Chesapeake Rainy Day Antidote

[wwilson]

I'd hoped to get this posted in time for Thursday's downpour. Here is a minute of Tuesday's sail from Broad Creek in the Magothy to Rock Hall. Maybe a psychological partial antidote for the next downpour?



The little in-camera microphone makes a lot more drama of 8-10 knots of wind than there really was!

(You may have to click on the black screen to start the video - the You-Tube video controls don't seem to transfer well onto SailNet, also after start, reset the resolution from 480 to 720HD in the lower right)

[T37Chef]

AWESOME. Loved it!

[sailingdog]

Nicely done Wayne.

[ilikerust]

Byooful!

I fully intend to be out off Stingray Point this Sunday. I might go up Saturday late afternoon/early eve to do some work on the boat and stay overnight at the dock.

The current prediction is for a VERY windy Saturday but a GREAT Sunday.

Hope to see y'all out there!

[wwilson]

Thanks Chef, Dog and ilikerust for the kind reviews.

A few stills of the same sail...
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The famous "Glass House" marking the entrance to Broad Ck. on the Magothy R.


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The beginning of Chesapeake fall colors from our anchorage on Broad Ck.


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And last, sundown across the harbor from our slip at Rock Hall Landing.

[PalmettoSailor]

I have a pretty similar "Sunset over Rock Hall" shot in my collection from our September cruise. Looks like you're tied up in almost the same spot we were.

[T37Chef]

Great shots Wayne, shhhh about Broad Creek, secret

[chef2sail]

Hey Wayne,,,no letting chefs and my secret out about Broad creek. Its our favorite place on the Magothy. We stay away from the yahooos at Eagles Nest.

Nnice shots of Sally and the sail over to RH.

Dave

[ilikerust]

So who else was out there yesterday (Sunday)?

I can't imagine a more perfect sailing day.

My wife and I were at the dock by 9:45 and pulled out of the slip at about 10:30. As soon as we were out of the inlet and in Hills Bay, I could tell there was enough wind, so up went the sails and off goes the engine. We motored for probably all of about 15 minutes before we were under sail.

The wind was pretty much directly from the west, so we were sailing downwind most of the way out the Piankatank. Coming out of Hills Bay gave us the opportunity to gybe a few times - a first for us with this boat (I just got the boat in August). And it was remarkeably smooth and easy to do.

We went out the mouth of the Piankatank and had nowhere in particular to go - mostly my goal was to get my wife more familiar and comfortable with sailing, as she has zero boating experience. So we turned south west around Gwynn Island and practiced gybing a few more times. Then we hove to and had lunch - a good breeze kept the boat heeled over a bit even as we were hove to.

After lunch, I re-sheeted the jib and the boat took off just like hitting the accelerator in your car. We instantly went from 1 knot to about 6.5. Absolutely fabulous wind and weather, with only nice, small waves. It just doesn't get any better!

We headed up past Stingray Point and partway across the mouth of the Rappahannock. My wife was starting to feel a little motion discomfort at that point, and I knew it was going to take us at least an hour to get back up the Piankatank, since it would be all upwind sailing, so we came about and started heading back.

Five tacks up the river worked out so perfectly, I couldn't believe it. The last one put us directly in the middle of the "narrow" part of the channel between Gwynn Island and Stove Point Neck, and then a straight shot back to the Queens Creek inlet. We sailed all the way down into Hills Bay - I didn't want to drop the sails, it was such perfect sailing!!

Finally had to switch over to engine power because the inlet was approaching, so I reluctantly put away the sails.

All in all, I had a fantastic time - I just wanted to stay out there longer! It was an absolutely fantastic sailing day yesterday.

So there's my "Chesapeake Rainy Day Antidote"!!

[BubbleheadMd]

West winds are great, because there's very little fetch. Gives you fast sailing and flat waters, once you're away from any land features that interfere with the breeze.

At least, that's how it works in my area of the bay.