Leg 23 of our 2022 cruise up north
(to read about Leg 22, Heywood to Little Current, click here)
We’re all alone this evening in the Benjamin Islands harbor. Usually there’s 15-25 boats here on a summer night, but tonight it’s like these islands “belong” to us.
It’s been a very windy few days, but we’ve been hunkering down in a beautiful spot!
Two days ago (Monday) we left Little Current going west. With the extended weather forecast showing cooler weather, and cooler water temperatures displayed on our instruments, we want to start making progress home to Milwaukee. We’re not quite ready to switch back into “delivery mode,” though, where we try to get as many miles in as possible every day. We still want to enjoy the scenery along the way.
When we departed Little Current, the weather forecast demanded some attention. While the Benjamins are very pretty and protected from waves from the west and north, they don’t offer real great protection from high winds unless you can sneak into the southern corner of the harbor… and then there isn’t a lot of swinging room for the anchor at just the time you want room! “Thunderstorms, some of which may be severe” were in the forecast for Monday afternoon and evening. A “Strong Wind Warning” was also in effect for Tuesday, which is the Canadian equivalent of a “Small Craft Advisory” in the US. Winds were supposed to be west gusting to 20… we can handle that, but we can’t be too casual about anchoring. Fall weather, with all its wind, was definitely approaching!
With the strong winds in the forecast, we considered a few alternate destinations. If things got uncomfortable in the Benjamins, or if big thunderstorms threatened, moving to Eagle Harbor or the Hotham Island area were options that offered more protection within about an hour travel time. With a constant eye on the weather, we still sailed to the Benjamins.
The wind was southwest at 10, then south at almost 25, so sailing here actually involved some work! The winds have been really light for several weeks now, so it’s a little intimidating when it kicks up for the first time in a while! After lots of mainsheet tension, traveler adjustments, and cunningham, we ended up reefing the main and partially furling the jib to depower. It was still a lot of fun! We sailed nearly all the 16 miles from the channel in Little Current into the Benjamin Islands harbor.
With the water still sorta warm at 71 and the dinghy still on the foredeck from our marina stop the previous night, we actually swam ashore. It’s harder than it sounds, since the islet we swam to is just one big, smooth rock that’s really slippery when wet! We each ended up having to slide ourselves up on the rock just to get out of the water. Once ashore, walking around barefoot was easy, since the rock is almost like pavement with very little dirt or pebbles.
The 20 knot south wind on Monday afternoon caused a swell to wrap into the Benjamin Islands harbor. Near sunset, the wind shifted to west-southwest as forecast, placing Priorities nearly beam-to the swells. This caused an uncomfortable roll for a while after the shift. Fortunately, there’s only a max of 10 miles of fetch to the south, and I figured the swell would go away about two hours after the shift. I was correct, and Monday night ended up peaceful afterward.
The wind picked up Tuesday into the 20s from the west, so we didn’t sail anywhere and explored around in the dinghy instead. Since the sun was out, it was really pretty! All the remaining boats in the anchorage left, so we moved to a more protected spot near the south end of the harbor while still having plenty of scope (6:1 with all chain) for our Rocna anchor.
Initially I thought the wind would subside after Tuesday, but a new forecast came out in the evening… “Gale Warning” for Wednesday, with winds gusting over 30. That was more wind than we wanted for this anchorage, but moving involved risks and work, too, especially if whatever anchorage we moved to was crowded. Partly because the high winds were forecast to occur during the day when we’d be awake, we rode out the gale in the Benjamins.
This afternoon (Wednesday) we saw gusts into the 30s. The rigging on Priorities howls pretty loudly in that much wind, and walking up to the foredeck requires holding on, but otherwise Priorities is fine anchored in those conditions. Our lightweight flat bottom dinghy was still in the water, however and it didn’t do well.
I was adjusting our dinghy towing bridle while on Priorities’ stern, and our dinghy capsized in my hands during a strong gust. Fortunately, the only item not secured aboard the dinghy was a bailing sponge. Our Torqeedo electric outboard is submersible, so despite getting dunked underwater it was fine. As I watched the sponge float away, I had to quickly decide… try to recover it, or just let it drift away (and litter this nice wilderness)?
Kristin and I decided if I wore a life jacket, had a floating handheld radio, and had an anchor for the dinghy, it was worth chasing after the sponge. If bad things happened, there was a point of land to leeward I could swim or paddle to. Motoring the dinghy to leeward after the sponge was easy, but when turning to windward I felt way too much air getting under the dinghy. Quickly moving myself very low in the dinghy prevented a capsize, but it was pretty close! Note to self: use lots of caution in the dinghy when winds are over 30.
I got the sponge, removed everything off the dinghy to minimize worry if it capsized again, and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I also remembered the last time the dinghy capsized was just after leaving the Benjamins five years ago! (I wrote about it in “A Storm, a Frog, and a Drifting Dinghy”)
Fortunately, the winds have calmed down a bunch this evening. There’s still enough wind to keep the bugs away (a rarity up here), and we went up on the foredeck in the dark to check out the stars. The Milky Way made a bright stripe across the sky.
These west winds should shift southerly again tomorrow afternoon… I expect to head west starting around noon tomorrow.
