Bearing in mind that photos and videos always make conditions look about half as bad as they felt and that this is after things had calmed down considerably, here is a video taken from Strider at anchor in Georgian Bay after the frontal passage and anchor adventure.
http://www.cruisingonstrider.us/videos/GeorgianBay.wmv
The low shores make the land look much farther away than it actually was. I don’t think I’ve ever seen waves this big with so little fetch. It was harder sitting and moving around below when I took this video than all but a few times I’ve been underway pounding into a head sea under power.
The anchors all came up easily the next morning in that none were hooked on the many snags in this anchorage. They were really dug in well however. The wind came up just after I got underway and was blowing straight down the Alligator River. I’d had enough abuse so I just nipped into the next anchorage and read until about 1400 when it began to ease. I had a reasonably comfortable run up through the swing bridge and then over into the lee of Durant Island in case the NE sea breeze that had sprung up didn’t die down during the night. I needn’t have worried. It was as still and calm as the previous day was rough.
I was up very early this morning and through the Middle Ground passage and into Albemarle Sound just after sunrise. It was an easy and uneventful run up to Coinjock for a quick fuel stop and then on up Currituck Sound to take advantage of the good weather. There was a marsh fire burning on one of the islands and I had a brief glimpse of flame two to three times tree height.
My autopilot had some kind of software nervous breakdown going into the sound. I had to take the batteries of the remote to reset it. It started working again but has been wandering strangely all day. This became significant later on.
There is an anchorage at Pungo Ferry, Mile 29, just a couple miles from the bay. I’d planned to spend the night there and research the rest of the trip north and plan the final day. I got into the anchorage and promptly ran out of water. Lots of power and a strong stern wind just barely got the keel forced through the mud and Strider back into the channel. The depths here are now about half what is charted and this anchorage has become unusable for all except very shoal boats. Too bad because it is the only anchorage or shelter between Coinjock and the marinas in the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. I tried a few other creek mouths that looked promising on the chart but they were all either obstructed with snags or shallower than charted.
Since I hadn’t planned, and couldn’t leave the wheel because of the balky autopilot, I ended up just running down the waterway wondering where I would end up. This kind of spoiled the enjoyment of seeing a new stretch (I took the Dismal Swamp route down).
I just missed the Centerville Bridge and had to anchor for an hour and a half to await the 1800 opening. This actually worked out nicely because I was able to make arrangements to tie up at the marina on just the other side and catch up on email.
It turned into a 61 mile day, way, way longer than planned. Tomorrow should easily take me through Mile 0 ending the ICW portion of this saga and then on to Hampton to await suitable weather for continuing on up to Solomons.
http://www.cruisingonstrider.us/videos/GeorgianBay.wmv
The low shores make the land look much farther away than it actually was. I don’t think I’ve ever seen waves this big with so little fetch. It was harder sitting and moving around below when I took this video than all but a few times I’ve been underway pounding into a head sea under power.
The anchors all came up easily the next morning in that none were hooked on the many snags in this anchorage. They were really dug in well however. The wind came up just after I got underway and was blowing straight down the Alligator River. I’d had enough abuse so I just nipped into the next anchorage and read until about 1400 when it began to ease. I had a reasonably comfortable run up through the swing bridge and then over into the lee of Durant Island in case the NE sea breeze that had sprung up didn’t die down during the night. I needn’t have worried. It was as still and calm as the previous day was rough.
I was up very early this morning and through the Middle Ground passage and into Albemarle Sound just after sunrise. It was an easy and uneventful run up to Coinjock for a quick fuel stop and then on up Currituck Sound to take advantage of the good weather. There was a marsh fire burning on one of the islands and I had a brief glimpse of flame two to three times tree height.
My autopilot had some kind of software nervous breakdown going into the sound. I had to take the batteries of the remote to reset it. It started working again but has been wandering strangely all day. This became significant later on.
There is an anchorage at Pungo Ferry, Mile 29, just a couple miles from the bay. I’d planned to spend the night there and research the rest of the trip north and plan the final day. I got into the anchorage and promptly ran out of water. Lots of power and a strong stern wind just barely got the keel forced through the mud and Strider back into the channel. The depths here are now about half what is charted and this anchorage has become unusable for all except very shoal boats. Too bad because it is the only anchorage or shelter between Coinjock and the marinas in the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. I tried a few other creek mouths that looked promising on the chart but they were all either obstructed with snags or shallower than charted.
Since I hadn’t planned, and couldn’t leave the wheel because of the balky autopilot, I ended up just running down the waterway wondering where I would end up. This kind of spoiled the enjoyment of seeing a new stretch (I took the Dismal Swamp route down).
I just missed the Centerville Bridge and had to anchor for an hour and a half to await the 1800 opening. This actually worked out nicely because I was able to make arrangements to tie up at the marina on just the other side and catch up on email.
It turned into a 61 mile day, way, way longer than planned. Tomorrow should easily take me through Mile 0 ending the ICW portion of this saga and then on to Hampton to await suitable weather for continuing on up to Solomons.
