Sailing Day #2

Monday Mobs & I woke to a downpour. It was quite depressing because, after some brekky, we had to get on the Ragamuffin again for sailing day 2. Once on the boat, Angela served us tea & passed out massive, neon yellow raincoats. Mobley & I found our spot behind the wheel & prepared for the rain. We literally sailed through a storm. It was out of control. We only had 15 people on the boat today, so Kim volunteered Mobs & I to help get the sails up & man part of the ship. Yikes. Even though the weather on the way to Pearl Bay was horrendous, we were cracking up the whole way there. We had quite the group of passengers. Everyone was making us laugh—the overexcited man from Brisbane (who swam up to the boat the day before to tell George he was sailing with him tomorrow), the nannies from Germany… It was an adventure. Once we got to Pearl Bay (Haymon Island) we took the dingy out to part of the Great Barrier Reef. Mobley & I went to sign the release forms for scuba diving, but were denied by the guide—asthma & back surgery. Just great. We took the snorkel route.


We suited up in our stinger suits, & around the bay completely AMAZED. I can’t even begin to explain how fabulous the reef was. The corral was bright blues, pinks, & yellows. One of the corrals looked like there were little blue lights on the end of each piece. Everything seemed neon. The fish were even more amazing. The colors were electric. There were green fish with bright blue faces, pink stripes, & bright orange eyes. One of the fish had bright spots on it, like little lights. Everything was so unreal. There were massive colored fish—like 4 ft fish swimming around. Mobs chased them all around the reef, getting pics with our underwater camera. We also swam along with a sea turtle. It was amazing, so peaceful. Towards the end, we found ourselves in a school of fish: blue & yellow fish, small silver ones, & pastel colored ones. When the sun hit, the fish sparkled like glitter. I was literally surrounded by them. The fish weren’t afraid. It was magical—felt like the Little Mermaid. I can’t even explain it all! It was like the children’s book Rainbow Fish, but MUCH better. At the end (Mobs & I were the last into the dingy) I saw a jellyfish swim by my mask & I freaked… screamed to Mobley & swam back to the group. We then had a buffet on the boat & sailed back. After a short nap, we chatted with the crew, had some fruit, & unloaded from the boat at Shute. That night we had dinner at a Mexican-like restaurant—decided to splurge. We hung out in Airlie Beach & then walked along the coast home (Bicentennial Walkway), watching the parrots & the waves crash in.