Winds and Low Tide at Eucott Bay
September 28th (Saturday)
Our hopes of a calm night definitely did not materialize. The wind that we had when we went to bed continued and progressively got worse. Because of being in such a shallow anchorage the majority of our chain was simply sitting on the ground, and it totally changed how the boat rode and reacted to the wind. The angle of our snubber lines had a much larger range of motion creating much more noise inside the boat, especially in the v-berth, and when she came up tight on the chain it was a more abrupt stop than it would have been in a deeper anchorage. Everything on our deck was tied and secured, but because we did not know it would get so windy we were not fully prepared. Our kayaks, which were tied off, were getting lifted by the gusts and then dropped back down. Our fenders for Kiki when she is alongside were being blown against the side of the boat, and the howling through the rigging was quite intense.
In the first part of the night we did manage to grab a little bit of sleep, but it was broken. By 04:30 we simply got up. Throughout the night when we had been up in the cockpit to look around we had seen someone up in one of the two small powerboats also anchored in the bay; I don't think they slept very well either.
Because it was a new moon we had the largest tides of the month. We went from being anchored in about 23' of water at 01:00 to being anchored in 8' at 07:20. The deeper water is better for the boat’s motion, but puts a lot more water between us and the land, and so allows for bigger waves to form. In the middle of the night we had some sizeable waves blowing past us, but by morning, with the lower tide and so much more land exposed, the fetch (the distance the wind has to blow over the water) was decreased dramatically, making the water much calmer.
Sunrise arrived at about 07:30, and we were very happy to have dawn slowly arrive just after 06:00. At 04:30 when we had first gotten up the stars were beautiful, it was a gorgeous night to be at anchor and to watch the stars. We enjoyed them from our cockpit with a cup of tea while cringing at the gusts. When we had enough light to easily see, we went out on deck to deflate our kayaks. Once deflated, we brought them in and stored them in the back. It was nice to remove the noise.
Our hopes of a calm night definitely did not materialize. The wind that we had when we went to bed continued and progressively got worse. Because of being in such a shallow anchorage the majority of our chain was simply sitting on the ground, and it totally changed how the boat rode and reacted to the wind. The angle of our snubber lines had a much larger range of motion creating much more noise inside the boat, especially in the v-berth, and when she came up tight on the chain it was a more abrupt stop than it would have been in a deeper anchorage. Everything on our deck was tied and secured, but because we did not know it would get so windy we were not fully prepared. Our kayaks, which were tied off, were getting lifted by the gusts and then dropped back down. Our fenders for Kiki when she is alongside were being blown against the side of the boat, and the howling through the rigging was quite intense.
In the first part of the night we did manage to grab a little bit of sleep, but it was broken. By 04:30 we simply got up. Throughout the night when we had been up in the cockpit to look around we had seen someone up in one of the two small powerboats also anchored in the bay; I don't think they slept very well either.
Because it was a new moon we had the largest tides of the month. We went from being anchored in about 23' of water at 01:00 to being anchored in 8' at 07:20. The deeper water is better for the boat’s motion, but puts a lot more water between us and the land, and so allows for bigger waves to form. In the middle of the night we had some sizeable waves blowing past us, but by morning, with the lower tide and so much more land exposed, the fetch (the distance the wind has to blow over the water) was decreased dramatically, making the water much calmer.
Sunrise arrived at about 07:30, and we were very happy to have dawn slowly arrive just after 06:00. At 04:30 when we had first gotten up the stars were beautiful, it was a gorgeous night to be at anchor and to watch the stars. We enjoyed them from our cockpit with a cup of tea while cringing at the gusts. When we had enough light to easily see, we went out on deck to deflate our kayaks. Once deflated, we brought them in and stored them in the back. It was nice to remove the noise.
Both of the other two boats in the bay were also up early, and they both struggled to pull up anchor, and then they left. I guess they probably had marinas to go to tie up at, and then would be able to sleep well. I would not have been wanting to head out into the channels, however. With the large tide coming in against all of the strong wind, it would make quite a mess out there.
We had breakfast and listened to the gusts. We had our wind meter on quite a bit overnight and were frequently getting gusts over 30 knots, the strongest gust we saw on the meter was 36.8 knots which is about 68 km per hour.
When the max gusts finally lessened to 25 knots, and we had had some breakfast, we headed to the hot springs. It was nice to get away from the howl and the noise of the boat, and to get somewhere where we could actually enjoy the windy sunny day. It was an absolutely beautiful stormy day, one of the types that I always used to enjoy as a child. On our way to the hot springs we took a detour out to the entrance of the bay, and looked out into the channel. It was obvious how rough it was out there by the jumbled water and cresting, spraying wave tops.
We stayed in the hot spring for 2.5 hours and didn't really want to leave, but we were getting hungry, and the tide was beginning to go back out. The tide had come in so far that we were able to have Kiki's bowline up at the hot springs with us and pull her in bit-by-bit closer to us as the tide continued to raise. At first Jason had gone down to her every so often to pull her up so that she would not blow into any rocks, but that was a very cold little trip down to the waterline. Finally her bowline was able to reach the hot tub, and it was no longer necessary to leave the comfort and warmth of the hot spring.
When the max gusts finally lessened to 25 knots, and we had had some breakfast, we headed to the hot springs. It was nice to get away from the howl and the noise of the boat, and to get somewhere where we could actually enjoy the windy sunny day. It was an absolutely beautiful stormy day, one of the types that I always used to enjoy as a child. On our way to the hot springs we took a detour out to the entrance of the bay, and looked out into the channel. It was obvious how rough it was out there by the jumbled water and cresting, spraying wave tops.
We stayed in the hot spring for 2.5 hours and didn't really want to leave, but we were getting hungry, and the tide was beginning to go back out. The tide had come in so far that we were able to have Kiki's bowline up at the hot springs with us and pull her in bit-by-bit closer to us as the tide continued to raise. At first Jason had gone down to her every so often to pull her up so that she would not blow into any rocks, but that was a very cold little trip down to the waterline. Finally her bowline was able to reach the hot tub, and it was no longer necessary to leave the comfort and warmth of the hot spring.
The beauty of Eucott Bay when it's not rainy or windy.
In the evening we had the fire going and the weather alternated from being silent and calm, and then suddenly gusty all over again. Our fingers were crossed for a calm night, because we wanted to sleep.
Busy night - not so much fun.
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