We made it to Mecca

Hunter Island in the Duke Islands

What we have seen of both the Duke Islands and the Percies is nothing short of spectacular. After restocking some fresh food from the Plum Tree Store near Stanage Bay (we ordered by VHF on the Monday and Maree and Bevan added it to their list for their trip to Rocky on Tue, and we then picked it up on Wednesday), we headed north east to the Duke Islands. We spent two days anchored off Hunter Island, mostly with the bay and beach to ourselves. The weather, the beach and the water were fantastic. The fishing was not bad either, and Cameron and I quickly reached our bag limit of parrotfish. Yes, Karyn, true story - enough for two meals.

West Bay, Middle Percy Island

West Bay of Middle Percy Island has surely been visited by every cruising yacht that has passed through the area. It has to be Mecca for cruising yachts. The lease has a bit of history, including swindling/stealing and more recently a battle to renew the lease rather than make the whole island National Park. Suffice to say, a small chunk of the island remains under lease, including West Bay. Cruising yachts have been leaving bits and pieces, primarily with the yacht's name and dates, at the old hut and the A-frame for the last fifty odd years. With the lease renewed, the coconut palms and the A-frame still stand, the latter being a growing museum of who has visited.

Our little piece of history

Soon after anchoring on Saturday we had the dinghy ready and we went ashore for a look. The A-frame is a sight to see - thousands of name plates, various items of clothing, fenders and all sorts of other boat bits, and even a couple of prosthetic legs, all engraved, burnt or penned with boat names, the crews and the dates they were there. While we were ashore, Ernst (one of the residents) came down to the beach and announced he would be doing a goat stew for dinner on Sunday. All were welcome with the only price being bring a few veggies for the stew. We took our veggies, had stew for dinner and enjoyed the company and stories of others. Before we left, we added the name plate we had prepared to a vacant spot.