Island Life | How to be a part of this iconic sailing destination
Famous for its iconic A-Frame shack and a long-standing tradition of hospitality afforded to cruising sailors, Middle Percy Island is one of those ‘must-see’ destinations on Australia’s east coast and a place where many of us have left a piece of our hearts (or at least a memento to our boats!).
Like many of Queensland’s islands though, its prospects aren’t clear, so when we visited in the latter part of 2022, I was interested to hear from the leaseholder, Cate, about a plan to establish a not-for-profit foundation, designed to shore up its future and perhaps ensure that what we have all come to know and love will endure.
As well as providing the entity through which to appropriately manage things like insurances and ongoing dialogue with National Parks, the aim of this foundation is to hopefully attract young people and families, who in return for contributing to the island’s upkeep get to experience self-sufficient ‘off-grid’ living, while also learning about conservation and playing a part in preserving the place for generations to come.
While this might be of interest to some sailing families and those select few cruisers still searching for that ‘Robinson Crusoe’ island experience (or perhaps just something resembling ‘The Good Life’!), in our experience the majority of cruisers who call into Percy Island are simply passing through.
As I learned from the current caretaker, Kerry, this week, this doesn’t mean that the wider cruising community can’t be actively involved, and in fact there are many ways in which visiting sailors can help.
This video therefore, is both our story and the island’s.
If, after watching it, you’d like more information about how to become involved, visit http://percyisland.com.au/volunteers or email [email protected]
Enjoy!
@shazatsea (IG)
Music via www.storyblocks.com
Humans Win (formerly Lance Conrad) / Explorer
Bruce Zimmerman / Distant Dreams
Jason Donnelly / Film piano eb major
Unknown / Explore cinematic house with saxophone
Jason Donnelly / C maj freeball improv
Music via www.epidemicsound.com
Onda Norte / Hey Should Have Been Me
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/RkXhsSqMdc/
Chill Cole / The Infinite Dreamer
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/qNJqMOEVEA/
The Sailing Adventures of Brilliant II
Join the Smallwoods - Sharon, Julian, Josh, and Pepe (the Blue Burmese) - aboard Sailing Vessel Brilliant II. Brilliant II is a Kelly Peterson 44, built in 1978. Julian and Sharon bought the boat in Phuket, Thailand, in 2005, and sailed her slowly back to Sydney, Australia. Over the next five years they lived aboard and sailed the coasts of New South Wales and Queensland. They are currently based in the Whitsundays, Queensland, where Josh was born in 2010. In 2021 they began a refit of the water-damaged interior (which had needed doing since the start!), while continuing to sail on mini-adventures north and south of their home port. Sharon is a photojournalist by trade, but realising YouTube is a thing has started creating videos too. You can also follow their adventures on Instagram at @shazatsea.
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Island Life | How to be a part of this iconic sailing destination Locations
- Percy Isles National Park (-21.6598263,150.2631872)
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