We woke up and did leave fairly early. A couple of other boats left before us, but we were close behind. We also wanted to get out because they were planning on doing pump outs of a boat or two, and the smell from this is gross, so we want to be far away. Our destination today is the last spot to drop the hook before reaching Pickwick Lock and Dam. We would anchor just inside the islands northern tip as directed by Waterway Guide. We have been using the Waterway Guide to find anchorages and marinas along the way in addition to the books we have showing the Great Loop route and suggested stops.
When we left we were making less than five knots. The currents have really picked up the closer to the dam we get. The promising part is we are making good timing overall, so hopefully we will get to Aqua Yachts on Tuesday instead of Wednesday which we had originally thought. I called Aqua Yachts and made sure we were good for Tuesday arrival- they said yes. The trip was uneventful again, just moving along slower than we thought, but still making headway.
We came upon the island around 5pm. Since we are worried about depths, we slowly entered from the north like the guide book says. We dropped anchor and paid out the rode. Once this was done, we realized we are too far out in the channel, so we pulled the anchor up and slowly moved forward, deeper in behind the island. Our eyes were on the depth finder as we moved forward, watching it go from twenty eight feet and falling. Once we were in far enough, we dropped anchor again in about eighteen feet of water. Anchoring rule of thumb is five to one scope. So in eighteen feet of water, we have to let out about ninety feet of line. We carry three hundred feet of line on both anchors, so we do have plenty of line. Once we had backed down the anchor, the current was pulling us tight and you could see and hear the current rushing past the boat, but the anchor was holding tight. This was a bit unnerving as if the anchor loses grip, we would be swept away back upstream. We spent about an hour making sure we weren’t going anywhere, and I let out some more line just to make sure. The more line out, usually the better holding as the angle of the line decreases and allows the anchor to really dig in. Once we felt secure we weren’t dragging, I took Frank in the dinghy for a shore visit. We walked around the island a bit along the shore and he was happy. We made our way back to the boat and hung out for a while before starting the generator to make dinner. Dinner complete and batteries topped off, we shut down the generator and listened to the wildlife come alive in the area. Coyotes and other animals could be heard around, but we were in the middle of the river with a swift current, so our animals were safe.
Tomorrow we go through the Pickwick Lock and Dam which is only ten miles away, then on to the marina which is another ten miles after that. Today we were doing a little over four knots, so it will take us a while to traverse the last twenty miles.