After much discussion between executive officers and crew, we decided to play it safe today.
We listened to the marine weather forecast diligently, noting that there would be strong NW winds today that we really did not want to be fighting. Instead, we decided to get up early while everything is calm, motor out into the strait, and then do a nice down-wind sail back to Claydon Bay (where we had come from prior to Port Hardy). In this way, we would actually be able to enjoy the sailing and maybe come back this way again in a few days, when the winds were more favorable.
So, early this morning, we made a spectacular exit from the marina. The watching crowds were complimenting me on the smart way I got the boat turned around in the channel that honestly did not look wide enough to do so - I didn't have the heart to tell them it was completely unintentional. All's well that ends well.
We made a quick trip to the nearby commercial fuel dock to top up our diesel (the hose was just a little larger than the deck opening on the boat, resulting in a bit of a environmental disaster - I think it was designed for fueling up mega-freighters or something).
Then out we went into the Queen Charlotte strait again. The winds were, of course, coming from the east - exactly the direction we had decided to go. We sailed for about an hour, close-hauled into the wind, until the wind died completely and the waters became a smooth, glassy surface. Wind, what wind?
So change of plan. We motored the relatively short distance directly across the strait to Blunden Harbour, where we had the anchor down in time for lunch. The weather has turned really nice. About 25 degrees and blue sky all around. What a treat to sit in the cockpit, having a cold drink (drinks from the refrigerator and ice from the freezer), courtesy of our solar panels that have us fully charged up every day by early afternoon, no matter what we throw at them. Pretty sweet!
The NW wind has come up in the late afternoon, which seems to be the pattern we have noticed for the last few days.
Tomorrow we will probably get up early again and try to use the calm morning (and hopefully more light east winds) to make our way further NW up the strait, finding an anchorage before the gale force winds hit in the afternoon. In this manner, we may be able to get safely around the dreaded "Cape Caution" the next day.
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