The last post, again.

Yesterday we motored into Desolation Sound, which, in spite of the foreboding name, is one of the most beautiful areas along the British Columbian coast. We went to Von Donop Inlet, a long narrow islet that leads to a well protected, quiet anchorage. Ahhh, yes! Finally! Time to set the hook, launch the dingy, set some crab traps, go for a hike.

Click. Click click. Click click click. That is the sound the anchor windlass starting making, when we went to release some chain. The correct sound is a loud growling whirr. There were other sounds too, from Frank, but won't be repeated here.

Now a few words about anchors and anchor windlasses for you landlubbers. Boats are not like cars. They don't have a brake. The only way to stop them is to tie them securely to something fixed, like a dock; or to drop an anchor, essentially securing yourself to the bottom. It is more than a convenience. If you have an emergency and need to stop, say you have lost power and you are drifting into rocks, you have to be able to get the anchor down.

The anchor on Gandalf is a 44 lb. Rocna, connected to an all-chain rode (that is boater-speak for a line). It is not like the little Danforth hooks tied to a length of line that you can easily drop and retrieve by hand that you may be familiar with on small runabout boats. The anchor windlass is a machine that deploys and retrieves the anchor and chain. Yes, there are very inconvenient ways to work-around a broken windlass, but the whole scenario is not recommended.

So, we managed to get the anchor down and secured, but then it was time to do some more problem solving. No cell service in the tiny nook we were in, so out came the satellite phone.

We burned some expensive ($1.00/minute) minutes, but we found Ian from Penner Marine in Campbell River.  Another angel!

This morning we headed out at 0600 HRS to cross Sutil Channel, around Cape Mudge in a southeasterly blow, and arrived in Campbell River at 0900 HRS. It is now almost noon, and Ian is packing up his tools, the windlass is fixed. Another f-ing solenoid. How many solenoids are on this boat anyhow?

Ian standing in the hole he had to crawl into to work on the solenoid

Entering Desolation Sound, that's the Rocna anchor under the flag