Whilst Sailing We Got

...wet.

Sailing the Whitsunday Islands is a must of the east coast. I was told to go by every traveler friend I had before I set foot outside of England and had been hugely looking forward to the whole experience. We chose catamaran Avatar for our maiden voyage and spent one night in Airlie Beach before departing for the islands. Airlie was very liveable-lots of bars and clubs on the strip, cafes and amenities as well as a lagoon (not quite on a par with Cairns but still beautiful).

On the morning of our sailing trip, my heart sank when I saw the drizzly weather. It had not even crossed my mind that it might rain on this trip and my visions of the days to come consisted solely of lounging on a boat soaking up the sun. Unfortunately we had our fair share of bad weather - rough seas meant lots of splashback on the boat and torrential rain hit us several time meaning I began to forget what it was like to be dry. However, we certainly enjoyed moments of sunshine and lapped them up. After stepping on to Whitehaven Beach, expecting to enjoy (officially) the most beautiful beach in the world, we were hit with another batch of torrential rain which inevitably sent us into fits of giggles. We still managed to capture the inevitable group pyramid shot and a couple of jumping photos in moments of sunshine and the white soft sand made of silica was unforgettable.

What really topped off the experience was the company. Despite often only having a short amount of time to spend with new people, occasionally you meet people who you feel have been your best friend all along. It's uplifting but always disappointing when you realise you're heading in opposite directions along the coast and that soon you will part ways.

The weather may not have been on our side but it could not dampen our spirits. We cuddled kettles to keep warm, danced on the deck to Vengaboys, gazed at whales and dolphins playing alongside our boat and rode the roller coaster waves for three days and two nights before clambering back ashore for our after party (and free Domino's pizza).

Unforgettable.