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Taking the family sailing into the azure blue of the Whitsunday Islands is easy. The hard part could be taming them before returning to civilization.

Now and then, a shared moment strikes that just shouts 'Unforgettable,' and you know it will stay with you and your child your entire lives. I am in such a time.

Seawater is shooting through the catamaran's net, spraying my elder son who is sitting on my lap at the front of the boat. It rises and dips in the waters of Australia's bright blue coral sea, while birds wheel above and islands dot the horizon. Every dip and rise creates more spray, more delighted squeals and causes little fingers to clutch mine in excitement.

We are sailing among the Whitsundays, part of the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef on Australia's east coast, and it is giving our family a sense of shared freedom, hardly experienced on land. Land had been fine as a prelude to this. We enjoyed plenty of water activities including seakayaking, windsurfing, jet skiing and paddleboarding on Hamilton Island, however, sailing was topping it all.

A Solo Adventure

Would we be OK? Would we be able to ensure a family holiday full of fun, sun, sea and sand? Would we run aground?

We chose a chartered catamaran, though we considered Sunsail's "Cruise By The Cabin" voyage that offers a skipper, a cook/hostess and other passengers. It sounded great for a relaxing holiday and especially useful for single parents or those who don't feel like cooking or sailing themselves.  Our independent little tribe, however, opted to have a whole boat to ourselves. However, all our food is with us. Instead of shopping ourselves and lugging it to the yacht, we opted for Sunsail to provision us, supplying food that lasts the entire trip.

Yachting means that everything travels with you and as any parent knows, being free of the burdens of constantly packing and unpacking is not to be underestimated, as is the convenience of simply strolling to the fridge for a drink or a snack. Just meters away from where son and I sit at the front of the boat, lies four cabins, a kitchen, a lounge, and an outdoor table with seats all making up the compact accommodation.

My eldest son proudly bears the title of "Cabin Boy" and is suffering no one else to supervise the nightly moorings, or be the first out of the dinghy when we reach island shores to play on silky white beaches or walk in the forests.  Two-year-old offspring surprises us all by sighting dolphins one day and jumping up on grandma's lap, pointing and squealing until we all run to the rails to watch these amazing animals leap about.  Youngest son sleeps more soundly than any other time in his life. The rocking of the boat has him dozing before the first bedtime story is finished and he spends much of the daytime also sleeping soundly in a cabin. Aaaah, now that is a fond memory to last the rest of one's sleepless parenthood.