Cape May to Block Island

We have been using www.passageweather.com for our long range wind and wave forecast. The prediction of 5-10 kts from the southwest was dead on. The 200 mile trip from Cape May to Block Island was as easy as we could hope for. We had to jibe a few times and sail jibe angles to keep the wind and waves at a comfortable direction. Cary and Ginny took day watches as a team. Tricia and I stood the night watches. We started with 3 hours watches, but we plan to switch to 4 hours. 3 hours doesn't give you enough time to get rested for your next watch. Music handled well. We learned a lot about how to handle sails, and started to reorganize how we store stuff to make it easier to find and get access.

Probably the only noteworthy thing to mention is the full moon. It was very bright. We felt like we were sailing in daylight. I guess I should be happy that the blog of our first open water passage is so dull. We arrived in Block Island Weds afternoon about 2 pm, completing the 200 mile trip in about 44 hours. We knew we weren't going to set a speed record with the wind conditions, and were very satisfied with ourselves and with Music. Good job team!

C&D Canal

Leaving Still Pond, we headed north and entered the C&D Canal. Wind was on the nose again, so the engine got more run time. The trip up the canal was easy. Current was with us, and we got to Chesapeake City early. We took on diesel at the newly reopened Shaeffer's Canal House. The attendant mentioned that the harbor at Chesapeake City had been dredged to 10 ft three years ago, but had silted some. Some was an understatement. We quickly went hard aground in the mud. Hard enough that we had to sit for 90 minutes while the tide came in. Note to log- Chesapeake City does not have 7 feet of water. We contact Summit North Marina further down the canal. They ASSURED us they had 7 feet, and directed us to H dock. We made it as far as J dock before getting stuck. A nice boater on J dock helped us as we got unstuck and tied to the head of the dock. He said EVERYONE gets stuck at J dock. The marina manager then told me he told us H dock, but really doubted we would make it. Summit North Marina is clearly operating on the principal that they are the only game in town. It is 1/2 mile down the dock to the office, the showers and bathrooms are sub-par, and the marina is in a marsh. As the ladies went down to shower, I closed up the boat and sat in the dark to avoid the swarm of mosquitoes that rose from the swamp. The ladies made it back without being eaten too badly. No worries, as we were going to bed early to be ready to head down Delaware Bay in the morning.

Monday, August 14th we left the Chesapeake and entered Delaware Bay. There was NO WIND AT ALL. The current was with us, making the trip down the bay easy. Commercial traffic was light, but BIG. One highlight was our first porpoise sighting. They didn't come too close, but Cary got a picture. We made it to the mouth of the bay at dusk and headed out into the Atlantic Ocean. Winds were light and variable from the southwest. The current had turned, and was against us. It seemed like Cape May and Wildwood, NJ would never drop out of sight. We did it! We made it to the ocean.

Still Pond, Worton Maryland

Leaving Bodkin Creek, we enjoyed a great sail across the Bay. On a broad reach, with main and jib bellied out with wind, we were hitting 8 knots in 12-15 knots of breeze. When we reached the eastern shore at Swan Point just above Rock Hall, we headed up the bay. Unfortunately, the wind was nearly on the nose, so we alternated motoring and motor-sailing as we followed the channel up past Tolchester and Worton Creek to Still Pond. As it was now Saturday, the anchorage was fairly full with a raft of about 20 powerboats. Midge and Fred Kramer, my sponsor parents from my days at the US Naval Academy, kayaked out to meet us. Tricia prepared some wonderful grilled rockfish. Fred and I traded old stories and caught up in the cockpit while Midge and Tricia had a great visit down below. Cary and Ginny spent time with both of their godparents. Midge and Fred have always been easy to spend time with, and I really value all they have done for me, and my family, including my sisters Sue and Beth, whom they have adopted. The party on the raft broke up late as the weather turned a little cold and rainy, and we were able to get a good night's sleep.

First Stop- Bodkin Creek

After the fiasco the day before with me cursing the unlucky charter boat crew for taking 3 hours to up anchor, karma stepped in and slapped me down. As I pumped the handle of my trusty Simpson-Lawrence SeaTiger 555 MANUAL ANCHOR WINDLASS, I heard a "BANG"! Ginny, who was washing down the muddy chain as it came in (with the new super washdown pump!) said "Uh Oh, Dad..." The anchor roller shaft had snapped. At this point, the chain was up and down, with just the anchor buried in the mud. After some head scratching, I decided to have Tricia motor ahead and flip the anchor. This worked well, and I was able to raise the rest of the chain and anchor. Thank god for being in 7-8 feet of water and having a Fortress aluminum anchor. All the holding power, with 40% less weight (my guess). Didn't take us 3 hours to get underway, but another chore to add to the list. Did I mention that I tried to steal the shaft bolt from the other roller only to have the head break off easily? Now I am getting underway with no way to raise the anchor if I need to drop it. Ugh!

Geisler Point Marina

Bodkin Creek off the Patapsco River on the way into Baltimore is a fairly unknown destination for sailors. The entrance to the creek requires careful reading of the cruising guide, as there are a series of shoals and a preponderance of crab pots. Having navigated successfully from Seven Foot Shoal to the entrance buoys at the mouth of the creek, I was surprised to see my depth sounder read 4.5 feet. We figure the transducer is 2 feet below the waterline, so depth was 6.5 feet. We officially draw 7 feet, and felt the drag as we slithered through the clay bottom and over the hump. Tricia's Dad, Bob Geisler, owns Geisler Point Marina just inside the entrance on the right, and Cappy (as his grandkids call him) was standing on the pier waiting for us. Unfortunately, a combination of an unusually low tide and recent silting had left his slips without enough water to float Music. We tried mightily to plow our weigh in, and ended up waiting for the tide to unstick us. Bob was clearly disappointed, as he had made plans to be our host for 2 days. We then headed further up the creek to Pleasure Cove Marina.

Pleasure Cove was closed for the night, but there was room and, importantly, adequate water beneath the keel, at the fuel dock. Pleasure Cove has a restaurant, the Cheshire Crab, and Bob treated us to a wonderful dinner and several stories of his adventures in 44 years as a marine contractor/ tugboat skipper on the Chesapeake. The next day, Bob ran us around Pasadena and Glen Burnie to get parts to fix the anchor rollers. As an old boat, the right replacement parts weren't available. So, we jury rigged something with trailer parts and fittings from the most AMAZING old hardware store that had everything. Cary and Ginny worked out at the Pleasure Cove Marina gym, and relaxed. We then had Cappy over for a nice chicken pot pie dinner. The next morning, Cappy came down to see us off at 0730, as we headed up the bay.

Pressure Is Off- Time to ReGroup

After returning from Naushon, I contacted DMS for a status on the shaft coupling. All fixed and ready to launch. I was a bit dismayed to be told that removing the broken bolts from the shaft coupling DID NOT require the shaft to be pulled, so I could have saved the haul out, store and launch fees. Live and learn. We scheduled the launch for Tuesday morning, and DMS sent Ernie over to do the shaft alignment. We found that not only was the shaft .005" out (too much!), but the transmission bolts were all loose and the transmission moved when placed in gear. No wonder the coupling bolts had failed. Ernie fixed the transmission housing bolts, replaced and tightened the engine mounts, and aligned the shaft. Now I have spare bolts, and the knowledge of how to fix it if it happens again. Not that I want it to happen again. Several knowledgeable sailors have quipped that once you buy that obscure spare part, it will never break again. Here's hoping they are right.

After a quick trip to Fawcetts Marine Supply, Tricia, Cary and I motored over to Kent Island and anchored in Shipping Creek in front of Tricia's parents house (and only 1/4 mile from our house). We have access to Francis's boat to run back and forth from anchor with supplies, showers, and TV for the kids. Really a nice setup. So we took advantage. During the drive down from the Cape, Tricia and I had put together a two page list of projects to make the boat even more ready for the big trip, and to get the house rented. Renting the house was a big weight hanging over our heads. The cruising kitty doesn't survive long if we don't rent the house. Luckily, we had several promising showings and the soon had a contract starting August 1st! So, the die is cast. We are homeless!

We enjoyed two nice weeks in Shipping Creek. The weather has been FANTASTIC! Not hot and humid. Cool sleeping weather. Light and variable winds. No rain. Cary and Ginny were also able to join Tricia's parents at ocean at Bethany Beach with their cousins, Harriet and Lilly Starr. Tricia and I stayed home and worked on the boat and last minute items. We got to spend time testing systems, learning what works, and what doesn't. A sudden downpour identified numerous leaks in the cabin that took 2-3 days and a good deal of WEST SYSTEM to repair. But now they are fixed (mostly). A thunderstorm two days ago gave me a chance to shower in the cockpit (instead of the salon). It also had me wondering if our CQR is big enough. However, what I thought was dragging was more likely the anchor pulling loose and resettting itself as the squall winds were from the north, and we had set the anchor to the south. Did I mention that Shipping Creek is fairly small and pretty shallow. We were very happy to find a hole that had 7-8 feet of water. Always good to know you have 6" of water under the keel.

Finally, all appeared ready and we made plans to leave on August 14th. Then, during the night, the wind picked up and rain started. Normally, no problem. But I woke up at 3 am to the sound of the wind outside and suddenly thought of the charter boat that had anchored near us. Unused to neighbors in Shipping Creek, I went on deck to check Music's swing circle to be sure we weren't too close. Glad I did. Our neighbors were now a boat length to windward of us. Standing in a cool rain on the bow in my gym shorts, I watched as they got closer with every gust. I hailed them, and after awhile, someone came on deck. (Side note: when they woke up and turned on a flashlight, I could see it- THROUGH THE HULL! Guess the make of the boat.) They acknowledged they were dragging and said they would move. It then took them 3 HOURS to raise their anchor! Either unfamiliar with the charter boat, or a problem with the windlass. Either way, Tricia and I didn't get anymore sleep as we veered more chain, and used the motor to steer away from them as their swing moved them too close to us. So, come dawn, we slept in and were too late to leave and make our intended destination by nightfall. Pat and Francis graciously hosted us for another goodbye lunch. Then an early bedtime and underway Thursday morning for Bodkin Creek.

If At First You Don't Succeed- Drop Back and Punt

Needless to say, we were all a bit disappointed by our first trip. As BJYY was pulling the boat, Juan the yard foreman asked if we wanted to take anything off the boat before they put her on the hard. In the 100 degree heat, we looked at each other and decided we needed a vacation from our vacation. So we offloaded the food and bags for a road trip to Naushon. A quick stop to drop the food at our house, which had not rented yet, and we were on the road to Cape Cod. We arrived in Woods Hole in time for the 0730 ferry to Naushon on Thursday, July 18th. The extended family had walked down to meet us at the pier when we got to the island, and we were instantly in a better frame of mind. Music was in competent hands with Tom Kicklighter at DMS and would be ready when we got back. So we enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere, good food and time with family. Highlights were the Memorial Service for my Uncle Cab (Hugh Cabot Ware), especially the comments by my Mom about how the Wares had made her feel welcome in their family. Another highlight was jumping from 1st Bridge into the 7-8 knot current that runs through with the tide. Jonathan and Will Ware-Harris were the youngest and bravest participants, leaping wide-eyed into the torrent and racing out to sea. They quickly learned to Calm Down and Swim Hard. Someone should put that on a T-shirt or bumper sticker. As usual, Naushon never fails to refresh the soul.

Start of the Adventure

It's been an adventure starting our adventure. Let me catch you up. We worked our butts off to get the house packed and cleaned to meet our deadline of departing to be at a Ware Family Reunion/ Memorial Service for my uncle Cab in Naushon Island off Woods Hole on July 17th. The boat was almost ready, but I had a longish list of "honey do" chores to make the boat more habitable. As we emptied the last cupboards and closets, and moved onto the boat, the boat became packed with more stuff than I could believe. We had several farewell drinks with friends, crammed around projects and packing. On Tuesday, July 15th, we were FINALLY ready to leave. Unfortunately, the tide at Lippincott Marina on Kent Island was unusually low- as in at low tide midday, there was two feet of hull aft of the stem out of the water. If the dock lines hadn't been tight, the boat would have fallen over. The higher high tide of the day was a midnight. After a long, very hot and tiring day, we departed on our big adventure at midnight, picking our way out of the marina and down the Kent Narrows channel south with Tricia and Ginny on the bow with a searchlight. It was an absolutely beautiful night, warm, light breeze out of the west and LOTS of stars as we rounded Bloody Point at the end of Kent Island to start our trip north up the Chesapeake. With the rest of the crew asleep, and me at the helm, the engine suddenly revved like it was in neutral. I quickly put it in neutral and killed it. Tricia was on deck quickly, and I went below to check it we had lost the prop/ shaft. I was happy to not find water flooding the engine compartment. Then I was confused to find two bolt heads under the shaft coupling. We quickly set the jib. It was 0330. By 1030, we had sailed into Annapolis and anchored off the Naval Academy. A quick dipped showed that we had not picked up a crab pot, so the cause of the broken coupling bolts was still a mystery. We called Diversified Marine Services who had installed the new shaft over the winter, and made arrangements to have the boat hauled at Bert Jabins Yacht Yard. The wind was still <5 knots, so we sailed off the anchor, and asked BJYY to standby with line handlers to receive us. Amazed how few people yielded to a 44' sailboat sailing up a narrow channel, but we made it to the Travelift without too much adrenaline. First voyage ended without injury to anything but the checkbook.