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.