Desolation Sound

A  Refresher on Anchoring Properly...

As I sat down to write this entry at 23:25 on Friday night, our depth alarm went off - warning us we were in less than 15 ft of water.  I popped upstairs with our spotlight to see how close to the cobble spit we were and take a look at our position to see if we had dragged our anchor during the afternoon thunderstorm and ensuing gusts.  All seemed calm and our position ok.  But, now I'm on alert, again.

After three weeks of relatively easy anchoring in the San Juan and Gulf Island coves, Desolation Sound gave us a quick wake up call during our second night.  We had run into Island friends upon entering Roscoe Bay and rafted up with them for the night.  When they pulled anchor the next day, we cavalierly threw out our new trusty 65 lb spade anchor, gave a quick tug on it and continued on with our afternoon of playing in the warm water.  Just after midnight the winds started howling down the hill and through the bay in a variety of directions.  Nick woke me to double check our location, fearing we had dragged anchor. Sure enough we were closer to the two boats rafted together nearby.  Roscoe Bay is narrow and crowded so we chose to take turns on anchor watch and agreed we would pick up anchor and reset if needed, otherwise we would wait till morning to reset.  We could see several people out on deck shining their spotlights onshore to check their position.

Sleeping on deck in a sleeping bag was definitely the best way to stay alert and the stars were amazing - worth the nerve racking business of shifty winds and an anchor that isn't holding well.  By morning it was dead calm in the bay and we were about 20 feet from our neighbors with fir needles covering the decks.  We chatted with our new Canadian friends over morning coffee before we fired up the engine and reset our anchor just a little farther away.

After that evening at Roscoe Bay we were on high alert - setting our anchor harder, putting out more chain and stern tying as well.  Most of the shoreline in Desolation Sound is rather vertical, so finding a spot where you can get enough scope out and not end up stern tied 2 feet from shore is a trick.  Our favorite anchorage was in Teakerne Arm - it took three tries to find the right spot and our windlass almost gave out, but the view from the companionway was worth the third effort to anchor-with a rock wall jutting straight up behind Agamere.