This morning we watched this massive trough approach and then pass over us. The skies to the west of us were black and ugly. The winds, which had been mild, warm and coming from the east, instantly snapped to the SW and blew 20 to 25 knots. The seas started to build and our very quiet anchorage became like a rolling coaster ride as the short, choppy swells started rolling in. The SE is our exposed side at Stonehaven Anchorage and the winds have their longest fetch when they come from that angle.

It took Mary Margaret only a few minutes to suggest that we move back to Butterfly Bay and the great protection it offers. Thus, in the wind, rain and building seas, we released our mooring lines and headed north to round the top of the island and make it into Butterfly Bay.

It was only a few nm to get there and we arrived in about a half hour. By now the rain had created a white out as our visibility was down to about a ¼ nm. However, thanks to the radar, we knew exactly where we were and as we entered the bay, we could see the shore on each side and the reefs that sneak out into the bay. Thank goodness it was low tide as this made seeing the reefs that much easier to see.

Fighting bullets of up to 35 knots and a torrential downpour and with a determined look on her face, Mary Margaret eased up to the first mooring ball we came to and then held us rock solid on top of it while I grabbed its pennant and threaded our two bow lines through it and secured them to their respective bow cleats. I think it was the best that Mary Margaret has ever done in regard to keeping Leu Cat on station and she did it in the worst imaginable conditions. Yea!!!!!

We sat out the rest of today biding our time by watching a movie, reading and playing cards. As the day progressed, we felt the air getting colder and watched the thermometer drop into the mid and lower 60's. I even put on slippers to keep my feet warm. Brrrrrrrr. As we ready for bed, Mary Margaret is putting on two (not one but two ) heavy blankets. The wet air and the lower temperatures just chill you to the bone.

However, with my new outlook on life that I mentioned last week, I can say that we are having just the most wonderful time here in the Whitsundays. Life just doesn't get better than this

Techno-Tip Of The Week: Be Careful When You Follow The Track You Have Laid Down On Your Chartplotter

I have preached to anyone who will listen not to sail into an unknown anchorage at night by relying on one's GPS chartplotter. There are just too many unknown opportunities for errors. The charts may not be surveyed accurately (a very common occurrence once you get away from the heavily trafficked cruising areas), the survey datum used may be out of date, plus the error from the GPS satellites varies based on the number of satellites your GPS is reading.

A number of people have argued with me on this issue but some have stopped after experiencing firsthand the problems of trusting their chartplotter. A number of other people have said that when they leave an anchorage at night, they follow the tracks they laid down on their chartplotter when they came into the anchorage during the daylight hours. We have done this also but even that makes me nervous and I try to avoid leaving in the dark if at all possible.

I have noticed that when we enter and leave an anchorage a number of times, following the same route, the tracks do not overlay very well. This was very apparent when we were in Musket Cove in Fiji. We came and left that anchorage many, many times and discovered the spread of tracks was much greater than they should have been.

We noticed that again today when we returned to Butterfly Bay from Stonehaven Anchorage. The tracks we laid down when we left Butterfly Bay were now running over reefs along the shore. If we had followed those tracks, we would have end up washed up on the reefs! Originally, the track was right in the middle of the channel between Hayman Island and Hook Island but now, it had mysteriously shifted and was about 500 feet to the south. Wow! I do not know what caused that shift. To confirm that we were where we thought we were, we relied on the radar which was overlaid on top of the chart. It showed that we were in the middle of the channel and our depth gauge tracked well with the reported depths. Whew!

My point in this discourse is to just warn you that unexpected things can occur with your chartplotter and that it is best to use it as a guide and to reply on eyeball navigation. In other words, do not blindly trust what the chartplotter is showing you. If you must rely on something other than your eyes, then turn to your radar as a secondary source of information. Use it in combination with your chartplotter to be a secondary source of information, augmenting your eyesight