It was a beautiful anchorage with more than a dozen boats swinging on their anchors. In the early morning light, anchor lights danced across Fury Cove as the flotilla raised anchors and stored stern ties as quietly as possible, not to disturb our sleeping neighbors.

Along the way to Hurricane Anchorage, Captain Brian led the five boats through a maze of reefs, shoals, and rock outcrops with the rising tide in Bryden Channel. Without his experience and knowledge of the local waters, exploring the hidden inlets and islands can be a daunting task. Instead, the mood of the flotilla was relaxed and fun.  When we raced each other across the wide bays between the gunk holes, Victoria went full throttle passing Deception. The bow rode high separating the seas as she split the water, leaving a rooster tail in her wake. Once in a while it’s a good idea to open up the RPMs as a safety check. If there is a problem at full speed, there will be problems later on idling. However, all systems were green with the boats and everyone grinning cheek to cheek with glee. As they say, “what’s the point of having an engine if you don’t use it?” Let me tell you, these boats are powerful!

In a following current, we arrived an hour early to Hurricane Anchorage, and with so much to see, a dinghy exploration was in need. The surrounding islands can become very confusing with so many tiny coves and inlets that dash off one direction to the next. Rich has a lot of experience and knows the islands well, so with his lead the others took off exploring Spitfire Channel. It’s a secondary entrance that bottlenecks with only a fathom or two of depth at high tide. The day was mostly overcast and the wind was picking up, so the dinghy trip was made short to prepare a nice hot meal.

Captain Brian invited the crew of Alaskan Dream, or as they have been dubbed “The Dreamers” over for dinner. Roy, Donna, Chris, and Pam came over with a bottle of wine and salad to compliment Brian’s Jambalaya. Also, Rich baked double-chocolate brownies to satisfy everyone’s’ sweet tooth. Hard to say “life ain’t good” and I owe it all to the Mother Goose family.