Foggy nightmare

Foggy nightmare

Tuesday, August 25^th 2020

 

We woke to thick fog in the anchorage.  After breakfast, the fog seemed to be lifting so we pulled up the anchor.  By the time the anchor was stowed, the fog was coagulating again.  We motored out into the open water in dense fog.  Amazingly, the further we went the thicker the fog seemed to become.  In some areas the seas were glassy, in others there were wind ripples.  Everywhere there were lobster buoys.  We could hear the engines of lobster boats and even saw the ghostly outline of one vessel.

 

It’s a strange and dis-orienting sensation to be unable to see anything but white fog.  You strain your eyes trying to spot the floats from the lobster traps.  After a while you think you see shapes in the mist.  It’s hard to tell if the boat is going in a straight line or not.  At some point you wonder what will happen if you loose the GPS?  Then you tell yourself to keep watching for pots and let the helmsman worry about the navigation.

 

After two tense hours we arrived at “Hell’s Half Acre” anchorage.  I was very grateful to get the hook down and stop staring into the mist. 

 

Now it’s about 3 pm and the sun is out.  Looking out the stern of the boat in the direction we travelled earlier, there is a veritable forest of lobster traps.  I’m not at all sure how we arrived here without snagging one.  Blessings upon the helmsman!

 

Gloria

 

Postscript: Once the fog finally cleared in the mid-afternoon we took a short dinghy ride up to the island called “Hell’s Half Acre” and enjoyed a short walk. Before too long we started to hear thunder and could see that the weather was deteriorating, so we headed back to Cotinga. What followed was a pretty strong storm with thunder, lightening, winds over 20 knots and a lot of rain. However, that gave way to a spectacular sunset and with only 5 minutes to go to “boaters midnight” all is quiet.

 

44 09.184 N, 68 36.715 W

If you think we go on a lot about lobster pots you are right! They are a f...ing nightmare! This shot was taken with a long lens from our anchorage and shows the water we came through in the fog in the final section of our journey this morning

We arrived back on Cotinga just before the storm hit

Looking west up the anchorage towards "Hell's Half Acre" (closest island in the middle) during the thunderstorm

The same view up the "Hell's Half Acre anchorage" (as a panorama) after the storm passed and with a beautiful sunset

"Hell's Half Acre Anchorage" at sunset (wide angle panorama)

Looking east from "Hell's Half Acre anchorage" at sunset