Middle Percy to Hoskyn Island...

We left Middle Percy Island at 0730 on 10 November. West Bay was empty after our departure - everyone else had moved around to Escape Bay the night before due to the arrival of gentle Northerly winds.

The conditions were light during the morning and we sailed under spinnaker and full main with a number of other yachts - including Nimrod and Duet. By late afternoon we lowered the spinnaker and hoisted the code zero. Lucey Blue was still sailing nicely at 8-9 knots, but before dusk we lowered the code zero and reefed the mainsail as thunderstorms were predicted along the coast and we wanted to time our arrival to coincide with high tide.

At around midnight with low cloud, no moon and storms along the coast we sailed between Mast Head Island and Erskine Island. There appeared to be five to six yachts anchored in the lagoon at Fitzroy Reef when we sailed past and as we approached Hoskyn Island we watched  - on our AIS - more than eight boats leave Lady Musgrave. The outer reef was amazingly busy, but our destination looked peaceful enough...

Middle Percy Island...

We stayed a few days at Middle Percy in West Bay swimming, visiting the homestead and generally having fun.

The hospitality of the island leaseholders remains a highlight and much to the delight of the kids we were lucky enough to arrive shortly after the arrival of several baby goats!

One sunny afternoon Ryan, Eric and Dad went around the corner of the bay to a large sand dune. Ryan and Eric had a ball running up and down. Despite a few spectaular stacks everyone made it safely back to Lucey Blue.

                                   

Thanks for having us again Kate! We hope to come again sometime soon... 

A busy day sailing south to Middle Percy Island

After a few weeks in the Whitsundays we decided to continue our journey south. On a still morning we left Hamilton Island and motor sailed slowly down the coast to Percy Island.

The conditions were nice and we spent most of the morning reading while the kids played or slept in the cockpit.

A Spotted Mackerel interrupted our busy schedule at around lunchtime.  But no one complained too loudly!

We arrived at West Bay at around 2230 that night and anchored alongside several other yachts.

Middle Percy Island - Fishing

Emily and Ryan continue to fish whenever there is an opportunity and Percy Island has plenty to offer the avid angler if you have fresh bait.

At low tide large schools of Garfish flocked around Lucey Blue and many of the other boats in West Bay. Marty invited the kids to catch some with his drag net which was a fun way to spend an evening, but we did not have much luck.

Not to be deterred we pulled out our cast net and with a little help from the kids (in the form of bread crumbs) we soon had a bucket load of Garfish on the back deck.

We were super keen for a fish dinner and the fish guide rated Garfish as good eating (if you don't mind small bones) so the decision was made to have mini fish fingers for dinner. Filleting Garfish is fiddly work, but after about 40 minutes we had enough to batter in Panko bread crumbs and deep-fry. Emily also caught a 25 cm Sea Bream which we added to our supply. Our evening meal that night was remarkably good.

The next day we decided to change tack - prehaps inspired by Angus from Roar Ege or just the thought of filleting another load of Garfish. With a few crumbs of WEETBIX we lured some Garfish to the surface and within easy range of our cast net. With a fresh Garfish on a gang hook we sat back for some afternoon nibbles and waited.

A short while later the hand line wizzed out and a shout from the crew of Lucey Blue was heard across the bay - we have a fish! We had something big on the line and with a little running around we traded our tiny Garfish for an 8 kg Golden Trevally (and it's attached small Remora...Two for the price of one!!).

We had a superb dinner that night and have enough Trevally left for several more meals. It is very statisfying to be travelling with the wind, making our own water, baking our own bread and now catching our own fish!

Middle Percy Island - Our return...

We arrived back at Middle Percy Island on the 7th of August and had our pick of the anchorage. The conditions had improved considerably and we jumped at the chance to explore the island again.

We split our time between domestic duties, bush walks, swimming and fishing. We also hung our new memento - crafted from a piece of driftwood found on South Percy - in the A-Frame to mark our return.

On our second day we walked up to the homestead. We saw so many beautiful things, including loads of Blue Tiger Butterflies and native orchids in flower on grand old fig trees. 

The island leaseholders (Cate and John) were not home on our first visit, but we found Steve and his dog Diamond at the Round House. We discussed the last few years since our previous visit and what life was like during the category five cyclone that hit the island in early 2015. 

Steve lost most of his vege patch, but he survived the 200km hour winds inside the Round House - a circular structure clad entirely in old house windows and tin roofing. We were glad to see that most of the cyclone damage was limited to isolated patchs down the hill perhaps due to topography effects and some good luck.

Sam, Emily and Ryan returned to the homestead the next morning to watch the honey harvest and enjoyed several hours in the company of the islanders. Ryan loved helping to clean out the honeycomb and all avoided being stung by unhappy bees. They also found some interesting coconut trail markers. Best of all they managed to stock up on some of the local produce - eggs and passionfruit etc.

Each evening more yachts arrived to enjoy the island and within a day or so there were over fifteen other vessels in West Bay - including a 120-foot powerboat on it's way to Cairns. But there was never an issue with space enough for all to share...

Middle Percy Island - Anyone up for surfing or coconuts?

The strong southerly winds arrived at around 01:00 on the 5th of August just as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology predicted and Middle Percy lived up to its name as a rolly anchorage.

By first light most of the other yachts had left and an hour later we had West Bay all to ourselves. Well nearly, two of the island locals - Marty and Jane from the Tree House - were out surfing.

Lucey Blue was right off the edge of the surf zone due to some unusual tide on wind effects. Sam tried to get into the spirit of things, but it was rather uncomfortable for a few hours and we could not go ashore because of the conditions.

By around 10:00 we could hit the beach without fear of swamping the dinghy and we played around collecting coconuts and tried our hand at various beach sports - like you do at all five star resorts.

Collecting the coconuts was fun, but the best part was opening them back in 'the office' with a large machete. The kids - all of them - had fun in the sun even if it was still a little windy.

The weather forecast predicted that the wind would return that night so rather than tying everything down again we decided to relocate to South Percy for a few days as it provided better protection from the prevailing winds.

South Percy proved to be a great location...

Lady Musgrave to Middle Percy Island - Sailing at speed

We arrived at Middle Percy Island at around 15:00 on the 4th of August after a quiet overnight trip from Lady Musgrave. There was very little wind for the first twelve hours, but a 10-15 knot southwest to westerly breeze kicked in as we passed Island Head Creek so we could sail!

Sam was desperate for some colour so we hoisted our flaming red spinnaker and took off down the coast at a consistent 8.5 plus knots. The wind shifted around causing us to alternated between the code zero and our spinnaker which was fun - our top speed was 9.8 knots. The sailing difference between Lucey Blue from our last trip is amazing - old sails and three bladed fixed propellers would have limited us to 7 knots in the conditions. We love our new gear!

We had expected to find West Bay empty as a strong southerly was forecast to arrive by the 5th of August and the anchorage is exposed. But the bay was packed with small racing yachts making their way up to Hamilton Island for race week.

Despite being a little tired we ducked ashore to check out the beach and A-Frame. We didn't stay long as we were all keen for a hot shower and an earlier night...

Middle Percy Island hospitality

As I mentioned in the previous post, we still have more to tell you about our stay at Middle Percy Island (fair warning...this post has a bazillion pictures!!).

We stayed at Middle Percy Island for five lovely, warm and sunny days. When we arrived at West Bay on Friday 12th August the anchor had barely touched the sand when Ryan and I jumped overboard and swam ashore.  Dad stayed aboard Lucey Blue to ensure we weren't dragging, but I couldn't resist the almost 25 degree, bright blue water and lovely clean sandy beach that beckoned. West Bay looked like a little tropical oasis!

The sun, sand and scenery of beautiful West Bay beckon!

However, it was the hospitably of the island’s resident caretakers - Cate, John, Ernst and Steve - that really made our stay. Cate and John hold a 20-year lease over some of the best parts of the island with the rest forming a national park. They have set about repairing the old homestead and other historic infrastructure as well as heartily welcoming visitors to the island. Andy Martin (Cate’s cousin) established a welcoming island culture over his three plus decades on Middle Percy and it is great to see it coming back to life.

The A-frame....a place packed full of visitor's memorabilia

The treehouse...the place with the telephone!

On our first night at Middle Percy Island Ernst and Steve came down to the A-Frame on the beach to cook goat stew for everyone, with the yachties providing the vegetables, snacks and drinks. After collecting the firewood and getting the stew going Ernst, Steve and Cate chatted with us about the island's history and life on a remote island. There were about nineteen yachties ashore that night, from 6 separate boats – some on their way to the Hamilton Island Race Week and others just cruising north like us – and the conversation was fast and lively.

Ernst cooking goat stew on the BBQ behind the A-frame hut

Sunset over Pine Island and West Bay

Feeding the littlest Post as the sun sets (and the sandflies descend ;-)

Ryan enjoying a hearty bowl of stew with Steve in the background. The kids and I all went back for seconds...that's how good Percy island goat stew is!

Steve, an ex-park ranger who also happened to grow up on the neighbouring Pine Island with his lighthouse-keeping parents, brought a bevy of animals down to the beach for the kids to feed and play with. There was: Diamond the dog, Ginger the goat (6 weeks old), Jack the goat (2 weeks old) and Winnie the Wallaroo joey (3 months old). I am not sure who had more fun – Emily, Ryan or Sam.

Sam and Ryan feeding Jack the goat

Emily feeding Ginger...who was quite a messy eater

Ernst with Ryan cuddling Jack

Emily and Winnie the Wallaroo joey

We spent the next few days exploring the island, visiting Cate at the homestead and having lunch with Steve at the Rondarval...

The long walk up to the homestead is punctuated by various motivational poems and fun sayings scattered along the track, these were especially useful in encouraging the kids to keep going on the long slog uphill!

This one comes just before you turn a corner and are greeted with a gorgeous, sweeping view out towards South Percy and beyond.

Another beautiful poem is found in a tree on the side of the track, and Emily read it out for all of us...

We also had the good fortune to meet and make friends with another cruising family on the catamaran Roar Ege. Angus, Mel, Michael and Fiona promptly put to rest any notion we had that fish were getting scarce in Queensland waters. They caught two large Mackerel right off the back of their cat in West Bay!!! We couldn't have been happier for them, especially as they shared both with us...thanks again guys, the fish was delicious and your company much appreciated.

Eric’s top two front teeth also made their first appearance at Middle Percy, but despite a few sleepless nights (for which we were given some unusual 'proven' teething solutions)...

...the bottle was empty before it was offered to Eric...promise!

...our time on the island has been one of the highlights of the trip thus far. It looks like the warm and welcoming culture of Middle Percy is alive and well, and our thanks go to everyone who helped make our stay so special.