Chesapeake Bay

September 25, 26 & 27

Friday 25
Chartered a Gemini 105m catamaran (10.5M 35ft). Departed Back Creek Annapolis 12:00 noon on Friday with Vicki and Kat 18nm south and west for Galesville on the West River. Easy sailing while we got familar with a different sailing style from  mono-hulls.

Passed Thomas Point light a classic Chesapeake light house on stilts and tacked with 10 to 15 knot breeze out of the east to West River and docked at the Thursday's resturant transient dock about 5:30 PM for beer and appetizers.

Leave the dock in darkness after a stroll along the waterfront about 8:00 PM and anchor just outside the mooring field.

Saturday
We had set the anchor for 10:1 scope typical for the Delaware but overkill for the Chesapeake which resulted the next morning with an anchor so well set that we needed to power over the anchor to tug it loose in opposition to the set angle.
Depart Galesville about 8:00 AM for a 25nm cruise east to St Micheals on the Delmarva peninsula. The Coast Guard has posted a small craft advisory with winds 15 to 20 knot from the east with sustained gusts 20 to 25 knot, and 5ft short period swells.
The Gemini was in its element, tacking 60 to 30 degrees off the wind at 10 knot speed over ground (SOG). We probably ran more tacks than we needed to enter the Eastern Bay at Bloody Point for a long slog under power with dogleg turns and narrow channels to St. Micheals.

Dock at St. Micheals Marina about 4:00 PM and meet-up with Vanessa and Danaka with Alex their driver to overnight on the boat before they leave at 5:00 AM for a 10k race on the Delaware side of Delmarva.
Beer and crabcakes at one of the many crab resturants Saturday night. Throughout our trip we have been running through a maze of crabbers and crab pots.

Sunday 27
Heavy rain overnight and misty rain in the morning. Depart St. Michaels about 8:00 AM for our 25nm return to Annapolis, spotting the channel markers in Miles River through a slowly clearing mist before turn west into the eastern bay, with a 10 knot breeze from the west. Try some tacks and make slow progress and eventualy power sail past Bloody Point light into the Chesapeake.

Set a port tack with 5 to 10 knot breeze from the west on a heading northwest to Annapolis, and hold the same tack to the entrance to Back Creek.
Drop sails as we motor into the Severn River and make the turn to Back Creek with a stop at the fuel and sanitary pump-out, then return to the charter company slip about 5:30 PM

A great weekend and we learned a lot skippering a catamaran including its limitation, and benifits. Perhaps a longer charter next time.

The most useful item I brought apart from the Embassy Cruising Guide and Charts was the new Stiener bonoculars with built-in compass, we could easily get a compass bearing to bouys and points.

September 2009

Wednesday September 2, 2009
Afternoon sail, high 70's F, 5 to 10 knots shifting from north to east.
Sail on a broad reach with the ebb to Darby Creek, then beam and close reach slalom tack nuns and cans crossing the channel PA to NJ to PA to Harrah's.

Begin return and wind has shift to out of the east and with well trimmed full sail have negative progress against the ebb current. Penn Terminal dock cranes are overtaking my little boat. Drop the jib, motor on, sheet in the main to produce a clean airfoil with streaming tell-tales, and motor-sail return to Essington.

A 5 to 10 knot breeze has more power with denser fall air than the light summer air. In a few weeks with air temperature in the 60's F there may be enough dense air in a 5 to 10 knot breeze to overcome the tidal current.




Friday September 4, 2009
Afternoon sail low 80's F, 5 to 10 knot breeze out of the northeast broad and beam reach to Eddystone. Tack between channel and PA to return on close reach and close haul.

Marina neighbor leaving as I return.

Sunday September 13, 2009

Late morning sail, high 70's F, 5 to 10 knot breeze steady from the north gusting to 15. Sail close hauled and close reach to PHL against the ebb and return close hauled with the ebb. Dock against the ebb, cut the motor as the bow approaches the end of the dock tee and coast snug to the floating dock. Gusts build for next half hour then the breeze completely dies.
Early fall sky over Little Tinicum.