Saturday, 29June, 2013: Watmough Bay to Fox Cove, Sucia Island

Weather:  Warm and sunny!  Winds:  Light and variable.  Seas:  Flat.

After a pleasant night in Watmough, we headed north in company with Steve and Janet of Flexible Flyer.  While glass like, it was unfortunately a droning motor trip. 

While they had been to Echo Bay in Sucia, they had not been to Fox Cove.  Being fairly small with cliffs surrounding and only 4 state park mooring buoys, Fox is an intimate anchorage compared to many on Sucia.  I understand it can be rough in there with a strong SW wind, but both times we were there, the winds cooperated and the nights were pleasant.

Kelly and I took a mooring buoy and Flex Flyer tied off during the day and then moved off to anchor for the night.  Apparently Steve had had a rough night with squeaking fenders.  Based on a comment by Steve, I modified our attachment to the buoy, rigging the harness to hold the buoy ridgedly between the ama and vaka.  This configuration was stable and kept the buoy off our hulls!

Whilst Steve and Janet paddled there inflatable kayaks around the cove, Kelly and I rowed Bug around, stopping ashore to register the mooring.  Very pleasant.  Fossil Bay was packed and most of the campsites were in use.

Gorgeous sunset after a shared dinner of italian sausages, mozzarella alla caprese with cookies for desert.  Regarding the sunset.  Last time we were in Fox Cove, we took one of the south moorings.  The sunset was blocked by Little Sucia Island to the west.  I sat there while another boat, in the north mooring, sat in their cockpit, drinking their wine, basking in the glow of the setting sun and announcing, "It don't get better than this!"  Lesson learned:  We took the north mooring and had a great sunset!

A Fox Cove Sunset.  Canada is under the clouds.

Love the reflection.

On a mechanical note, the battery alarm sounded, nearly continuously.  I isolated the engine start battery and the alarm quit.  Perhaps the engine start battery is going bad?  Alternator showed 14 volt, normal is 14.2, but plenty of amps going into the house batteries.

Replaced the block ball bearings on the starboard side.  Like all the others, the old ones were bad.  Kelly assisted and between us, we completed 4 in about 1/2 the time it took me to do 2 previously.