As expected, we pulled up our anchor early this morning and took off for Crater Bay. I used our salt water spray pump to get all the mud off the chain and anchor as it came up. Glad I added this gizmo to our inventory of equipment on board. across the Pacific, it's mostly sand and coral so it's not necessary but now that we are away from that area, it's just about always mud or sand/mud bottom and pulling that stuff up can make a big mess in our anchor locker. Up till I got the pump, I'd spend a fare amount of time on the foredeck scrubbing away with a brush screwed onto the end of our boat hook. What a pain that was. Now, I attach a plastic hose to the "in" side of the pump and throw the other end in the water(weighted down by an old zinc to keep it down in the water). Attached the spray gun and plug it into a 12 volt plug I put in the anchor locker. Simple and easy and I made the cord long enough so I can more the pump just about anywhere on deck.

With with anchor up, we were away from Hellville but 0745. We wanted to get an early start. We had planned to get the last of our diesel fuel this morning but with a pig roast scheduled in Crater Bay, we knew that lots of the boats in Hellville would be on their way and we wanted to get back to our old anchor spot where we knew we would be safe. Last night, we had a big front come through with winds gusting into the mid 20 knot range and throwing bit swells into the anchorage. Strangely, I slept through it but Tracy was up a couple of time checking things out on deck and with some of our electronics. We were the first out of Hellville but by the time the roast started, there were a good 6 more boats that had made the jump to Crater Bay. We just got there first and dropped our hook where we wanted it.

We took off for shore and walked into town to get a few fresh veggies. Not much(other than a nice Zebu filet)beats a fresh salad out here especially when Tracy makes them. I grew up hating salads but hers are great. We ran into Tom and Barb off Gosi and made plans to get together during the roast party. We got to the Yacht Club where the party was to be held before 1200 when it was due to start. We figured they would run out of chairs by the time everyone showed up and getting there early got us really good seats. We were the first to arrive and by the time the party got underway, there were a good 40 people there. They roasted two pigs for the group and while the meat was good, it was hard to find any on these guys poor bones. A ton of fat but you had to dig to find any meat. Sure glad it came with a baked potato and salad. The dogs that hung around the tables had no problem with what got thrown to them. A good time was had by all with plenty of big bottles of Three Horse Beer being consumed. By 1630 we were on the way back to Zephyr.

Tomorrow, we are off for Russian Bay again as big winds are supposed to be in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon and there in not a better place in the area to hide out than in Russian Bay. You might get some winds but it's closed in so well that swells just don't happen. We should be out of here for the 21 miles trip by 0800. Big winds start cropping up just before noon and we want to be well installed by then. Russian Bay is a nice quiet place where we can get a bunch of jobs done in peace and quiet with no speeding boats zipping past us. It's going to be great to get away again. Unlike many of the places we have visited, we aren't staying in one spot for more than a few days. In the past, when we would pull into a new place, we would stay, sometimes for weeks before moving on. Here, we want to see more of the country and staying on the move has allowed us that opportunity.