25 June
North East Island to Middle Percy Island
The weather forecast is concerning me. We have 20-25 knot SE winds expected for at
least the next four days, getting up to 30 for some of that. Although the outer Barrier Reef prevents big
sea swells from getting to us, 25-30 knot winds can still throw up
some very uncomfortable seas. Last night
was a little rolly but we’re quite safe here at North East (Percy) Island.
Spencer is very keen to see Middle Percy, and I’d like to
have a stop there as well. It’s
considered to be one of the cruising “must dos” and I had a wonderful,
though short, experience there on my last trip through. The pilot books recommend Middle Percy only
in SE winds of up to 15 knots. We’ve spent quite some time discussing how we can manage all of this, and decide that we’ll go there this morning, using the opportunity of a slight, 24
hour reduction in the forecast strong winds. If
it looks ok we’ll stay there for a night.
If not we’ll still have time to head westwards to another anchorage before
dark.
North East Island and Middle Percy Island are only separated
by about a mile of water, and the trip from our anchorage on North East Island,
rounding the bottom of Middle Percy and then up to its western side, is about
eight miles. With the wind behind us we
cover that distance in a little over an hour.
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| Our very protective anchorage on North East Island |
This is my second visit to Middle Percy Island. I clearly remember the first time I rounded
the southern headland of West Bay and saw the beach come
into view. I had the same reveal this
time around, and it’s another brochure-perfect scene. Long sandy beach, palm trees and the A-frame
sitting in the middle of it.
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| The beach and A-frame on West Bay, Middle Percy Island |
Middle Percy has long been occupied by a series of families and individuals. It's current lessees, Cate and John are a continuation of the family that has lived here since 1964. The homestead, sitting several kilometres up the hill from the beach, was built in the 1920s and is essentially in original condition. The A-frame is a
wooden structure built by Cate's cousin back in the 1970s and is a meeting point for cruising yachties. Crews come ashore and mingle for drinks and nibbles every afternoon, and will often bring food with them for a shared BBQ dinner. It's custom for each visiting boat to leave some item, named and dated, as a record of their stay. It's a remarkable thing in its own right.
The weather is simply perfect, so there's no question we'll be staying for the night. A little sadly, the forecasts seem to have scared other boats away, and there's only four boats anchored in the bay. More room for us, I guess. First order is to go ashore. I wear my Jazzamatazz crew hat, hoping I can find that boat's memento from our visit here in 2017.
Enough with the comments - I have just too many photos to show of this wonderful, wonderful place.
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| The A-frame - a yachties' meeting place |
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| I've brought my boat to Middle Percy! |
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| Me, outside the A-frame - an absolutely eclectic mix of memorabilia |
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| Spencer on the balcony of the A-frame - the "Percy Hilton" |
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| Looking out over West Bay from the balcony of the A-frame |
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| I found the autographed Jazzamatazz crew hat from my 2017 visit |
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| Landscaping is done with lots of coconuts |
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| Stunning views from every angle - this just in front of the A-frame |
Around 4pm I see other people around the A-frame so I pack some things and head over for drinks. On shore are Neil and Mark who have sailed down from Airlie Beach and are staying in the Treehouse on the beach, Heather and Jim from the yacht Argonaut of Melbourne, and Spencer has come back from his walk. We've previously seen Argonaut of Melbourne in a couple of earlier anchorages as we've each worked our way north, but this is the first time we've met personally.
With the sun setting, the island throws up some more photo opportunities.
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