A Cruisers Pilgrimage

Every cruiser you speak with who has sailed up the Queensland coast toward 'The Whitsundays' talks about visiting Middle Percy Island and in particular dropping off a little memento of their boat in the 'A Frame'. It's almost a pilgrimage so we thought we should check it out. Luckily, after a 'permission denied' situation only the day before, a day of very light winds was forecast and West Bay became 'doable' at last. What a lucky break because it's untenable in anything over 15 knots and what wind there is, needs to be an Easterly!

Looks idyllic

A lovely beach that provided a welcome dip when we returned

  Heading for the A Frame
When we reached West Bay, effectively completing a circumnavigation of Middle Percy, it was barely recognizable from the day before. Conditions were so light that The Bloke even agreed to go ashore to visit the A Frame AND walk up to the Homestead (about a 5.5km round trip).

Among the memorabilia in the A Frame

Messages

It was clear that many cruisers had gone to some trouble when selecting or creating an item to mark their visit. Poems and specially carved items were nailed, hung and attached from every surface. We left a very modest anchor buoy.

The European story of Middle Percy is that it was visited by Matthew Flinders and settled by only a handful of people and used principally for sheep grazing. This was the case for many surrounding islands with the wool clip collected by barge once a year. Since the pastoral activity was accompanied by a lot of ringbarking of trees and the even earlier introduction of goats, coconut palms and other vegetation by the Royal Navy to provide sustenance for passing sailors, the current vegetation is not really 100% 'authentic' but is lovely none the less. The current custodians and National Parks are attempting to 'restore' the Island, but eliminating introduced species such as weeds, cane toads and grey kangaroos is a task as unrealistic as unscrambling eggs. The matter arouses great passion and attracts some volunteers who wish to enjoy a simple life for a while.

For more info check www.percyisland.com.au

Our trek was rewarded with fabulous vistas, walking through glades full of fluttering Blue Tiger butterflies and a short visit to The Homestead. Oh, and something we'd missed for a week ... A brief phone signal! A sure sign of how pathetically dependent we have become on our electronic communications. We naively expected the signal to be accessible from more than a single location and failed to get a weather update - doh!

The Homestead

Goat kids

Decorated coconuts add a bit of whimsy and provide assurance you are on the correct track

A lagoon can be entered at high tide by shallow keeled vessels.

Sunset over Piney Islet