Port McNeill to Fury Cove

Or, what were you doing on opening day of yachting season?? Spirit and Sea Jay rafted in Fury Cove
Interesting beach scenery


Driftwood at Fury Cove

A sunny afternoon, the sunset later was just OK

After a night of waking up at intervals (0130, 0400, 0700) to check the weather reports for Queen Charlotte Sound, and the buoy reports for "West Sea Otter" buoy, Jim Matheson and I initially decided to wait a day to cross Cape Caution. However, by 0800, the buoy reports were favorable and the weather reports indicated a brief window of opportunity to cross, so at 1030 we departed, with an intention of stopping at Bull Harbor and crossing on Sunday, Mother's Day. The weather started out cloudy, then partly cloudy, and finally clear and sunny as we approached Pine Island.

Jim took the lead, and when he got to Pine Island, the seas and wind were acceptable, so we decided to make the crossing on Saturday, continuing on to Fury Cove. Jim is somewhat faster, so he arrived before the wind picked up between Egg Island and Cape Calvert. There was a westerly swell of 5-8 feet, but long period, so no real problem. Even though the wind was above twenty knots for us, we also had no real problem, just a little spray across the bow. We saw our first large whale just off Pine Island, but only a glimpse.

The course we needed to keep put the swell nearly on the beam, but the stabilizers kept the motions acceptable, and we only needed to dodge the occasional log. That collision avoidance became more of a problem as the wind picked up.

Jim and Cheryl Matheson's boat is much faster, so when we reached Cape Calvert, we called on the radio and asked where they were. They had decided to stop in Fury Cove, which was a new location for us. Jim met us outside in his tender and guided us in where we rafted alongside of "Sea Jay". We were securely tied alongside Sea Jay at 1830, underway for just 8 hours. There were two other vessels already anchored in an absolutely beautiful sheltered bay with a view out across a spit covered in white sand looking out to Fitzhugh Sound. Later three more vessels that had been following us also entered and anchored.

It was now time for cocktails and appetizers on Spirit and then a delicious dinner of smoked ling cod on Sea Jay as we watched the sun set with a brilliant pink and clear sky. The cove is absolutely calm and quiet as we finally call it a night and get ready for a day of exploration tomorrow.

The log now stands at 342 nautical miles, for a day's run of 68 nautical miles