Year 5 Day 97 A Get Together
06 May 2012 | Anchored At West Bay, Middle Percy Is., AU
Dave/Weather, Mostly Sunny
It was another beautiful day today at Middle Percy Island. The sky was blue, the winds were gentle and the swells in the anchorage, for the most part, behaved themselves. However, every now and again a train of big swells made their way in and rocked us some.
Early this afternoon we motored the dinghy into shore. We were greeted by Julie of S/V Silver Lining II and she was kind enough to wade into the small surf and help us pull the dinghy up onto the beach. We were also were helped by Justin, the skipper of a 55 foot monohull called Miss Behaving.
Soon we were joined by Justin's two children, Haley (age 9) and Reilly (age 7). We all walked up the beach together and went into the A frame. A few minutes later Justin's wife and her mother (Dot) came walking down the hill from their walk about. They had returned from visiting Cathy, who is the leasee of the island. She and her husband now manage the island after an ugly lease dispute that started when Andy Martin died about 8 or 9 years ago. A third party had muddied the lease waters and took quite some time and effort for Cathy to win her case. Her husband works on the mainland to earn money to cover their expenses while Cathy stays on the island and grows wheat, mills it for their flour and she tends a garden for their vegetables as well as feeds and cares for their lambs, goats, a milk cow, and chicken. They have a homestead at the top of the hill which is about a 2 mile hike from the beach. It sounds like a tough life and they certainly have our respect and great appreciation. I had wished that I had brought my wallet with us so I could make a donation.
While we talked at the A frame, different people would take turns picking up the perfect coconut, husking it using a spike that has been driven into the ground and then enjoying the sweet coconut milk. Once empty, they would break it open and pry out the coconut meat and pass it around.
Soon Paul of Silver Lining II returned from their boat and then Bill and Sue of S/V Dreamtime returned from the homestead. They were soon followed by the couple from S/V Caliysto. We had met them a few times, going back to Tahiti but I am drawing a blank on the wife's name. The husband is Marion. I tell you, my memory is the second thing to go
We had a wonderful time together and enjoyed everyone's company. Justin and his family will be doing the Sail Indonesia Rally so we expect to get to know them better as we bump into each other at the various anchorages between here and Darwin and then throughout Indonesia.
Tomorrow we will be weighing anchor at dawn and sailing another 60 nm to the next anchorage, Scawfell Island. Justin and his family will also be sailing there tomorrow so we hope to see them there. Paul and Julie will be leaving tomorrow also but may sail to Digby Island, which is about 20 nm NW of here.
Scawfell Island is just south of the Whitsunday Island group, so we will be getting closer to some great swimming and diving spots. Since leaving Lady Musgrave Island, we have not gone swimming because the water has been cloudy. We don't like to swim in cloudy water because we can't see what may be swimming with us (i.e., sharks and crocodiles). The last croc attack in the Whitsundays was in the 1930's. While some sightings have been made in the last few years, it is still considered safe to swim and dive. I will still be following my water safety rule, which is to let Mary Margaret go in first!
Techno-Tip Of The Week; Stainless Steel Scraper
You should have as a tool on your boat a strong stainless steel scrapper. You will be using it to scrape off the barnacles and mollusks that adhere to your hull over the antifouling. These buggers are very persistent and are difficult to remove unless you have a good scraper.
I initially had just a wide bladed steel putty spatula that I bought for next to nothing at a hardware store. However, no matter how well I kept it oiled, the salt water won and it turned to an ugly, rusty thing that fell apart. Our stainless steel scraper cost what I thought was a bundle but it has lasted so well and still has many, many years of life in it. It is an investment well worth the cost.