Did you notice my absence for the past week? Probably not.

But I was, because I was cruising around the Whitsunday Islands on this catamaran for 7 days. It's a graduation trip with a fleet of around 12 boats.




-Navigation is pretty fun. That was my main job as First Mate. It's relatively simple with GPS maps that show you exactly where you are, but we still did things a bit old-school by measuring out distance/bearings and matching it up with tides.

-Anchoring is more involved than I thought. Before this I expected it to be a "drop it in the water and all is good" exercise. In reality you have chain length, tidal/wind approaches, mud/sand/coral bed and shore distances to consider.

-Polarised sunglasses are the bomb. Everyone should get them.

-There's no such thing as sneaky sex. The boat rocks. We know.

-Expired sunscreen can be okay. It can also give you a rash. You've been warned.

-Check that the sulage pumps have power. Not emptying your holding tanks for 3 days means it starts to smell quite bad.

-If you're not tipsy you're doing it wrong. Drinking enhances boating 100x. Just keep someone under the limit in case boat police people come by.