and into the Frypan!
Listening to the weather forecast, it appears that in the next few days we could be in for some large seas and high winds around the Cape. When we woke up this morning it was dead calm and the sun was shining in Pruth Bay but, based on the winds we had yesterday, it could get quite nasty here if the winds pick up in the afternoon again. We were securely anchored but it is not that much fun when the boat starts sailing back and forth on the chain when the NW winds start funneling in.
Looking at the charts, I found a promising anchorage on Penrose Island, much closer to Cape Caution, so if the opportunity arises for us to make a move in that direction, we will be well poised to take advantage. So this morning we upped the anchor and headed through Kwaksua Channel, back to Fitz Hugh Sound. Once we were in the Sound, the winds started to pick up and we were able to sail south for 2-1/2 hours on a single down-wind tack, on a bright sunny day, down and across the Sound and around the south end of Penrose Island.
Penrose Island is the place we first stayed when we came around the Cape in the other direction. But this time, instead of pulling into Fury Cove on the west side (the most popular spot for most boats to wait out bad weather at the Cape), we motored up the east side of the island and dropped the anchor in Frypan Bay.
Frypan Bay is a completely land-locked cove, with good protection from all winds, especially the forecast NW winds. Indeed, this turns out to be beautiful spot. We have the anchor down in about 55 feet of water, with lots of swinging room on all sides. There is only one other boat in the bay and he is a long way away from us.
While the winds whistle out in the Sound, here we are just getting the odd gusts (from seemingly random directions) and we are confident we could handle anything the weather gods could throw at us. Listening to the updated forecasts, it appears we may have to hole up here for a few days before making any move to round the Cape. But we have lots of food, the solar panels are keeping our batteries fully charged, and it is a lovely spot to hang around. The sun is still shining and we are almost warm again.
One additional note. As we were rounding the south end of Penrose Island, and entering a narrow channel between two smaller islands, a whale surfaced right in front of us. We only got the one glimpse of it before it spouted and dove, probably right under us. We proceeded very slowly and cautiously up the channel but he never reappeared.
In the bay, we have only seen a couple of seals, and the usual bird life so far.
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