"And so I'm sailing through the sea..."

As some of you may know, last weekend I road tripped to Proserpine to visit Mark, who is there for 8 weeks completing his rural prac. During his time in Proserpine, Mark has made friends with a lovely dentist named Basil. Basil has a sailing boat, and was kind enough to take us sailing around the Whitsundays for the weekend. For those of you who haven't yet sailed through the Whitsundays, get up offa that thang and add this to your bucket list, because it is just incredible! Deserted beaches, intricate coral, clear waters, blue skies, ocean breeze... I could go on; there is so much untamed beauty! We really had a wonderful weekend, and there is so much that I could write about here. However, for the sake of time, I thought that I would write a list of things that I have learnt from the weekend:

• If you begin to feel sea sick, DO NOT go below deck; this will only increase the wooziness.
  
• If you want to steer the boat, make sure that you have an acceptable degree of strength in your arms (or a willing boyfriend), otherwise your arms will quickly tire out and it will be difficult to remain on course.
  
• If you have long hair and are prone to day dreaming in the shower, do not attempt to wash your hair in the piddly shower on board the boat. This may lead to accidentally flooding the bathroom and having to endure the awkward process of emerging from the bathroom wrapped in a towel to ask Basil to please drain the excess water. Washing long hair in the ocean is a much better option.
  
• There are no words to describe the beauty of watching the sun set over the ocean.
  
• Some beaches consist entirely of white coral rather than sand. When the ocean hits the shore it sounds a lot like glass. It may also feel like glass to walk on. Still incredibly beautiful.
  
• Summoning Basil with a whistle to pick you up in the dingy from the shore is fun for lots of reasons.
  
• "Dang dingy dang di-dang di-dang dingy dingy" is a fun song to sing while climbing aboard the dingy.
  
• There are lots of fun songs to sing about sailing, however most of them have little to do with boats.
  
• A guitar is a vital component to a sailing trip.
  
• Deserted caves on deserted beaches have huge scary spiders and bats that make strange high pitched noises.
  
• Walking through 10 metres of sharp rocks is generally a good indication that there are more sharp rocks to come.
  
• If your keen-bean boyfriend suggests climbing around the rugged circumference of an island (consisting of said sharp rocks), you should probably ponder your response before excitedly exclaiming "Yes!"
  
• Three hours of walking on sharp rocks doesn't tickle.
  
• Having to turn back and re-trace your steps after conquering three quarters of the island only to realise that there is a significant crevice that you can not cross may be a little disappointing, although still a worth while adventure.
  
• Sand is reminiscent of satin after having walked on sharp rocks for three hours.
  
• Coral can be a strange and marvelous thing. Poking squishy slimy brain-like coral never gets old.
  
• Black forest cheesecake is an enjoyable way to make friends.
• Listening to Basil tell stories of all the wonderful places that he has sailed to around the world is a perfect way to pass time.
  
• There are so many beautiful shells on beaches that you can take home to serve as little reminders of the gorgeous places that you have visited. This will only be dampened if your boyfriend thinks that you should have a shell quota to limit the number of shells that you take from each beach.
  
• People should be allowed to take more than three shells per beach.
• You can find a loop-hole in the shell quota by taking three shells and one gigantor piece of coral.
  
• Generosity shown by people who you have only just met is deeply encouraging.