Plan B

On Wednesday, the wind came up something fierce, from the NW... there were whitecaps in Blind Bay! Our anchor held (it has held in far worse than the 15-20 kt we were seeing), but the motion was uncomfortable. Besides, we had been here two days and it was time to go somewhere new.

So we hoisted anchor and drove into th teeth of the wind up into West Sound on Orcas, which is aligned in a NW-SE direction, and which lines up almost perfectly with Blind Bay. The plan was to check out Kaiser Bay, Clapps Bay, or finally at the very head of the Sound, an anchorage behind Skull Island, hoping to find something where the NW shore would provide some protection from the wind.

No luck. The farther NW we got, the stronger the wind became. Finally, at Skull Island, we were seeing a constant 22 kt. This plan was not working.

It was time for Plan B. We turned around, killed the engine and hoisted the yankee. It was a great downwind sail. Plan B was to get as many islands between us and the wind as we could. Interestingly, the wind came out of a clear blue sky, dazzling the water. Oh, and the views here in the San Juans are dominated by Mount Baker - anywhere you have an Eastern view, it looms big and white.

Plan B took us to Indian Cove, on the SE shore of Shaw Island.

Indian Cove is a new anchorage for us. Note: When entering Indian Cove from the North, do not try to go between Canoe Island and Shaw to make a short cut. That little passage is strewn with rocks. You might see someone with local knowledge go thru there, but unless you have it, don't try it. The bottom in Canoe Cove is mud, and shoals very gradually, at least on the Southern two thirds. There is plenty of room in here, and it is a great anchorage in a northerly.

The southern half of the shore is a county park, and has a great sand beach. From the beach, Eolian almost looks like she is anchored off of Canoe Island. It was hot on the beach, but we enjoyed stretching our legs a bit.

Plan B