Day 30, Monday July 22 Snug as a bug

Day 30, Monday July 22

We wake up to a cooler day then the previous week, but a nice morning.  We listen to the weather forecast and winds are scheduled to pick up in the next 24 hours with strong wind warnings for later in the day and for the following day.  The winds will swing to the NW which is not good for our current anchorage so we will have to move.

We dinghy around the area, to see how many boats are in Horseshoe bay and in the next cove, there are a number of boats but neither spot has good coverage from a NW wind.  We decide to go up the Lansdowne channel to Snug Harbour which is a very snug harbour, just as the name implies; protected from all directions.

The anchor is hauled up and we are off.  Mist goes first, then us, then Windswept.  We of course will race to get to the next anchorage.  It is a beautiful sail with about 12 knot winds.  Dawson’s hand is still not healed so Julie is managing the sail trim which is a bit tiring once we reach the Lansdowne channel as the wind direction is not favourable for sailing a direct course and the navigatable portion of the channel is narrow.  We decide our sailing is done for the day and turn on the iron genny.  This is ok as we need to charge the batteries and we are only a couple miles away from our destination now.

We are the first through the entranceway which has lots of water on the west side even though the charts say there is not enough water to get in.  There are about 15 boats already in the harbour, but lots of room at the NW end.  The problem with this anchorage is the depth.  It is 35-40 feet deep everywhere which means we would need about 150 feet of chain out and a large swing.  We decide to tie to shore.  This is the first time we have done this in our new boat.  It all goes well albeit slowly, both of us think about how easier it was when we had crew (kids).  After an hour, we are rafted up with the 2 other sailboats in the NW corner of the harbour. 

We host happy hour at about 4:00 and Ila brings over some lovely appetizers (bacon wrapped apricot with sage).  They were yummy.  We also had the favourite chips and guacamole.  The water is not appealing enough to go for a swim as the air is about 20 degrees.  After happy hours, we start preparing dinner and decide to dine on Mist which is a 36 foot Jeaneau.  Mist raced in the full MacMan race and is a fast boat.  We have a fabulous dinner and too much wine.  There is a full moon making for a beautiful picture of the anchorage.  Off to bed with hopes the winds are gentle to us in the anchorage.

Rafted up at Snug

Full moon over Snug

 

Cheers Julie and Dawson