island. You could actually do a walk down onto the southern most tip of Whitehaven Beach, which many of the tourists were doing, but we decided to go back to the yacht and commence our sail around. The dinghy trip was over pretty choppy waters and so was a lot bumpier than the previous day’s trip – a few of us ended up quite wet, so needed a change of clothes when we got back to the yacht.
We pulled up anchor and headed out around Tongue Point and along beside Whitehaven Beach. The swell was such that we were getting rolled around quite a lot. The wind direction was such that Whitehaven beach was exposed to a lot of wind and swell that day. Michael felt that trying to anchor and dinghy in to the beach would not be pleasant today, so we decided to go to a more protected area up around Hook Island, and come to Whitehaven another time. So we tacked a couple of times to turn around and head back the way we had come. It was a work out for Michael, Lauren and Sam. The sail back up the east side of Whitsunday Island was a bit hair-raising at times. The swell was such that the dinghy behind us was sometimes sitting at the height of the cockpit while on the crest of a wave. I was down below with the 2 younger girls for a while, but started to feel a bit seasick. I lay down on a bed with my eyes closed, but then they needed me up above for a while. I was needed to steer, with Lauren and Sam manning a rope on either side of the cockpit, so that Michael could go up front and try to release the headsail which had got stuck as they were trying to furl it in. I’d set the girls up to watch a movie on their iPads down below. I stayed up top after I’d finished helping out, as it was more likely to help relieve my seasickness than going back down below. Lauren grabbed my jacket for me and checked on the girls every now and then – thankfully they didn’t seem to be having any problem with seasickness. After about 15mins, I started to feel much better. Hannah and Beth eventually joined us all up in the cockpit for the last half hour or so of sailing before we reached our destination, which was Nara Inlet on Hook Island. We got to a fairly sheltered spot by about 12.30 and anchored there. We all heaved a sigh of relief to be out of the swell, and then we had some lunch. Bethany was saying she was too tired to eat, so she was sent to lie down – she promptly fell asleep, which she obviously needed. We decided we all could do with an afternoon rest, or at least quiet time, so that’s what happened. I must have slept for a couple of hours because it was after 3.00 when Michael finally woke me. No-one else had slept, but they’d watched movies and rested.
We had some afternoon tea, and then Michael took the kids for a dinghy ride over to the beach we were anchored near. There was some coral reef near the edge which they explored for a bit (with their reef shoes on). I stayed on the boat and typed up some blog. When they got back to the boat, the kids had a bit more of a swim off the back of the boat, before having quick showers and into warm clothes. Then Hannah and Beth did some pages in their journal while Lauren and Sam did some blogging and checking emails. We were having a BBQ for dinner that night, so Michael started up the BarB on the back of the boat. I got the rest of dinner ready and then sat up the back watching the boats in the dusk for a while. We had dinner, cleaned up, read books and then everyone (except me) was in bed by 8pm and asleep soon after. Because I’d napped, I stayed up a bit longer dong some blogging and reading, but not too late.