Chesapeake Week

To make things easier on myself, I'm posting a week's worth of blogs as one post. Read from top (oldest) to bottom (newest).

Reverse Course
Cobb's Marina, Norfolk VA, N 36 55.40, W 76 11.10

(6/20/05) Last night we got becalmed. We were making 0.7 knots aftward with the current. That's extra stressful on me because I keep trying things to make us go. But the sea was smooth as glass.

I took the night shift so Libby could get a full night's sleep.

While becalmed I was plagued with an out of control tug. At first I thought it was a fishing trawler. But a long way behind the boat I could see a red light. Trawling nets don't trail lights. It looked funny on my radar too. The boat's course kept changing in funny ways. Finally it went away. An hour or so later it came back, and the course was suddenly aimed straight at me. This time I could see that it was towing a barge. When it was about ¼ mile away I panicked. I turned on all our lights, called the boat on the VHF on a couple of frequencies. I grabbed my two million candlepower spotlight and shone it in his window. No effect. To avoid being run over, I had to start the engine and scramble out of there. If there ever was a reason to have someone stay awake on watch, that's it.

In retrospect, I figured out that it must have been a tow boat and barge with the helmsman asleep. It wasn't on autopilot. I didn't get any names or numbers so I didn't report to the Coast Guard.

When I turned over the watch to Libby at 6:30 AM, the winds were 5 knots and the sea glassy. When I woke up three hours later, the winds were 20 and poor Libby was hugging the tiller trying to keep some measure of control. We had too much sail up and it was sheeted too lightly for 20 knots. Libby wore herself out.

I reduced sail and soon we were steering with the Monitor again. I checked our position and progress and the weather report. Yuck. We had about 90 miles to go to the next harbor, but we were only making good 2 knots toward the mark. The wind was directly against us. The weather forecast was for 2.5 more days of the same wind direction, but even higher velocity.

Libby and I were both already tired, and I was daunted by the prospect of 2 or more days of rough sailing. Therefore, I elected to turn tail. We sailed back to Cobb's Marina, arriving 36 hours after we left. The winds were up to 35 knots before entering the harbor. Once again, standing 6 watches per day with only two people is exhausting. A third crew member would make a huge difference.

On the way back, I misidentified a point of land and wound up in a very shallow shoal area. The depth meter said less than 6 feet. Yikes! I turned straight away from shore. We didn't run aground, but I had to sail six miles away from shore to get 15 feet of water under the keel. It seems so counter intuitive for the water to be so shallow so far from shore.

The pattern is clear. When tired we both make mistakes. I must sail conservatively to avoid putting us in danger when tired. It feels humiliating to about face, but sometimes it's for the best.

Misty Isle
Cobb's Marina, Norfolk VA, N 36 55.40, W 76 11.10

(6/20/05) The vessel behind at the dock is Misty Isle. She looks to be a wreck; a wooden boat shedding paint and chips of rotten wood everywhere. The sails are tattered. There are no sail covers. At first glance, one would conclude that she'll sink here at the dock any minute.

She's about 40 feet long, ketch rigged. For the first days we were here, there was no sign of the owner(s). Today the captain (suitably old and weathered) and a crew of 3 young guys showed up and started working.

We learned that Misty Isle sailed here from California, and she's setting sail tonight for Newcastle Mass. The captain has been sailing her for 13 years, and the young guys have been on board for 7 years. Wow. I think Libby and I have a wild dream. What about young guys say around 18 who decide to live the life of cruisers for 7 or 10 years. They could write a book, "Ten Years Before the Mast." Indeed, if they're smart they must have a book draft in progress.

They borrowed some gear from us to rig a boatswain's chair and filled us in a little on their adventure. I'll be they came around the Cape. I admire them greatly.

We called Steve Lambert and invited him down to have dinner onboard with us. He came and we had a great time. Alas, Susan was out of town so we didn't get to see her. Steve always has good courtroom stories about his exploits as an expert witness. Come to think of it, Steve seems to be a good storyteller no matter what the subject.

Flash: just before dark two more crewmembers showed up for Misty Isle. One of them is a babe, a foxy babe. Now I admire them even more.

I had a conference with my crew (Libby). We decided to sail up the Chesapeake and down Delaware bay. It's 300 miles out of our way, but there are lots of nice anchorages along the way and it should be enjoyable. What the heck, I'm not a project manager with a deadline any more (so I remind myself once again.)

Slow Start But A Good Day
Chisman Creek Chesapeake Bay, N37.11 W76.25

(6/21/05) We left the marina before 9AM. Winds were very light. The whole morning we sailed port tack and by 1PM we were near the north end of the Bay Bridge Tunnel.

It is fun listening to the chat on the radio. Recreational boaters are constantly getting in the way of merchsant ships, and (worse) warships. Also, it seems like every day there is a new bogus distress call to the Coast Guard. Today it was a call that said, "We're abandoning ship," but it didn't say who or where. The Coast Guard had to scramble for 4 hours trying to find the caller, to no avail. I bet they aren't soft on the pranksters when they catch them.

About 1:30 the wind died entirely and the ebb current was flowing fast. I started the engine but we couldn't make any way against the current. We dropped anchor and just hung around waiting for slack current at 5:30. I still don't make enough allowances for the tides. I have a thick book with tide tables. I just never think to use it in advance.

Around 5:00 the wind came back at 13 knots and the current had dropped off a lot. We raised anchor and sailed directly to this Chisman Creek place. It was about 20 miles and we got here just at dusk. Perfect timing. It looks like one of those charming Chesapeake places. Nearly perfect full moon tonight, Sunset at 20:28 and Moonrise at 20:32. Only once in my life have I seen Moonrise and Sunset occur simultaneously. That was a spectacular sight.

Our plan is to get up at 6AM tomorrow and take advantage of the flood tide in the morning. We should stop and find anchorage before 3PM to avoid the ebb tide.

One Month Onboard
Fishing Bay VA, N37 32,17 W756 20.20

(6/22/05) Libby asked me this morning, "How does it feel now that you've been one month on the boat?" That was an excellent question. On one hand Tarwathie is my home. Feelings of West Charlton being home are fading. On the other hand, time kind of flies on the boat. One doesn't think in terms of days, weeks or months, but rather in terms of places and experiences.

Our knowledge of the boat and boat handling, repair and maintenance is much improved. Also our knowledge of the ways of things nautical along the coast is much better. Tides and tidal currents, as I've mentioned, are still on my remedial list.

Have I learned to relax more? Maybe some. The idea of going back to work is anathema. This morning we grounded again leaving the anchorage. Once again I wanted to leap into action to remedy the situation. However it was low tide and chances were if we waited it would float free by itself. I went below and ate breakfast. Sure enough, within 15 minutes it floated free by itself.

This afternoon we tried to get to a charming sounding place called Jackson Creek. We grounded twice trying to get in there by the marked paths. We had to give up. It's impossible to get there from here.

We played scrabble in the cockpit after supper tonight and listened to what sounded to be a senior prom nearby onshore. The Chesapeake really is beautiful.

Your faithful blog reporter (Q:) hereby interviews
Libby (A:)

Q: When did you come down to the boat?
A: Three weeks ago.

Q: So what's your reaction to boat life?
A: Since it's the first three weeks, I feel like a student on overload. I'm assuming that it will get easier as we go.

Q: Are you tired out?
A: Not physically, no.

Q: Are you looking forward to your nautical life?
A: We'll see.

Q: What's your confidence in the captain?
A: Complete.

Q: That doesn't sound candid. Are you biased?
A: Yes.

Q: What can we do to make your life easier?
A: More teaching and practice in non-threatening situations, and less on-the-job training. The fear that a mistake may jeopardize our safety stresses me.
End of interview.

To The Eastern Shore
Onancook Creek, N37 43.73 W7548.54

Becalmed again today starting around noon. A purist sailor never uses his engine except to dock, but we've been forced to use the engine for hours and hours three days in a row now. We've used 17.5 gallons of fuel since Fernandina Beach FL. That seems like ancient history.

Oh well, the Chesapeake really is beautiful. Tomorrow morning we're going to follow this creek 4.5 miles up to the town of Onancook (VA? MD?)

Mid afternoon I was kind of dozing on watch while Tarwathie motored on autopilot. I woke a little, saw an enormous ship really close to us, and had no trouble at all staying awake the rest of the afternoon.

By the way, forgot to mention the story about the destroyer. On the day when we approached the bay from the sea, there was a navy destroyer hanging around the entrance. I guess he was guarding. Anyhow this destroyer was dangling his anchor almost all the way down to the water. It looked like very bad seamanship. I considered calling the captain of the destroyer on marine channel 16 to helpfully inform him (and everyone else within 30 miles) that he was dragging his anchor. I asked Libby, "Should I?" She said, "No." Good advice.

Onancook
Town of Onancook VA, N27 42.64 W75 45.47

(6/24/05) What irony. The other day the book said we could get into Jackson Creek and we couldn't. Today the book says we can't get into Onancook because the channel is too shallow, but we got there no trouble.

We met 50 or so sailboats leaving Onancook as we came in. It must have been bumper to bumper boat traffic here last night. Some people told us that it was the Alexandria Yacht Club on an outing. I'm glad we were out on the creek last night. This morning we woke to a splendid scene. Blue sky. Still air. Crab fishermen leisurely checking their traps. It was idyllic for we yachtspeople to eat breakfast out in the cockpit.

We motored to the town and took the dinghy into the dock to buy food. No grocery store in town but we did get a pound of scallops at the hardware store (that's right, hardware.) This sounds like a wonderfully laid back little town. I expect Andy Griffith to be the town cop. We asked a man for directions. He looked and sounded just like Bucky Moore, the well driller from Ballston Spa. I bet Mr. Moore must have come from this part of Virginia.

There's a strong WiFi signal as we sit at anchor but no Internet connection. I bet that if I wait till this evening when the owner turns on his computer, that it may work.

FLASH! Kathy, our real estate agent just called. The deal on the house fell through :( The buyers thought that things weren't getting addressed enough by the absentee owners (us.) We're assesing what to do about that right now.

BTW: I went into town to try to find a WiFi spot. I stopped at a bench outside a hotel to turn on my laptop and try. Just then the hotel owner walked by, asked "Did you find my WiFi?" and invited me in. What a friendly place. This is how I'm getting to post these blog backlogs.