day twenty-eight - they almost had me at "margaritas"

Morning forecast says a front is arriving early afternoon, rain in the morning and strong north winds after 12:00.  Maybe this is what Dave was warning me about yesterday.  I check Navionics to see there is a spot just a couple miles away that will give me good protection.

Sail off anchor in a light rain.  Wearing the drysuit with expectations of heavier rain.  2.8 leaving Galley Cove.  

7:15 out on open water with a downwind run to the northeast.  Heavy, steady rain.  7:25 round High Head, now in the lee of the cliffs and trees. 8:10 anchor down inside of Green Island.  Excellent protection from all directions.

What I don't realize is that I have anchored in the middle of a family reunion.  A man named Chris comes out in a small skiff from the island, greets me and asks the question I am routinely asked when in a small boat in the rain:  "Are you ok?"  I tell him I am doing just fine, in fact I am having the time of my life.

He tells me that an extended family owns homes on both the island and the mainland, and they are having a family gathering.  I can expect people coming and going across the water all day long.  And then he asks if there is anything I need.  I tell him a gallon of water would be nice, and give him an empty jug.  

A while later a woman rows out from the island.  She says hello, and then of course "Are you ok?"  I laugh, tell her I am doing fine.  

People come and go all day, young people, older folks, even a young woman swimming back and forth from the island to the mainland.  Kayaks, Boston Whalers and row boats.  Chris comes back early afternoon and drops off the full jug of water.  I thank him.  

Skies have cleared, and the wind has filled in but it is calm tucked in behind the island.  I've got the boat dry and organized.  I read, relax and take a nap.  Put on a fresh set of clothes.

Late afternoon Chris comes out on the pier, asks how I am doing.  He tells me I am welcome to join them for dinner.  I thank him, but tell him I've got to catch up on my logbook.  "And we're having margaritas too!"  I hesitate, think for a moment, then say thank you, but no.  He wishes me a good evening. 

After dark I hear laughter and singing.  I think I hear a piano, I definitely hear guitars.  And a wonderful bluesy voice of a young woman.  It sounded like a fine family reunion.

 2.04 NM

day fifteen - tacking from rock to rock

Wake at 4:30 courtesy of a lobster boat.  There are only a few lobster pots in the Mud Hole, yet lobster boats - maybe the same one, maybe different ones - keep coming by close to SPARTINA.  

Cold and windy, a front passed through last night with a little rain.  Glad to see blue skies.  Wearing layers and the dry suit, a single reef tucked in the main, under power 8:50 out of the Mud Hole.  Outside the anchorage at 9:05, sails up and sailing close to the wind.  Making 3.6 as seals watch from the rocks.

I like to time my tacks, but with so many rocks and ledges between Mud Hole and Roque Island, it is a matter of tacking from rock to rock.  Sail up as close to a rock, islet or ledge as I can, often using lobster pot floats as my depth finders, come about and then follow that tack to the next rock.  It is breezy and fun and lots of spray on a sunny morning.

10:10 leaving the cut with Great Wass Island to port and Harbor and Mistake Islands to starboard.  10:30 making 4.5 towards Mark Island.  10:55 4.8 towards Great Spruce Island, crossing Chandler Bay, the only open water I will see before reaching Roque Harbor.

11:10 in lee of Great Spruce Island, calm water and easy sailing.

11:30 tacking to Roque Harbor between Great Spruce Island and Double Shot Island.  Rocky and shallow on either side, I watch the lobster pot floats and use them to make my tacks.  Working into both wind and the ebb tide, the water is clear enough that I can see the rocks below the surface.

11:40 in Roque Harbor and can see the beautiful what beach to the north.  At noon begin a series of five minute tacks, gps showing 5.5.

The final tack takes us across the stern of the sloop SEEADLER.  There is a man in the cockpit and he has been watching the tacks up the harbor.  He tells me the boat looks good, and I thank him.  I also ask him if he plans to dinghy into the beach this afternoon, could I catch a ride.  He says he'll be glad to take me in.

Anchor down 12:45.  Set up the boom tent and then the man, who introduces himself as Scott, comes over in the dinghy.  He tells me he and his wife already walked the beach in the morning, but he is happy to run me in and then pick me up when I am done.  How nice!

Riding in on the dinghy, I ask Scott where he keeps his boat.  He says Green Island.  There are a few Green Islands in the Bay of Maine, I ask where is this one located.  He tells me just off the northwest corner of Mount Desert Island.  This rings a bell for me.  I ask if there are two houses there, one on the mainland and one on the island.  He says yes.  I tell him I anchored there last year, and in fact I anchored there in the middle of a family reunion.  He tells me his wife is part of a big extended family and there are a lot of reunions there.  I mention "there is a piano in the house on the island, right?"  He looks surprised, asks how I know that.  I tell him I could hear them playing the piano late into the night of their reunion dinner.  He smiles.  The world sometimes feels very small.

Back on SPARTINA I check the weather.  I have a couple of days but need to make sure I find protected waters somewhere along the coast.

15.69 NM

 

southern hospitality

I went out for a sail and found myself in the middle of a family reunion.  The fact that I was not part of the family did not seem to bother anyone.  And the food was a delight.

Hot with light winds.  There's more cloud cover and less wind forecast for the Elizabeth River so I head south to Elizabeth City, sailing away from the dock just as the bells of the downtown churches begin to ring.  A breeze, steady if not strong, carries me downriver.  Off of the old Machelhe Island, better known these days as the causeway, ospreys make their high pitched cries as they circle overhead.   We tack south across the river past Hospital Point and into Forbes Bay, slipping in and out of the bay a couple of times, enjoying the tall shady trees on shore, the laughter of children playing in the shade, and the hum of the cicadas that seems to surround us.

At a pier near an old house at the very back of the bay my friend Claughton waves me over.  I come alongside just to say hello but he says it's time for brunch and we needed to get up to the house.  At first I say thank you, but no, but he won't take that for an answer, telling me it was a family reunion and they had more food that they could eat.  I would only be helping them out by joining in.  Soon we are in the magnificent old house, the smaller part being the original and built in the early 1800s, the larger part added on before the civil war.  And there are people and laughter and dogs everywhere in the house, Claughton mentioning names as we walk from room to room, finally saying "they are all cousins, so just call them "cousin.""  He describes me to them as the builder of a wooden boat that I sail from here to Florida and back, and I'm saying he's exaggerating to smiles from the cousins who seem to confirm it is not the first time Claughton enhanced a story for entertainment purposes.  Claughton laughs, enjoying the exaggeration and pointing out it is a pretty boat.  And then the food comes out.  Smoked ham, shrimp and pasta, pastries and breads, heaping bowls of scrambled eggs and though I settled for a bottle of water there was champagne and mimosas to be had.  

They are a wonderful group of people, all very kind to make me feel welcome on a hot, southern Sunday morning.  What a treat.

Claughton walks me back down to Spartina and I thank him for his hospitality, telling him I'll come back when things are quieter, and he should join me for a sail.

Winds are lighter in the afternoon, cats paws walking down the river.  I keep thinking that when the next breeze ends I'll head to the dock, but find myself enjoying the peaceful stillness of a breathless summer moment, and then the next breeze comes again.

2015 in review: best, worst, newest, kindest and most joyous

Favorite First Steps:  Walking to Spartina without the use of a cane just over two weeks after hip replacement surgery.

Best New Star that No One Ever Sees:  The wooden Navy star, in memory of my parents, made by my neighbor and friend, that sits below the bow sprit where it is not easily seen.  I told him the star would be seldom seen, but I know it is there and that's all that matters to me.

Most Delightful Sailing Companions:  a couple of dozen dolphins playing near Nassawadox Point on day one of the Threatened 320 fall sail.

Best Diesel Engine doing the Job of an Alarm Clock:  waking up to the diesel engine of the crab scraper Davey III on Jenkins Creek on day four of the Threatened 320.

Best Physical Therapy: a morning spent bending, crouching, kneeling, reaching up and under the side decks of Spartina for some sanding before the spring painting.

Least Hospitable Place on Tangier Sound:  A spot about two miles WNW of Island Point at the mouth of the Little Annemessex River where I had to turn back two days in a row because of high winds out of the NE and high waves out of the NW during the Threatened 320.

Kindest Gift from a Waterman:  I asked to buy a half-dozen oysters but Ben of Hoopers Island Oyster Aquaculture Company counted out a dozen, refused to take any money and gave me a bag of ice.  He then offered to let me tie up in his marina and asked if I needed a ride to a store or a restaurant.   I thanked him for his kind offer, then headed back across the river to enjoy the oysters and wait out the weather. 

Worst News I had to Deliver to Dawn Patrol:   As shore contact for Paul and Alan on board Dawn Patrol I called, emailed and texted to tell them the Everglades Challenge was cancelled due to a number of rescues on the first morning of the race.  They were off to a great start.  Better luck next year.

Best Bow Wave:  Splashing through the waves off Trippe Bay on our way to the Choptank River and Oxford on day seven of the fall cruise.

Roughest Night:  The last night of the Threatened 320, anchored in Warehouse Creek, with high winds, torrential downpours and chop so steep that Spartina was pounding hard enough that I had wondered if we had dragged anchor and were bouncing on the shore.

Most Generous Hospitality by Someone Who Had a Few Other Things to Worry About:  We arrived at St. Michaels with a high pressure system to the north, a stalled low off the Carolinas and approaching Hurricane Joaquin.  Kristen, president of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, had to worry about a) the upcoming Small Craft Festival b) the museum grounds which are susceptible to flood damage c) the museum's floating fleet of classic Chesapeake Bay boats d) her family and e) who knows what else.  Nonetheless she took the time to greet us when we arrived, took me out for lunch, got some of her guys to help dock safely in the middle of the museums fleet and constantly check on me in person and by text.  How wonderful.  She even offered a place to sleep at her home.  I opted to sleep on the protect porch of the museum's office building so I could be near Spartina.  Thanks,  Kristen, for the hospitality!

Most joyous day:  A March 21 sail in Elizabeth City, my first sail of the year, timed to coincide with Webb Chiles' sail on the other side of the world.  Webb had invited, through a entry in his journal, for readers to seek a day of joy.  I sought and I found.

First Ever Launch at a Rebuilt Boat Ramp:  Spartina going in the water, the first boat to launch at the rebuilt ramp and newly opened Elizabeth River Park.  The park staff declined to give me a plaque (which I thought I deserved), but they did take a photograph of Spartina.

Best Art Show Opening:  Curt's opening of his one-man show "Return to the Great River, Maritime Paintings" in Urbanna.  Wonderful paintings and then a great evening with Curt, his wife Eleanor and new friends John and Vera.  It was there that Vera shared her pearl of wisdom:  Men choose both boats and women by the stern.

Favorite Sail on Calm Waters:  An afternoon of sailing on Cox Creek with strong steady wind on the narrow creek's calm waters on day nine of the Threatened 320.

Best Use of Mizzen and Jib:  Unable to sail in high wind and waves up Tangier Sound we took the back way up the canal behind Janes Island and sailed under mizzen and jib in the lee of Frenchtown-Rumbly, Deal Island and Bishops Head to reach Fox Creek off the Honga River.

Best gift from my shellfish guy:  A half-dozen York River oysters from my friend Uncle Chuck, with him telling me I would be doing him a favor by letting him know how they taste (as if he did not already know).

Best Food "to go" on a boat:  A pound of boiled crawfish from my friend Shaggy the NOLA Crawfish King as I tied up on the waterfront behind the food tents at the Bayou Bugaloo.

Favorite Family Reunion With a Family I Did Not Know:  A delightful July day when my friend Claughton invited the crew of Spartina to take part in his family reunion at the family's civil war era house on Forbes Bay off the Pasquotank River.  Good food and plenty of southern hospitality.

Most Beautiful Hidden Sailing Grounds Just A Few Minutes Away:  The North River, just about 25 minutes away with a ramp and a nice waterfront restaurant in the nearby town of Coinjock, NC.  Pristine water lined by trees with sky above....nothing else.

Academy Award Nominee for best Cameo Appearance by a Yawl in a Short Documentary Film:  Spartina's brief (watch closely at 2:41 or you'll miss it) appearance in a film about downtown Norfolk.  Can't wait until they open they envelope on that one.

Most Dismal Forecast:  Gusts up to 49 mph and heavy rains forecast for Chesapeake Bay during this fall's Threatened 320.  Now you know where the cruise got its name.

Best Advice from the Pilgrim:   Frustrated that I was taking a weather day at Tilghman Island because of forecast high winds and heavy rains, the Pilgrim told me over the phone not to worry about it, just enjoy whatever happens and go with the flow.  I hung up the phone, walked into the office at the Knapps Narrows Marina and found a flier on the bulletin board for an evening wine tasting at the Tilghman Island Country Store.  I went with the flow.  Literally.

Best Evening Painting the Harbor Red:  Watching my gps turn the chart of Silver Lake red as I tacked back and forth under a lovely warm breeze while watching the setting sun on the storm-shortened spring sail.

First Ever Sail with a Pathfinder Builder/Sailor:  A fun day with Rik as he was in town to do some serious offshore sailing.  He built and sails the Pathfinder Vanessa in the strong trade winds of his native Aruba.

Prettiest Sight Seen on the Morning Walk Before Work:  A jellyfish and reflected clouds on the Elizabeth River.

Second Favorite Lapstrake Boat on the Elizabeth River:  The home built New Jersey Sea Bright Skiff that we crossed paths with on the Elizabeth River in November.

Most Hard to Get New Sticker for the Boat Trailer:  the GCI sticker for Pate Boat Yard which reminds always me of my friends Shawn and Beth and all the wonderful sailing I have done out of Hobucken.

boats, big and small

Big.....

The deadrise-built buy boat Linda Carol is rejoining the fleet.  I saw her up in a yard in Poquoson a couple of weeks ago where she was being rebuilt after the 1930s era boat was found in terrible condition in a salvage yard in Long Island.  If she is not on the water already, she will be soon.  Finishing work was going on when I saw her, and they were running water into her hull so the planks swell up - she had a ways to go on that as you will see in a photo down below.  Very cool boat and I can't wait to see her with buy boats that gather for a reunion tour every summer.

and small....

Registration is open for the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival is posted on the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum site.  (Could that be UNA in the photograph above??)  I'll have to wait for the next paycheck to sign up, but will definitely register soon.  Got blown out by a hurricane last year but that's life.  This year it's gonna be great.  I even hear that Barry may be putting on a movie night.  Where's the popcorn???