an expedition to REI

Just back from a trip to REI with Bruce.  I picked up a thermal quick drying sun-blocking thermal shirt in case a late September cool front comes down Chesapeake Bay.  Bruce picked up some cooking gear.

Bruce did the cooking on the Skeeter Beater.  He did a great job with stews and sauces that exceeded any expectations for life on a small boat.  But in his view my cook gear (made of odds and ends from over the years) cramped his cooking style.  So Bruce grabbed a very nice MSR Quick 2 System.  It will be perfect for camper cruising with 1.5 and 2.5 liter anodized aluminum pots, a strainer lid (great for draining pasta) two polypropylene deep dish plates, two insulated mugs and a pot handle.  He also picked up a frying pan in the same product line.    This all nests together and will fit easily into the grey Rubbermaid Roughneck tote box that I use for a cook kit on Spartina.  There will be plenty of room left over for utensils, spice, olive oil, etc.  I can smell dinner cooking already.

Bruce also dropped off a thirty foot spring line he had made up for the boat.  I've got two dock lines that work well for day sailing, but as we get out to different marinas we find that an extra line would help out at times.  So he put a nice eye splice in to some 3/8" braided line.   We'll store that up under the foredeck where it will be easily accessible.

Two more days of vacation in sunny San Diego.  I grew up  here wishing I lived somewhere tropical.  Now that I am back to visit I realize I was in a tropical place all along (how could I have missed all those palm trees???).

Steve

Splash!!!!

Another Pathfinder has been launched.  This time it is Perry Burton of Newfoundland, Canada (what a great part of the world that must be for sailing!) launching Pikake.  Perry has a great blog about the build, see it here.   The boat looks wonderful.  If I'm reading his story correctly he completed the boat in 11 months (I thought I was fast at 20 months), and part of that included removing a stairway and door frame at his house to get the hull out of the shop.

I think it is great that John Welsford has Pathfinders sailing from Newfoundland to New Zealand.  I'm not sure how many are out there sailing right now, I do know that more are being built.  I've heard of the design under construction in Texas, Virginia, British Columbia, the Caribbean and Australia.  It's certainly a compliment to John that the Pathfinder is making a name for itself around the world.  Congrats John.  And congratulations to Perry.  Best wishes for some great adventures.

through a storm

I got my book in the mail for tomorrow's flight out to the west coast.  It is called "Island in a Storm" and the book looked like it had been through a storm.  It was one of those strange deals through Amazon where I ordered a new book through Amazon from another retailer and paid less than Amazon's price (go figure).  It came in the mail in a plastic bag with an apology from the US Postal Service.  Don't know what happened but the hardback is now a softback, beaten and bent.  I thought of sending it back, but it sounds like a good book so I'll read as is (I wonder how a kindle would have survived that trip).  Here is Amazon's description of the book....

"In the mid-nineteenth century, the Isle Derniere was emerging as an exclusive summer resort on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. About one hundred miles from New Orleans, it attracted the most prominent members of antebellum Louisiana society. Hundreds of affluent planters and merchants retreated to the island, not just for its pleasures, but also to escape the scourge of yellow fever epidemics that ravaged cities like New Orleans each summer. Then, without warning, on August 10, 1856, a ferocious hurricane swept across the island, killing half of its four hundred inhabitants. The Isle Derniere was left barren, except for a strange forest standing in the surf."

The family and I are heading out to San Diego to visit the rest of the family.  I'm taking along my chart of Chesapeake Bay as we'll see Bruce and his family our there too.  It will give us a chance to go over the route, different options, anchorage, hotels, etc.  The Crab House 150 is less than two months away so we've got to start making some decisions.  While in San Diego we'll swing by REI and the huge West Marine store to pick up a few items for the cruise.

I read on SandyBottom's blog that the Yukon 1000 is in progress.  Sounds like an exciting race.  I've never been that far north but would like to go someday.  Reading about the race made me think of a NY Times review of a book about cold places.  The book is called "Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places."  The Times gave it an excellent review and so did Amazon.  I'll add it to my reading list.  

Steve

launchings

I'm thrilled to see that there are two more John Welsford designed Pathfinders on the water.  Congratulations to both builders and to John too!  Take a look at these boats and you'll see why everybody involved should be very proud.

Great work on the transom and rudder Nishan.

And there is Amazon under sail.  Nishan built the yawl version (my favorite) with a sprit rig just as John had designed it.  Very nice.
And Alan C, also in the UK I believe, launched Idle Fiddler.  (Alan, I borrowed a couple of photos from your blog, hope that was ok.)  From reading Alan's blog it looks like this project was a family build.  I can't get over the attention to detail on these boats.  Beautiful work on the tiller and rudder here.  And aren't those belaying pins for the mizzen?
I really admire and envy the work these guys did.  Just fantastic boats.  I know they will have a great time out on the water.  I understand there are several more Pathfinders under construction around the world, I can't wait to see them too.

John, I think you have really hit a home run with this design.

Steve

mid-summer

It is definitely mid-summer.  The calendar hinted at that but the gas grill confirmed it when I ran out of gas trying to barbecue some chicken for dinner tonight.  Time to visit the blue rhino place and get a new tank to get me through the rest of the summer.

I took the chicken inside and put it in the oven.  The faux barbecue was fine, it even reminded me of the lunch Bruce and I had in New Bern at the end of the Skeeter Beater.  He ordered a barbecue pork sandwich and was a little mystified at what he was served.  He has lived in southern California since his teen years.  I had to explain to him, as a colleague explained to me 20 years ago when I arrived in the east, that in Virginia and the Carolinas "barbecue" is a noun describing slow cooked meat chopped up and served with a vinegar-based sauce.  In the southwest "barbecue" is a verb which describes slow cooking of big chunks of meat in a tomato-based sauced and sliced (not chopped).  Big difference.  Bruce appreciated the lesson and enjoyed the sandwich.

And thinking about that reminded me of a fall evening in 1977 when Bruce and I grilled (no sauce) a thick steak on a hibachi in his backyard a couple of blocks from the ocean in Pacific Beach (San Diego) and watched Reggie Jackson on a little black and white tv hit three home runs on three pitches in the world series.  Grilled steak, an avocado, big slicing tomato, six pack of beer and good baseball.  What more do you need?

Great day of sailing.  My neighbor Jim, in mid-build on a Navigator, joined me in the morning.  When I was building Spartina he would see my garage lights glowing late at night and drop by to see what was going on.  After launching Jim showed me the trick for keeping my sheets organized (below).  He has been a regular at the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival and  I'll look forward to seeing him up there this fall.
The weather was great - cool and dry for mid-July.  I also tried out my new attachment on frame #3 for sandals.  Sandals and water bottles never quite found a home on Spartina during the Skeeter Beater.  We would tuck them here and there, but never in the same place twice.  I've added some line to frame #3 under the coaming for the sandals.  I've also added clips to out water bottles so they don't roll around and get lost.
We had one of my favorite cruising boats, this Bristol Channel Cutter, pass by on its way north.  If I was to cross the ocean in a small boat this would be the one I would choose.

I had a special treat for the afternoon as my youngest daughter joined me for the sail.  She and her sister were regular sailing partners for a few years.  But jobs, school and social life has gotten in the way the last summer or two.  It was very nice to have her along for a great afternoon sail.

Steve

a little help from my friends

Still working on the route (and will probably continue doing that until a week or two before the trip).  The two images at the bottom show the waypoints we've got plugged in right now.  Bruce and I have been getting some help and advice from some friends as we think this thing through.

Kevin, builder/owner of the Navigator Slip Jig gave high marks to both the Inn of Silent Music and the Drum Point Market.  He said....

"Second the vote for the Inn of Silent Music. I did some work in Tylerton a few years ago and highly recommend a crabcake from the Drum Pt Market followed by a slice of the famous Smith Island cake."

I've seen photos of that cake and think it has something like seven layers in it.  I'm not big on cakes, but something like that I've got to try.   Looking at the charts I see there are two approaches to Tylerton.  The Big Thorofare comes in from the east,  Tyler Creek comes in from the southeast.  The wind will tell us which way to go as we sail from Crisfield to Smith Island.

Another plus for Tylerton is we could leave the following morning following the channels (in yellow) past Rhodes Point and entering the main part of Chesapeake Bay by Sheep Pen Gut (great name don't you think!).  It would be cool to pass by another of the island communities at dawn just as the waterman start their day.

(Just for DanceswithSandyBottom I've put an X on One Hand Clapping Point and the XX is on the only population of single-clawed crabs found outside of their traditional nesting grounds in freshwater lakes of North Carolina.   You ought to visit them someday!)

I got some fantastic advice from Mary Lou who lives near Chester, Md and sails a Rhodes 22 out of Rock Hall.  She had come across the blog and offered to share some local knowledge.  I had several questions for her, and will probably have more questions in the future.  

On the tides in Kent Narrows she said....

We have been through there many times and have lots of stories as a result. When the Chester is ebbing, the current is going south at Kent Narrows. It can be quite significant. It's usually stronger running South vs running north but either way you want to have a good reliable engine. If you need the drawbridge (most do - I don't know what it is but it's pretty low when closed) it opens on the 1/2 hour.  The current is strong enough that I've seen boats with their engines a bit above idle standing still with their bow into the current. You can print out a chart of the tides and currents here: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/sites_useastupper.html Here's the current at Kent Narrows: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi?site=Kent+Island+Narrows+%28highway+bridge%29%2C+Maryland+Current+%284d%29

on sailing between the Choptank River and Rock Hall.....

When we travel to the Choptank, we often do Rock Hall to Knapps Narrows (another place with a drawbridge and a current though the current isn't as strong and the drawbridge opens on demand) as a day. We have gone as far as through the Narrows and then anchored at Dun Cove on Harris Creek. Our hull speed is 6 knots but we usually travel around 4 knots. With your draft, you may be looking at places we haven't considered but feel free to run a list by me.

on Oxford and Tilghman Island....

Oxford is wonderful. Highly recommend ice cream at the Highland Creamery and a tour of Cutts and Case (which we've never done but numerous articles have said it's really wonderful and can be a arranged with a phone call). However do think about Knapps and Tilghman Island as well. There is a nautical bookstore on Tilghman - I think it's only open on weekends but if you find yourself there and stuck for a day it is truly fabulous: http://www.crawfordsnautical.com/

and on anchorages on the western side of the bay.....

Whitehall is nice but wide open and exposed to the south. Whitehall Creek on the North side and Mill Creek on the northwest side offer more shelter. Mill Creek is also the home to Cantlers another terrific crab house so if you don't make it to Rock Hall and Watermans, keep Cantlers in mind. There is also the Crab Claw right in St. Michaels and Harris's Crab House in Kent Narrows. If you are looking for other great anchorages on the western shore, the Rhode River/West River complex offers nice spots.

In addition to the advice from Kevin and Mary Lou, Seth (who is building a Pathfinder) contacted me to say he'll be in the area for the Small Craft Festival and offered rides for groceries and a place to get cleaned up.  Very nice of you Seth.

Thank you Kevin, Mary Lou, and Seth for the advice and offers of hospitality.  I hope I get to meet you all at the festival - maybe we can do some sailing together!

Steve

time and tide

Looking at the charts of Chesapeake Bay it seems that we'll have to pay attention to tides in at least a few places.  Our first will be Smith Island, either the villages of Ewell or Tylerton, and as you can see from the chart below we'll have to navigate a few miles of narrow channels regardless of where we go.  Which way does the tide run through the channels on an ebb or flood tide?  I guess we'll have to find out.  I've never been to Smith Island, but I have been to nearby Tangier Island and when the tide is running it creates quite a current in the main channel through the island.  I expect it would be the same on Smith Island.  

I'm not sure where we'll stay on Smith Island.  It could be the Ewell Tide B and B or the Inn of Silent Music in Tylerton (near the Drum Point Market).  We'll figure that as we go along.  Typically we don't make reservations in advance as weather can affect the schedule.  I do look forward to navigating those few miles of those marshes on the way to either spot, I'm sure it will be a beautiful area.
A day or so later we'll pass through Fishing Creek on Hoopers Island to get to the main Bay from the Honga River.  Again, a running tide could create a strong current there so we'll take a good look at the tide tables before going through the creek.
And the third spot will be Kent Narrows.  If we do make it all the way north to Rock Hall, and that depends on having good wind and weather, we'll go through Kent Narrows on our way back south to St. Michaels.  It will save a lot of effort it we time our passage to go with the tide.

I did do a little research on hotels today and found that the Oxford Inn looks like a good spot in Oxford as we visit Schooners for some crabs.  The hotel and crab house are six or eight blocks away from each other, but after a few days in Spartina I'm sure it will feel good to get out and stretch our legs.  

At Rock Hall, our northern most point during the trip, the Mariners Motel is just a block or two away from Watermans and the marina, that should work out very well.

Steve

a new name

I was so interested in the idea of visiting crab houses on Chesapeake Bay that I changed the name of the trip.  Now we are calling it "The Crab House 150."  Seems to give us more purpose somehow.  It will be a nice goal to visit a handful of crab restaurants on the way up the bay, compare, contrast and  - most importantly - enjoy.

Got up with a plan to go sailing this morning, even had my neighbor Jim coming along with me.  But woke to grey skies and gusty wind.  Checked (not-so)Accuweather to see a front moving in with thunderstorms mid-morning and again after noon.  So we bagged the sail.

My mistake as it turned out to be a very nice day.  Blue skies and nice wind.  When the thunderstorm finally showed up after 5 pm it was very brief and mild.  

I should have remembered the words of wisdom from my fishing guide friend.  "If you wait till everything is perfect you'll never go fishing."  Or sailing.  

Steve

a road map to crab houses of the Eastern Shore

Very nice story in today's New York Times travel section about traveling down the Eastern Shore of Maryland in search of blue crabs.  From Rock Hall in the north to Smith Island in the south writer Jordan Hruska visits a lot of the territory we'll be covering.    

We still haven't finalized our route for the trip, but the description of Waterman's Crab House in Rock Hall makes me want to move that waterfront town from the "optional" to the "must visit" category on our list.

He has also got me interested in Schooners in Oxford and the Drum Point Market in the village of Tylerton on Smith Island.  Those two places were not on the list at all (we are looking at Ewell on Smith Island), but they'll be worth talking about as Bruce and I make our plans.  

Maybe this story will be a nice road map for the trip.

Steve

you ought to be in pictures

I got an email from a friend in Maryland mentioned a watercolor rendering "that could only be Spartina" in a boating magazine.  My reaction was "Really?????"

So I go to the bookstore and there it is, a watercolor of Bruce at the tiller on Core Sound in 2007.  Weird.  In the illustration you can see, from left to right, my foul weather gear, the box with the lights/notebooks, boat fender, Bruce's orange waterproof duffel, and (on the starboard side) my yellow duffel, stove wrapped in white polytarp and the cook kit.  Take a look at the photo below and you'll have no doubt that it is Spartina.  I shot the photograph sitting on the transom, leaning back past the mizzen mast
Kinda cool.  But, as someone involved in the publishing business for almost three decades, I wasn't happy.  The drawing was credited to someone I had never heard of.

I sent a note to the editor saying that as a sailor I was happy to see a watercolor of my boat in the magazine, but as someone in the industry I was concerned about copyright issues.  I included a primer about federal copyright laws.  And a bill for the use of the image.  

The editor said it was a mistake.  Should not have happened.  Folks were not up to speed on copyright issues.  (Editors and illustrators not aware of intellectual property laws? Really?)

They paid the bill.  

Steve