day twenty-three - Rock Hall

Sail off anchor 7:30, clear with steady north wind.  Warmer than the last couple of mornings, wearing foul weather bibs and boots.

Wing and wing down the creek.  Making 4.0.  8:00 jibe to port at marking 6, 2.9.  A deadrise offshore is collecting pots.  

Round up 8:15 outside the Rock Hall channel entrance.   Underpower and pass through the rock jetties.

Tie up at the boat ramp to get rid of some trash, then motor over to Rock Hall Landing Marina.  Tie up at the end of one of the piers and walk up to the marina office.  They have a deal with the Mariners Motel so get a slip and a room.  

A day of relaxing and a few chores.  Laundry, charge batteries, a trip to the grocery store.  And a fine dinner with friends MaryLou and Fred.  Back on the water tomorrow.

 3.11 NM

day twenty-two - Swan Creek revisited

7:50 motoring out of Still Pond.  Cold, with clear blue skies.  NW wind.

8:05 full sail.  A waterman out on the Bay power washes his crab pots, it's the end of the crabbing season.

9:00 open water, 9:20 the wind fills in.  I realize I forgot to turn on the gps so lose the early part of the track.  9:55 Worton Point, wind comes and goes, 4.3, 3.0, 3.6.  

After rounding the point, partially raise the centerboard for the downhill run on the Bay.  10:15 light overcast filling in.  11:00 can see the top of the structures of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  No traffic on the shipping channel.

11:30 a tug and barge heading up the channel come in to sight.  11:40 with Tolchester Beach to port making 4.3 with swells on the starboard quarter. 

12:35 Swan Point, jibe to the east and sail onto Swan Creek.

Great wind and calm water on the creek, I decide to spend the afternoon exploring.  We head southeast and tack along the marinas, then tack our way our way back to the northwest.

We head back towards the creek's opening, then wonderful tacks north to where the water bends northeast, then northwest and then back to the northeast again, old farms and farm houses along the way.  I get up to the last farmhouse, the buildings making me think it may have been a dairy farm at one time, then turn back down south with a gentle wind over the starboard quarter.  Anchor down 3:10.

19.87 NM

 

day twenty-one - blues skies instead of rain

Morning comes with gusty winds, cool temperatures and blue skies.  The forecast all-day rain slid through and to the north overnight.  Crisp morning light brightens the day.

It is the perfect day and perfect place to wait out the weather, there is a reason it is called Still Pond.

A hot breakfast with hot chocolate, some reading, a full afternoon NFL games on the radio, what more could I want.  The forecast is good for tomorrow.

 

December sailor, meals gone walkabout

 Light winds yesterday, with beautiful blue skies.  A friend from the oceanfront texted me she would be downtown.  Lunch maybe?  I told her I was going for a sail, she should join me.  Her reply was that she was dressed for a business meeting, not for sailing.  So I sailed, she met.  Fortunately for me her meeting came with a view of the river.  How nice is that?

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My order of a couple of dozen freeze dried meals for the winter trip has gone walkabout on me.  I placed my order with LDP Camping Foods, a supplier of freeze dried meals that I have used for the last couple of years.  My package was shipped last week via USPS.  Tracking shows that it arrived in Virginia Beach a couple of days ago.  It sat there until yesterday when it left for somewhere in southern Maryland.  This morning I rec'd a tracking text that it is now in Washington D.C.  I suspect the meals, once they get bored with traveling, will come back this way.  The trip is several weeks off, and I know that Marcus at LDP will make sure I get my meals.

day twenty - seeking shelter

Morning comes cold and dark.  Low 50s, low overcast.  East wind.  Drysuit and thermals.  Sail off anchor 7:05, making 2.5 and then 3.0 down the Bohemia River.  Light rain at 7:25, put on waterproof gloves and rain hat.  On the Elk River 7:30.

Lighter wind and motor sailing.  Rain forecast for today, heavy rain and strong winds for tomorrow.   The goal is to reach a sheltered anchorage.  8:15 grey all around.  A barge pushed by a tug headed north on the shipping channel.  Motorsailing with a helping tide.  

9:30 Grove Point to port, more wind and sailing, making 4.1 with wind over port quarter.  9:50 another barge and tug on the shipping channel, we parallel the channel on the green side.  

10:10 off the Sassafras River, choppy and less wind.  Rain rounding Still Point Neck.  

More wind as we turn southeast towards Still Pond entrance.  Then the surrounding cliffs do their job and block the wind.  Round up near a waterman pulling crab pots, bring down the main and jib.  Under power through the narrow, jetty-lined entrance to the very appropriately named Still Pond.  More rain.  Anchor down 11:35.

Get the boom tent up.  Time for a hot lunch, blueberry peach crisp and hot chocolate.

Cliffs all around.  Warm and comfortable and glad to be on calm water.  

Forecast shows more rain coming tonight.  Wind tomorrow, maybe rain, maybe not.

 15.43 NM

day nineteen - bored on the Bohemia

Cast off Sailing Associates 7:35.  Clear and  cool, with a light breeze.  Under power on the glassy Sassafras River.

8:20 can see a little wind ahead, raise the sails then round up to slip on the drysuit, colder than I thought.

Flocks of geese over the river, a lone eagles flies along the shore.

Wind at Ordinary Point, making 5.0 as the morning warms. Clear blue skies and a direct tack to Grove Point.  A deadrise comes off the Bay loaded with crab pots.  I wonder if it is the end of the season.

9:50 Grove Point, choppy and more wind.  10:10 out on Chesapeake Bay, waves rolling down from the north.  Red cliffs to starboard, 3.8 in the choppy water.

11:15 wind swinging to the northwest, which gives us a better tack to the Elk River.  Less waves as we sail under the lee of Turkey Point.  3.0 against the ebb tide.

The tide builds at the top of the Bay, and the wind falls off.  Struggle to make headway against the current.  Motorsailing at 12:30.  1:10 off Cabin John Creek.  1:30 better wind and sailing onto the Bohemia River.  

My third visit to the Bohemia River and despite my hopes I find it as I have found it before - a little on the boring side.  A wide river without much shape, there are few protected anchorages.  I sail up into the river just shy of Hack Point.  There are a couple of anchorages farther up the river, Little Bohemia Creek and Great Bohemia Creek, but they are near a highway bridge and do not appeal to me.  Maybe I'm tired, or maybe it is because of the deteriorating forecast for tomorrow and I don't want to get too far away from the Elk River, I turn back west at 3:30.  We round an unnamed point and put the anchor down near Veasey Cove.

23.58 NM

 

day eighteen - Georgetown

Morning comes cold and crisp, a wisp of fog hanging over the water.  Not a breath of wind.

Under power 7:20, the sun rising beyond point.  

Docked at Sailing Associates 7:55.  I find the family's younger generation is now running the place.  They make me feel welcome.

A time to catch up.  A shower and shave, laundry, charge the batteries.  A call home.  Get the log up to date.  Lunch at Fish Whistle.  Relax and enjoy.  Think about the time I have left, sketch out some ideas for a sailing plan.  Dinner at Fish Whistle, the only place open in the small town, and watch a Phillies game on the big screen tv.  Then back to SPARTINA for a good night's sleep.

2.03 NM

 

day seventeen - the winding river

Dawn comes with a chill,  53 degree morning.  Coldest morning so far.  I debate my outfit for the day.  Drysuit with socks and booties?  Foul weather bibs with cold damp booties?  Or foul weather bibs and nothing between my bare feet and the cold deck.  I choose bibs and the cold deck.  Raise the main just as the sun reaches over the trees.  Sail off anchor 7:40.

Cold, clear and windless.  Sail/drift to the creek entrance, then start the outboard to clear the way for a large cabin cruiser coming out behind me.  

8:05 feel a warm breeze out of the NW, 2.3.  Tacking into the wind.  9:15 Worton Point.  9:45 making 2.4 with wind on the beam.  10:45 off Still Pond.  

The wind disappears but the water is choppy, wonder if it is the tide coming out of the pond causing the rough water.  Under power.

11:30 sailing under a beautiful blue sky.

Wind comes and goes, sailing, motor sailing.  A tanker of some sort heads south on the shipping channel.  I sail north just to the east of the channel, plenty of room.

12:30 Howell Point, turn east on the Sassafras River.  Light winds that come and go.  2:00 Ordinary Point, sail through the narrow entrance to the winding river.

Just inside the point the wind fills in, perfect for following the curves of the river.  Wonderful sailing.

Decide to save money on a marina.  Anchor downWoodland Creek 3:50, the marinas just up river around the corner.  Geese fly overhead, the seasons are changing.

 19.98 NM

day sixteen - easy sailing

Sail off anchor 7:25, a deliberate drift across glassy calm water.  Wearing the drysuit against the chill.

A slight breeze fill, 1.4.  Flocks of geese fly overhead, an eagle flys along the trees on shore.  The sun crests the treelike, sails bathed in morning light.  A pleasant series of tacks out of Swan Creek.  Out of the creek 8:10, 2.9 sailing our way west to Swan Point.  8:40 off Swan Point, 1.3 on the choppy Chesapeake Bay.

9:00 making half a knot.  Motorsail at idle speed.  Sun breaks through the overcast, feels good.  Wind at 9:45, sailing at 1.8.  Overcast again.  

10:45 just off Tolchester Beach where the shipping channel curves east and comes up very close to the beach.  A little more wind and making 2.6.  11:30 sunny and warm, take off the drysuit, put out the little solar panel to charge the bluetooth speaker.  

12:30 making a pleasant 1.8 just east of the shipping channel.  1:00 turn towards Worton Creek.  Soon decided to head to Fairlee Creek just to the south of Worton.  2:30 rounding Shell Point.

2:55 gentle sail in the afternoon breeze through the narrow entrance of Fairlee Creek.

Sail south on the creek and it feels like a great afternoon daysail as I tack along the marinas.   Turn back north, anchor down near the moorings at 4:00.

16.24 NM