Day 83: Port Protection to Egg Harbor

We woke to blue skies, calm seas, and no fog. I convinced Ryan that we should attempt to go to Egg Harbor, an anchorage I had read about that I had been trying to figure out how to get to since we started heading south. It’s on Coronation Island, off the bottom of Kuiu Island, and pretty much right on the open ocean, so not trivial to get to. The forecast was conflicted - it wasn’t bad according to NOAA, but Windy showed it was going to be 15-20 mph winds by the time we got to Coronation. Both forecasts indicated the weather would be improving, so we headed south to see how the day and sea conditions developed before committing to anything.

We found a better vantage point to see Mt Calder right outside of Port Protection

…and another view of Mt Calder a little further down the coast. You can see there’s still some fog lingering today.

The conditions going south on Sumner Strait were a mixed bag. For a while it would be mirror calm, then we’d get some chop, then it settled again. Nothing too bad, so we started moving west toward Coronation Island.

The only boat we met on our way south was this tug pulling a barge on the other side of the strait

When we got to Point Decision, things started looking a little dicier.

Point Decision Lighthouse

The rollers got bigger and we started seeing whitecaps. The seas near the point were particularly uncomfortable, lifted by the shallow seabed there. Once we away from the point, things settled a little, but it was only the proximity of our destination, I think, that kept us going forward.

Egg Harbor is indeed a neat anchorage. There’s a small granite mountain over the bay, and a rocky shoreline full of caves and tidepools. There are also a few sandy beaches, a rarity so far on our trip. With the sun shining in encouragement, we took the dinghy to shore so we could explore the coastline.

The water was clear and turquoise, the rock formations stunning, and the plant life delightful. The maidenhair ferns might be my favorite (first picture below).

There were several tunnels through the rocks that we encountered along our beach walk.

Also, some caves.

This cave actually had two entrances on either side of a small headland, like a secret passage.

Sadly, the wind has not died down as much as we could wish and it is currently coming from the northwest, a direction from which this anchorage offers poor protection, and the bay is open to the swell. The wind is supposed to shift to the west tonight and also die down, so hopefully things will quiet down, otherwise it will not be a very restful night. Our anchor has been holding well, so it’s only an issue of comfort, not safety. Thank goodness neither of us is prone to seasickness these days.

Here’s a picture of the plotter showing how we’ve been swinging in a circle around our anchor.

We’ll just have to pick a more sheltered anchorage tomorrow to catch up on any sleep we miss tonight!

Wild North at anchor in Egg Harbor

Today’s route (44 miles)