day three - a stationary low and the cold front

A clear night, cool and comfortable but with a wind out of the E instead of the forecast SE and stronger than expected.  A mild chop rocked Spartina till I fell asleep.

The wind, forecast to swing to the N in the early morning hours is pleasantly out of the SW as we sail off anchor, the sun edging over the horizon.  Weather radio talks of a low pressure system off of the Carolinas and a cool front moving in from the NW.  There will be wind.   We sail out around the oyster farm and find a stronger breeze off Port Isobel, soon making 3.5 knots to the N.  By 7:30 making 4.8 on a pretty morning, the water tower at Crisfield showing on the horizon. With this weather I begin thinking about sailing the length of Tangier Sound and making the lower Honga River by late afternoon.

By 8 a.m. Tylerton on Smith Island is visible to the NW, a small wave breaks over the bow.  The wind begins swinging and Spartina's hull pushes through more waves.  We round up and tuck in a reef and I slip on the foul weather bibs.  

The wind slacks and I shake out the reef just after 9:00 and we find ourselves working against both a light north wind and the outgoing tide.  Clouds move in overhead.  The wind comes back and the waves build.  Off the mouth of the Little Annemessex River we make a port tack out into the sound.  Big waves roll in from the NW, two and three and a time, and the wind is gusting out of the NNE.  We tack back and forth, rounding up to the big waves and rounding up into the gusts.  

We are in near the shallows at the southern end of Janes Island, the water is choppy and I begin thinking about possible destinations.  The Manokin River, the Big Annemessex maybe.  Tacking out from shore the gusts and waves build, and I realize I should seek shelter.  I drop the main, wrap it tightly and then fall off under mizzen and jib towards the Little Annemessex.  Still outside of the river I see we are in a field of crab pot buoys, something I had completely missed sailing into the wind and chop.

Just inside the river we round up and drop anchor near Long Point next to Old House Cove.  I look at my options and consider Old House Cove, but it is shallow and there are submerged pilings near the entrance and some sort of sunken structure inside cove.  I have anchored there in the past but only on calm days when the hazards were visible.  I choose to head SE across the river under mizzen and jib, dropping anchor near a little creek just inside the mouth of Jenkins Creek.  

It's just after 12:00 on an NFL Sunday.  A nice afternoon to relax, have a good lunch, nap, listen to some football and think about the sailing plan.  I put 19.8 nm in the notebook.  The forecast for tomorrow does not sound promising.

day two - windless

The morning suns reaches over the tops of the pines and paints Spartina's sails orange.  A clear morning after a star-filled night.  A hint of a breeze carries us out of the cove, then disappears.  The forecast calls for no wind until evening.

We motor due north towards Tangier, the water reflecting the sky.  Clouds slide over the Bay from the west, the outboard drones at idle speed.  A deadrise working crab pots is a white fleck on the horizon. Three pelicans skim the surface of the water.  Another hint of wind, but nothing more than the suggestion.

Watts Island, once large enough to support a plantation but now only a narrow strip of sand cover with trees filled with nesting birds, comes in to sight to the northwest at 9:30.  A few minutes later I look through the binoculars to find a water tower ahead and though I can't make it out from this distance I know there is a huge crab painted on the side.

It is early afternoon when we pass Tangier Light, then soon the sand spit that curves around Cod Harbor.  A puffy white cloud hangs over the island.  Two men work on a small skiff, running between a deadrise and black floats spread across the water.  An oyster farm.  It was not there when I passed through last fall, but I had read about it in the spring.  I wave and the men run the skiff over near Spartina.  I asked about the oysters and they tell me the have already raised some to market size.  I wish them well and motor on.  

Reaching the channel into the village I see it is a busy day on the water.  Workboats - deadrises and buy boats, crews offloading bushel baskets of crabs - are using the channel, and so are small private boats, more than I have seen in the past.  It is only when I pull up to Milton Parks' docks and see them nearly full that I realize it is the weekend, a busy day for the island.  I motor up to the last spot on the main dock, getting there ahead of two power boats and a larger sailboat, and tie up.  Mr. Parks is nowhere to be found so I walk down the lane to check on the fuel dock and restaurants.  Coming back to the marina I find Mr. Parks and his little scooter out at the end of the pier.  He tells me I look thin and asks if I've been eating ok.  I'm just fine, I tell him, and give him the five dollars for the use of his dock.  

I walk back down the lane, crowded with weekend traffic off the ferries, and head to my favorite restaurant only to find it full.   So I choose the one across the path and order a soft-shell crab sandwich and a glass of iced tea.  An enjoyable lunch to be sure.  Afterwards I top off the fuel can and cast off, making my way through the crab shanties lining the channel.

A crab scraper works the shallows behind the shanties, dragging a scrape across the shallow sea grass and pulling out the crabs, the waterman waving as we pass by.  On an incoming tide Spartina motors across the sand flats between Tangier and Port Isobel, the islet to the east that is home to an environmental center, and we drop anchor beyond the new oyster farm in Cod Harbor.  Putting out the anchor I realize it is marked Cod Harbor on the charts but I don't think I've ever heard anyone on Tangier refer to it by that name.

The water over the sand flats is warm as I jump in for a swim.  I am glad to be away from the weekend crowd in the village, finding the quiet peaceful waters of the harbor a joy.  

An afternoon nap, freeze dried beef stroganoff for dinner, then an evening of reading.  I write 21.5 nm in my notebook.  The forecast is for tomorrow is wind.  Finally.

day one - lights winds, dolphins

A couple of North Carolina fisherman sleeping in the back of a truck by night and fishing for spot on the Bay during the day come over as I rig Spartina at the ramp in Cape Charles.  They see the gear going in Spartina - sleeping bag, water tight duffels and food - and wonder where I'm going.  North, I tell them.

We cast off just after 9:00, a crystal clear morning, a breath of wind at best.  We motor out of the harbor, past the old buy boat and the big sailboats at the marina.  Out beyond the jetties and sandbar I raise main, mizzen and jib but there is no wind for them to catch. Under power.

Mid-morning a breeze fills in and we make about two knots, then more wind, and then none.  Heading north on the bayside of the Delmarva Peninsula I look east to the pretty white beaches backed by tall pines on Savage Neck.   A little wind late morning as we pass the entrance to Mattawoman Creek and I'm happy to make two knots, just happy to be on the water.  

More wind by noon, clear green water and blue skies.  White puffy clouds over the peninsula seem to lead the way.  I see fish feeding so I put out the trolling line.  Realizing it is just menhaden schooling on the surface, I can see their silver bodies flashing as Spartina passes over the school.  Back under power by 1:00 with Nassawadox Point in sight. The wind comes and goes.  I wear my broad-brimmed panama hat against the sun but there is a hint of fall in the air and it is cool and comfortable.

There are a few dolphin off the point, then a few more and soon there are dozens off to the NE jumping and flapping their tails on the surface.  I sail in their direction and a few peel off from the school and swim towards and then under Spartina.  Beautiful.

By 3:30 we are approaching the mouth of Occohannock Creek.  Just off to the side is Johnson Cove where we sail in to find it is very shallow but well protected.  The board touches bottom a few times and we drift back toward the entrance and I drop the anchor near the north shore.  Later that evening a man and a woman come out on a small boat to check their crab pots.  They motor over to make sure I'm ok, not often seeing sailboats in the cove.  The man suggests I move out towards the center, right where the crab pots are, to make sure I don't end up on the bottom at low tide.  I thank him for his advice and move about thirty yards out.  

It's a pretty evening.  Freeze dried biscuits and gravy for dinner, surprisingly good.  There's a light SE wind.

I jot down 20.9 nautical miles in my notebook.

friends on the water

Webb Chiles did a few days of local sailing down in New Zealand's Bay of Islands.  He described the winds as "spotty," but as you can see the scenery was beautiful.  You can read his log here.

And the water tribe's Blackbeard Challenge is under way on the sounds of North Carolina.  I believe that is Dawn Patrol with friends Paul and Alan aboard in the photo above.  They have a reef or even maybe two reefs tucked in.  Weather has been rough.  I found this report from Dawn:

Some tribes are on the move early this morning. It's still dark out, and has been raining most of the night. SOS and DWSB came into CP1 at 1:15 am and still camped. All others took shelter from the wind a little earlier last night, Marine weather for Pamlico Sound:

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EDT THIS MORNING 

Today... N Winds 15 To 20 Kt With Frequent Gusts To 25 Kt This Morning...Becoming Nw 10 To 15 Kt Late This Morning And Afternoon. Waves 2 To 3 Ft This Morning...Then 1 To 2 Ft. Showers Likely This Morning. Isolated Tstms. A Chance Of Showers This Afternoon. Vsby 1 To 3 Nm Until Afternoon. 

Tonight... Sw Winds 10 To 15 Kt. Waves 1 Ft. A Chance Of Showers... Mainly In The Evening.

steamer day

Sometimes I think there are just two perfect meals.  Steamed

clams and artichokes, and grilled steaks and artichokes.

Steak is on the menu for tomorrow night.

a couple photos from the GoPro

Still sorting gear, downloading photos.  Above is the day

we headed into Tilghman Island with some rough weather on 

the way, below is dropping the main outside of the Little

Annemessex after finding strong wind and big waves, each

coming from a different direction.

back

Back from Hatteras where wind and waves and sometimes questionable judgement (above) were the only problems.  Some over wash from the ocean occurred, but that is not uncommon for the Outer Banks.  It's back to unpacking Spartina and cleaning of gear, which I didn't get a chance to do before heading south for the storm.  Now that I get to reflect on the 12 days of sailing, it was a great trip.  Hope to start the logs in a few days.

the route

Here's the route from Garmin's HomePort software, a little bit overt 300 statute miles.  I lost two and one-half days to weather.  There were seven or eight days of small craft warnings as a stationary low hung off the Carolina coast.  It retrospect, with more typical weather I would have made it all the way to the top of the bay and then back to St. Michaels.  Good trip.  

a few photographs

home, briefly

Back home after a great couple of weeks.  Twelve days on the water, 300+ miles, with some really interesting weather.  It was either seven or eight days with small craft warnings generated by a stationary low off the Carolinas.  Lots of waves and strong winds out of the northeast.  One day without small craft warnings had gusts in the 30 mile per hour range.

Weather unfortunately cancelled the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival in St. Michaels.  The crew at the museum was great helping me get Spartina set up for the weather while I retrieved the jeep and trailer from Cape Charles, all while they were preparing for the effects of a hurricane.  

Speaking of hurricanes, I'm packing my bags to head down to Hatteras tomorrow to see what Joaquin does.  Hopefully not much.