18.June 09 - Winter Cove, Saturna Island

After a quick crossing of Navy Channel, I dropped anchor in Winter Cove at the very north end of Saturna Island. Upon entering I noticed the decaying remains of the wooden hull of the 100 foot + 'Robertson', a well loved and well known sailing Schooner, which cruised the waters here for many a year. During the 2007 Canada Day Long Weekend, she ran aground on Minx Reef, which guards the entrance of Winter Cove, and is invisible during high tides.
I was anchored in this same cove a couple of days after the grounding and witnessed the rescue attempts. With the help of divers, tugs, and a number of recovery crews, under the watchful eye of coast guard vessels, people tried to pull her off the reef. For days, and many tide changes, leaving her full of water or high and dry in turn, they had no success, she definitely was stuck, driven into the reef hard (how, was never quiet clear). She subsequently was cleaned out by beach-combers, looking for souvenirs, her huge masts were removed for safety reasons (they and the rigging were semi submerged and presented a serious hazard), the seals moved in - and she slowly was battered to bits.
Now, only a part of the wood planks of her skeleton bow rests on the rocks, all blackened and rotted, everything else must have been torn away by two years of waves and winds. The seals still populate the reef.
There is a small Cut, called Boat Passage, at the east end of the Cove, between the tip of Saturna Island and Samuel Island. (Samuel is so private, that apart from a vigilant 'bouncer' who keeps visitors off the Island, numerous 'Keep Out', 'Private' and 'Danger - Rattlesnakes' signs decorate the tranquil shore...one gets the message..)
The cut is very narrow, maybe 40 feet or so, rocky and fringed by kelp beds, and at maximum floe the current reaches 7 knots. One can pass at slack, local knowledge recommended. I can see, why...Strong powerboats zip through any time, an entertaining spectacle...
Beyond the Cut is the broad expanse of the Strait of Georgia, with Vancouver skyline, the Coastal Ranges and Point Roberts faintly discernible in the distance.
I am staying here two nights, then - who knows?
I just hope my anchoris not caught on the bottom reefs, sticking into the shallow anchorage from the shore. A trawler, trying to weigh anchor next to me, had to go through a noisy and crunchy length to get his anchor unstuck. It seemed jammed somehow, and only 'unscrewing' it with driving circles around it at full throttle make it turn loose.
My groundtackle makes disconcerting noises, whenever the boat turns to the wind or current - at best just the chain realigning itself on top of the seafloor, here is hoping.