Digby, Scawfell & Thomas

No this is not a follow up act to Crosby, Stills and Nash, but the next 3 islands we get to visit on our way north. From Middle Percy Island we made our way the 22nm northwest to Digby Island. We are trying to break up our trips into bite size pieces, so definitely no overnight-ers and a short enough day to allow at least an afternoon at our destination as we skip north. According to our pilot book Digby could be a rolly anchorage, but we figured after being out on the reefs in nasty conditions, how bad could it be?! Conditions were reasonably calm, so we took our chances and so glad we did. A lovely island and very well protected. There is a short and rocky beach ashore which we could check out on the SUPs. There is also a small wreck on the beach but not much else and we get a good night's sleep. 

Some pictures of Digby Island Below:

From Digby it is 42nm to Scawfell Island and we pass through the big ship parking lot that is off the coast of Mackay. Its here that Hay Point VTS direct the bulk coal carriers to a set location to anchor and wait for their turn to go into the port to pick up a load. The stationary ones are not a problem but you have to keep an ear out for any ships being called into the port, and keep out of their way as they are in a hurry! Not quite as many ships as waiting off Panama, but still a fair few!

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Check out the panorama below, how many ships can you count?

Although its just an overnight stop we arrive at Scawfell Island in time to check out the underwater life in West Refuge Bay. First we go for a bit of a reconnaissance on the SUPs and then I decided to go back and get the snorkel gear and check out the eastern side of the bay. The tide was starting to come in and with it quite an algal bloom (ick!) so I didn't have much time. I also read a review of the bay from some friends of ours who had spotted a rather large hammerhead shark in the area... ​

Scawfell Island (Below):

Thomas Island

We were planning to go to Brampton Island, and check out the abandoned holiday resort. Keith had stayed here with family during the '90s. Sadly though the SW conditions would not be good for the night, so we diverted to Thomas Island. This is a lovely spot that we visited back when Keith was working on Hammo. It must have been northerly winds because we stopped at a bay on the south coast. I cant say I remember it that well. Anyway this time around we have southerlies so we head to the anchorage on the northern side of the bay. Its such a lovely island so we decided to spend a couple of nights here. We went ashore on the SUPs and did the walk across to the southern side of the island. The track is a bit overgrown and challenging to find, the first few marks are green triangles on trees, but after that the trail is marked by discarded flip flops and various other pieces of flotsam and jetsom, helpfully installed by passing cruisers. As you can see we had some beautiful weather!