New Plan and a Little Help

So, our original plan was to sail south from Norfolk to Stuart, FL and visit with my folks while we completed final preps for leaving the US. At the SSCA Gam, I had asked the question "What should I look for in a weather window to get around Cape Hatteras from Norfolk?" 50 plus cruisers shouted in unison "Don't Go!" Not encouraging. They all take the Intracoastal Waterway from Norfolk to Ft Lauderdale and then hop across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. Music is just too tall and too deep for "the ditch". We HAD to go outside. After talking to the folks at the Salty Dawg Rally, who were all going "outside" in the deep ocean, we read up on getting from Florida down island to the Virgins and beyond. Dubbed the Thorny Path because it is upwind into the eastern trade winds, we read Bruce Van Sant's book "The Gentlemen's Guide to Passages South" about how to take some of the thorns out of the trip. Unfortunately, the answer lies in lots of short hops in good weather windows, usually at night to take advantage of land breezes knocking down the trades. Pretty well thought out, but would not allow us to give Ginny and Cary any stability to keep up with schoolwork. Everyday we would be trying to find a new WiFi hotspot to log on to school.

After talking with my parents in Stuart, Tricia and I decided to join the Salty Dawg Rally and sail from Hampton to Tortola. We would have lots of support and company for the trip. And we realized, yet again, we were postponing the inevitable. The stop in Florida to get "finally ready" was a lame excuse. We will never be "ready-ready", so we might as well go.

The SDR is 1,500 miles in the open ocean. We wanted a third experienced crew member to share night watches. Cary and Ginny are good as a team during the day, but are not ready to stand night watch just yet. At least I know I wouldn't get much sleep if they were on watch. So, we called all our sailor friends. Not surprisingly, no one could commit to be ready to leave "on or about November 4th, and arrive in 1-2 weeks". Big ask. After striking out with those we knew, I took a gamble and asked on of the staff at Fawcett's who had been a big help during the refit if he was interested in joining us. Super Dave Goldsmith signed on as a member of the Music band. He even showed up in Hampton on November 1st with a mandolin!

The pre-departure prep with the SDR team in Hampton was awesome. We made more friends, especially the family on Nyapa.  Cary and Ginny were huge hits with kids and parents alike as the senior members of the Salty Pups. They even took the initiative to have Salty Pup t-shirts made up. Contact us soon as supplies are dwindling. We celebrated Halloween and Tricia's birthday in Hampton.

Departure was rapidly approaching...

Getting the Gouge

As a Plebe at men's finishing school on the Severn, we had a word for getting the inside scoop or privileged information on an upcoming test or event. It was called "Gouge". Getting the Gouge was key to success. So, in that vein, as we were gearing up to head south, Tricia and I were looking for opportunities to get the gouge. First stop was the Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam in Annapolis. A Gam is what sailors of old would hold when two ships met at sea. They would heave to and share stories and news from home. The SSCA Gam was held on the Rhode River at Camp Letts in Mayo, MD. Conditions were ideal. We had 60+ boats anchored in the picturesque little cove, with dozens more cruisers coming by car to the 3 day event. We met lots of great people and got lots of gouge. Thanks to Jim from Radio Flyer and Devlin on Moosetracks who came over to help me troubleshoot as problem with my engine. Tricia and Liz from Moosetracks shared ideas on provisioning, etc, and got on very well. At the Gam, we heard about the Salty Dawg Rally from Hampton to the BVI. 100+ boats! They had seminars later that week at Mears Marina in Eastport on weather routing, SSB radios, medical emergencies, rigging and sail management, etc. Plus cocktails and a cookout. The weather sucked, but the company was warm and friendly.

Then there was the US Sailboat Show. We bought all the stuff we had been waiting to buy, and attended more seminars on outfitting for offshore cruising, etc. By the end of the weekend, we were tired, poor, and ready to go put all this new knowledge to work.

During all this, Ginny and Cary focused on getting caught up on homeschooling. They did get to have friends over for a fun but rainsoaked sleepover on the boat for their 15th birthdays, and to attend the homecoming football game and some other events with their BFFs before heading out to points south. We also celebrated Tricia's Mom's 70th birthday.

After a hectic two weeks of receiving and installing all the parts we ordered at the boat show. A new 235 kW solar panel and controller, AIS, WiFi antenna, new lifelines, repairs to new liferaft, new storm jib, new Manson Supreme anchor, repairs to anchor roller to correct flaws from jury rig this summer, padeyes to hold things to deck underway, getting SSB radio working, and more.... we were ready to head south!

Block Island to Wickford and Beyond

Well, I am WOEFULLY BEHIND in updating the blog. Let me try to bring everyone up to date on the remainder of the shakedown cruise.  So, when you last heard from our heroes, they had just arrived in Block Island after a successful offshore passage from Delaware Bay.  Our stay in New Harbor at BI was short but nice. Rob, a Towboat US Captain, was nice enough to hook us up with tokens for the public showers at The Oar. The Oar is a wonderful local bar, with good food, great drinks, and a festive atmosphere all summer. The showers are a different story. I was surprised to step out of my coin operated shower, after a brief but reasonably warm cleansing, only to realize as I toweled off that the waiting line for the restaurant can SEE STRAIGHT INTO THE SHOWERS. Glad the shower was warm, so there was no shrinkage. The ladies didn’t have quite the same experience, but were not impressed. Enough whining about showers. The water in the harbor was incredibly clear. I could watch the anchor almost all the way to the bottom, and we were anchored in 30 feet of water! Not bad at all. We anchored next to an old Army tug that has been a fixture in the harbor for several years. Cary and I had a swim, cold but satisfying, and Tricia made a wonderful dinner. We were up early the next morning and underway for Wickford.

            The trip to Wickford should have been uneventful. But it wasn’t. I had opened the dodger window so we could see through the morning dew. As we came around the point at North Shore, the wind came up from the quarter. Cary says “Hey Dad, isn’t that the boat hook that you put in the end of the boom last night?” Yes, it was, and it was about to fall out. As I tried to pull the boom in to retrieve it, we accidentally jibed. The mainsheet caught the dodger window and ripped a seam. And, of course, the boat hook sank out of sight. After cursing my own stupidity, a common occurrence, we  headed up West Passage into Narragansett Bay. I noticed the sky to the west looked dark, and checked the WX radio. NOAA was saying strong thunderstorms and potential flash flooding were imminent. We took the opportunity to duck in the lee of Bonnet Shores and take down the sails. After a brief squall, which we were glad to face without sails, we were able to set the jib again as we came under the Jamestown Bridge. We reached into Wickford Harbor doing 9 kts under jib alone. We were met at the harbor by my best friend and classmate, Capt Pete Andrews, owner of Safe Sea Marine Rescue Services. Pete and I go way back to middle school days. He is also a member of Wickford Yacht Club and had secured a guest mooring for us for our stay. WYC was WONDERFUL. The steward and commodore both made a point of welcoming our family, and invited us to a BYOB cookout on Friday night. The showers and facilities were brand new after Hurricane Sandy and were excellent. Pete and his wife Susan, and the children Sarah and Will took us to dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant at the corner of W Main Street and Post Road (where the Irish Pub used to be).  The Andrews hospitality didn’t stop there. Pete’s parents, John and Sally Andrews, let us use their washer and dryer, and loaned us the SafeSea Clown Car (see pic). This enabled us to run errands to West Marine, the Wickford Marine Consignment Shop, and other places to complete projects and reprovisioning. We also were able to get the dodger repaired at Oaklawn Canvas. Nice job and a same day turn around. Susan, Tricia and the kids had a nice day at Scarborough Beach while I worked on the boat. After a long, relaxing stay, we departed Wickford to points north.

            “Let me explain, no that will take me too long, let me sum up.” We went to Padnaram, anchored out for the night, found nothing of interest in town in the morning and left. Went to Marion, took a Beverly Yacht Club mooring for the showers, walked into town, girls ran in the morning, and left. Went through the Cape Cod Canal in dreary weather, and came out into Massachusetts Bay with 20 kts on the nose to get to Marblehead. Decided not to beat our brains out all day, and tucked into Plymouth Harbor and took a public mooring on the outside of the harbor for the night. It was OK, but a little exposed. Anchorage at Duxbury looked dicey. After a quick harbor tour to sight Plymouth Rock, we set out early the next morning for Marblehead. Sailed alongside a beautiful schooner most of the way. Decided when we got their to take a mooring at the Jubilee Yacht Club in Beverly. Just inside Salem and Marbehead. Cousin Chris and Jen were there to greet us. They also us loaned us Aunt Joan’s Subaru. Cary and Ginny took student tours at Harvard and MIT. They also used wifi at JYC and Chris’ house to start on the Keystone Home School Course which had arrived at Chris’ in Manchester. We went to the Schooner Races in Gloucester and had a nice lobster dinner on the hill overlooking the harbor.

            We sailed from Beverly to Mystic in one go. We went through the Canal in the dark, and had some excitement off of Point Judith.  I was on watch and had been monitoring a large commercial ship hovering off Montauk. I noted a pilot boat headed that way. As I put 2+2 together, the ship got up a head of steam for the West Passage. A quick call to Tricia and we were able to tack and stay out of his way.

            Mystic was very nice. We stayed at the Seaport and Museum. Offseason has 2-fer-1, so we stayed Friday and Sunday nights. We spent Saturday night anchored off Fishers Island. If you haven’t been to Mystic Seaport lately, as I hadn’t, it has grown and changed dramatically. There was so much to see, and such friendly people, we really enjoyed ourselves.

            From Mystic we sailed to Duck Island and anchored behind a breakwater. In the morning, before dawn, the tide had changed and we were dragging. As we got underway in a rush, the engine overheated and we hurriedly made sail and tacked out of the anchorage into a brisk breeze. We were not ready for sea, and all hell broke loose below as we heeled over and plunged into the steep Long Island Sound chop. By the time we got things under control, we sailed down to Bridgeport and stayed at Blackwater Harbor Yacht Club. I had never heard of it, but it was very calm inside the harbor.

            From Blackwater, we sailed down to City Island, NY and took a mooring with the City Island Yacht Club. Very nice, and friendly. Great WIFI. The steward even drove us to the market to get groceries. We stayed an extra day to wait for the right wind at Sandy Hook.

            Up early, we motored through Hells Gate into New York Harbor and on to Atlantic Highlands, NJ on Sandy Hook. The holding was soupy muck, so we ended up taking a mooring. The fuel dock was not “sailor friendly” but we survived.

            We had a BEAUTIFUL sail from Sandy Hook to Cape May. We never did less than 8 knots, solved some mechanical and electrical problems on the fly and had fun. We got to Cape May so early, we decided to keep going and motored up the Delaware Bay, through the C&D Canal and down to Still Pond for a quiet night at anchor before sailing the rest of the way to Kent Island to complete the shakedown cruise. Whew!  One more quick leg in the morning and we were home in Shipping Creek.

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.