August 18, 2000
We were out of the Choptank near the Sharp Island light (which I don't have a photo of) about noon. I had a steak sandwich (from the night before) and Bob had fried chicken for lunch. Kept seeing rain clouds and putting the curtains down and then up. Bob cleaned them while I tended the autopilot.
Pulled into Selby Bay behind Long Point and anchored a little after 5:00 - too late to get fuel and a pumpout - I phoned the Marina (found out last year that they don't monitor the radio), but they closed at 5. Trip 29.4 miles in 6.8 hours.
Only one other boat in the anchorage, and it had the dink on the foredeck and didn't look like anyone was on it. Another boat anchored close to the entrance later in the evening.
Had dinner and watched TV. Called our daughter and Bob's friend Ed who we are meeting tomorrow. Bob went out like a light. I dozed off and woke suddenly, thinking that someone was calling me. Went out into the cockpit and downloaded e-mail. Then slept peacefully.
August 19, 2000
This morning, Bob changed the joker valve in the aft head which wasn't working right before we went in for a pumpout. Pulled the anchor at 9:15 and went and got fuel, a pumpout, ice and dumped trash. Bob started the engine driven refrigeration compressor and we motored over to Duvall Creek.
We ran aground a couple of times trying to get in past the creek entrance, so we anchored and Bob lowered the dink, and motored in. Ed (a retired friend of Bob's from work) came back with him - Nancy (Ed's wife) can't swim and is afraid of water so it was understandable that she wouldn't come with them in the dink.
Ed brought a lot of tomatoes and two apples with him. He got his shoes sandy crossing the beach to the dink, so I took them into the shower to wash the bottoms off, and the shower head fell and broke again (it broke once and had been glued together). Bob had already bought a replacement.
Put up the sails and sailed out of the river. Had lunch (fried chicken) and then the wind fell to nothing, so we started to motor back. The autopilot wouldn't move the rudder, so we had to hand steer. Ed did a lot of it.
We went close to Thomas Point so I could take some pictures.
When he went in to pick Ed up, Bob had gotten additional advice about getting into Duvall Creek, so we tried it again and were successful this time. The trick is to really grease the green markers to port and then aim for a house and garage on shore - close to port. Bob yells at me when I go that close to markers (he tells me that the ospreys who are on the nests complaining are saying "Too close, too close"), and we know, because we ran aground briefly on the correct side of a marker, that they are not always in an optimum position. But in this case, close was good.
Dropped Ed off at the dock - depth down to 5'7" on our gauge. Motored around to Harness Creek. An Island Packet went in ahead of us (passed us on the port side and tried to keep us from coming out into the channel of the South River - the burdened vessel - i.e. the one who should give way, is both on the port and passing) and turned around and came right back out. So we were afraid there would be no space. However a motor boat left as we were coming back down the creek, so we slipped into his spot.
No wind at all. Anchored about 4:45 after 21.2 miles - 6.1 hours, almost all motoring.
Saw Ed on the dock, so Bob lowered the dink and went in. Ed wanted to take us out to dinner, so we arranged to meet them later. We changed, and dinghied back to the rental dock and locked the dink to the dock where the guy indicated that we could. There was a group of kayakers getting ready to go out. I used the pay phone to download pocket mail while we were waiting for Ed.
We walked up with Ed to the parking lot. He drove into Annapolis and the Spa Creek bridge had traffic at a standstill. They had reservations at the Yacht Club, which meant Bob couldn't pay for us which he had told Ed he wanted to do. :-(
Nancy and I had cream of crab soup. They give you the sherry on the side so you can add the amount you like. Bob and Nancy had the crabcake sandwich.
We were a little late getting out of there, and were afraid the park would be closed, but there was a big party there, so the gate was open. We got to the parking lot, and Ed said - I might as well drive you down to the dock - there's no one here now. So he did, much to Nancy's dismay. He just drove over the grass around the little post that blocks access to the one lane macadam park road.
It was very peaceful except that someone was partying down near the entrance to the creek, and shouting and carrying on for a little while.
Sunday August 20th.
We have 3 sources of weather information. A handheld VHF which picks up the weather (usually from one of three channels - sometimes from 2). (Of course we have the main radio too, but it is the same information.) Here we are getting the broadcast from Pikesville which covers the upper end of the bay. At home we get the one from VA which covers the lower end of the bay. Sometimes we also get the one for the beaches. All of them give the wind and waves at Thomas Point.
We also have a regular AM/FM radio with CD player, with speakers in the cockpit, courtesy of the PO. And we have a 12" TV/VCR which runs on either 12v or A/C, and an antenna. The antenna also came from the PO.
The wind is forecast to be 10 knots mostly on the nose with flat seas today. Our destination is Locust Cove in Bodkin Creek where Bob's brother David lives. Bob's idea is that we will take David and Kay sailing tomorrow (Monday is usually his day off).
The little motor boat next to us, which has no bimini or cover at all, apparently had someone spending the night there - we see them sit up in the apparently empty boat .
We watch a few people get underway - the wind kicked up a little around 7:30. We pulled the anchor and exited Harness Creek about 9:00 am.
We motored out towards Thomas Point light. Bob put the curtains down which makes it hard to see the crab pots although big stuff like boats (including a big speed boat with the occupants wearing red racing crash helmets) and lighthouse are perfectly visible.
I think he ran over one crab pot.
As we come out into the Bay, the wind is now 19 knots with a 1 to 2 foot chop. NOAA is still forecasting 10 knots and calm seas even as they are reporting 19 knots at Thomas Point.
Our boat lists to starboard about 2-4". Even after Bob put 300 lbs of extra batteries (which he hasn't had a chance to hook up yet) in the port locker to balance the starboard ones, it still lists. I figure it must be the food and ice in the frig (we have two deep refrigerator boxes and one freezer) that is responsible. Can't think of anything else it would be.
At home, we take old 2 litre soda bottles and heavy plastic juice bottles, fill them with water and freeze them in the deep freeze. Periodically we take some out of the freezer and allow them to melt a little in the frig. That gives us ice water, and helps keep the boxes cold in between times we run the engine compressor. Don't do this with milk jugs or those thin white plastic water bottles. They are not tough enough to take reuse and will spring leaks.
Bob shut down the wind vane so the (2) solar panels could work. In direct sun, they can put out 7 amps. Now, not in direct sun with the US flag on the stern shading them somewhat, they are still doing 3 amps.
We approach the Bay bridge about 11:15. I am taking pictures because I want to do a triptych of the bridge on the screens of the back 3 opening ports
We went under the bridge at noon. Bob and I had an argument over the clearance just outside of the main span. He was afraid we would hit the top of the mast, and I said we'd have plenty of room. He was at the wheel, so we went under the main span.
Bob had more fried chicken for lunch and I had lettuce and tomato sandwiches.
The autopilot will sometimes work and sometimes not. It seems to work harder than it needs to in the chop (later found it was a loose connection)
