We woke up at our hotel to the sound of the screaming birds. After eating breakfast we were all packed and made our way down to the marina. After some prep time we boarded the boat/our home for the next three nights. After that, Tash, one of the crew members from the boat, gave us all the information we would need for four days of sailing. Then we chose our beds and officially set sail.

We all gathered on the high side of the boat for around an hour as the boat crashed through the waves. The boat was heavily inclined due to higher winds, so sitting on the edge was extremely fun, exciting, and even a little unnerving at times. We then had a delicious lunch of sandwiches and rode a little motor boat to our first stop, Whitehaven Beach. This beach is extremely rare and beautiful because of how pure the sand is. The sand is composed of 98% silica and therefore never heats up, is very reflective, super soft, and makes for a great exfoliant. We spent some time enjoying the beach and then went back to the boat to have a dinner prepped by the crew. After a leisurely meal and some down time we boated back to the beach to see the sand illuminate under the full moon. We ended the day with our group meeting under the stars.

Next day we woke up at 7 AM to the noises from the motor and people singing. After breakfast our first stop was to visit the north end of Whitehaven Beach, which was incredible. We hiked to three different lookout points, took a lot of pictures, and then went to a secret spot on the beach. Here we had some free time where we tanned, swam, and hiked in the beautiful forest. After a couple of hours we headed back to the boat and had a great lunch. Then we went to the snorkeling site where we first saw giant fish of all colors, but the water was cold enough that we didn’t last long. After that site we had about 30 minutes until we arrived at our next site where only a brave group of participants ventured out to snorkel again. At this spot, the main attraction was not the fish…it was the coral! The coral came in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and was beautiful. After snorkeling everyone dried off and we sailed for a little back to the marina to restock on food and water for our remaining two days. The day ended with a huge dinner of spaghetti bolognese and a game of Mafia.

— Katelyn, Zack, & the crew