⚠ NOT FOR NAVIGATION. Use official charts and tide tables. This page is a planning aid only. Navigate with the current AHO chart, MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice.

Percy Isles & the Northumberlands

No MSQ Beacon to Beacon map covers this waterMSQ's Beacon to Beacon series stops at Keppel Bay. Use the official chart, plus these official maps:MSQ Beacon to Beacon guides (index)Reef Authority zoning maps (find your map number)
Offshore islands · strong streams · 5.5 m spring tidesLast checked: 27 October 2026Report a correction

The Percy Isles sit about halfway between Shoalwater Bay and Mackay, right on the inner route north, and they're the natural overnight stop on that long gap. Around them are the Northumberland Islands, a scatter of high, steep islands and reefy groups that NGA says make good marks. It's open water with big tides and strong streams, so pick your anchorage for the wind and allow for the tide.

Map of the Percy Isles and Northumberland Islands with markers for West Bay and Whites Bay in the Percys and the approximate positions of the Duke Islands and High Peak Island.
Percy Isles and the Northumberlands. Blue: anchorages; purple: island groups (approximate NGA positions). Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Positions are approximate and for orientation only. Not a chart. Not for navigation.
  1. 1West Bay · OSM.
  2. 2Whites Bay · OSM.
  3. 3Duke Islands, approximate (NGA) · NGA 21°58'S 150°08'E.
  4. 4High Peak Island, approximate (NGA) · NGA 21°57'S 150°42'E.

At a glance
What it is Offshore island groups on the inner route
Percy Isles Southeast Islets, South Island, Middle Island, the Pine Islets, Pine Peak Island and the Hotspur Islets, about 20 miles end to end (NGA)
Tides At the Middle Island anchorage, springs rise 5.5 m and neaps 4.2 m (NGA)
Streams Strong through the Percys; up to 5 knots between the Duke Islands (NGA)
Maps No MSQ Beacon to Beacon map. Use the chart

Getting here

Lights. NGA lists lights on the SW side of the Pine Islets, the W side of Pine Peak Island and on Vernon Rocks, a group of four low islets about 1.7 miles ENE of the Hotspur Islets. A drying rock sits about 0.1 mile east of the biggest Vernon islet.

Streams. NGA says the tide sets strongly through the Percys, and the charts show the rates. Plan to arrive with the stream, not against it.

Further south. NGA warns the Duke Islands are surrounded by rocks, shoals and sand bars, and that vessels should avoid the area unless they need it. It says up to 5 knots has been felt between the islands.

Anchoring

  • Middle Island (Percys). NGA names the anchorage on the west side of Middle Island. OpenStreetMap labels West Bay there, with Whites Bay a little to the south-east. Allow for the 5.5 m spring range when you work out your scope.
  • Sappho Roads. Between Noel and Henderson islands in the western Northumberland groups. NGA calls it easy to get into and recommends it for small craft that can't push south against strong SE winds, which often blow in winter. Best is about 20 m close to Henderson Island, or 8 m near the centre of the inner part. The middle shoal patch gets 2.5 to 3 knot streams.
  • Duke Islands. If you must, NGA gives 10 to 11 m about 0.2 mile south of Iron Islet off Marble Island as the best spot, with local knowledge.
  • High Peak Island. NGA gives a deep anchorage (27 to 33 m), sheltered from SE winds, off a small beach on the west side, with local knowledge.

Facilities

No fuel, water or shops that we could confirm. Stock up at Rosslyn Bay or Mackay.

Rules in brief

  • Marine park. All of this is in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Use the Reef Authority zoning map for your area before you fish or anchor near reef.
  • Notices. Central Queensland and Capricorn Coast notices cover these waters.

Ashore

What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.

Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: West Bay; Whites Bay.

There are no shops, bars or services mapped ashore at the Percy Isles. Stock up at Rosslyn Bay or Mackay.

No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk; see the Facilities section above for marine businesses we know of.

Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.

About this page

These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.

Official links

Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.

Sources & credits

Written in our own words from NGA Pub. 127 Sector 7 paras 7.15 to 7.17 (no MSQ Beacon to Beacon map covers these islands) (read 19 October 2026; each MSQ sheet carries its own 'information current to' date, quoted on the page), NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), the MSQ notices-to-mariners listings on publications.qld.gov.au (notices named on the page read in full on 19 October 2026; notice lists rechecked 27 October 2026), the Queensland Government (TMR) recreational boating facilities list (fetched 19 October 2026), Marine Rescue Queensland unit pages (checked 19 October 2026), Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority zoning pages (linked, not reproduced) and OpenStreetMap. Bay names from OpenStreetMap.

Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (Beacon to Beacon guide, notices to mariners, nav-aid open data, port procedures maps, tide information) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.

Queensland legislation. Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 and Transport Infrastructure (Waterways Management) Regulation 2012 © State of Queensland, CC BY 4.0. Summarised; the authorised versions at legislation.qld.gov.au prevail.

NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are out of date; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.

OpenStreetMap. Map tiles and some facility positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, data available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).

Others. Facts from local authority pages and notices (for example the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland Parks and Defence notices), volunteer marine rescue sites and businesses' own websites are cited for fact only and restated in our own words. Listing a business is not an endorsement.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Zoning maps and plans of management are linked, not reproduced; the official maps and the zoning plan prevail.

Spotted something wrong or out of date? Tell us if the anchorages here aren't what we describe. Report a correction and tell us what you saw and when.
Last checked: 27 October 2026.

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