Sailing South-The Chesapeake

 Monday, October 12, 2009

Turner Creek, MD

We took our time leaving the anchorage. Since passage making had ceased and cruising had started, we planned fewer miles each day. Today we were heading south, staying on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake to Kent Narrows.

Kent Island is a major landmass on the Bay. The Bay Bridge crosses from Annapolis to the eastern shore and touches down first on Kent Island. Kent Narrows is between the island and the mainland.

The wind was very light so we had to motor sail most of the way. The Waterway Guide warned of a narrow passage to the drawbridge that joins the island to the mainland. We radioed the bridge to ask when the next lift was. The bridge operator radioed back that the next lift would be in 15 minutes. The Guide also warned of the currents in the narrows.

Although the current on the Bay was only half to three-quarters of a knot, the narrow passage caused the current to speed up – it appeared to be moving at a knot and a half to two knots. The current was with us so we were pushed towards the bridge. We circled in the small channel waiting for the bridge to rise.

Right of way in places like the narrows is given to the boat moving with the current. They are moving faster and therefore will clear faster. Also, there is a concern that a down-current boat might drift into a piling on the bridge if it gets caught in the current.

The Kent Narrows Bridge is a bascule or drawbridge. Both sides of the narrow bridge rise, but not fully. That means there is a narrow opening through which you have to fit your mast. I unzipped the bimini (our protective cover) to be able to see the bridge more clearly. The memories of Cape May are still vivid and neither of us was looking for any more bridge encounters at this time.

We glided through the opening quite effortlessly and headed out the narrow channel on the other side. We had selected an anchorage on the south side of the Narrows, behind Hog Island. The water was very shallow and I cut the corner around the day mark a little close. Sojourn came to stop in the soft mud.

I spun the wheel and gunned the engine a little. That would either get us free or put us firmly aground. Since our grounding was on a small spit of land, we were fortunate and got free.

The mud in the bay has a high clay content. It is quite slippery. That worked in our favour as I returned to the preferred channel, went around the spit and we eased up to our anchorage. The CQR grabbed quickly and we let out about 40 feet of chain in 8 feet of water. It was high tide and the depth would drop to six and a half feet overnight. Still more than our 4’ 11” draft.

After sailing on Lake Ontario for so many years, it is really strange to sail and anchor in single digit depths. Our time on the Bay is preparing us for the Bahamas which is also depth challenged.

We barbequed on a beautiful evening and ate in the cockpit. This is what cruising is all about. We had the anchorage to ourselves until a fisherman came by in a kayak. He waved and went on with his fishing.

Tues, October 13, 2009

Kent Narrows, MD

The next morning we rigged the dinghy. Hudson (we named our dinghy) had not been used a lot up until now. There was a Chesapeake Bay Exploration Center back at the Narrows. We dinghied back to the center. With both a history of the Bay and ecological explanation of the estuary, the trip was worth the effort of taking the motor off the rail of Sojourn and attaching it to Hudson.

The motor exercise is a work in progress. You can purchase and install lifting posts and bridle to raise and lower the 80-pound motor. We decided to use a halyard and the boom vang and fashioned our own bridle out of old sail ties. I would love to say we had the process all worked out, but that would be a lie. We are getting better at it, but still have a ways to go.

We motored back to Sojourn and as we did, we were amazed how small the boat looked all by itself at anchor. We also realized this was the first time we had gone away from the boat in the dinghy, something that will be a more regular occurrence as the weather gets warmer.

Under away again under cloudy skies, we were on the Chester River, heading back towards the Bay. Our next anchorage was at Dun Cove just the other side of Knapps Narrows (Tinghman Island) on the Choptank River. The wind was building as we cleared the Narrows bridge, this bridge was longer and raised from only one side of the waterway. The bridge operator warned us to wait for a full hoist of the bridge because it did not raise to vertical and overhung the channel.

The opening was much larger than last night’s bridge and we cleared it without holding our breath once. On the other side we navigated the narrow channel, motored around the small spit of land just north of the channel and made our way to Dun Cove.

Highly recommended by both of our guides, the cove was quite wide and rectangular in shape. The depth was 6 to 8 feet all the way across. A Morgan pulled in just before us. We anchored easily and while we were squaring away after the day’s sailing and motoring, a smaller boat pulled in behind us.

“Hey, I’m from Hamilton,” the sailor yelled out from his 24-footer. He had seen the Toronto port of call on our transom. The boat was Ad Lib from the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club. We exchanged greetings and we invited him over for a drink after he anchored.

It turned out the sailor was solo. He had help coming down the Erie Canal and the Hudson to New York. Stephan told us her had not planned on sailing single hand, but circumstances gave him the opportunity.

We were cooking burgers on the barbeque, so we invited him for dinner as well. Since his off boat transportation was a kayak, I offered to pick him up in our dinghy. He brought food to add to the table and a bottle of 1800 Tequila. Over dinner we exchanged stories of the trip and his circumstances. He said it was a little tough doing all of the chores on his boat by himself. Since we were going the same way, he asked if we could ‘buddy boat”. We agreed. We all decided that our destination was Solomons Island on the western shore and we would leave at 8am the next morning.

I took Stephan back to his boat and Mary and I finished cleaning up for the evening.

This was our third night in a row at anchor. The batteries were fully charged from our motoring that day, but we still wanted to practice energy conservation for the days in the Florida Keys and Bahamas when we would be in one place for up to a week.

We ran the refrigeration while motoring and the cold plates keep the refrigerator cold for several days. All other non-essential lights and appliances are turned off. Over night the wind continued to build. When we anchor, we mark the spot on the GPS. I got up around 11pm to check our position and noted we had dragged several hundred yards. We had debated deploying a second anchor and decided not to because of the thoroughly protected anchorage. That decision meant we had to set a second anchor in the dark.

Mary got up; pulled on her warm track suit and I went forward to get the anchor ready. Our primary anchor is a 35-pound CQR (shaped like a plough blade) with 150 feet of chain. In the mud and clay, this had been holding well. The second anchor is a 16-pound Fortress with 10 feet of chain and 150 feet of nylon rode. The chain could be longer but the anchor has great holding power. Both are always ready.

We pulled up the CQR, motored upwind a few hundred meters and re-set it. We then swung about 30 degrees to port, motored back upwind and set the second anchor.

Mary headed back to bed and I maintained an anchor watch for the next few hours to make sure we held. Mary passed up the sleeping bag and I bundled in. By 1 am all was secure and I returned to bed as well.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Dun Cove (Knapps Narrows), MD

We were up and ready to get underway by 8am the next morning. Stephan was also ready. We let Stephan know that our diesel fuel tank was down to ¼ and that was our minimum, so we would have to go back through Knapps Narrows, get fuel and we would head down the Chester River, rather than the Choptank we were on. We were fueled by 9am and on our way.

We motor sailed most of the way, both with our jibs unfurled. We maintained a steady 5-1/2 to 6 knots. We encountered a bit of commercial traffic and stayed out of the main shipping channel, but because of the narrow depths, not too far out.

As we neared the Patuxent River and Solomons Island, we noticed the US Coast Guard was stopping trawlers and boarding for inspection. There is a large naval air station on the south side of the river and between the Coast Guard activity and planes taking off and landing; we were a little concerned about how we would sleep. The noise of the steady rain and wind told us, planes would not keep us awake.

We motored well up the river. Solomons Island is a destination and was home to several full service marinas. We anchored (2 anchors this time) in about 8 feet of water just outside of the channel. Our boat buddy Stephan anchored just inside of us.

Since we had the larger of the two boats, Stephan supplied dinner and we added to the meal aboard Sojourn. The day before Stephan mentioned he played the guitar. Mine had not been out of the case since we moved aboard the middle of July. This was a good time. We had a shot of his 1800 Tequila, and Stephan put on a blues demonstration – quite accomplished he is.

After dinner I shared some of the middle of the road, eclectic music I play and we shared stories of bands and guitars and life. Dinner ended and we tidied up the boat for the night.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Solomons Island (Patuxent River), MD

It rained. We cleaned the boat. It rained. We read. It rained.

In the afternoon, the rain let up and we picked up Stephan and went into town. After walking around for an hour or so (Mary’s idea) we found a pub (my idea).

We also found a marine store to see if we could find a harness for raising the outboard. We both decided the sail ties were not working.

We had an early dinner and went to bed.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Solomons Island (Patuxent River), MD

It’s still raining. The next day, Mary and I worked on getting the boat ready for the few days we would be leaving it at Solomons Island. I had a contract to fulfill in Toronto.

We moved the boat to the Calvert’s Marina, did laundry and cleaned out the refrigerator. Late in the afternoon, we took outboard off of Hudson (our dinghy) and hung it on the stern rail. There was a light rain, so we decided to finish the rest of the boat preparation in the morning.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Solomons Island (Patuxent River), MD

Poor choice. A hurricane, by the name of Rick, was parked off the Maryland coast and, although it posed no danger Rick sent sheets of rain that continued through the night and most of the next day. In fact, the boats that were supposed to leave that morning all decided to wait until Monday, when the weather was to improve.

In a torrential downpour, we hoisted Hudson onto the foredeck. We wanted to see what having him on deck versus towing the dinghy would do for handling and boat speed. By the time we were ready to leave the marina, we were both once again soaked. The car heater was on full blast for the first 2 hours of the drive.

Passing through snowy hills in Pennsylvania reminded us one of the reasons we decided to take this trip.

Mary and Rob MacLeod

s/v Sojourn

En route to the Bahamas