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2017 Sailing Season on the Chesapeake

126K views 1K replies 51 participants last post by  oldlaxer1 
#1 ·
New thread for the new year. Can one of the mods please make it a sticky

Happy New Year to all our friends who ply the Chessi.e. And have a great sailing year.
Now who's the first one out?
 
#708 ·
I use SailFlow also.....most accurate ap I have found.

Usually I can't use the autopilot much crossing the Potomac however today is a perfect day for it. If I had to steer I'd be sleepy as hell. Instead I can be here on my I pod awake...lol😎😎😎😎

We've had a good trip so far. We haven't been scared off by the chances of rain each day which is the norm for the Chesapeake in the summer, but have been prudent with the T storm lines and development. We visited mostly new spots, and definitely like the different flavor the southern Bay has to offer.

Slip and marina fees are half what they are in the northern and mid bay. Anchorages are truly rural. Next time down ( maybe in mid September) we go up the Rappahanock further past Urbana. We like to visit Yankee Point Marina,
 
#711 ·
snip: We visited mostly new spots, and definitely like the different flavor the southern Bay has to offer.

Slip and marina fees are half what they are in the northern and mid bay. Anchorages are truly rural. Next time down ( maybe in mid September) we go up the Rappahanock further past Urbana. We like to visit Yankee Point Marina,
Having purchased our first boat in Deltaville and subsequently sailing in that area for 5 years, I know well what you speak of.

The only thing that keeps me from moving back down there is the drive. Well that and the economy down there has taken such a hit. There were several decent restaurants in Deltaville when we left but they have all closed. The building that housed one of our favorites was burned down a few weeks ago in training exercise for the local FD.
 
#709 ·
Almost at Solomon's

We are going to soldier through and get to Boby Owl Cove on Ledenham Creek, Broad Creek , Choptank .
A nice 75 mile trip...lol

It's pretty hot out today.
 
#713 ·
We're hoping to head out this weekend. Will keep an eye on the t-storms tomorrow before deciding whether to drop the lines on Friday afternoon or Saturday after they're forecast to pass by. Where we go (Chester, Wye, Magothy, Worton) may depend on wind.
 
#714 ·
We spent the night in Boby Owl Cove by ourselves. Winds gusting over 35 quiet common and just a passing shower at 6:00 AM

Was a relief after 72 miles and a 12 hour sail up from the Rappahanock.

Seeing that the weather called for steady 20 gusts to 45 is what made our decision to keep going past Solomons so we could pretty much stay in the protection of the Choptank .

At noon as the winds calmed we made the 1 hour job over to San Domingo Creek - the back door to St Michaels and again are the o my boat in here on a Friday. It looked pretty rough on the river with4-5 foot Chesapeake Chop from the S and SW so our decision yesterday was a good one.

Today and tomorrow we will just hang out as our first vacation comes to an end. Trips to town in the dinghy for ice cream and lunch at Ava's may be in order .

It's not quite as warm today and tomorrow after the front drags through in the AM looks like s glorious day.

All in all we had a great vacation. At the conclusion over 460 miles covered by our well traveled Haleakula.

We were wary about an early summer vacation in June in the Chesapeake due to its heat, but there was only one oppressive day( yesterday) . Also we had good wind and sailed over 80% of the time.

It's funny we've gotten into a good traveling rhythm and we are at the end, but good practice for when we retire.
 
#715 ·
Gale warnings tonight. Hope everyone's anchorage is well protected from the southwest. Anyone on the Worton might want to go on the inside.

We decided to wait until tomorrow to head to the boat. Probably headed to Chester River.
 
#716 ·
Not sure where the gale warnings were as I didn't seen sustained winds over 34 except from Solomon's down the Bay though there may have been some localized funnel areas

We saw winds sustained at 25 gusts to 55 where we are on San Domingo Creek. It was pretty switchy in terms of direction but we were protected from any wave action fetch where we anchored.

I did get up for 1/2 hour at 5:30 whenthe. Peak occured and the direction went from S to SW to W to insure the anchor held or pivoted, which it did. Thank you Mr Rocna

Anchoring in wind is about your confidence in your anchoring technique. You can't always be assured of a perfect spot or a tie up. I actually worry more about other boats in an anchorage dragging than Haleakula.

To me that's why buying a good anchor is really important as it can become a piece of emergency equipment
 
#721 ·
Anchored in the lee of Cacaway Island tonight. Gorgeous sunset and extremely peaceful. Amazing sailing conditions today - perfect wind direction for a sail up the Chester.
Not sure where the gale warnings were as I didn't seen sustained winds over 34 ...
Sustained winds over 34 were not forecast - only gusts over 34. After spending a few years comparing NOAA forecasts to small craft advisories and gale warnings, it seems like they are issued based on the gust forecast (g18 and g34), not the sustained wind forecast. And obviously a gust of 18 knots (which leads to SCA) should not be a hazard for anyone except that smallest boats and/or most inexperienced sailors.

I have not seen actual "rules" of how NOAA issues these advisories and warnings, but my observations comparing gust forecasts to the NOAA's issuance of advisories shows a very close correlation.
 
#717 ·
Left the marina yesterday about 7:00 PM and choose Reed Creek, have never been back here. Great sail last night under just the headsail. Kids wanted burgers for dinner.

Good water depth here and protected from almost all wind directions. The rest of the weekend looks like it will be beautiful. We got lucky with what remaind of TS Cindy
 
#718 ·
Dinghied into St Michaels early to let Donna shop and get some watermelon for our last 2days. I have to have water,Elon in the summer.
Friends of ours from Herrington Harbor are sailing over ( we think) to raft up later on.

Choosing to come up that long day from the Rappahanock proved to be good as we have really relaxed in this neck of the Choptank. Tomorrow we head for home.

T37 should get great cool weather the first few days of your trip before it gets hot and humid again. Enjoy the time with your girls exploring.
 
#719 ·
We are driving to Rock Hall this afternoon, plan to be on the hook for two nights. Probably Cacaway Is. and Corsica River, though unsure what order we will do them.
 
#720 ·
We do dinghied around a few creeks this morning after lox, bagels and Kona. 2.5 hour dinghy ride was fun. Saw some pretty pricey houses including Dick Chaneys and Donald Rumsfelds. Donna is busy hitting the stores, I sitting in a. Tree shaded Aderondock chair watch all the tourists go by like a good husband. Nice breeze. After being in the peace and quiet of the boat being around all these people is kind of too much. We are meeting at 3 for pizza at Ava's.

Then we will discuss dinghy back to Haleakula. Hopefully are friends have anchored by then. What a difference it makes with the low humidity.
 
#723 ·
Where?

I just had my anchor alarm go off. I went topsides to investigate, and light breeze off the stern and windscoop backwinded. It looks like current is now opposing wind, and my boat is pointed into the current. Anchor rode going at a very bad angle where keel wrap is possible. So I pulled out a small mushroom anchor, screw-lock carabiner to snatch it around the rode, and some heavy clothesline. I dropped it down as a kellet. I hope I got it in time - I'll figure it out in the daylight tomorrow.

I've never rigged a kellet before, but I brought these items from home just for this possiblity.
 
#726 ·
I agree that NOAA's advisories may be overly cautious. Here's their SCA for today, even though sustained winds are just 5-10. But gusts to 20 kicks it up to SCA. I guess their idea of a small craft is a jon boat:

ANZ531-252000-
Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point-
642 AM EDT Sun Jun 25 2017

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON EDT TODAY THROUGH THIS
EVENING...

TODAY
W winds 5 to 10 kt. Gusts up to 20 kt
BTW, kellet seemed to have worked last night. Conditions are so benign that the mushroom anchor pretty much holds the boat at 1:1 scope.

Sunrise was gorgeous, birds chirping nicely, lots of activity in the nests. Dozens of little eddies in the water which appear to be fish hovering just beneath the surface so they can pounce when a bug lands. If I had a fishing rod it would be like shooting in a barrel.
 
#727 ·
I agree that NOAA's advisories may be overly cautious. Here's their SCA for today, even though sustained winds are just 5-10. But gusts to 20 kicks it up to SCA. I guess their idea of a small craft is a jon boat:

BTW, kellet seemed to have worked last night. Conditions are so benign that the mushroom anchor pretty much holds the boat at 1:1 scope.

Sunrise was gorgeous, birds chirping nicely, lots of activity in the nests. Dozens of little eddies in the water which appear to be fish hovering just beneath the surface so they can pounce when a bug lands. If I had a fishing rod it would be like shooting in a barrel.
Agree, the advisories must be for a dinghy.

We use a similar 3lb mushroom anchor with a huge shackle so it slides down the anchor rode to keep the rode from keel wrapping, especially in reversing tidal areas. We lower it down the rode about 2 ft below the depth of the keel from our cleat. It has saved our bacon a few times. I have got a lot of my friends to keep one on board as it will also help drop year rode below the keel on a fouled role around the keel or rudder.

We have observed many of those bait fish. Yesterday the bait ball swam near the boat and the water was clear enough we saw a few larger fish darting N and out of it feeding including a few large rockfish as the broke the surface. National Geographic Channel in person. You almost could hear the "little Nemos "
Screaming.

We managed to get a good sail in on the way out the Choptank, when the wind promptly died. We are motoring home to the barn past Thomas Point. It's lakelike here. But it's a picture perfect day.

Lots of nettles in the water everywhere we've been.
 
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#732 ·
Just returned home from a weekend long "wine cruise."

Some folks at EYC invited us to come along. We shot across the bay on Saturday morning with 20 knots on our backs. Surging to 8.0 SOG.
I was towing a dingy and set the towing bridle so that it surfed one of our stern waves.

As we surged and surfed across the bay, we had 6 dolphins accompany us for a short time, near Bloody Point Lt. I was surprised that dolphins are this far up the bay. They surfaced alongside the boat several times and we saw them riding the waves just beneath the surface, next to the dinghy. You could see their gray forms just under the water.

Coming around Bloody Pt. put us hard on the wind, but in the lee of the point, the fetch was broken and we had a smooth, brisk sail up to Cox Creek where this winery and vineyard is located. This place is not small, and it's all run by the owner and his wife and one occasional employee. This beautiful complex is the guy's *part time* gig. He's an engineer at NASA, full time. It's a wonder that he has any time to sleep. The science and art of the vineyard and the winery is just fascinating and amazing. The whole facility was beautiful and tranquil.

The weekend was a hedonistic session of wine, rhum and nearly non-stop food, swimming, and dinghy play. I saw one, tiny nettle the whole weekend.
 
#734 ·
Got the girls out for another daysail yesterday. We left the dock at 11 and encountered very light and variable wind. When the wind died we motor sailed for a while until just after noon it picked to 10-15 with gusts into the upper teens. Now we were really sailing! The baby (7 weeks tomorrow) slept through almost all of it. The 2 year old did great through it all again, sitting patiently in the cockpit. She doesn’t like the engine being on and got a little scared when we were returning to the dock with revving the engine to get into the slip.

The boat’s doing great except for the fresh water system. This year there’s a huge amount of gunk being washed out of the lines every time we turn on a tap and a strong rotten egg smell. This has never happened before but I guess it’s time to shock it with bleach before next weekend’s adventures.

Next weekend we’re off to take a transient slip in the Inner Harbor for a couple of nights. We’ll be able to go to the pool and walk to restaurants. It’ll be a good shakedown for doing more ambitious overnights with both girls. Unfortunately, we won’t stay through Tuesday night for fireworks, but at these ages they don’t stay up that late anyway (and we barely do either!).
 
#740 ·
Got the girls out for another daysail yesterday. We left the dock at 11 and encountered very light and variable wind. When the wind died we motor sailed for a while until just after noon it picked to 10-15 with gusts into the upper teens. Now we were really sailing! The baby (7 weeks tomorrow) slept through almost all of it. The 2 year old did great through it all again, sitting patiently in the cockpit. She doesn't like the engine being on and got a little scared when we were returning to the dock with revving the engine to get into the slip.

The boat's doing great except for the fresh water system. This year there's a huge amount of gunk being washed out of the lines every time we turn on a tap and a strong rotten egg smell. This has never happened before but I guess it's time to shock it with bleach before next weekend's adventures.

Next weekend we're off to take a transient slip in the Inner Harbor for a couple of nights. We'll be able to go to the pool and walk to restaurants. It'll be a good shakedown for doing more ambitious overnights with both girls. Unfortunately, we won't stay through Tuesday night for fireworks, but at these ages they don't stay up that late anyway (and we barely do either!).
Sounds Like you've got some decaying stuff in the system. Shocking it will help a lot. Your tanks are plastic right?

Also afterward don't forget to clean the screens or filters if you have them

Great to hear the girls and you are getting out. Now that takes a lot of organization and patience
 
#737 ·
I was surprised to see so many neetles in Reed Creek... most were about the diameter of a half dollar with tentacles about 1 to 2 inches. We were just about to go for a dip in the creek and I spotted one, then another and then realize they were all over...just not worth it
 
#738 · (Edited)
Keep in mind that while the stinging is not usually fatal to adults, it can be to tiny children when they encounter a massive school of adult sea nettles. Adults just wish they would die under these conditions. Back then, people would always have a gallon of vinegar on hand to rinse the affected area with and sooth the pain. When people were hospitalized, they were usually treated with antihistamines.

Ironically, I recall when the waters of Chesapeake Bay were pretty much free of sea nettles and other jellies most of the time. During the late 1940s, my parents would rent a car and drive to Chesapeake Beach, where gambling, mostly slots, was legal, the water was clean and clear, with underwater visibility to 15 feet during the summer, and the salinity was usually very high. Most of the time, when a sea nettle was encountered, someone would pick it up by the back, carry it to shore and place it in the sun to dry out. Most days we saw none at all.

It wasn't until the mid 1960s when upper bay beaches, such as Magavista, North Beach, North Point Park, and others began installing sea nettle nets to protect bathers from the jellies. A huge, downward trend in water quality and finfish populations coincided with the increase in sea nettles during the summer months. This is mainly because of what they feed upon, which is various forms of zooplanton, which thrives on other forms of planktons, which is the result of an overabundance of nutrients, from which the bay suffers. Fortunately, a big slug of freshwater and lower temperatures will keep them down the bay, but that same slug of runoff also adds to the nutrient load from agricultural runoff.

Keep in mind that if the good folks at Harrisburg didn't flush their toilets, Havre de Grace and Port Deposit, MD wouldn't have a source of drinking water. ;)

Gary :cool:
 
#739 ·
We were at the boat yesterday moving the second to last load of possessions and clothing on board. Five days until full-time liveaboard. We are mostly down to getting rid of the last few pieces of furniture and getting our old dog ready to move to my daughter's house to live with his young cousin-dog.

We officially ended our winter refit with the in-water engine alignment after having our shaft straightened and prop tuned. She's got a smooth groove now. Looking forward to four days of sailing starting Saturday.

Cheers, RickG
 
#744 ·
Had a great time just single handed day sailing last week. First time out this season—how awful is that? And it was clear my piloting skills had taken a hit over the winter: it took four attempts to get out of the dock. At least I didn't hit anything. But last Thursday was a great day on the lower Patapsco, saw 6.4 knots on the gps which, for an Alberg 35 with a dirty bottom, is pretty good. And when I got back to the slip, there was an actual Dock Attendant to help take lines, a new thing at Anchorage Marina. Fair winds to all of you out there this week, I don't think I'll get there, due to some issues here, so I'm envious :)
 
#745 · (Edited)
A couple of comments from this week's sail:

We had some real lively sailing coming back Monday morning. Once we passed Castle Harbour, we had sustained winds around 18 kt. Since these were unexpected, we were over-canvassed with full main. The boat held rock solid (even as the cabin settee cushions slid off the windward side), but helm was way out of balance, requiring a lot of rudder pressure to avoid rounding up. We didn't want to roll in the genoa to reef the main, so I just spilled air off the top and fought the wheel for a little while. Helm balance would have been better with a reefed main.

I'm unsure what to do about dinghy propulsion. My current trolling motor has limited range. I don't want to lug around a huge battery, so I'm using a 35 Ah AGM battery which weighs about 20 lb. I was able to go a couple miles with it before I hit 50% capacity left on the battery. I'm really concerned about weight, so I'm considering the Suzuki 2.5 hp motor which is under 30 lb. Any comments based on experience with this model would be appreciated. I'd consider the Lehr, but 37 lb. is just too much to lug around, and the weight will overload the motor mount on my dinghy.

Finally, I'll put in a good word for the Davis Wind Scoop. It made things very comfortable down below, and seemed to generate enough air speed to keep the flies away. Definitely worth the investment:

 
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