Island Hopping & Missile Dodging

Misty morning Pearl Bay

Our route from GKI

​Great Keppel to Pearl Bay

​It's an early departure from GKI for the 47nm trip to Pearl Bay. As we approach the Shoalwater Bay area we hear a "securite" call on the VHF. Of course this is a Military Practice Area we are approaching and there is a live firing exercise scheduled to start today! Ooops! Must have missed that one! We quickly consult the Notice to Mariners on the QLD Maritime website. Phew, Pearl Bay is a designated safe anchorage so we can go in. Although we do get a bit paranoid when we see a power boat approaching us at speed from behind, that is not on AIS...

We radio another nearby boat for more information and he gives us the coordinates of the area that we missed during the announcement. Its the eastern most point of the targeted area, which is not always the same. He was planning to go into an anchorage further north but makes a bee line for Pearl Bay too when he realises that his preferred anchorage is off limits! Anyway there is no sign of any military activity and we figure it's Sunday and they probably cant afford the overtime rates!

There is a lovely long beach here and as we are just here for the night we make an effort to SUP ashore. Its a tough paddle into the wind which is funnelling down the bay, and we both end up a little further along the beach that we planned, but at least (in theory) it will be easy going back. Its always lovely walk along a beach and feel the sand in your toes after a day of sitting on our bums on a passage.

Its reasonably protected but gets quite rolly in the evening as the wind backs off and the tide brings in the swell. In the morning it is very calm and a misty cloud hugs the hills over looking the anchorage. Magic!

Pearl Bay to Hexham Island

We start early and head back out of Pearl Bay, through the military practice area. We can see the boundary on our charts and head directly north, which seems the shortest route through it. Still no sigh of any activity so we think we got away with it. Probably should have turned off the AIS but then again...

We arrive at Hexham Bay in the early afternoon and it is really quite lovely, well protected from the south with a sand beach and a small, rocky bay on the western side. We take the SUPs into this bay at high tide and could easily go between a gap in the rocks. At low tide you would have to go around the northern point. The tides are getting pretty big now at 3-4m difference from low to high! 

For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to swim from the boat to the shore, like I needed some exercise... It was harder than I thought and then I met Sharon from Catlypso who told me about tiger and hammerhead sharks… Maybe time to rethink my exercise regime! 
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We end up staying 3 nights, which is a long time for us, enjoying beach walks and SUPing around bay. There are amazing rock formations along the shore and Keith spots a Reef Tip shark. Some fisherman come by and offer us some fish, a small sweetlips, which we proceed to butcher! What was left of it was delicious! 

Meanwhile on board we knock over a few boat jobs and lots of cleaning of course. We discovered a swallows nest under the solar panels, with four eggs! Not sure how long it has been there but sadly we have to remove it.

We also finally finished replacing our lifelines with Dyneema, a  job that had been staring me in the face since we picked up the materials in Sydney (on our way south...)! I guess I got side-tracked. Very happy with the results!

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I am a splice girl!

Old lifeline

Hexham to Middle Percy 

ITIKI at West Bay, Middle Percy

After breakfast and with a forecast for 15-20kts from the south, its time to depart but we are lucky to be getting 5 so after sailing for a little, the motors are on again! Its 24nm to Middle Percy Island and we arrive at West Bay in the early afternoon, immediately taking the SUPs ashore its so rolly we were keen to get off the boat! There is quite a swell coming into the bay, a remnant of the previous days SW winds, which have since clocked east.
 
The Percy Islands are legendary amongst cruisers who make the pilgrimage north to the Whitsundays and beyond. Its my first time here but Keith visited when bringing TooUp south. We are also on a very important mission here as we are tasked with collecting a 20L bucket of the famous Percy Islands honey for Liz and Jon Hickling, the previous caretakers of the island. Jon Hickling has written an excellent History of the Percy Islands which is sold at the A Frame. Liz and Jon are now living on Hamilton Island, where Keith and I met them during Keith's time there. We got in touch to let them know we will be visiting with them prior to visiting, we happily accepted the delivery mission!
 
One of the current caretakers is Marty who is living in the TreeHouse, the other is Steve who is up in the Homestead. Steve knows Liz and Jon Hickling (and their “kids”) very well, from when they lived and worked on the island. 
 
We visit the famous A Frame building, which is the Percy Islands Yacht Club. Here we can find many years of memorabilia left by passing yachties. We even find the signboard that Keith left when he passed by here on our previous boat Too Up. We have made up a sign for ITIKI and scope out where we want to attach it.
 
It was a very rolly night, without too much sleep and we are thinking of leaving after we collect the honey. Go ashore add the ITIKI sign to the A frame collection. Drop into the TreeHouse for a chat to Marty and Sam and decide to walk up to the homestead. Marty is heading up on his motorbike to get the honey. First we walk over to the lagoon, check out the shallows, where Marty’s trailer sailor is kept. This is an ideal cyclone hole and later we hear from Steve about sitting out a cyclone here on a boat, safe and sound in the mangroves.

The A Frame - AKA The Percy Islands Yacht Club

We take the “short track” up to the homestead, over the mud/sand flats and then a steady but steepish climb. Most people must do this trail the opposite way as the sighs are all pointing back down to the beach. Up at the homestead, we share a cup of tea with Steve, he has made some videos about the Percy Islands which he shows us. Life is very simple and self-sufficient here, with chooks and a garden. Walk back down via the long track, Andy’s lookout, Sundial and rock arrangement – what is the significance? First kangaroo. Longer but less steep trail down to the beach. Marty passes us on the bike. A few more boats have arrived and it’s a lot less rolly. The tide has gone out and we get some help to take the dinghy to the waters’ edge and get the honey in. It’s a 20kg tub! Much less rolly night.

While we were here we heard some strange rumbling noises, which we initially blamed on each other, then ITIKI... Thinking back to Pearl Bay, we quickly realised that what we heard was the distant sound of live missile firings! The sounds really do reverberate through the water! Guess this time we really did dodge a bullet or missile!