We got GOT: a hard 10 on Marlene’s toss-o-meter

Tuesday May 27th, 2025

Today started out very WET as it continues to absolutely pour down rain, however the seas leaving Butedale were calm, visibility was limited but tolerable (that is what radar is for!) and the waterfalls along the way were spectacular!

However, as we entered Wright Sound the situation changed dramatically. This is the before picture of our lovely salon.

This is the after picture.

So how exactly did this happen.? We left Butedale this morning at 7:00 a.m. with a cruise goal of getting to Lowe Inlet by 12:30. We continued up Fraser Reach and turned west along McKay Reach which leads into Wright sound. We have gone through Wright Sound four times and it is a piece of water where we have always taken extra care to check the weather as it is a larger body of water that has five arms that feed in and out of it. Our previous crossings have all been fine, in fact smooth. However this time as we proceeded past Whale Channel we saw the seas were building quickly. There were also many logs—big logs, like trees—that had to be negotiated around. About halfway through Wright Sound we determined that we had NOT read the weather correctly. The wind was gusting, as we would come to find out, at 35 knots from the south meaning we were getting hit hard on the beam of our boat. I started tacking to minimize the turbulent water however this was difficult to do, all the while, watching carefully for large logs, anyone of which could easily poke a hole in our boat with significant thrust.

As we proceeded towards Grenville Channel we thought we were through the worst of it, however looking up the channel we could see large waves and white caps. We made a mid course decision to duck into Coghlan anchorage. It was quite a challenge turning around. On several of the larger waves our boat was on its side to the degree that the side rails were touching the sea. The result of those waves on our boat can be seen it the picture above. It was indeed, bar none, the worst waves we have ever negotiated in our boating experience. Needless to say I knew that we were taking on water in our bilges. (I spent the better part of an hour sucking the water out of our front and mid bilges). I’d would have to deal with that later. We continued into Coghlan anchorage where we have anchored before but knew it would not be ideal because it was open to the southerly winds. We were correct. There were white caps in the anchorage. And even going around the bend wasn’t any better. So, we decided to try out luck at Hartley Bay government dock. This is a small native village of about 150 people. The dock is first come is first serve and we had no idea if there was going to be a spot. As I entered the breakwater my depth alarm went off which is set at 6 feet. I quickly hugged the dock as best I could give us about 9 feet of depth. Marlene went to the bow of the boat and located two empty berths that were large enough for our boat, however, the boats in front and behind them were rafted, making this a very difficult Moorage. And the wind was pushing off the dock and just as we thought we were close to the dock the bow thruster timed out and I was not able to drive the boat in due to the other rafted boats and high winds. Fortunately, Chuck from Anacortes came to the dock to help us and suggested we take the back side of the fuel dock and tie up there. This was a linear dock and I was able to maneuver the boat in through the wind and waves. Chuck helped with our lines. Oh by the way did I mention that it was still absolutely pouring down rain. Marlene didn’t have time to put on her slickers so she was getting soaked, head to foot.

So far no one seems to care that we are tied up here and there is actually no fuel on this dock. It is above us so we feel that we are safe here for the night. After 5:00 when the fuel dock closes we won’t have to worry about it. So what did we get wrong?

The short answer to this question is that after a quiet night in Butedale we did look at both of our weather apps, and specifically we looked at Wright Sound. What we failed to take into account was that although the recoded wind speeds were in the 10-12 knot range, the gusts were in the 30-35 knot range, AND the gusts were occurring more then 50% of the time! Now a few intermittent 30 knot gusts will make the seas uncomfortable, but tolerable. This situation, at least for us, was not tolerable. We won’t make this mistake again.

Had we not been able to stay at Hartley Bay we would have had to go north up Douglas Channel and look for a safe place to put down an anchor, possibly in Bishop Bay. We do take off with “backup plans” but honestly we rarely have to use them. I would also like to say that during this entire event, there were no raised voices or screams of terror (from either of us) which is why you only do these kind of activities with someone you trust and have known for over 50 years!

So, tomorrow is another day. Not a perfect weather day, not a perfect tide day to go up Grenville Channel but we think we will be able to continue north on our journey. For tonight, well let’s just say some really good Scotch will be consumed on Tradition.

Marlene in the rain at Hartley Fuel Dock.

Marlene in front of one of the totems at the cultural center. Notice the rain gear. She didn’t get soaked this time.