a south wind

A forecast, if a forecast for five days out is to be believed, tells me I will probably be launching out of Cape Charles and heading north on Chesapeake Bay.  Using different apps and websites I am seeing a variety for wind estimates for Friday and Saturday, none of them including the 10-15 mph wind out of NW to NE that I would like to sail outside on the ocean from Chincoteague to Wachapreague.  They all do include lots of sunshine.  Nice!

Starting in Cape Charles is fine by me.  A very short drive, a nice secure ramp with the harbormaster's office nearby to keep an eye on the jeep/trailer, just a couple of days sailing to make Tangier Sound with some nice anchorages along the way.  The distance from Cape Charles to Tangier Island will be new water for Spartina's hull.

I've added waypoints to my gps going all the way to the top of the bay at Havre de Grace.  Whether I get that far will depend on weather and whim.  Deciding, for example, to head up the Choptank River for a nice lunch in Oxford adds a day to the trip vs. bypassing the river and heading straight up the bay.  Sometimes lunch is worth a day of sailing, particularly if it includes a beautiful anchorage off the Choptank River.  I'll go with whatever feels good.

My annual Virginia salt water fishing license has been renewed, though I don't expect to put a line in the water until I cross into Maryland waters where the season is open for striper fishing.  The Virginia license works in Maryland under a reciprocal arrangement.  

In the past I've carried two quart water bottles in the cockpit.  This time I will carry four, all with clips so they can be attached in place (I don't like things rolling around the boat, particularly when it is rough).

Stealing an idea from Curt's Annie, I've added a four foot line that goes around the base of the mast.  Now I can clip the line on to my harness when I go on the foredeck, a nice feature when the deck is wet or the water is rough.

Dried papaya spears were the last item added to the food supplies.  It's time to stop the madness, I've got plenty of food for about 14 days on the water.  Granola bars and fruit cups for breakfast, tuna salad with crackers and fruit cup for lunch, freeze dried meals (first night out will probably be my fave: beef stroganoff) and fruit cup for dinner.  Dried fruit, crackers, peanut butter and honey packets, mixed nuts and ginger candies for snacks.  And that doesn't even include crab cakes at Ruke's, a burger at Schooners in Oxford or a plate of oysters on the half shell on Tilghman Island.  I won't starve.