Puzzles

 We were up anchor at 5 am this morning. After a couple of days of constant movement, the anchorage was still. No time for breakfast. It was time to go. 

One of the things we did with our time at this location was to figure out a better way to tie up the anchor. When the waves get big, the bow pitches up and comes crashing down. If the waves are spaced at the right interval, the bow will crash down as the next wave drives up and all the force of the wave will  punch the anchor, shoving it with so much force that periodically the anchor is forced off the bow roller and over the side of the boat. Held by the chain, it swings against the hull and gouges the fiberglass. We figured out how to lift it higher off the deck, so the waves don't reach it as easily. 

We also set our jack lines. With big waves and windy conditions, it's nice to have a way to clip into a line if it's necessary to be out of the cockpit for any reason. Jack lines run the full length of the deck and came in handy when we needed to make adjustments to the anchor tie. 

The avocados we bought in Campbell River are ready to eat, so it's tacos for dinner tonight. It'll be an early dinner at a temporary anchorage and then we'll be up anchor again to transit the Chatham Channel at slack. That'll put us in Duck Cove before dark. Duck Cove is half way between our next two scheduled anchorages.  We're making up for lost time at our last anchorage. We have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep.

The truth is we want to round Cape Caution in the best conditions possible, but the weather forecast is constantly changing. If we line ourselves up for rounding on Tuesday based on today's forecast it probably won't be the best day by the time we get there. It's like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that are changing shape.