Maggie's 18th

We celebrated Maggie's birthday a few days early by renting a boat and heading out on the South China Sea with a group of her classmates.

We boarded at Sai Kung and motored to Tai She Wan - a fairly protected bay, with a rocky beach and an abandoned restaurant on shore. It was so much quicker than motoring all the way around from TST so we got there early and secured a spot close to shore. 

"Big Snake Bay" was a great swimming spot; calm and peaceful for a few hours until the breeze picked up and the waters became choppy outside. Then a party boat showed up and blasted their music - glad they were tunes we knew - and other cruisers also came and dropped anchors to hang out, too. There were some beautiful boats with fancy toys (like a motorized wakeboard) to match!

The water was still chilly so not everyone chose to swim, but it was a beautiful sunny day to hang out on deck. They brought Twister, card games, books, fishing lures, and some actually did homework! We had lunch before riding the banana boat and trying wake boarding, then birthday cake in the afternoon before heading back. Even the party boat finally quieted down so everyone could enjoy that golden hour before sunset.

Blowing out the "candle"

We motored back as the sun was setting. We really enjoy our outings on the water and will have to go again soon!