Reedville

 Anchored near the spot where Tom Hickley and I rode out tropical storm Michael 4 years ago. Much more peaceful today. Very little wind on the Bay today and I ended up motoring all the way. Left Solomons where I had spent a couple of nights following a really great sail over from Oxford on the Eastern Shore. Satisfying in that I sailed off the anchor, wing and wing down the Tred Avon, a close reach on part of the Choptank, then a long run downwind. Finished up with another reach into Solomons, where I finally doused the sails and motored into the harbor.

Yesterday I went to the Calvert Marine Museum, which I enjoyed immensely. Especially the small craft exhibit. I have decided I really need a Hooper's Island draketail workboat. Not sure what I would do with it in Vermont, but it would look cool!

I was tempted to sleep in this morning, but the next couple of days would have kept me in Solomons or had me slogging to windward so I decided to set out. There ended up being very little wind, in an area where I often get slammed. And now I am in Virginia, just like that. I am thinking about staying here tomorrow, then possibly going across to Tangier on Monday.

Cheers, Charlie

Oxford

 Yesterday resulted in more great sailing! I motored out of Weems Creek over to the fuel dock in Annapolis, where the rather snarky manager was not happy with my purchase of 6 and a half gallons of diesel. That figure represented my useage from Atlantic Highlands and resulted from motoring at various points when the wind fizzled out, as well as thru the C&D canal, where sailing is prohibited. At any rate, this worthy informed me that there would be a twenty dollar charge to fill my 2 five gallon water jugs. I declined the opportunity and shoved off. I motored past the mooring field and hoisted sail in a nice northwesterly breeze. Headed down the Bay in the company of several Navy vessels and a slew of commercial traffic. A few hours later I headed up the Choptank River and eventually to the Tred Avon. I thought about entering the tight harbor of Oxford under sail, as the wind served well  but decided against it. I am older, and ostensibly wiser, right? Dropped anchor in a really lovely town. Tons of boats, and today I went poking around in the Cutts and Case Shipyard. This yard is just fantastic, especially for wooden boat afficianados. Walking around town was great too. This is part of Talbot County and it's most famous inhabitant was none other than Frederick Douglass, whose autobiography I happen to be reading. So there is a lot of history here, much of it very painful. And yet, great natural beauty and richly prolific with life.

I will likely head back across the Bay tomorrow for Solomon's Island. Weather looks good.

Best regards. Charlie

More rain....

 Today has actually been pretty decent, but the humidity is about 200%. Sweat just dripping off with the slightest exertion. It really is an order of magnitude worse than Vermont. But being completely free of minor aches and pains makes it acceptable.

This morning I walked into town and took in the veritable smorgasbord of historic architecture that constitutes old Annapolis. Love it! Also went into the Naval Academy and did a tour of the visitors center. One thing I noticed walking around the waterfront was that there was a lot of empty dockspace and vacant moorings. I guess I'm just early to the party. Ok with me. Translates into plenty of anchoring room.

I just finished doing some water management chores. Dealing with drinking water is a bit of a pain, but critical. I have about 25 plastic containers holding a couple quarts each and available for use in the galley. There's 20 gallons available in a stainless steel tank, but it often has little chunks floating around in it, which results in howls of outrage from the crew. So that is used for washing, rinsing, tooth brushing, etc. Incidentally, I drink it with no ill effect. The I have 3 five gallon containers whic I store in the bilge. So, I used those to top off the small containers, and tomorrow, when I stop to get fuel, I will fill those with nice fresh water. Try not to let anything sit for too long

If weather looks good I will probably head out in the morning.

Best to all, Charlie

Annapolis

 Hey everyone!

Had a really nice sail down from Georgetown, running mostly wing and wing. Clear and sunny with the rain in the rear view mirror. One of the great things about Annapolis is just how many cool sailboats there are. Quite a few were out on the Bay as I came sailing under the bridge. 

Been here a couple of nights and will likely hang around longer. Did some varnishing today and got the holding tank pumped out. I the replaced the vent hose, which had gotten permeated with foul odors. Not good. I tried to get an inline filter for that application but was unsuccessful after a 4 mile walk to West Marine. Chandleries these days are a joke. What they stock are things like clothing, chrome plated drink holders, and shot glasses with cute little anchors on them.

Anyways, I won't go into the details of working on the sanitation system, but suffice to say it has been unpleasant and frustrating.

I was hoping to get a visit from my niece and her family, but alas, they have come down with Covid. No symptoms and they are young.

Best  Charlie

Rain day

 Wow. It really rains in these parts. Never made it off the boat today. It did stop around 4, but rather than row a considerable distance I elected to do some buffing and waxing. Gotta protect the gelcoat and keep her looking good. Did the cabin trunk. Bailed the dinghy which was literally on the verge of sinking. And, something dreadful happened today, at which I am at a loss to explain. White Seal developed a leak into the cabin, a situation which is totally unacceptable. I actually saw the drip, and was suitably horrified. It is in way of the companionway hatch frame, which I had removed and rebedded a mere 2 years ago. There is, happily, a silver lining. The drip is directly over the galley sink. However, if one is doing the dishes during a downpour, they should expect one drop per minute on their head. Truth be told, there are a couple of other very small leaks when there is a deluge. When things dry out I will address them. 

Supposed to be a bit drier tomorrow. Hope to get ashore then.

Cheers, Charlie

Sassafras River

 Hi everyone!

I see I haven't posted for several days. It's due to a combination of being busy sailing and not having internet. At the moment I am anchored i Georgetown, Maryland. It's a hot day with very little wind. After spending a night in Cape May, I decided to grab the opportunity to travel up Delaware Bay. Those who have passed this way know it can be an ugly body of water. Strong tidal currents, heavy shipping traffic, and only a couple of places to seek refuge, make for a tough 56 miles. The tide was going to be perfect  and the wind would make for a beam reach, so I could't resist. And I was very reluctant to hang out on the Jersey coast with peak hurricane season here.

I used the engine for about an hour, which got me through Cape May, through the short canal, and out into the bay a bit. I went with a full main and the big genoa. It was blowing up to about 18 or 20 and made for a great ride. There were a couple of sailboats that were too big to fit under the bridges on the canal and I met up with them. We stayed more or less together, with White Seal pulling ahead of the smaller one, a Beneteau of around 50 feet in length. That was satisfying, but the the wind died and they unrolled their genoa all the way, pulling ahead. Eventually, we all resorted to our engines and they left me behind.

Eventually, around 3:00, I entered the C&D canal, which can be a bit nerve wracking. It accomodates large ships, and believe me, caution is the order of the day. But I did not encounter any, and made it without incident to Chesapeake City, where I anchored.

This swret small town is home to one of Mary's childhood friends, Clara Childers, now married to Matt Brinkerhoff. They had been forewarned, and so, the next morning I enjoyed breakfast at their house. I decided to stay anchored where I was for the day, and sleep and read. Hey, I'm retired. Clara and Matt came to visit the boat, late in the afternoon. It was great to see them.

The next morning I eased carefully out into the canal and motored for a couple hours to Turkey Point, where the Bay becomes wide enough to sail. The wind was light, and on the nose, so I started beating to windward. Picking my way around crab pots, I entered the Sassafras and sailed to the entrance of Turner Creek. It was a very narrow but adequate channel and once inside offered complete protection. There was one other cruising boat. I spent the night there and took a couple trips ashore to ckeck out the small but lovely county park. I am in the south now. Different trees, architecture, boats, people, etc. A confused Marylander was flying the Confederate flag on his crab boat. Maybe his ancestors had wanted Maryland to secede. I passed a Grade A plantation a ways back and some lesser examples here on the Sassafras. More to come. Crummy weather coming and I am looking forward to getting all the salt rinse off. White Seal is covered with it. Hoping to get ashore and score some fresh food. Last of the oranges had gone bad. Must. Avoid. Scurvy.

Best to all, Charlie

PS I was hoping to get some photos or video on here, but it is simply beyond my capabilities. Very frustrating! I can navigate a sailboat for tens of thousands of miles but getting a photo online is just not possible! Johannah showed me, but obviously the lesson didn't stick.

Jersey Shore sleighride

 Well, that was fun! I slept during the heat of the day today after the excitement of charging down the coast yesterday. The passage of a cold front late Tuesday brought a favorable west breeze off the land and Ron and I took advantage of it. We were underway at 0615 and motorsailed for an hour to get well clear of Sandy Hook. There were several other sailboats and we smoked them all except for a big beautiful Hinckley. We were keeping up with them till there was a lull in the wind and they pulled ahead. The forecast had been for 10-15  with gusts to 25 but in reality it was 15 to 25 and eventually going up to 30. A single reef was used at the start along with the working jib. At the middle of the afternoon we were really punishing the boat and I doused the jib and replaced it with the storm jib. The seas at that point were quite confused and as Ron will attest we were getting soused with large dollops of seawater. We also had a whale that breached nearby. The point of sail had turned from a beam reach to closehauled as the coastline trended southwesterly. I was wearing my tether as I moved about the decks. Much to my surprise we passed Atlantic City before nightfall. After sunset the wind dropped off and we motorsailed the rest of the way to Cape May, arriving there at about 0100. We elected to spend the night just jogging slowly back and forth with just the single reefed mainsail and a line tied loosely to the tiller, a combo that has worked well in the past. And while we were motorsailing we used the autopilot which worked flawlessly. But we hand steered during the 70 or so miles when it was really cranking. Don't yet trust the autopilot to handle that. It was really great to have Ron Rost along. He made what would have been a grueling trip into a real treat. And his music! He brought his mountain dulcimer and recorder along. What a treat! Thanks Ron! I dropped him at the dock this morning so he could make his way home.

Best to all  Charlie