Wimbledon 2026

Crackerjack sailing conditions saw us arrive at Hexham Island in good time as the anchorage glassed over for the late afternoon and evening. Ro ventured ashore to take some terrific pictures of Maripi from the top of the hillside overlooking the bay. On the shoreline Ro discovered what looked to be the remains of a small keel boat which may have met its fate during the cyclone that passed through the Whitsundays to the north earlier this year. With one cast of the bait net Ro caught over 100 ‘hardy heads’ his best cast yet. Note – this did not add to his fish count!
Middle Percy Island is typically the last anchorage before moving on to the Whitsundays and in an A Frame shed on the beach in West Bay the names of many a yacht passing this way over the past 50 years has left a record of her visit. Maripi has now been added to the shrine (see photos). You could spend all day looking through the shed if you wanted to, reading about the history of the island and the many cruising vessels that have called at this Mecca.
We headed to Scawfell Island, 60 nautical miles North West of Middle Percy in a steady 10 knot breeze averaging 6.5 knots. Scawfell Island is basically the most southern of all the Whitsunday islands. The weather forecast was for winds no greater than 15 knots, but within half an hour of our departure from Scawfell the winds far exceeded the forecast, gusting the strongest at over 30knots with a constant 20-25 knots on our beam. The combination of wind, tide and relatively shallow water saw the seas grow at times to 3.0m. Although it was a fairly quick trip of only 3 hours, this was by far our most unpleasant passage yet. With our trusty boat and Captain Ro at the helm we were well in control of the situation and arrived safely to Brampton Island where we anchored last night. We plan to spend the next 6 weeks exploring as many of the islands as we can through the upcoming “100 magic miles”.
Noah has decided to continue cruising with us as he is about to enter an adventure all of his own – SOLIDS! He will be 5 months old next week. All he wants to do is stand-up; he may even bypass the crawling stage. Greeting us every morning with a big smile on his face, his day consists of lots of playful times, laughing attacks and more goos and gars. Forever active, he loves kicking his legs and bouncing in his jolly jumper which Ro cleverly attached for him in the cockpit. With vision to his future, Lana has replaced his favourite toy (cookie monster) with a Wilson US OPEN tennis ball. Already his hand eye co-ordination looks promising for court side seats at Wimbledon in 2026. Ha!