After nearly a week in Forward Harbour, patiently waiting for the wind to take a break, our opportunity to push onward north through Johnstone Strait had arrived.
Johnstone Strait has a reputation—a place where currents meet fierce winds to create chaotic seas. Every boater has a story about it, usually starting with, “Oh, it’s fine,” quickly followed by a tale of that time when it was anything but fine. It’s no place to take chances with poor weather.
We took the back routes through calmer waters heading to Forward Harbour, but eventually, there’s a point where you have to emerge into Johnstone Strait to continue north toward the Broughton Archipelago. At that juncture, all eyes go to Fanny Island’s weather station, where its readings guide those who dare to journey on and those who wait.
July 16
With a gentle 5-10 knot wind, we left Forward Harbour, the mist clinging to the mountain slopes in the early dawn light. We weren’t alone in our strategy; other boats that had also been waiting made their way out with us, each of us trusting the morning’s stillness.
As we passed Fanny Island, a quiet sense of accomplishment settled in. This tiny, weather-beaten outpost had been our focus for days, its readings holding our plans hostage. Now, gliding past, we felt a mix of respect and relief—grateful for the patience and caution it demanded.
Each boater who passes Fanny Island knows it’s more than just a waypoint; it’s a marker of good judgment and a bit of hard-earned luck.
You can see the weather station on the tiny island in the two photos immediately below.
Once we rounded the Broken Islands and left Johnstone Strait in our wake, I felt that familiar flood of relief—it had gone smoothly. Too smoothly, maybe…
Arriving in Port Harvey, we scouted around for an anchorage. The prime spots were already occupied, so we settled between the Mist Islets, a spot marked as suitable in one of our guidebooks. It wasn’t ideal. Exposed to the prevailing northwest winds and obstructed by a pair of large buoys bobbing near a waterfront home, it made for tricky maneuvering to keep enough distance.
The anchor was set, but I wasn’t happy with our spot. While tapping my foot and feeling unsettled, I noticed a boat we saw in one of the better anchorages was leaving, so we quickly decided to move. But as we began, a problem surfaced: our anchor was caught on something deep below.
The windlass (a winch that pulls the anchor up) was working too hard and slipping. The last thing I wanted to do was break the windlass! Nor did I want to lose an anchor. Especially with the majority of our northern trip still in front of us.
I immediately decided I wasn’t doing any more pulling with the windlass. By securing the anchor line to a cleat on the boat, I could pull using the boat’s engine instead of the windlass. But I hesitated; how much force could I apply before risking damage to the boat itself?
I remembered my Dad’s advice from many many years ago when I got a crab trap stuck on the bottom: “drive in circles.” I thought it was one of his “not funny” jokes, but he assured me he was serious. And it worked – I drove around in circles pulling from all different directions and eventually got my trap back!
So I manoeuvred the boat around and tried pulling it from one angle, then another angle, tried to get lined up another way, ended up letting out a lot more line so I could drive the boat around and pull again, each time pulling until the line was tight and then pulling a bit harder and a bit harder and then finally I could feel a little pop and it was free! Yay!!!!
Phew, now that was a relief!!
At least in this kind of situation, if the anchor didn’t come up we wouldn’t be drifting anywhere while we took time to come up with another idea. But fortunately it was still early in the day and we managed to free the anchor with plenty of time to get anchored somewhere else.
With the anchor freed and the sun still high, we chose another spot north of the larger Mist Islet. It turned out to be a charming, quiet spot with a view of a small tide-flat that dried at low tide.
In the photo above, I am flying my drone from Vestri at anchor while Ray explores in the dinghy.
On the other side of the bay, Port Harvey has an industrial feel with its nearby logging camp and remnants of a marina that’s now shut down. While there was a bit of noise from the logging camp, all in all it was a lovely spot with lots of nooks and crannies to explore.
I’m sure we’ll return in the future, and we’ll make sure to anchor in the right spot next time!
Enjoy this short drone video from our anchorage:
Next stop: Potts Lagoon
Dear Anne,
I love the story telling with your descriptive writing. Even though a picture paints a thousand words.
Yes words paint images – but wow, those drone images and videos are breath taking. I am always inspired seeing your images and reading about your travels.
I am so pleased you are living the life you always dreamt of.
Good idea to bring the wounded whale to the attention of the right organisation earlier by the way.
Keep going, keep shooting and keep posting be safe.
Regards
Ron
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback Ron! It’s always been my dream to live aboard and it goes so well with my photography. Every day brings a new surprise, I never know what is going to happen out here. We enjoying gunkholing in the dinghy, exploring every nook and cranny. Nature and wildlife are incredible up here! It means a lot that you are enjoying the descriptive writing along with the photos, thank you so much for noticing. I’ve been trying to get better at the descriptive writing.
Anne,
Love that you love life and nature’s beautiful scenery.
Great pics, enjoy life, be careful and have fun.
Look forward to see more of your travel adventures.
Hi John, being out in the wild is where I find my peace and feel most like my true self. Thank you very much for your visit and comments, they are much appreciated.
Anne,
Beautiful photography, your drone shots help to put the others in perspective. Look forward to more of your adventure, in the next post.
Thank you very much Bill, I do enjoy flying the drone and love the perspective it offers!
As always, Fantastic Photographs, I’ve enjoyed all your photographs throughout the summer and now fall. Thank you for sharing!!!!!
I appreciate that very much Jon! I have many more boating photos to come, even though we are now heading south to the desert. I’m always behind!
Beautiful photos as usual Anne! I use the same strategy when fishing as you did retrieving your anchor.
Safe travels!
You must be catching some BIG fish if you have to pull from different directions Thanks for your visit and comments Steve!
Beautiful pictures! Safe traveles, you two!
Thank you very much Janice, I appreciate it!
I am so envious.
Glad you enjoyed it John. Life on the water is everything I dreamed it would be. I hope you have been able to get out and enjoy nature a bit.
Good Morning Anne
Thank you for your latestest voyage articile and amazing photographs. What a beautiful place to be and able to inchor and enjoy the peace and beauty.
Do you encounter any sea birds during you sailing? The photo of the the kingfisher? is very similar to an African Giant Kingfisher.
Hi Roy, so glad you enjoyed the post! Yes, we have tons of sea birds. The Kingfisher is called a Belted Kingfisher. We have tons of bald eagles, herons, all sorts of ducks, cormorants, gulls, geese, hawks, falcons. I love my bird photography!
Beautiful photos. I especially love the one with the wooden scroll and sun flare.
Oh thank you Diana! That is the rail of the boat. I love that detail on the boat and I appreciate your comments!
Nice. Was that a distant cousin to Aussies Kooburras I saw? Nice shots and the fishing? or did they get away?
Any gear updates lately?
Here the weather is High 30s in tropical Qld and hanging out for two photography trips in 2025. Great Ocean Rd in Victoria, Aus and then the Faroe Islands but not until the second half of the year.
Yes, it was! Oh Kookaburra, I would love to see one. I’ve seen them laughing on YouTube and I adore them!! It is the largest of the kingfishers, and this one I photographed here is a Belted Kingfisher, which is about half the size. No gear updates, I can’t even remember the last time I got new gear. My sony camera I use for landscapes is so old, I don’t know how it keeps going. Let’s see, I bought it in 2015 so it’s getting close to 10 years old. And I use it for timelapses too! I wonder what the shutter count is? 🙂 The trips you have planned sound incredible. Faroe Islands would be a dream – so many birds. Albatross! Oh, I’m jealous. Have a fantastic time Warwick! Send me a link to your photos if you put them online, I’d love to see them.
So exciting to hear about your adventures, your photography is exquisite. Congratulations and keep us posted on your travels.
Many thanks Jaime, I appreciate it! I am so far behind in telling the stories and sharing the photos from our summer boat trip, but I keep telling myself I can only do what I can do. I’ll just keep them coming.
I love to see your landscapes. The addition of drones is interesting.
Happy travels
Thank you very much Rosie, I do enjoy the perspective the drone is able to provide, especially with all the small islets in the north. If there are any other people around, I restrict myself to flying for only about 15 minutes so I don’t annoy people. But usually there is no one else around.
read with pleasure.
I do sailing, and technique to recover stuck anchor is an legitimate proposition.
Hi Kaz, I’m so glad I was able to get the anchor back. After waiting so long for the bottom restoration and then getting covid, I would have been pretty disappointed to have to return to get a new anchor! Good to know the technique I used was a good one. Thanks for your visit and comments 🙂