Out to the islands

Up early to head out to Hunter Island. A bit overcast, but the forecast was for a good 15-20 knot south easterly. The seas were up around 2 metres, but Windana sailed beautifully with a headsail and reefed main. The kids enjoyed watching the waves roll through from behind us and we were ever on the lookout for the biggest ones. Saw plenty of whales, with lots of blows, some slaps and flukes and about half a dozen times we saw them leap completely out of the water!! Conditions were a bit much for the autopilot, so Tony and I shared the helm. We had fun trying to clock the fastest speeds and hit the 8 knot mark quite consistently in around 16-22 knots of wind. After lunch, we decided that the wind angle and the current were conspiring to push us towards Hexam Island rather than Hunter, so we went with it and anchored mid afternoon. Within an hour a couple more boats arrived and we started swinging close to the one that was there before us. Upped anchor and decided to move across to Shields Island, which we had all to ourselves. Eventually the swell found us, so it was a bit of a lumpy night.