BAD RIVER

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Well, the wind finally did come up last night, and it was fairly strong. However, we were well protected in our little cove, the only issue being that the wind, coming from the south, swirled around the cove and hit us broadside from the southeast and we had anchored bow & stern facing south. It actually wasn’t bad, since the cove was so well protected that wind blowing over the trees at 20-25 knots only swirled around at about 5 knots, so we had no issues with the anchors holding. Nevertheless, I was up a couple of times during the night to check on things.

The wind had calmed a bit by this morning, and the forecast was for continued calming throughout the day, although rain in the afternoon. The next leg of our cruise required that we go into unprotected, offshore water for a minimum of about 14 miles, and we were concerned that the water might still be rough from last night’s wind. We decided we’d give it a go, but had a couple of contingency plans, and a bail-out point if things are too rough. The first mile or so from the anchorage was OK, but we were still in the lee of the Bustard Islands. When we were about 2-3 miles out, things started getting rough quickly. Within a half mile, the waves went from 1-2 feet to 4-5 feet as we reached the open water. The first contingency plan was to turn around & go back to the same anchorage as last night, the second was to head up Bad River to a protected anchorage there. By the time things got rough and we decided not to keep going, we were several miles from last night’s anchorage but only about a half mile to the channel for Bad River, so we chose Bad River. The cruising guidebook said not to attempt entering the channel in rough weather, but the visibility was good - I could see the range markers and the channel markers clearly - and the seas were behind us, so we threaded our way between the waves crashing on the rocks, into the channel and calm water. The anchorage is about a mile up the river, and we expected to find it packed with cruisers, but there were only three other boats there, and plenty of room to put down a bow anchor and swing to the wind.

By the time we anchored and got the boat secured, we were pretty cold. Even though it was probably in the mid 60s, it was raining and the wind, instead of letting up, had gotten stronger. A quick warm shower and a bowl of hot chili for lunch helped get us, and the boat warmed up. It was an incredibly grey day, all day long, with a light, but steady rain and some thick fog in the evening. This really is a beautiful anchorage, and I could see how it would be phenomenal if the sun were shining. But, it was an “inside” day today, studying, reading mystery novels and (Elaine) knitting.

We’ll check out the forecast first thing in the morning, and if it looks like there’s any chance of reasonable water we’ll keep on going up to Beaverstone Bay, then have a protected inside route almost all the way to Killarney and the North Channel…