Another photo of the fake lighthouse
After we left Eastern Bay, I fixed lunch, but a bounce of the boat knocked over Bob's tea and I had to fix it again. Saw a cabin cruiser towing TWO small sailboats. Wonder how they stop. A dragonfly flew through the cockpit, but we couldn't find any flies for him to eat.
We passed R84 in the channel at 3:15. The wind has dropped to 18-19 knots with 2 to 5 foot waves, but there are low lying clouds and we can't see the western shore because of the haze. I suggest a couple of times that we should go through Knapps Narrows, as I am sure we are in for a storm, but Bob doesn't want to try it. He also doesn't want to hear the thunder that I am hearing, although I am not seeing any lightening yet. He later admits that Knapps Narrows would have been a good idea.
We finally spotted Sharp's Island light at about 4:30. By this time, I am seeing lightening on the western shore, and we got a chance to see what a rain storm looked like on the radar. We are not going to make it into the Choptank before the storm.
There is a lot of lightening and thunder, and the wind and waves have both picked up. I see gusts of up to 38 knots twice on the wind gauge. It is very dark and hard to see anything. I have turned the computer and the charting system and the GPS hooked to it off and disconnected them, but the other GPS and the radar are still on. We have all the bimini curtains down and are pretty dry in the cockpit.
Bob motors around sort of in a circle by Sharps Island for about a half an hour while the worst of the storm passes. A bolt of lightening comes pretty close to us (the thunder is almost simultaneous), but everything keeps working. We finally make it into the Choptank and anchor just outside Cook Cove (we are afraid to go in any closer, although we have done so in the past) about 7 pm. It's taken us over 9 hours to go 34 miles.
We are only protected from the south at this location, and hardly at all from the west, north or east.
Mon Aug 28th 2000
Today dawned clear and sunny. We can see the Western shore from inside the Choptank. Bob suggests that 'next time' we need to stay longer in various anchorages (!!) If we hadn't run into the storm last night, I was going to suggest that we go up one of the northern arms of the Choptank - maybe even into the back door of St. Michaels, which we haven't visited this time because I hadn't wanted to go on a weekend.
We get underway slowly this morning as we are going back to Oxford which isn't far away. Last time we were so busy visiting friends that we didn't see much of the town. Also we need a pumpout again.
The bearing in the main furler (made of some type of plastic) has broken again and Bob made a fix for it out of some slippery line.
Started the engine at about 9:45. As we motored along in the Choptank, I saw 4 beautiful swans (the birds not the boats) sailing along in the opposite direction. This is the Oxford spider
We got the sails out to dry them a bit, and sailed back and forth between R12 and R12A. As we came abreast of Oxford, a clock or church tower ashore chimed extensively (and melodiously) at noon.
We had made reservations at Mears (Bob specified Mears although I think other boatyards there may be cheaper), and we arrived there 9.8 miles after the start, had a pumpout and got fuel (20 gal) by 12:43. They put us at the end on the outside of D dock. They make a big thing about cable TV being available, but we weren't really interested. We get good non cable reception, enough to watch the news and that's enough for us. Bob did watch the weather channel a bit while waiting for the washer. I thought I might swim in the pool, but it turned out to be too rainy.
Bob thought the marina was a rip-off in their prices. They charged $1.50/ft with no discount, electricity was $5. They were charging $1.49 for diesel, which is what we are paying for the car with 24 cents road tax on it, so they are making an extra 24 cents profit on each gal. (I always get diesel for the car in Cambridge, Easton or Salisbury because the fuel there is cheaper by a good bit than anywhere on the western shore, so I know fuel is not more expensive over there to justify a higher price.)
He paid $1.00 for a washer which was the same as in Baltimore, but he didn't feel this one got stuff clean and it had only cold water available. Dryers were 50 cents, vs $1.00 in Baltimore, but the stuff didn't get dry even after two cycles ($1 worth). They had bikes for rent $9+/day plus tax, whereas our marina at home lets you use bikes, or even a truck to get supplies for free. He also complained about them charging 50 cents for the 25 cent Washington Post, not realizing that a lot of places outside the immediate DC area do that.
We walked over to the Chatterbox Cafe for lunch, and saw Jim and Pat working on their boat at Oxford boatyard and said we'd be back after lunch. One of the reasons we came back to Oxford was to visit with them - they were out of town when we were here before.
A big bowl (which they called a cup) of gazpacho was $4.50, and we each also had a chicken salad sandwich (had to eat with a fork) was $3.95. Very good and satisfying.
We walked around to the Oxford Boatyard and saw Jim and Pat's boat (they've completely torn out the interior - the exterior looks beautiful), and then it looked like rain, so while they stowed their tools, we walked back to our boat stopping to look at a CSY 37 that was slipped there. It started to rain. Bob walked quickly back to our boat, and was able to close the ports and hatches that we'd left open before things got too wet, and put down the side curtains.
He got a little wet, but I (going more slowly) got absolutely soaked to the skin - it rained so hard I couldn't see very well because of the rain on my glasses. After I got to the boat, I stripped all my clothes off in the cockpit - the curtains were too steamed up for anyone to see me, and I didn't want to drip in the cabin any more than necessary. We actually hadn't needed to do a wash, but we did need to get all that wet stuff dry.
A big Island Packet named ExFed (painted in FedEx colors) had been put at the other end of our side of D dock. Jim and Pat (using trash bags as raincoats) came over to our boat and we visited while it gradually cleared a little. After they came aboard the marina guy put an Jeaneau in between ExFed and us. Jim asked if I didn't want to go forward and fend them off our boat and I said I thought our anchors would do just fine. No one would want their boat in contact with our ugly pointy anchors (one a Max and one a CQR).
Jim offered to drive us to the grocery before we left, because he'd heard about our Queenstown exploits, but we declined with thanks.
They put a BIG Hattaras named Prima Donna on the T end of D dock. Their bow stuck out a little past our stern. They had a motor scooter aboard we found out later.
While Bob attempted the laundry, I used the pay phone (none of the portables worked) to download pocketmail. The mail forwarding from Mindspring dumped huge bunch of messages (20 or more) all at once onto the desktop. The pay phone was under the steps, right where the rain poured down on it. Everything there was wet and it was almost impossible to keep to receiver and the pocketmail dry even when I put it inside my raincoat.
Wearing our foul weather gear (just in case), we walked along the waterfront to the Robert Morris Inn (by the ferry dock) for dinner. It was really a nice evening although damp and a little overcast. One of the houses along the street had some BIG binoculars trained out on the Tred Avon - on a tripod - the large end lenses looked as big as saucers.
We dined by the window in the Tap Room. This is another expensive fancy place (we were put in the Tap Room because that was 'more casual' although the menu was the same).
Bob had a house salad ($5) and the fisherman's appetizer as a main course ($8.50 - fried clams, shrimp and scallops). I had a combination dish (can't remember the name - surf and something) which consisted of an *excellent* broiled lump crab meat crab cake (a la Robert Morris - apparently they do two types - and Oxford crab cake and a Robert Morris crab cake) and a grilled chicken breast. I didn't eat the chicken - saved it for lunch the next day. I couldn't figure out what was in the crab cake other than crab. It was a wonder to me that it even stuck together. My dinner cost $19. It was one of the lowest cost items on the menu.
With it, I also got a nice warm hard roll, a corn muffin, asparagus, fried zucchini, and something mashed which I think was rutabaga or some root vegetable that I don't normally like, but which was good. I ordered the chicken and crab because it was cheaper than just the crab by itself. Go figure. I had strawberry pie for dessert and Bob had coconut key lime cake.
As we walked back we had a friendly discussion/argument about how many boats were anchored where we had anchored last time, and whether they had anchor lights or not. One (which Bob didn't see at first) didn't have any light visible to us, and one apparently had an oil light that went out as we watched.
I tried pocketmail at the pay phone again, but apparently it got a drop of water on it, and it and stopped working altogether. I took it apart and put the batteries in again and left it to dry out, and it resumed working the next day.
Tuesday August 29th
We have damp clothes strung to dry all over the cabin. Underway by 9 after waiting for local showers to be local somewhere else.
The boat backs to starboard and we were tied up on the starboard side. The wind was also from the starboard. Bob's plan was to untie all the lines except the bow line, and push off with a boat hook as far as he could from the stern, allowing the wind to carry us out past where the Hattaras bow overlapped our stern. Then he would let go the bow line, and I could back out into Town Creek.
This plan worked well, except that I didn't know the engine was in neutral (prop not engaged) from when were going to run the engine driven refrigeration (which we forgot to do). Bob had to come back and engage it because I couldn't understand what he was saying. But we got off without hitting anyone or anything, so that's cool.
We sailed out of the Choptank (finally some sailing) with the main and jib in a following wind. The wind held almost all the way to the western shore. Went in and out of gentle showers.
I have resisted setting the computer up because it is increasingly flakey. In addition to the keyboard not working, it occasionally will go to sleep and then I have to restart it. Tried to connect to pocketmail, but can't keep a connection long enough to pick any mail up.
Cove Point in the distance
Fuel gas piers off Cove Point
About 2:30, when the wind died we started the engine, and ran the refrigeration. Bob used his laser thermometer and said the transmission was 130 deg. We went into the Patuxent to anchor. Bob didn't want to go into Solomons. We were afraid to go up the river too far for fear would wouldn't get all the way back to Smith Creek tomorrow and would have to anchor at off Point Lookout in Cornfield Harbor again, so we anchored right off the base in the big horseshoe bend where we watched the air show last summer. There are big signs everywhere warning you to stay 200 feet from shore, which also means
*** No Crab Pots***.
The Patuxent is deep almost to the edges. We finally anchor at 5 pm in 15 feet of water, protected only from the south, after 33.7 miles. We motored two hours at the end and about a hour and half at the beginning of the almost 8 hour trip. Tonight, the wind is from the NE and the boat rocks a bit and the wind vane also runs a lot.
I can't get the cell phone to work at all.
Wednesday, August 30th
The wind picked up this morning and it is a really ugly looking day. See a tug and barge leave while we are still anchored, but they turn out for the bay.
We got underway early - at 7:15. We are determined to get home tonight and pick up our mail and the other computer which should be fixed. The grass is probably up to the eaves. I can't even get the computer started. It is asking for a bios update disk. [Note - returned it to Best Buy and they put a new hard drive in, and also a new keyboard. I should have it back by Monday I hope].
See two gunboats (river boats) charge out from the base at Pax. Off Cedar Point, we put up the main and jib and sailed - doing 7 knots in 16 knots of wind.
We hear the range boat tell another captain to give the range a 2 mile clearance because 'the point was hot'. When asked, the range boat answered that boats were using the range and not planes. So that's where those guys were headed.
We avoided the whole area by sailing over towards Hooper Island. We passed Hooper about 9:30.
Heard a freighter calling the Cove Point CG (there's no station there anymore) about a small boat (35 foot Wellcraft named Shanook) who had an engine room fire near Cove Point. The station at St. Inigoes answered him. Eventually, a tow boat reached him I guess.
As we got to Point Lookout, we started seeing thunderstorms again, and furled the sails and motored into the river. Bob wanted to take out the sails to dry them, and we tried that, but it didn't stay not-raining long enough. This is what Point Lookout looked like before they painted it.
I can pick out the entrance to Smith Creek now, even when I can't see the buoys on the radar. Bob is much better at tweaking the radar than I am. We are finally tied in our home slip (even with a cross wind and a really high tide that's almost over A dock) by 2:44 after a final trip of 36.4 miles.
Bob takes the control unit of the autopilot off, and we unload the food (although I don't find two bottles of salad dressing in the frig until the next day when we go down to get the stuff we didn't bring off this time), and the computer and phones. We go straight to the PO just before it closes at 5 to get our mail (1.3 bins full).
The grass doesn't look too bad, but it will be days before it is dry enough to cut ) looks like next Weds right now judging by the weather. And I can pick up the other computer this evening. I also get pizza.
Both of us are tired and our bed is rocking and rolling. Bob can't shut his eyes in the shower without almost falling. But we've had a successful shakedown cruise with a lot of more work to come.
