2009 another season in "PARADISE"

"The weather was beautiful one day and perfect the next".........

Without a doubt the best weather we have experienced over the years cruising on Family Affair

Family visitors on Family Affair

The Holland family (Peter’s nephew Mark, Erica and children Justin 14yrs and Emma 11yrs from WA) were on board for 10 exciting days. During their visit we spent a day at Day Dream Island where we took the opportunity to watch an the footie grand final in one of the local character pubs. Nightly anchorages were spent at Nara, Langford Reef, Tongue Bay, Turtle Bay, Gulnere and in front of Airlie Beach. The snorkeling was pristine at Blue Pear Bay, Butterfly Bay and Manta Ray Bay, the views spectacular at Hill Inlet and Hamilton Island and great swimming was had at White Haven beach and the other anchorages we were at. A feed of Oysters taken from the rocks at Gulnere was a bonus as were the delicious scones Emma cooked and the freshly baked bread which was a very popular daily event. The family took a Ferry trip to the outer reef on one day to round their holiday off beautifully. Family Affair copes very well with a ‘full house’

Our Time

It was the right time to head back into Laguna to do more work on the boat (Peter painted the roof) and take the opportunity to catch up with a number of our yachtie friends. We always enjoy the community BBQ’s held on Friday nights at the marina and were pleased to be able to visit Lynton and Barb from “ Ka La Wee” in their holiday home at Midge Point for a yummy roast meal. Chris also had a great Saturday at the markets and then more retail therapy around Airlie with Sue from one of the other boats. After a week in the marina it was time to head out to the Islands for a stint. As the weather was glorious we had some very relaxing lazy days swimming in the crystal clear waters and soaking up the beauty and tranquility of Chance Bay and Gulnere anchorages. As the weather conditions did not suit visits to White Haven Beach we were in close proximity to Sea planes and snorkeling and diving tour boats for one of the days. It all added to the spectacle

dust storm

A Dust Storm

What a difference a dust storm makes! The whole East coast of Australia was engulfed by dust storms due to the extreme weather conditions inland. The dust hung around like a fog reducing visibility to 2 kilometers and stayed with us for about 6 days. During that time the beauty of the area was completely masked. Fortunately it did not affect the water clarity and the snorkeling was still beautiful