Update from Middle Percy

Eddie nabs a lovely Red Emperor

First of all big thanks to Skubi for filling in the gaps on the blog. (My pleasure!) 

 

Arriving on the legendary Middle Percy Island has been the pinnacle of our trip. The rocks, the beaches the native Hoop Pine trees, the turquoise waters, it's all so absolutely breath taking. If you arrive here at high tide as we did, you can paddle into the lagoon through the entrance which is so narrow and shallow that the yachts can only get in at the top of the tide. Once in the lagoon it so tranquil that it is just like stepping out of a busy city street and into a cathedral. The sloping hills that surround the lagoon are all covered in trees and at the foot you have the feet of the mangroves in Crystal clear waters where you can easily see fish darting all over the place.

 

Eddie nails it.

Silvio's on top of things.

We found a nice spot for our tents right next to the famous "A" frame built by the late, legendary Andy Martin in the 70's. In the morning we made our way up the one hour long, mostly uphill walk to the Homestead that was originally built in 1887 by Colonel Armitage for his coffee plantation and later rebuilt in 1921 by the White family using most of the original timbers. The White family farmed 2000 sheep for 44 years before selling the lease to Andy in 1964. The house, now in need of some serious maintenance is the passion of Andy's cousin Cate and her Husband John  who are the new custodians of the island's conservation and cultural heritage unique to this island. As I mentioned, there is a lot of work to do and it is all done by volunteers so here's a chance for Eddie and I to chip in and do our bit for history. It's also a nice way of saying thank you to John and Cate for their lovely hospitality and of course, the use of their Internet so that I can make this latest update. This Island is so full of local history and it is absolutely wonderful that Cate and John are doing something to preserve it. Check out www.percyisland.com.au

Cate; Andy Martin's cousin.

John; Cate's husband.

  As for our kayaking plans, well it's not looking too promising. We would love to get a Northerly or Easterly to help us get back to Stanage but that is less likely than the dominate Southerlies at this time of year, at best we can hope for the wind to drop from it's expected South Easterly direction of 15-20knots to about 10 knots or less. The other concern is that the spring tides are starting in a few days and we could be facing tides as high as 7 metres. We would need to leave at low tide to get some assistance but with tidal flows as strong as 3 knots in open water and 6 or more knots in the narrower passages. Wind against tide could prove ugly for boaties during springs not to mention sea kayakers in some not so familiar territory.

 

Anyhow that's enough for me as lunch at the homestead is over & there is still plenty of work to be done. Maybe tomorrow we start exploring some of the Island by kayak, maybe do a bit more spearfishing as well. We've got plenty to do while waiting for that wind change.

 

Happy Campers on Middle Percy

Eddie & Silvio found the best camping spot!

Happy and safe on Middle Percy Is. What more could as man want? Certainly not more coconuts, that's for sure!

Behind them is a boatie's icon known as Andy's A Frame. The lifelong project of former island resident; Andrew Martin. Inside it hangs the calling cards of a thousand voyagers & their crews. Signs, hammocks, boat bits of all kinds. Even room for a BBQ table and a roasting pit. We will hear more about this Mariners Mecca when the boys can get online.

Editor's note: Some liberties may have been taken due to lack of mobile reception.

South Percy

Marble Island to South Percy Island

South Percy

On Friday around 5am, Eddie & Silvio left Marble Island to paddle a distance of around 18nmi for approx. 7 hours to The Percy Group. Details beyond this are sketchy because my information is coming via the VMR* if and when the guys manage to make contact with them via radio.

According to Alf (from the VMR) the guys paddled up to a yacht and used their radio. I am not sure if this was because their own radios were on the fritz or they actually visited the yacht to get water & used the radio while they were there. The outcome is that they are on South Percy and I imagine they would have camped there at least 1 night.

My guess is that after they leave South Percy, they will travel north to the main island of the Percy Group.

Skubi

*VMR: Voluntary Marine Rescue


Editors note: I have included a map showing the islands, but the route shown is one I have guessed they made; not necessarily accurate.

Here We Are on Marble Island

Living proof!

Marble Island

We arrived on Marble Island on Wednesday the 20th around 3.30 in the afternoon after paddling three hours in moderate conditions. The strong tidal flows of this area were a bit of a concern to us as we were planning our route, so we paid particular attention to this factor before setting off. We arrived in the shelter of the Island just as the tide and the wind were starting to pick up and had been spotted by some very curious and cautious deers on the hills, soon thereafter we spotted our first whale for the trip; it was in the distance coming in through the Lola-Montes Passage. 

The camp site is pretty good but unfortunately the wind is picking up and set to stay for the next few days, being a South Westerly makes it great to paddle to the Percy group but not so nice for camping while we wait for tomorrow's favorable tide.

We were both pretty tired by the end of a very long day and although our first day's paddle wasn't so long, the packing and preparations made up for it. It was an early dinner and bedtime for us.


Editors note: Silvio climbed for an hour to reach the peak of the highest hill on the island and gained enough reception to send me a few photos and the above post. Lets hope we can still reach him in a few days. 

No Reception

After a pleasant drive to Mt Morgan to stay the night with Eddie's cousin, the boys enjoyed some Nth Q hospitality and set off early Tuesday heading to Meryhl's Place at Stanage Bay.

A challenging drive, even in the Landrover.

The Military Training Zone.

Arriving at Stanage on Tuesday afternoon, Silvio & Eddie are delighted at the waterside location of the house...till the tide goes out that is! When the tide is out, it's out for miles, exposing huge jagged boulders as far as you can see. Needless to say they'll be timing their departure & arrival for the high tide. There will be some heavy fetch 'n' carry to fill the kayaks but Silvio told me it's a beautiful day up there and the water is glassy. They have planned to paddle from Stanage Bay to Marble Island and camp there tonight. Hopefully in the morning, conditions will be good to go from there to Otterbourne Reef. It seems pretty small, I think they may need to go back to camp Marble that night too.  Locals say that the islands are croc free, but they do live in the mainland estuaries.

Paddle to Marble Island - approx 10 nautical miles

Sadly, there was no mobile reception to be had in Stanage Bay, so we chatted on the house phone but that's probably the last I'll hear from them till their return. Unless the islands have reception, you will have to put up with the second hand news that I may glean from my calls to Alf at the VMR.
Our thoughts & best wishes are with Eddie & Silvio for a safe & pleasant journey.

Skubi

Thirsty Loop - Eddie and Silvio’s Exciting Kayaking Adventure.

The Islands of Stanage Bay

Well the time has come, we have been talking about doing a trip together for quite some time now. My Last big trip was Bass Strait and Eddie's was the epic Capricornia Cays trip so our next trip had to be something special. It had to be something we could get our teeth into, have some reasonable size crossings, nice island destinations and have heaps of photographic opportunities. We also liked the idea of throwing in a bit spear fishing, snorkelling and even try our luck at some angling.

Stanage Bay - 3 hours from Rocky

Yes! It all fits in the Explorer.

Now don’t worry, we did pack heaps of dried foods and even some not so dry, like oat cakes, pre-caught fish and something which has become one of my favourites on trips, a collapsible bottle filled with Bailey’s Irish Cream. Just as well I am taking the Explorer this time as it does have a little more volume than the Nordkapp which will also allow me to take a wet suit, flippers, fishing gear, a solar charger, a fly and an extra 10 litres of water. Eddie will be taking his very own shiny and brand new Nordkapp, hopefully for him we’ll find some nice sandy patches amongst the coral beaches.

Kayak camping, Island style.

Our first stop is Rockhampton for the night at Eddie’s cousin’s place before setting off for Stanage Bay in the morning. Skubi’s cousin Merhyl has kindly lent us her holiday house where we will be staying in Stanage; she warned me about the 75km dirt road which has no less than 27 cattle grids. Apparently this road is now covered in pot holes & is a very desirable spot for the cattle and wildlife to sleep on at night so we thought we’d better tackle it with plenty a daylight ahead.

So where to from Stanage? Well there are plenty of beautiful Islands to chose from and we’ll worry about which ones we paddle to when we get there and get the latest forecast. Thirsty Sound is noted to have the biggest tides on the East Coast, I have been told they even rival those of Broome on the West Coast. So as long as we get the wind and the tides right, it should be plain paddling from there.

Stand by for more...

Silvio in training.

Eddie and Silvio negotiating the Shipping Lane

Black Magic- "Zegul 520" first impressions.

Well it's been quite some time since my last blog entry when Brian introduced the Tahe Greenland to our shores, actually, it was more like opening the flood gates. The arrival of his Greenland coincided with the whole Greenland rolling fad that had paddlers coming out of the woodwork, or should I say...getting into woodwork... carving paddles, skinning kayaks and learning to roll like the guys on Utube. Sadly for me the slender lines and tight fitting cockpits of the Greenland rolling machines were just not conducive to my physique. Besides, I wasn't really into the whole rolling thing, I was more interested in paddling and surfing.

At the last National Kayak Symposium held on the Gold Coast, I noticed a kayak that wasn't "quite like the others", there was something about it, I couldn't pigeon hole it as it certainly had a feel and look all of it's own. I kept going back to it for 'another' test paddle, I'm sure that some must have thought that I was hogging it. Anyhow the weekend finished on a disappointing note when Rob Mercer informed me that the kayak was not for sale as it was the only one in captivity and was required to test the waters, as it were.

Some weeks later, I was talking to Craig about his selection of Tahe kayaks that he had chosen to fill his next container, he went through the list and then..."I'm also getting a Zegul 520 and Zegul Baidarka to try". What!.. Zegul 520? I said... I'll have one, a black one! Well the colour wasn't that easy to decide on but I certainly knew I wanted the kayak.

Today I had the great pleasure of picking up my new black beauty and taking it for a spin down at Currumbin. We started off in the lagoon, Jess was trying out her new Greenland T and nailing the hand roll, as did Eddy. We swapped kayaks, paddles, we rolled, we sprinted then rolled again...you know all the regular stuff. There was no question of a doubt that both these kayaks are thoroughbreds, they truly felt like extensions of ourselves and did everything we asked them to. The smiles on our faces said it all but all along, I could hear the surf on the other side of the dunes...you could say the surf had been calling me. The real reason I got this kayak is for the surf, when I first saw it, it looked as if it was made for surfing. I was expecting it to catch waves like no other and be super agile as well.

The conditions out there were pretty good for kayak surfing, occasionally messy but all in all not too bad, I'd say about one and half meter waves at most. I soon found that the Zegul doesn't need big waves at all, it surfs with such ease and tracks so well when on the wave, it also turns very easily as well I might add. The snug cockpit is a great fit for manoeuvring the kayak in the surf and the bow didn't look like it was going to dig down the face of a wave anytime soon. Actually, on the way out, the bow lifted over the waves very nicely. Do I sound like a satisfied kayaker? There is one negative however, there always has to be. The kayak is a people magnet, not a big problem but I have to allow for that extra chit chat time with strangers on the beach while my friends paddle off ahead of me...not really a problem either as it doesn't take too much effort to catch up in the Zegul;)