well there is a lot to catch up on! while we have been making great progress, internet access has been patchy at best so no updates for nearly a week, so lots of photos coming up and some basic commentary to go with it! we left you last at great keppel island where we spent a night anchored in second bay.
the next day we sailed into rosslyn bay marina, the marina servicing yeppoon. we went straight to the fuel wharf and refilled the tank before docking in our berth and meeting our old mate brian ‘livo’ livingtone.
livo used to live in gove and comes up every year for a fishing trip – this years trip was to be a few weeks cruising on lumiel with us! after a quick look at the boat and his cabin, we went and had lunch at the restaurant at the marina. the next couple of days were a mad rush of catching up with brian’s family – penny his wife, cate, his daughter and dave, his brother, all of whom have joined us on the annual fishing trips over the years. it was also a quick provisioning stop and grab a couple of hardware items needed for the boat.
we were itching to get going again so a couple of days later we slipped lines and headed up to island head creek for an overnight before the run out to the percy group of islands.
Stunning sail from 0700-1200h 7-8k mainly, a top speed of 8.3k – broad reach SW of about 10-12k. as predicted breeze dropped and backed all the way, S, SE, E, and NE! We motor sailed a bit, then motored, then a bit more motor sailing when we got to port clinton.
managed to run aground in island head creek looking for anchorage. luckily it was right on low tide. discovered gear selection on port sail drive had failed again. dave fixed without really knowing what he did!
the sail up to middle percy from island head creek was the best we have had yet, hit 9k at one stage and only had to motor sail the last couple of hours as the breeze dropped out again.
- sailing north
- chillin’
- another sunset
- percy island yacht club
- inside the a-frame
- lumiel lying in west bay, middle percy
on april fool’s day we arrived at middle percy island in the mid afternoon and went ashore to visit the famous a-frame on the beach with all the names of all the yachts that have visited over the years. its become a mecca for cruising yachties on the east coast.
we had a comfortable night anchored in west bay at middle percy island and after breakfast did some exploring of the lagoon in the dinghy and then brian and i headed up the hills for the 2 km climb to the homestead where the new leaseholders, robin and annie, live. its an amazing walk firstly along the edge of the lagoon, and then at high tide, across a fair section of it with only the old poles from the redundant telephone line to follow! after that the path climbs up thru rain forest filled with thousands of tiger blue butterflies which was amazing.
arriving at the homestead after an hour, we were warmly greeted by robin and annie and after signing up for our membership of the percy island yacht club and having our dog tags printed off on the korean war printer, and presented with a plaque and burgee for the boat, we accepted their offer off a lift back down to the beach in their ute along the long track which takes a different path and has stunning views across the ocean to the south.
we would have loved to stay longer, but we must keep moving and the 2 nights and one full day was really all we could afford.
- history!
- inside the a-frame
- more…
- looking into the beach and club house
- dinner
- brian’s scrambled egg b’fast
i highly recommend researching the story of percy island and the lease, its a fascinating one and its good to see the re-energisation that rob and annie are bringing there with kerry’s help.
- joshua, in the lagoon
- looking out the lagoon entrance
- the original site of the boat names, the telephone shed.
- the story
- old sign
- more
of course we had to add to the tradition, we settled on using one our gove boat club stubbie coolers as our name plate.
- amazing carving outside the a-frame
- the ‘path’ thru the lagoon on the way up to the homestead
- fig tree
- homestead garden
- annie making our dog tags
behind the a-shed there is a treehouse nestled in the side of the hill and it can be rented out as accomodation, its quite an amazing setup with 3 levels, a pizza oven and and escape ladder!
- treehouse
- treehouse
- treehouse
- treehouse
- treehouse
- treehouse
- treehouse
when rob & annie gave us a lift back down to the beach, we stopped to enjoy this view from the top of middle percy looking south.
after a very happy, if short stay at middle percy we set sail for scrawfell island in the southern whitsundays for an overnight stop before heading on to thomas island for another night which would set us up for an early start to sail up thru the whitsunday passage and up to cape gloucester where we plan to spend a day or two. both scrawfell and thomas islands were stunning anchorages with beautiful rainforest and hoop pines on their steep slopes, unfortunately the camera doesnt do these sort of landscapes much justice!
- bubbly nibbles
- scrawfell island
- whitsunday’s
- thomas island
- say no more!
- thomas island
- thomas island
- thomas island
- grass tree thomas island
- obligatory sunset
ok, will post a couple of videos on the end of this post if i keep reception long enough! hope you enjoy.
The colour of the water is amazing, as are those butterflies. What a tough time you are having!
Tell Sal it’s overcast and miserable in Hobart today, that will make her day looking at the weather you are “enduring”. And hello to David.
Absolutely stunning! 👍