Percy Ashore
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Sun 22 May 2016 22:57
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Middle Percy
Ashore
 Our view to the
far left of West Bay, in the corner there is a navigable channel at high
tide to hide in Boat Harbour, a mangrove fringed hidey-hole – not for
us.
 Ahead the famous Telephone box to the left and the A’ Frame
building.
 To our right the rocky corner.
Anchored at twenty past two we had a
quick bite to eat, Bear launched Baby Beez and we went for a spuddle
ashore. We had thought to do our first exploring when we got to St.Bees Island,
but after reading the book, the history here needed a look.
  We bimbled along
the beach and on the far right we saw a tiny
plaque.
  The plaque was dedicated to Matthew Flinders.
  Pinkish tinges
on the rocks here.
 Lots of sandy nooks with trees behind the rock
fringing.
   We walked to the
corner and followed the sandy track in. We
laughed at the two yellow guide buoys. Paddled
through the last bit and clambered over rocks covered in the sharp edges from
where oysters had long ago been harvested.
 Looking in to
Boat Harbour.
   A girl
parked to the far left, mangroves ahead and
the right corner.
The book
says: At the northern end of West Bay there is a
completely protected boat harbour which all but dries at low tide but provides
an ideal permanent berth for those wishing to stay awhile at Percy. It can only
be entered at high tide; the outside sandbanks – which are a simple extension of
the beach – dry 1.4 metres above low-water springs. Therefore a vessel
requires her draught plus 1.4 metres to negotiate the entrance.
Definitely not for us, too difficult to boil the kettle if Beez was laying
down..........
   On our way out
of Boat Harbour we saw a stingray skitter from the warm shallow water then we
found a couple of lads fishing. A cod was caught within seconds of a cast but managed to
wiggle free, just as well, the lads were catching bait for later ‘big boys’. A
great hat that has seen many miles service. They were
on a week long fishing trip from Brisbane and had raced up the coast from where
they kept their little boat in two and a half hours.
  Above us a
terrible commotion and racket from some very agitated
cockatoos, the reason was soon made clear as a wedge-tailed eagle glided into view. May have to bring out
the big camera for our bimble up to the homestead on the
morrow.
 Water sand patterns.
 Looking back at the entrance to Boat
Harbour.
 Back on the
beach the boys boat chatting to Baby
Beez.
  We manoeuvred Baby Beez back into the
water, Bear got me settled aboard and as he was starting the outboard a sneaky
wave caught me and I was absolutely soaked. Wish I had been looking up so the
soaking hadn’t come as such a shock. En route home
our next door neighbours hailed us, “come over for sundowners”, just as soon as
I change into something dry. That done we went over to meet Somerled
liveaboards Bob and Renee, and further neighbours Karen and Chris
who impressed us with their tales from their
circumnavigation. During our visit the heavens opened and it poured really hard,
our first rain in months, quite a novelty.
ALL IN ALL A UNIQUE OUTPOST
LOVELY, SURPRISING
FIND |