Parry Sound to Snug Harbor

Sometimes boat life reflects that famous song by The Clash: Should I stay or should I go now?

We were, then we weren't, then we did. High winds over the last couple of days made us stay in Parry Sound. But the storm didn't pass quickly, and the winds remained. We looked at our weather apps, the water buoys, and talked to other boaters (which were mixed). We decided to go.

Our chart plotter was going to take us on a more inland route, something call the canoe channel, which would have been more protected from the wind. We'd heard, however, that it wasn't recommended for boats over 40 feet. We are 40 feet. 45 if you count the anchor and the dinghy. Not wanting to risk mishaps, we took the outside (more open to the wind) route. 

Before sunrise at Snug

Ultimately, it was the right thing to do. Not great, but certainly not the worst. In fact, it wouldn't have been much of an issue at all ... until ...

We heard a big splash behind us. Both turned to look but we didn't see anything. Then Russ yelled, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" I killed the engines. He grabbed his life vest and the headsets and set out to investigate. Apparently, he saw the dinghy bouncing wildly in its harness.

He assumed he'd forgotten to reset it (he had raised it a bit to keep water from pooling in the thing during the rain). After lowering it snugly into the webbing we headed out. Within minutes we had to stop again. The same thing was happening, but since he was watching, Russ figured out the problem.

I just got this from the Harbor Hosts.
It's us just starting the Trent Severn.

The dinghy rests on a harness stretched between the raised arms of the davit. This has worked wonderfully for us in calm waters. Now that the waters are a bit churned (2 foot with the occasional 3 foot), and between Cat-n-Dogs rocking and the waves, water would periodically thrust upward against the dinghy, pushing it out of its cradle. It is wrapped up in a line (since we thought this might be an issue), but the line is around the webbing, nothing solid.

The solution for the moment was go slower. Which frustrated me, since I wanted off the bouncy water sooner rather than later. Russ is pondering another, more long term solution.

We're anchored about a mile from Snug Harbor proper. Maybe we'll go eat at Gilly's tonight.