Exploring Fox Island, North Channel

Dana out for some dinghy exploration on Fox Island

Ben's Fox Island Anchoring Adventure

Ben checking things out in the Bay of the Benjamins anchorage

Saturday, July 22: A lot of work and preparation goes into a trip like this, but the payoff starts with that first sip of coffee in the morning after a good night of sleep on the hook. We were happily moving slowly this morning just taking in the scenery, enjoying our morning coffee, cooking breakfast, and listening to Roy Eaton on Little Current Cruiser's Net. We checked the weather report and were disappointed to learn the wind would be switching midday to North/Northeast, the only direction we didn't have full protection from. Paul, aboard Orca, packed up early for a run to Little Current to pick up crew, then planned to return to nearby Croker Island. As we watched the anchorage start to clear out, we knew it was time to pull anchor and look elsewhere for protection. Croker was a great option, but going there meant we were repeating the same first 2 days itinerary as last year, something we try not to do. We decided to explore and try and find a new spot and keep Croker in mind as a plan B.

On the move from Benjamin Island...

After pulling anchor, we motored slowly clockwise around to the South side of the island, passing Croker along the way. The first cove we wanted to check on the south side was full with a raft up of 3 boats. We would now have to cut between a group of rocks know as the Sow and Pigs to continue our search of a handful of other coves we had seen previously. After seeing the finger coves were occupied and the wind already starting to pick up, we decided to try anchoring in the South Benjamin main anchorage, a large cove with decent protection from NorthEast winds. Anchoring here should have been easy, but not today...RJ had other plans. Maybe it was because it was around nap time or maybe he picked up on the increase in tension as we prepared to anchor, but he decided it was the perfect time to go into full toddler meltdown mode. I've become pretty confident in my anchoring skills, but something about a screaming crying toddler tornado in a quiet anchorage full of boats really threw my game off. After a couple attempts and failures, I tucked my tail between my legs and declared this anchorage was not going to work for us and pointed the bow back towards open water. As we motored away I was listening over my shoulder just waiting to hear a round of applause, but it never came. Maybe they felt sorry for us. Anyway, I was glad our dinghy was covering our boat name.

The Benjamin Island Area - Fox is the unnamed island above. Image is a screenshot from Google Maps.

We decided to move on to Fox Island, a beautiful and highly recommended anchorage we had never visited before mostly because of a tricky entrance. As I set our course Dana took RJ down into the cabin to lay down with him and attempt to try and get him to sleep, I hoped it would work as I needed her help guiding me through the tricky entrance. It was a short trip to Fox and as it turns out not enough time for our plan to work so after some quick surveillance of the entrance I decided to go for it since it didn't look as tricky as I had heard for many so years, in fact it was actually pretty easy to pass through the rock littered entrance. We passed through the front bay which was empty of boats and head further back into the well protected main anchorage only to find it was packed full of boats. Dana came up from the cabin at this time and agreed that anywhere we anchored would be infringing on some else's space. Frustrated with our situation and RJ starting to cry again down below again we decided our best option was to turn around and head all the way back to Croker Island and hope there was still room for us in the popular anchorage. Planning on a long slow ride back, Dana went to join RJ in the bunk to try and comfort him back asleep.

Entrance to Fox Island Harbor - Image is a screenshot from Google Maps.

Before departing Fox Island I decided to go to the middle of the empty front anchorage and hover for a minute so I could set up the chart plotter and get out the appropriate charts needed to travel to Croker.  I was also getting concerned about leaving Fox because the wind had picked up to the point I wasn't sure if I could see those rocks I avoided when we came into the anchorage. 

Upgrading the Ground Tackle

After our night on the rocks in the North channel we knew without a doubt that our anchoring equipment needed some serious upgrading. For weeks after we got home I (Ben) would jump out of bed in the middle of the night and run to the bedroom window to "see if we were moving". In order to stop these nightmares I spend a ridiculous amount of time researching different anchors, chain/rode combinations, and anchoring techniques. We also found our Windlass had blown an oil seal on the gearbox and dumped it's gear oil all over the rope in the anchor locker. Time for a complete overhaul of our anchoring system.

The Manson Supreme

After much research we decided on a 25lb Manson Supreme for our new main anchor. The New Zealand built Manson Supreme received the Loyd's of London status of SHHP, or super high holding power. This anchor is also know to set within it's own length. The 25lb model is rated for up to a 34ft boat so it should have no problem holding our 26 footer!

Anchor dug in

The next step was to reseal the gearbox on our windlass. After removing the gear box I removed the gears, soaked them in solvent, and cleaned up any burs with emery cloth.

Gearbox ready for solvent

Pressing in new seals

The seals were easy to replace and for only the price of a 30.00 seal kit we have a like new windlass that isn't leaking and destroying our anchor rode. With the gearbox sealed it was time for the final piece of the puzzle, the anchor rode/chain. Our boat came with braided 8 plait nylon rode and 5 feet of chain. We decided to stick with the 8 plait rode but decided to add an additional 10 feet if 1/4inch high test chain to the new setup. The additional chain will help keep the rode on the bottom, prevent abrasion to the nylon rode, and maintain a better scope angle. We ordered from a company called Seco South in Florida and were very impressed not only with their great prices but top notch customer service! The anchor package we ordered even came with a very nice chrome swivel that helps the anchor spin around into the roller.

The final result! We couldn't believe how fast and how hard this new anchor set. As we backed down on the anchor for the first time, the boat abruptly came to a halt and we both flew forward....the anchor was set! It was nice to instantly feel the results of our upgrade!