Saturday
Pulling up the anchor at 0700, we unfurled the genoa and motor sailed in a 1.5 metre sea to Brampton Island arriving at 1400. We anchored in Western Bay which had lovely clear waters and a fringing reef. It was a lovely spot and rivalled many of the anchorages in the Whitsunday’s.
Still voyaging with Music Maker, we decided to leave at 0100 the following morning so that we could get to Percy Island at 1300 – allowing us time to go ashore and explore.
Sunday
The alarm went off at 00:30 so by 00:45 we had pulled up anchor and were on our way. Mark was doing the first watch when he noticed a red, green and blue flashing light just like a drone flying ahead of us. The lights didn’t move for a couple of hours so with plenty of time to research Mark discovered that it was actually the star Sirius.
As we neared Middle Percy Island we received a call for assistance from a mono hull named Silver Fox. The skipper was having engine trouble and with no wind was unable to make way. Feeling a bit weary after our 12-hour journey from Brampton Island (Mark may have uttered a few expletives under his breath) we turned Escapade around and started heading southwest to assist the vessel. Mark unpacked the extra ropes that we had onboard and set them up on deck. We had travelled about 2 nautical miles when the skipper of the vessel called us and told us that he’d managed to get his engine going again and no longer required our assistance. Quietly relieved we turned around and made our way back to Middle Percy Island.
Once the anchor had been set we jumped into the dinghy (including Lucy) and set off towards the beach. Lucy jumped off the dinghy and swam the last 100 metres to shore, smiling as she swam!
There is an A frame shelter on the beach with camping chairs, a small kitchen, office, and a number of tables. The shelter is covered with memorabilia from hundreds of different vessels that have visited Percy Island. Mark had a plastic buoy that we’d found at Island Head Creek on our way up the coast and in preparation for this opportunity had drilled small holes to spell out “SV Escapade 2021”. We found a spot at the entrance to the A frame and hung up our memento.
To get some exercise we completed a 4km circuit walk up to the homestead, down the other side of the hill and then back along the shore through marshland to the anchorage. There were little signs everywhere hung in trees with directions, rhymes and riddles, it was all very quirky! The island has a huge population of goats that roam freely with the wallabies. At the homestead the caretakers have a vegetable garden and beehives. We met the caretakers who were travelling down the track on a quad bike towards the anchorage with honey supplies to replenish what had been sold at the A frame shelter. The current caretakers had been on the island for 12 months. They indicated that they were never lonely as there were always vessels at anchorage in the bay.
On our return trip from shore the vessel that we had been on our way to assist earlier called us over – they had left a bottle of wine in the cockpit as a thank you. It turned out one of the gentlemen came from Nungurner, you just never know who you may be helping!
Monday
It was a more civilised start today, we pulled up anchor at 0645 and with 5-10 knots of wind, and a swell less than 0.5 metres we motor sailed at 7.5 knots towards Island Head Creek.
Other than the occasional whale sighting there was not a lot going on, so to make things a bit more interesting Mark asked Peter and Sal if they’d like some brownies that Georgie had made for morning tea. The answer was yes, which meant we’d have to conduct a mid ocean transfer . With our autopilot keeping a steady course and Peter slowly approaching the port quarter Mark used the boat hook to pass the bag of brownies to Sal. The exchange was a huge success! Peter and Sal were able to enjoy freshly cooked brownies with their morning coffee! 😊
On our previous visit to Island Head Creek we’d have camp fires on the beach of an afternoon. Georgie was keen to continue the tradition so she prepared potatoes and damper so that we could have dinner on the beach. It was a lovely afternoon and evening.
Tuesday
We were up before the alarm at 0430. After lifting the anchor and raising the main we headed out of the bay before 0500. It was the first time we had had a westerly wind since being in these parts so with a following swell we made great time flying along at 8 knots. Estimated time of arrival at Great Keppel Island would be 1500.
Wednesday – Sunday
With 5 perfect days of weather at Great Keppel Island we managed to complete almost all the walks on the Island and an afternoon of snorkelling. By Sunday the tides were high enough to allow us to make the passage through The Narrows (and across the infamous cattle crossing) to Gladstone so we departed GKI for the northern end of The Narrows where we’d wait for the next morning’s high tide.
Monday
We anchored at the northern end of The Narrows overnight surrounded by mangroves and sand flies. The three of us ended up covered in bites (even after spraying with Bushmans and closing all the hatches!) We were keen but nervous to get going. The tidal range can be up to 6 metres in the Narrows. Shallow draft vessels such as catamarans can usually make the passage at most high tides, but monohulls (and especially in our case as we draw 1.8 metres) have to wait for a spring high tide to make the passage across the cattle crossing mid-way along The Narrows.
Mark had downloaded the tide tables and chosen an appropriate time to make the passage but he was still nervous when we crossed the shallowest section (which at low tide dries out 2.1 metres “above” the water). This shallow area is known as Ramsay’s Crossing and is where they used to drive cattle back and forth across the mud banks to Curtis Island. With only 0.3 metres under the keel we made it through The Narrows and down to the busy Port of Gladstone.
