It was awesome! Left Sandy Point Park around noon on Sunday. Hardly anything resembling wind so I motored with the sails up and keel down to smooth out the ample chop. 2 Horsepower Honda was a champ. 1/4 throttle was smooth and quiet and moved me at a bit over 2 mph ground speed. More than 1/3 throttle and it pushed me faster but didn't sound happy about it and probably used twice the gas. And what's my hurry? Turned the motor off and played the puffs a few times. All sorts of boats out there. Annapolis area was littered with sailboats, most with only one sail up (motorsailing like me, I suppose) It was boat show weekend after all. (I went Saturday) Lots of powerboats too. Trawlerfest in Baltimore, plus the usual powerboat crowd. Someone on the radio was informing a power boater that he sent a 4 foot wake through a no wake zone. He replied with "like it? I'll make more"
Made Thomas Point by 5. Chart said there was a shoal running pretty much all the way to the light house leaving depths of 3-4'. Since I was motoring I went right over it. Thinking I'd just pull up my cast iron swing keel if I hit. I didn't see less than 7 feet on the depth meter, and that's from a transducer a foot below the water surface. I guess with MLW and tides that's about right.
Still skiddish about shallow water, I stuck to the marked channel and made my way to Harness creek. A few center console fishing boats tied together and making noise on the way in. Had me scared. I was hoping for peace and quiet. Passed a rather large (40'?) sailboat on the hook just outside the hurricane hole. They waved back as I motored on in.
Two boats in the hole. One twenty-something footer that appeared to be a permanent resident -- probably the same one that shows up in the Google Earth photo. And a smaller twenty-something boat grounded. Looked like it still had a sail tangled up in a ball in the cockpit. I forget the name but it's out of Galesville MD. I have pictures if anyone happens to be missing a boat.
Didn't see the need for my significantly oversized Danforth (I spent the last three years reading Blue Water and Cape Horn type books) so I opted for a folding grapnel I grabbed out of my crab boat. I really could have just put three sinkers on a fishing line and anchored with that. This is a serious hurricane hole. The biggest wake I observed was from two ducks landing twenty feet away. I used my $20 Kenyon stove I bought the day before. Still haven't found a local source for the big cans of butane, but I found out if I trim the tip of one of the little butane refills it'll work. I had to shim it to fit, but it worked great. (I certainly don't store it that way!) Hot spaghetti-o's. Sat on the board that holds the keel winch, with my back on the companionway hatch board. Just enjoyed the last little bit of dusk. Ran a $5 cheap-o LED lantern up the halyard, clipped the jib downhaul on it to make sure I could get it down. Called the Mrs. Called my dad. Went to bed early.
Woke up to the noisiest squirrels I've ever heard. And more fish splashing than I'd ever hope to see in my 7 years of fishing. Beautiful nature all around. Leaves just starting to show some color. Hot coffee and some fig newtons. Dried off the vinyl cushions a bit and made way by 8 or 9 AM. Motored out into the South River and noticed my wind vane was pointing aft and I could smell my outboard. A tailwind! sails up! Still motorsailing though. By mid morning the breeze picked up in the main bay and I shut the motor off and sailed for a few hours. Chop was not as bad and there wasn't nearly the traffic. A string of trawlers heading out of Baltimore. They were all friendly and waved. (I suspect most trawler owners are old sailors anyhow) Pon-Pon about a tug named Ivory Coast on fire at the Domino Sugar plant. The wind died when I was just south of the 50 bridge so I dropped sail and motored back to the dock. Such wonderful ramps down in Maryland. On the Susquehanna I have to back my truck in so the front tires are wet just to float the boat off the trailer. The water was barely up to the rim on the rear tire and I could drag the boat right up on!
All around a wonderful weekend. Traditionally Columbus Day was the end of my sailing season. I'd go out for a day sail on the bay then come home and fog the motor, put the cushions in the attic and store the boat in a buddy's barn until Easter.
I didn't fog the motor yet.
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