How Do You Do What You Do?

The picture is of the sign designating Patterson Inlet.   Most anchorages don't have any signs.   Someone was being cute...

The topic for the day is anchorages.  Or more accurately, how do we know where to go and where to stop? And thank you, avid reader/adoring fan for the question - it's a great one.

This is a picture of the "Math Islands".   Sine, Cosine, Tangent, Logarithm, Tangent, etc.  Some math geek land surveyor had way too much caffeine and not enough sleep...

No matter where you go, there you are.  So, we start with wherever we are, whether that was our home slip in Anacortes or last night's anchorage.  No big surprise there as you can't start from anywhere other than where you are.  Write that down as that is actually an important life-lesson.   Just a side note, too many people want to solve problems from somewhere other than where they really are.  That's impossible.

Back on topic...  We can travel up to 80 miles in a 12-hour day at our blinding snail's pace of 7 knots.  So that sets the outer boundary with a margin for error if something goes wonky (technical term).

We consult various resources from charts, to guidebooks, to other people's recommendations.  Other people are the best first source. 

We prefer to anchor out rather than stay at marinas, so I'll speak mostly to anchorages.

Here is a snapshot of the chart from my navigation electronics of Patterson Inlet (tonight's anchorage); we are in the north arm.  Note: I placed the little "anchor" symbols after researching this cove/inlet for suitability (see below for "researching").

Here are a few of the many many guidebooks we carry aboard Blue Redd.

This is a section of the Douglass Guide covering Patterson Inlet where we are tonight.

We pay attention to depths (if we are anchoring) as I prefer to anchor in 35'-50' of water but can go up to 100' (I could go deeper as I carry 500' of rode, I just don't want too).  We also prefer to anchor in mud, silt, shells, or sand, but not rocks.  We avoid areas that were formerly used a logging operation as there may be chains, cables, sunken logs, etc. just waiting to snag my anchor.  We also avoid anchorages where the approach/entrance is crowded with hazards such as rocks, reefs, etc.  Lastly, we want anchorages that are well sheltered from winds, waves, and storms.

Given the above considerations, we look to find a route between us and our desired destination.  In truth, this is circular as we may look at the desired route first then find an anchorage, but sometimes we have to do it the other way around.   In the end, we need both a good route and a good anchorage.

The same basic evaluation criteria for anchorages holds with routes with the addition of paying attention to the currents and tides.   We want to travel with the current if possible.   It's not always possible, but that's another topic.

In this picture from my navigation electronics, the route is the dark blue line.   This represents the 21-mile route between Newcombe Harbour and Patterson Inlet.

Patterson Inlet entrance to the north arm where we are anchored tonight.   It gets very narrow.

Patterson Inlet, looking back out the entrance (opposite direction from the prior photo).

Our view of the anchorage in the north arm of Patterson Inlet from the aft deck.

There is another boat anchored in here tonight.   It is the Eagle 53 named Happy Talk, owned by John and Roberta.

Ross made a Pho dish tonight.   Really very good.   As the dishwasher, I'd like to file a complaint though as he used every imaginable dish and pot we have aboard.   It was worth it.   Uurp.

Tonight, we ran the generator and charged the batteries back up to 96%.  That took about 2 hours.

Then we played a card game, Phase 10.   As you can see, I should stick to boating and blogging; and not card games...  Low score wins; Ross again.   Shark.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Chris!

Nighty Night...