Well .. That was interesting (!)

The planned trip to Lyall Harbor did not work out because the expected storm arrived early.

We were working our way through the usual morning stuff at 8 am when the wind started to increase.  All hands on deck!

And then it REALLY started blowing.  Like constant 55 mph and gusts to 70 mph.  We were still on our anchor and had a lee shore just 150 feet away.  At one point our boat twisted around broadside to the wind at the very moment that a 70 mph gust hit.  This blew the boat on its side so that the deck was almost in the water (aka Rail down).  Very exciting stuff.  We made ready to take action should that be necessary --- thankfully, our anchor held -- much to our relief.

This Video was taken after the main blast was over but does give some indication of the wave action.  At this point things are pretty much under control.  Understandably, we did not take any pictures when it was blowing us around  -- more interested in not getting thrown overboard! (I'm not sure this video thing is going to work -- kind of a trial effort)

We watched as three boats on anchor drifted onto the beach and called on the VHF to get help for them. Eventually, a volunteer marine rescue group arrived and pulled these boats back to safety -- apparently none of them sustained any damage.  That's the owner standing on the beach and his boat is behind the rescue boat.

Not so for this one which we observed on the rocks as we left the harbor the next day.

We made our way to Jones Island Marine State Park and got a buoy.  Given the weather we decided this would be our final night out and were rewarded with a rainbow over the harbor

So, ...

That's all folks.  Thanks for check-in during the last month -- we've had a wonderful time.