The night was windy and rolly and showers passed by, but I slept quite well. Today I need to pay Tyrrel Bay a visit for provisioning and laundry. And if I get a good anchoring spot, I might stay the night as well.
Morning
My anchor held well. I only have a 4:1 scope out. That means I’m in 20 feet of water and have 80 feet of chain. We just had sustained 30+ knots come through. I shifted as the wind did, but the anchor and chain have done their job admirably.
Wildflower left the anchorage early, departing for Bequia. I don’t envy them the trip in the strong winds and seas today. After the frontal passage I decided to use a break in the weather to get going and head around the corner into Tyrrel Bay for a visit. Although it was a bit rainy when I left, the conditions were benign until I got the anchor up and started going downwind. Then 30 knots arrived and whipped up the water, but at least it let me do over 5 knots with no sails up and the engine in idle.
Tyrrel Bay
Tyrrel Bay is quite large, but also very crowded. I’m wary of going in closer amongst the packed boats, so I anchored further out in 25 feet of water. But I’m still a bit closer to the catamaran behind than I’d like to be. It is 11AM now and still raining, I’m going to wait a bit before heading ashore to do my shopping. But I think I’ll not remain the night, as it is rolly out here.
My mast boot is loose and there’s a leak there which I haven’t found, and the 2 hours rain almost filled a 5-gallon bucket that I’d set up inside the boat to catch the water. My top priority when I’ve got a couple of hours with no rain in the forecast is to find this significant leak.
I’ve decided to return to Sandy Island or perhaps even to Anse la Roche; after I did my shopping there’s nothing keeping me here. The shopping was a bit of a disappointment, as there are no coffee filters to be found on the island at the moment, and I’m running out. My visit to Tyrrel Bay wasn’t a resounding success.
The trip back was in little wind, but lots of rain. I passed Sandy Island and went all the way up the coast to Anse la Roche. Marjorie and Mark are there, as is a catamaran and I had to anchor further away from shore than I wanted to. After a couple of hours of rolling around I decided to try getting closer inshore or, failing that, motor to Hillsborough. Life’s too short to stay in a rolly anchorage when there are options available.
I moved in closer and the difference is huge. But every couple of minutes I get a nasty rolling motion and I’d normally head out, but dusk is falling and there were a lot of fish pots on the way here that I wouldn’t be able to see at night.