TRANQUIL ISTHMUS SOUND

On Wednesday Morning we met up with another couple cruising on their yacht as they dropped anchor in Cuttle Cove.  We swapped information for a while, they are going south to Stewart Island.  They had come from isthmus Sound anchorage and declared it to be excellent and sheltered.  We decided to try it ourselves as we are looking for a lazy day.

By early afternoon we were secured in Isthmus Sound with a stern line to a buoyed shore line and anchor out ahead.  Peaceful, tranquil and sheltered.

The first chore on the agenda was to get the mosquito and sand fly screens in place.  All Fiordland is notorious for sandflys and we had a few thousand visit us as soon as we arrived.  They are desperate for human company, very happy to see us and extremely persistent.

Despite suffering multiple sandfly bites, we had a very sound sleep.  Nothing moved, no noise, no wind, no waves, utter peace and quiet.

Thursday morning opened up to brilliant sunshine and clear skies.  All was well in our little world.  Breakfast was a leisurely affair and we finished off the last of our shop bought bread.  It will be boat made bread for a while now.

The morning weather forecast is calling for N’Ely winds after today and lasting past the weekend.  These winds will prevent us from moving up the coast outside the sounds.  With this in mind we decided to move from Preservation Inlet around to Chalky Inlet, just a short hop.  This gives us a few more anchorage options as we wait for the winds to turn favourable again.

Mid-morning we motored out of Preservation Inlet and around the Gulches Head and through Broke-adrift Passage to Chalky Sound.  As we turned around Gulches Head I looked astern and saw Puysegur Point receding into the distance, nice.

Shortly after entering Chalky Sound the afternoon sea breeze set in and we had a nice sail all the way up Edwardson Sound and into Lake Cove.

We dropped anchor in Lake Cove just after 16:00 and dropped a line over the side.  We were immediately rewarded with two fat Blue Cod.  The fish were biting so furiously that they destroyed a soft bait on seconds.  The fish we caught were taken on a hook with a scrap of soft bait remaining, I think they would even have taken an empty hook.

Lake Cove is reported to be an all weather anchorage, it certainly is well protected on all sides with just a narrow entrance channel.  On the south side of the cove are the Cora Lynn Falls.  If the weather is suitable tomorrow we will take the dinghy ashore and go for a stroll up to the falls and the lake beyond.

Ngozi has suffered no ill effects from devouring the Pigfish.