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2019 Sailing Season on the Chesapeake

64K views 519 replies 53 participants last post by  chef2sail 
#1 ·
Can the mods make this thread a sticky as they always do please

It's a new year (almost) and the most posted in Sailnet continuous thread lives on. Happy New Year, good health and safet travels to all😄🤘🌪

Our plans this year include a 3 week trip at the end May to the Long Island Sound and the Mystic, Greenport, Sag Harbor and Newport areas. Hopefully we meet up with some native SN up there ( SanderO are you listening)

Also a traditional 13 day mid September excursion to the the southern Chesapeake reaches , including Yorktown, Hampton Roads, Northern Neck of Virginia stops



Anyone planning any interesting excursionions.
 
#192 ·
Had a lovely sail last weekend, up to 9 kts of wind reported by wx. Calm seas, not too hot, perfect conditions! First "real sail" (actual wind) with my own boat, which ended with my outboard refusing to start when going back in. It's not the newest, a 16 year old 2-stroke, but I hoped it would keep going a while longer.. I have little experience dealing with these so now I need to fiddle around with it instead of sailing! Don't have high hopes. Getting this off the boat by myself will be the first challenge.. And the repair places around apparently have a 4 week back log! So out of commission for a while. Aah the joys of boat ownership..
 
#193 · (Edited)
I'm happy to report that repairs to Breakin' Away are complete. I had a successful sea trial Thursday, and made the transit from Delaware City to Rock Hall on Friday. It was mostly motoring since the wind was very light, and totally nonexistent at the end. I've never seen the waters between Tolchester and Rock Hall so smooth as glass.

The Flexofold 3-blade prop works beautifully, with no vibrations at any speed. It pushes the boat forward very well, and does better than I expected in reverse. I'm going to need to adjust to the new stuffing box with Teflon packing - it runs hotter than my old packing (90-96 F) even when adjusted with copious water dripping through. If anyone has any information on special break-in procedures or anything else, please send a link.

We had to leave the boat in Rock Hall on Friday to spend time with my sons, but they took off for their weekend destinations on Saturday afternoon, so we headed back Saturday night to spend some boat time in the slip - for dinner in the cockpit, Netflix movie in the cabin, and removing about 100 lb of unneeded gear this morning and otherwise securing the boat for 2 weeks idle in the slip. After such a long wait this season awaiting repairs, even time in the slip was much appreciated.

My wife and I will be in the midwest for the next 2 weeks for my work and to care for her elderly parents. We hope for good weather starting June 15 when we return. Meanwhile I'll live vicariously through all of your posts.
 
#194 ·
Sorry I have not been able to be very active on the site these days, but today was kinda special. I motored from Owens Marina in Perryville over to Havre de Grace, gassed up the boat, motored a couple hundred yards out beyond the Tidewater mooring field, put out the jib, shut the A4 down, propped up my feet and let the wind do a number on me. OH YEAH! Sailed down the Havre de Grace Channel at 7.5 to 8.2 MPH on just the jib, then made a left turn at Battery Island, sailed out into the open waters of the bay and down to the mouth of the Sassafras River, then turned around and sailed back to the #1 buoy of HDG channel. At that point the wind, which was woofing at about 25 MPH was right on my nose so I rolled up the jib, fired up the A4 and motored back to the marina. The timing was perfect and I made it into the slip about an hour before dead low tide. At dead low, I run out of water to get into the slip and have to sit outside and drink honey bourbon until the tide gets high enough to get into the slip.

Two weeks ago, while motoring past Battery Island, which is now much larger than at any time in history, I noticed that the island seems to be eroding away, particularly on the western shoreline. I was correct in my assumption. The Havre de Grace Channel, which was dredged to 19 feet in 2012, is now down to a depth of just 10 feet at mid tide right in front of the island. I suspect that the huge volume of winter rains and snow melt have carried away some of the island's shore and deposited it into the adjacent channel. I watched a tug pushing a barge through this area today as I motored home and he sure churned up a lot of mud and debris when he went through this section. Still plenty of water for my old tub, though.

All the best,

Gary :cool:
 
#196 ·
Go to know you are well

As we transmitted the C&D yesterday and progressed to Turkey Point I was hoping to run into you. We saw a few sailboats out and one cone out of the Havre de Grace area after we passed the Sassafras. Bet it was you.

Water from the Susquehanna made the Bay there a coffee color and we saw some minor wood. Not as bad as three weeks ago when we came through on our trip to Newport.

Glad to see you are getting out and sailing.
 
#195 ·
Good to hear from you Gary and your great day out on the water,
have followed and enjoyed your posts over the years.
Sorry your timing was off going back to your slip.
Thinking with some forward planing next time out
you will be able to lay off siping some Honey Bourbon while waiting
for tide to come in.
That stuff goes down entirely too smooth.
 
#197 ·
Today we are comfortably behind Worton with poor internet reception. We are headed on our last leg of vacation and probably anchoring tonight in either Annapolis or one of the Severn Creeks like Clements.

Having traveled over 900 miles ( same distance to the Bahamas) in 20 days I can say I am back to our friendly cruising grounds . I posted the trip on another thread so anyone taking a trip to the LI Sound could use it for recommendations or insight.

The best feature we have on the Chessie is the ability to anchor virtually anywhere. The scenery is gorgeous and when there is wind ( and no heat) tithe sailing is superb. Glad to be back.
 
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#199 ·
We had a great sailing weekend! We departed Friday afternoon for Annapolis. Sailed on a broad reach from the Patapsco to Sandy Point then motored the rest of the way when the wind died. We had hoped to get a mooring in the main harbor but by 5 pm it was already jam packed so we went around to Back Creek and grabbed a mooring off Jabins. It turned out that was actually a good thing, because the brisk winds out of the NE on Saturday had boats in the main harbor hobby-horsing all over. My wife had a Spinsheet writers brunch Saturday morning so I took the girls to the playground and then walked around town and got ice cream. The girls loved seeing the sights of Annapolis although they were a little concerned that the pirate tour boat that comes up ego alley might have real pirates aboard. We took the water taxi back to the boat late afternoon and rounding the point from Spa to Back creeks the taxi took a couple of big waves over the bow, which luckily the girls thought was fun. Sunday morning we were up early and headed back to Baltimore. After motoring through the Bay Bridge we set sail on a close reach, both sails reefed, making 7-8 knots on 18-25 knots of wind. A little more raucous than we'd normally want to do with the girls, but they did great, just relaxing in the cockpit tethered in. With sails reefed and the cockpit curtains down, it was actually a really comfortable and fun sail, and good to get some added heavy air practice.
 
#201 ·
Glad that you're back safely Chef2Sail,,,Bet that you had a great trip. This weekend Pamela and I are taking Keiko out for a jaunt a wee bit South. We are looking at the South River, or the Rhode. The Rhode would probably provide better coverage with the South winds this weekend..but...we'll see. We have no dinghy..our 3rd trip out on our boat and plenty of $ to get here...so..next year for a dinghy.
The reason that I mention that is...we are boat-bound!!! Give us a shout on 16 Sat Nite if you'd like to meet up..I play a mean guitar and Pamela makes a FAR better chicken!!! HA!..Just looking to say Hello..
Thanks,
Patrick
 
#202 ·
Trip was an epic one of all positives. 20 days on Haleakula and no mutiny from the Admiral. It really takes both of us working together to take such a long trip especially with the 12 hour days down the Delaware and up the Jersey coast.

Glad Keiiko is on the loose. We are home this weekend as my wife is working.
 
#203 ·
4th of July Fireworks Baltimore
Does anyone have info for this year's fireworks on the Patapsco? I've heard they fire them from Ft. McHenry and there is an anchorage just off the fort....then again I've heard a lot of things that turn out different. I'm just starting the search of the internet, figured I'd ask here first hoping someone has already done the work.
It must be crowded and crazy, my plan would be to get there early and stay on the boat overnight.
After several years of Georgetown fireworks I'm looking at options, the Sassafras fireworks are on the 6th, maybe I can catch both shows?
 
#206 ·
They fire them off from the inner harbor, not Ft. McHenry. They fire them from the fort for Defenders Day in mid September. You still would get a decent show out by the fort or the Canton anchorages, but I STRONGLY recommend getting a marina slip as the anchorages become packed with crazies and the holding is extremely poor even when conditions are ideal.
 
#208 · (Edited)
We got out for our first sail of the season this weekend. The plan was to sail to Magothy River Saturday, spend the night on the hook, then head to Annapolis today and back to Rock Hall Monday.

Provisioning for our first time this season took longer than expected, with multiple stops needed before making the 2 hour drive to Rock Hall. We did not leave the slip until 1700. This was my first time backing out of our slip with my new folding prop (which performs very will in forward, but has less thrust in reverse than my old fixed prop). It also has virtually no prop walk, which is overall a good thing, but my slip positioning and exit strategy has always taken advantage of prop walk. Despite my nervousness over this and over the firm 15 kt SSW breeze right through the marina, exiting the slip was uneventful.

Once underway, we had a close reach to Magothy in brisk conditions of about 15 kt. We made good time with reefed main and genoa furled a couple of wraps. Sea state was very lumpy. Helm balance was a little off with a little more weather helm than I wanted, but I didn't want to let the genoa out further to keep heeling down. We arrived at the mouth of Magothy River 1900 hours, anchored, had dinner (grilled chicken in our secret marinade, bean salad, pasta salad, watermelon, and my birthday cake), watched a couple of our favorite episodes of The Office, then retired for the night. Our anchor held well at 5:1 scope in 15 ft of water, with our anchor alarm showing us not moving more than one meter at any time.

My sleep was disturbed a few times during the night by a slight bumping noise that sounded like a fender or mooring buoy tapping against the hull, but since the anchor alarm was fine I didn't bother to check. At dawn I got curious, so went forward to discover the issue. My nylon anchor rode goes through my bow roller to a cleat inside the aft end of my anchor locker. It's about 4' from the roller to the locker, and with the solid breeze that we had overnight, there was enough stretch in that 4' to cause the roller to rotate ever so slightly back and forth. The slight motion caused a "ticking" noise which was easily eliminated with a couple shots of WD40 onto the roller's axle bolt. Although I know that nylon tri-strand is known for its stretch, I was surprised that a 4' length would stretch enough to move the roller.

We departed for Annapolis 0830 and motor-sailed to the Magothy inlet. We left the reef in, but unfurled the genoa completely. We shut off the motor and sailed through the Magothy channel, dodging multiple fishing boats that were anchored right in the channel. Sailing was great once past Persimmon Point, and we were close-hauled in hopes of making it to the Bay Bridge on one tack, and maybe getting to the mouth of the Severn River on a second tack. But once we got to the middle of the Bay, out of the lee of Sandy Point, the sea state got rather crazy, apparently due to the long fetch of the southerly wind. Wind speed wasn't terrible, but we were just relentlessly pounding into 3' chop, with occasional 4 footers. We took water over the bow at one point, and drenched the cockpit through the open dodger. I wanted to close the dodger, but wasn't going to go forward in those conditions. About a minute later we got another drenching in the cockpit, and decided to head for home on a broad reach. It was amazing how the same sea state was so much more comfortable going in the other direction! I was surprised by the sea state, since it was worse than I would have expected from the relatively modest winds.

We could have found another place to go to, but with strong thunderstorms forecast starting around 1500 and dead air and more thunderstorms forecast for Monday we decided to leave alternate destinations for another time. We puttered around the boat and took naps in the afternoon. The forecast storms came through at 8, with strong enough lightning that it chased us off the boat and into our car to enjoy the show on the way home.
 
#209 ·
...sailed through the Magothy channel, dodging multiple fishing boats that were anchored right in the channel
That area tends to compete with a handful of others for peak Chesapeake Bay knuckleheadism. Had the conditions been more benign over the weekend, you would have seen the entire area from the mouth of the Magothy down to Sandy Point light completely packed with small fishing boats. At least when they anchor they're relatively easy to dodge compared to when they zig zag all over. My favorite response heard on channel 16 this weekend was "he must be hungry to be out fishing in these conditions".
 
#210 ·
Here is the yearly Kent Narrows report: We transited the Narrows last Thursday at mid-tide and didn't see less than 9.5 feet at any point between the northern and southern ends of the channel. This is thanks to the dredging completed last fall. Your mileage may vary, but depth appears to have been eliminated as a limiting factor, at least until it silts in again. It's still not an area I'm keen to pass through on weekends between Memorial and Labor days or when there's a stiff breeze against the beam, but on a windless weekday it was perfectly fine.
 
#211 ·
Been sailing out of Norfolk for several years, but first time posting on this thread. We sailed from Norfolk Saturday morning to Cape Charles and spent the night at the town docks. Had a wonderful sail across on Saturday and arrived in time to enjoy the beach and the town. The trip home was more boisterous then expected as the wind stayed at 15-20 knots out of the South West the whole way home (when we planned the trip, forecast looked more like it would be in the 10-15 knot range). We sailed west across the bay for a few hours and then decided we would like to be home before dark so dropped the sails and turned on the engine. The decks got a good washing from the waves and spray, but made it home safe and sound. Beautiful weather and a great trip!
 
#212 ·
I'm still puzzling over the surprisingly harsh sea state yesterday, in 15 kt winds that were brisk but not terribly strong. We've been in stronger winds before without nearly as much spray over the bow. Then it occurred to me that SSW winds open up about 25 nm of fetch:



Due south or SSE winds get some protection in the lee of Kent Island.
 

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#214 ·
Living vicariously from all your posts. I've been laid up with a medical issue: no sailng, no flying so I can't even get to the boat. Marina is being very good about the fact that we had two air conditioners delivered just before my medical emergency and they are sitting in the lounge. Why two? Ask Home Depot, I ordered one, they delivered two. Go figure.
 
#215 ·
Saturday I sailed in CHESSS's (https://www.chbaysss.org/) first Challenge of this season, Thomas Point to St. Michael's. What a wonderful day to be on the water - there were very few boats out, add 4 hours or so of lively sailing and you a have perfect day on the water. One point of sail from Thomas Point Light House to Bloody Point, up Eastern Bay to Tilghman Point once again no tacking required, rounded Tilghman Point to Hambleton Point, you guessed it - no tacking required. Once past Hambleton Point some of the singlehanders (me) decided to drop their sails to make it easier to negotiate the heavy power boat traffic near St Michael's.

After rafting up we walked around the museum admiring the classic boats then had a beer or two followed by dinner with the group. After dinner it was back to the raft-up to move our boats to separate anchorages for the night. Once securely anchored it was time for a hot shower, a glass of Port, and a wonderful night's sleep.

Sunday brought an early breakfast followed by a leisurely sail back to Herring Bay. Then home in time for dinner with the family.
 

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#216 ·
4Arch, That sounds a lot like our experience this weekend. We had departed Castle Harbor for the Rhode River on Saturday. The same route West as you, once at Love Point. It was brisk...but the sea state combined with the close hauled, and beam, reaches made it a washing machine below deck. My poor wife was attempting to make lunch...and did...but WOW..was bad in our rather stable 31 footer.
It's one thing to be working...or have a planned long term route...but for a weekend pleasure cruise it was a no-go. As we neared the old lighthouse on the North side of the Bay Bridge..we tucked in tight and turned North for the Magothy. What a pleasure it was to hoist the Jib and chill the motor and go with the flow. We anchored behind Dobbins with 5 other, larger, sailboats for the night. In retrospect. that was not the best choice for calm waters. It was, however, a good choice for a Fresh breeze in the v berth...a nice trade off. Our Spade held firm..And had dug pretty deep. Another boat dragged twice that night. I am going to have to explore deeper into the Magothy.
On Sunday morning we headed out through the channel and ran into the same thing. It was about 9:30. Most of the boats were on the south side...but..there was one 18 ftr smack dab in the middle. Now I try to be respectful...do I stay away from his fishing lines off the stern or the anchor line off of the bow???? The anchor line will hurt me more...the fishing lines him...sheesh.
Anyway...once through...we headed Due East easily for the Chester..I thought that that was the end of it...Near the east end of the bridge we got hit so hard on the beam that we almost instantly went over to 30 degrees..
To make the short of the long...it's good to have been out, and it's good to be home.
Patrick
S/V Keiko
 
#219 ·
Check out Eagles Nest, and if crowded go through to the mooring field behind Gibson and anchor on the periphery. Always a good breeze here as you can see the Bay. Sometimes the snobs will give you a look though.

I don't like Dobbins as the PB wakes get you.

You also have Cornfield Creek if your draft will handle it

Another great spot is Broad Creek . It's a great hidey hole in fall when the strong NW winds come through as the hill protects the Cove. Anchor far in from the glass house so you won't be beefed by river wakes or noise.

Further in the Magothy is hot in the summer and crowded/ noisy.
 
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#220 ·
That chute you experienced below the Bridge is one of the reasons we keep our boat in Whitehall. It’s also why the racers choose it to race in that area. There is often much better wind there than in more open parts of the Bay, especially north of the Bridge.

Learning to reef down so you aren’t overpowered is good. I especially like to reef the headsail so it doesn’t pull the bow down and we get doused.

The current playing through the Bridge area though only 1-1.5 knots has a lot to do with the sea state there. It’s a narrowing chute though. If you have to fight the wind , it challenging. If you are with it...it can be a fast sleigh ride.

Some of the fastest speeds I have hit on Haleakula are through the Bridge area on a broad reach. Both north and south.

On our recent trip to the LI Sound when we sailed on the Sound there is always a 1-2 knot current. A 15 knot breeze with the current was easy peasy. That same 15 knots when the current switched 6 hours later posed a different seas state.

One of the features I like on our new Doyle 135 is that there are marks on the foot of the sail which I can see in the cockpit when it’s down to a 120 and a 110. I have found them helpful to have a metric to reef with. Haleakula a mast head sloop acts better reefing from the jib before the main. Every boat is different. You have to experiment to figure it out.
 
#226 ·
Sounds like I wasn't the only one out there. Sailed a new-to-me Bristol 29.9 out of the Patapsco and home to Herring Bay on Saturday. Rhumb line was 45 nm but I swear we must have sailed 60, tacking across the southerly wind. I did take a short video just north of Bay Bridge but its a .MOV file I can't post here, unfortunately.

Anyway, it was a great sail and I was tickled to death at how well the boat did. With balanced sails, she sailed herself for mile after mile, no autopilot, no wheel lock, no helmsman, close hauled into three foot waves. Unbelievable.

Can't wait to get her back out there!
 
#234 ·
Did anyone else see the historic steel ship, on Saturday,6-15 around noon, on the North side of the bridge , heading toward Baltimore with the Japanese Zero doing strafing runs???
I assume that someone was making a movie.
What a fantastic sight!!! The Zero made one turn right over us!
Anyone know what movie?
Patrick
 
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