Most of this final leg of the sailing journey has been spent at Middle Percy Island, not just waiting for the northerlies, but also exploring the island and its rich history. In the second half of the nineteenth century, it was settled as a coffee plantation, and later became a sheep farm. In the last eight decades, a handful of families have held the lease to caretake the island, living off the island’s honey, vege garden and goats (and deliveries).
Percy is a delight. We first pulled into Rescue Bay, where multi-coloured sand dunes fall down to the shore, and later relocated to West Bay, where the island’s famous “A Frame” sits. The A Frame holds a collection of thousands of signs from visiting boaties over several decades – a sprawling museum curated by its own visitors. From there, tracks lead to the Lagoon, the Homestead, and some of the island’s bays.
Life on Percy, for us, was relatively slow-paced. The first two days were a feverish bundle of excitement over paragliding and kitesurfing, but we soon settled for regular ascents to the island’s few pockets of reception. We saw some incredible storms roll through, including an impressive theatre performance one night put on by the lightning. (In general, the skies viewed from Percy are larger than elsewhere, I’m sure of it.) On the final day, Dan, Ben and I bush-bashed our way from False Creek to Castle Rock for some ridiculously beautiful views of the island’s north coastline.
Percy was also the venue for our first ‘Wandermas’, where we made presents from what we could find on the island, adapted carols, and enjoyed the last of our veges on delicious homemade pizzas. The festivities were slightly dampened when we discovered that our tender was no longer on shore. Thorpie embarked on a wild recovery mission in the dark, but successfully brought her home and the celebrations recommenced.
I don’t have a copy of Alice or Thorpie’s pictures from the night, yet, but you’re going to have to imagine a beautiful woven palm leaf table setting overseen by a twig-star held together by vine, and ringed with a homemade grass and gum wreath (both made by yours truly) on which are our Wandermas gifts: Ben’s watercolour painting of the Wanderer (which, turned upside down, looks like a paraglider), Alice’s woven grass placemat, Thorpie’s statue of a Hawaiian medicine man, my “serving plate and set of four bowls” (bark and half-coconuts, decorated with snail shells and gumnuts) and Dan’s thickly-shell-covered, key-holder driftwood. And behind this lamp-lit scene, you’ve got to imagine Thorpie’s stern pirate face and Alice smiling delightedly at all the Wandermas spirit. I’ll share the photo later and you can let me know how my description measures up.
This blog wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the fish we’ve feasted on. Around Percy, Dan caught a barracuda and a mackerel and speared a coral trout, and Ben also speared another two coral trout. It’s been so special to have such fresh fish frequently.
A big thanks also to current caretakers, Robin and Annie, who generously invited us for goat stew one night, hosted us at the homestead, and showed us around their (what I’d describe as “evocative of a pirate”) ship, the Joshua C.
After successfully navigating a night passage from Percy (thanks to everyone except for me), we’re well on our way to the Keppel Islands. We’ll soon leave Wanderer at Yeppoon, splash out on some green vege, and be homebound by road.
I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye to the seas and my crew, but I am really looking forward to being back in Brisbane.
VREPS
[Somewhere off the coast of Byfield National Park]
The Two Swords 