Thankful wove her way east through the Broughtons yesterday until we got to the narrows of Chatham Channel where we expected to encounter an adverse tide of about four knots. Rather than fight it, we decided to anchor for lunch in Cutter Cove and wait until the tide turned. At 2PM we pulled the hook and powered through the channel in a slack tide.
We weren't sure how far we would make it yesterday. Thankful is working her way east towards Desolation Sound, and we figure it will take about three days to get there. Coves and inlets suitable for overnight anchoring are everywhere, so we are just moseying along until we get tired and then stopping for the night. Last night we decided to stop at Port Neville where the cruising guide indicated we would find a free public pier. The pier was full when we arrived at 5PM. No problem. We proceeded further into the protected inlet and anchored in thirty feet of water in the lee of a headland. We anchored just past a Beneteau 44, a bigger version of my boat in Hawaii. Thankful had anchored next to the same boat in Tracey Harbor a few nights ago.
Matt noticed yesterday that the electric anchor windlass didn't always engage when its control button was pushed. This morning it crapped out completely when I was on the bow pulling up the anchor. The windlass wouldn't work in either direction. We could hear the solenoids engaging when the up and down buttons were pushed, but the motor didn't run. We ended up pulling up the anchor by hand. It appears that the problem is either in the power supply or the motor. Matt is busy trouble shooting the system as I write this.
I wrote in an earlier blog about being mortified to find that we had inadvertently left a fender dangling next to Thankful as we powered along one day in Alaska. In the US, hanging fenders underway is like putting a "Student Driver" sign in the window of your car. Apparently that is not the case here in Canada. A significant percentage of the boats here leave their fenders out all the time. It is common to see a boat go by with four fenders hanging on each side swinging as the boat rolls and waves hit them. I wonder if those same boaters leave their Christmas lights up all year long too?
We departed Port Neville this morning just behind the Beneteau. Once we got out of the harbor we found that the wind was blowing right behind us at fifteen knots down Johnstone Strait, our main highway for the day. The Beneteau unrolled his jib and is sailing next to us. He looks good under sail, but I am content in the controlled environment of Thankful's wheelhouse.
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