Memorial Day Weekend '14

Phillips Creek on the Little Choptank River

We had an extra long weekend, four days, because of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday and neither of us work on Fridays.  I had hoped to work on the boat after work during the week and be ready to depart on Friday morning but due to weather and my job things didn't pan out.  Fortunately, I'm a flexible kinda guy so we adjusted our plans and spent Friday making repairs and grocery shopping.

Last weekend we had sailed (?) up to the Rhode River and had problems with the Mainsail jamming in the mast.  This was an absolute "must fix" so we attacked it first.  There was a pretty stiff breeze blowing out of the NNW at perhaps ten knots but we park in the slip stern first so the wind was coming across our port bow.  This was what we wanted for playing with the sail so we lucked out there.  We have a "mast climber" (click here) which is a solo style bosuns chair that uses mountain climbing gear to hoist yourself up a rope.  It's an inch-worm operation where you slide your feet up, lock the bottom line-jam on the rope, stand up and slide the top line-jam up, lock that and then sit down and repeat the operation.  Check out the link for videos and a better explanation.  We add a line (the spinnaker halyard) attached to the chair for an added measure of safety.  I was getting ready to go up the mast when Cheri mentioned that she really wanted to do it.  I hesitated but decided that probably made more sense since the person on deck has to crank the sail in and out and handle the safety line.

Once we got it rigged up Cheri went about 2/3 of the way up the mast, just above the first spreader.  This was where the sail was jamming and it was her job to stuff her hand in the slot while I cranked out the sail.  She had to work her way up the mast while the sail came out and eventually ended up above the second spreader, way up there.  After a number of attempts we managed to get the sail out but it continued to bunch up when we rolled it back in.  I ended up adjusting the topping lift so the boom was supported at the height it wanted to be when the sail was fully out but this didn't have any effect.  Then I tried the halyard, the line used to raise the sail.  I noticed then that there was slack in the sail at the bottom of the track in the mast.  It wasn't hoisted up all the way and this was causing the sail to bunch up along the mast and jam.  Once we had it hoisted up correctly the sail ran in and out much better although it still tends to bunch up about half way up the mast.  We suspect it lost its shape when we tore it last Spring and should have it re-sewn to get it to lay flatter.  So our problem seems to have had several causes but by far the real culprit was incorrect halyard tension.  This whole operation took the better part of the day and Cheri was up the mast for more than 2.5 hours.

We got our laundry done, went grocery shopping, tended the garden and prepared the boat for an early departure on Saturday.  The alarm was set for 0630 and we were under way by 0930.  That's a record for us, just can't seem to shake out any earlier than that.  Once out in the Bay we found slim pickins for wind, mostly 5 knots NW, which is barely enough to get us moving.  We ghosted across the Chesapeake at about 2 knots.  It was mellow and we were in no big hurry.  As we got over towards the Eastern Shore, approaching what used to be Sharps Island, I glanced behind us and

found a rather large freighter headed straight for us.  I got on the VHF radio and hailed him to make sure he saw us.  The freighters Captain said he was a little late in making his turn out towards the middle of the Bay.  I asked him if he preferred us to hold our course and he asked if we could head due East.  Uhm, sure, no problem.  We fired up the engine and ran in an easterly direction at about 7 knots.

Once he was past I got back on course and found that the wind had changed and was now coming out of the SE, just like that.  It wasn't blowing any stronger and was coming out of the direction we wanted to go so I furled the sails (yes, even the Main) and we motored into the Little Choptank River at 6.5 knots.  The entrance zigs and zags for quite a ways and there were a buncha boats headed up the same direction as us.  Fortunately they all peeled off for anchorages closer to the mouth of the river and we continued up to Phillips Creek, way back there.  Look for the blue arrow in the picture of the chart.  That's where we anchored for the weekend.

When we arrived there were only two other boats ahead of us.  We set our anchor, using the Bruce after the other failed to dig in.  As we settled in for a quiet weekend fourteen other boats came streaming in together and rafted up as close to us as they comfortably could.  They actually set up three separate rafts but they all partied together. Loud music, yelling and screaming, sky rockets and a starter canon were their contribution to the peaceful anchorage.  There was also a large party going on  at one of the few houses on shore and they added amplified outdoor music and large fireworks to the mix.  Everything quieted down by 0130 the next morning though and best of all, the rafts broke up and departed at 0730 on Sunday.  Once they were gone we were back down to two boats in the anchorage and peace and quiet.

We launched the dinghy and rowed over to a small island where we just drifted up on shore and sat there taking in the beauty of the area.  Well, the real reason for sitting there was to enjoy a lemonade and bourbon over lotsa ice with a really good cigar.  By the time we finished our cigars it was mid-afternoon and getting pretty warm.  We rowed back to the boat and kicked back for a few hours.  While we were sitting there an Island Packet 40 motored by and anchored in closer to shore.  We don't know any other IP owners in this area but I figured we cold dinghy over later on and say hi.

Around 1700 the day had cooled down enough for us to venture out again.  We chose to head over to the northern shore of the cove we were anchored in to see if the fishing was any good.  On our way we went by the other IP but didn't see anyone in the cockpit so we continued on our way.  When we got about 50 yards off shore we threw out our lines.  In these back creeks we were expecting to find smaller fish like Spot and Croakers.  Within two minutes my bait got hit hard, the pole bent over at a sharp angle into the water then veered off to the right.  Our boat spun around and followed where ever this beast decided to go.  It was a Nantucket Slayride in miniature.  The pull was hard and frantic, easily the best fight I've experienced.  Every now and then it would swim under our boat and we'd catch a glimpse of something big and light colored but we had no idea what it was.  We also had no idea what to do with it because we didn't bring anything along to handle hooking a whale.  We decided the best thing would be to row/drag over to the IP40, the closest boat, and ask them for assistance.  The beast seemed to know where we wanted to go because it pulled us in that direction.  I used the oar on the other side just to keep the boat headed straight.  When we got to the boat we knocked on the hull and the owner and his wife came out.  We explained what was going on and Jim jumped into our dinghy without hesitation.  We pulled the beast in and found it to be a Skate about 3' across it's wings.  At that same instant it broke the line and took off.  We didn't get a picture of the skate but it was similar in size to those in the photo I stole off the internet.  Maybe a little bigger.  I'm not kiddin'!  That booger towed us, two adults in a 10' boat.

Once he got away we stood there chatting with Terry and Jim for about an hour.  They invited us onto their boat, gave us the ten cent tour and a glass of some really nice vino and we sat around and chatted some more until somebody realized the sun was going down.  These are some really nice folks and we hope to meet up with them again later this year.

Back at our boat we cooked up some Tilapia with rice, drank some Sangria, watched a movie and collapsed.  The next morning we had French Toast for breakfast after waving goodbye to our new friends as they headed back to Annapolis.  We also packed up and got underway around 1030.  We motored out to green # 3 before unfurling the Genoa and Main.  The wind was light, 5 to 8 knots SW but that worked fine for trolling so Cheri dropped in a line and I manned the fishfinder.  We had fun cruising along at 3 to 4 knots and watching the fish ignore us.  Crossing the deeper section at the mouth of the (big) Choptank we could see some nice sized fish hanging out along the wall of the riverbed.  I was thinking we could continue trolling out into the Bay and follow the Susquehanna trench north to look for more.  As we approached the west wall though the wind instantly increased to 18 knots and held so we put away the fishing gear and sailed home the rest of the way at a glorious 7.5 knots.  After limping along for hours it's so exhilarating when the wind cranks up, the boat lays over 15 degrees and takes off.  Pure joy.  From the middle of the Chesapeake off the Choptank River we stayed on one compass point the entire way into Herring Bay.  As we passed #1 the wind fizzled out so we furled the sails and motored in the rest of the way.  Pulled into our slip around 1630 for an end to a really wonderful weekend.

Liberated From Suffering

 Chart of Rhode River

5/17/14 - This weekend was simply beautiful.  Blue skies with fair weather clouds, temperatures in the low 70's.  We decided to head out for an over-nighter.  Left our slip around 1030 and motored down to Herrington Harbour South to get some fuel.  When we arrived there was a Sport Fisherman tied up to the fuel dock, smack in the center, hogging the entire pier.  Winds were light so we executed a 180 degree turn just past the fuel dock and patiently waited for him to clear out.  After about 15 minutes the Harbor Master hollered over for us to pull in behind.  There was only about 20' of dock available so we'd be sticking out 25' into the lane.  OK, we can do that.

We gently glided in behind the dock-hog, tied up and asked for a fill-up on diesel.  Current price was $3.58/gallon, best prices on the Bay.  We took 109.365 gallons for a total of $392.37.  This should last us into next Winter so that's not as bad as it sounds.  By the time we finished refueling it was noon.

We headed out into Herring Bay and found light, confused winds, 0-10 knots, swinging between W and E and back again.  Being the masochists that we are we tried sailing for a while but eventually gave up and motored north to West River.  I should point out here that this was our first sail since last September and we experienced some difficulty getting the Mainsail unfurled.  It was bunching up in the slot as it came out and took several attempts before it finally pulled out.  Grrrr.  Especially grrrr considering that we only sailed for about an hour before giving up because of the fickle wind.

We motored into the West River and wound our way up into the Rhode River (see picture above).  We'd been here last year and found it to be a beautiful and quiet spot.  It's only about 2.5 hours from our slip so it's convenient for those last minute departures.  At the north end of the river is a great anchorage with several small islands.  In the very center is what used to be an island, actually called High Island, but is now completely submerged just below the surface.  We scooted around the south end of this and anchored just to the SE of Big Island in 8' of water.

While Cheri was getting dinner ready I serviced the diesel heater, thinking we might need it to keep warm that night.  I cleaned the injector, vacuumed out the combustion chamber and replaced the diffuser screen.  When I fired it up I got a "low voltage" error and the fuel pump would not come on.  Tried resetting it but no-go.  In the end we were plenty warm that night but this is now something to add to the "List of Repairs and Other Stuff To Do".

For dinner we ate in the cockpit and had Rockfish fillets cooked in butter (mmm, mmm, mmmmm!).  Afterwards we sat out on the bow with cigars and Sangria and watched the sun go down.

The next morning we got up reasonably late and had blueberry pancakes with eggs and coffee for breakfast.  Another beautiful morning with a more promising breeze of about 10 knots steady out of the East.  Around noon we pulled anchor and headed back home.  Just outside of the West River we headed into the wind and attempted to raise the Mainsail, looking forward to an excellent sail home.  No such luck.  The sail repeatedly jammed in the slot, worse than before, and after about 27 attempts I gave up.  We motored home at about 7.5 knots with "Grumpy Tom" at the helm.  He quickly recovered when Cheri suggested a cigar and a glass of Sangria.  Her Sangria recipe is awesome!  The cigars were good too.

We got back to our slip around 1545.  Still had plenty of time to finish up some chores and add a few more items to my list of repairs.  I suspect the problem with the heater is a fuse that's buried in behind the Nav Station.  The problem with the Mainsail is something else.  I'll need to go about halfway up the mast and try to keep it from bunching up as Cheri winches it out from the cockpit.  Once we have it out we'll make sure everything is properly aligned and tensioned and then try rolling it up again.  The last time we sailed was back in September when Chris and Trish came to visit.  We had a problem with the topping lift letting go and I suspect I did a poor job of rolling the sail up that day.  It has been bunched up for about nine months now so hopefully that's all the problem is.  The mast is straight and the rigging is properly adjusted.  The only other thing I can think is that the sail has lost it's shape since being shredded last June.  Uhm.........let's not go down that path just yet until everything else has been eliminated.  Seems like it's always one thing or another.  Sure would be nice to have an empty "List of Repairs and OSTD" for a while.  Just once.  But then it wouldn't be "Life on a Boat", it'd be "Nirvana" or something.

All About Our Anchors

On our boat we currently have two anchors mounted at the bow.  One is a 25 pound S1600 Danforth which is a little undersized for our boat.  It's attached to a 20' long 3/8" chain lead and 230' of 3/4" rope (rode in sailor speak).  Actually, according to Wikipedia, "rode" is a term for both rope or chain or both when it's attached to an anchor.  The rope is marked off in 30' lengths with green flags that are woven into the braid.  This is a nice set-up that is easy to clean when pulled up off the bottom and when it's set it holds well.  We've used it to hold us in 30 to 40 knot winds that blew all night from all points of the compass and it never broke free.  This anchor has served us well in most situations on the Chesapeake Bay where the bottom is mostly mud.  The few times it's failed, just wouldn't bite in, was when the bottom was covered with dead leaves over clay and oyster shells.  Our other anchor is a 44 pound Bruce attached to 300' of 3/8" chain.  The chain was originally marked in 30' lengths with different colored wire ties but they got brittle and fell off and then you couldn't tell how much chain you had out.  While the boat was on the hard at Hinckley last Winter I painted 1' lengths of chain with florescent yellow and green every 25', one band of yellow for every 25' and one band of green for every 100'.  The Bruce has been very dependable and always digs in.  The only reason I don't use it all the time is because the chain drags up mud that has to be washed off before being stowed in the chain locker.

We have a deck wash-down system that includes an anemic water pump that feeds a hose up to a deck fitting at the bow.  We plug a plastic 50' coiled hose into this and use it to rinse off the anchor and chain as it comes up.  It's a pretty wimpy system though and I've been eyeballing a pump that's rated at 70 psi and 7.5 gpm.  When we build our water maker we'll tie into the same thru-hull that supplies the wash down pump and set it up so we have a choice of using salt or fresh water for washing the boat.  This'll come in handy when we're ocean sailing because everything gets crusty with salt and you really need fresh water to clean it off.  I also plan to go to a regular garden hose instead of that crappy coiled plastic tubing.  Within one season the tubing develops pin holes and you get water spraying all over the place.  The fittings on it restrict the flow too.  A garden hose would take up more room but would flow better and last longer.

La Vida Dulce is designed with a chain locker that takes up about the first 7' in length of the boat.  This is in the bow so the space below decks is V shaped and pretty tight.  It's divided up into two bins side-by-side up forward and one bin behind.  The chain and rope drop down through two open holes in the deck so any water that gets in here drains overboard.  We've buried the bow in waves so a good amount of water must get in there.  The rope connected to the Danforth is on the port side, chain for the Bruce is starboard.  There's a board with a divider down the middle that lays across the front of the two forward bins and it's purpose is for when the chain (or rope) is dropping down into the bin it will slide down this board first.  This prevents the chain (or rope) from piling up and creating problems during anchoring operations.  The divider ensures the chain (or rope) goes into the appropriate bin.  The third bin stretches across behind the front two and creates a nice wet locker with plenty of room for rain gear, mops, etc.

As long as we've had the boat we've had trouble with mold and mildew up in the chain locker.  It's always damp up there and air circulation is pretty poor.  We checked it this Spring and found it had gotten out of control and this is what instigated our boat bombing that I mentioned a few weeks ago.  The mildew bomb did a great job of killing all the mold and mildew on the boat, including up in the chain locker.  You still have to clean up the dead mildew though.  This past weekend Cheri and I spent hours scrubbing down the chain locker with bleach based cleaners.  This is not a comfortable space to work in, let me tell ya.  There is no flat surface to stand, even if you could stand in there, which you can't because there's only about 3' or 4' of headroom.  You have to lay across the tops of the three bins and reach into spaces that were never meant to be touched by human beings.  This is a job for an Orangutan!  After we scrubbed it down three times we painted it white with a mildew resistant bilge paint.  It looks really great now and our boat smells fresh and clean.  It'll be really nice if it lasts for more than just a few weeks.

Before we take off for shores unknown we plan to move the Danforth anchor to the stern and attach it to 300' of 3/4" rope mounted on a spool in the cockpit locker.  We'll replace it with the Bruce on the chain and rode up in the bow along with a new Rocna 33 (73 pound anchor) on 300' of 3/8" chain.

I Think They're Calling for Rain

We're in the midst of a three day rainfall.  At times it's been pretty heavy, especially last night.  I woke up three times to the sound of the spare Main halyard slapping against the mast.  Actually went up on deck twice to secure it.  I guess the first time I didn't get enough slack out and two hours later when the wind changed direction a bit it was even worse.  I keep the halyard shackled to the mast pulpit and the conditions were just right last night to get that baby whipping around.  On my second trip up on deck I moved it further outboard to the hand rail.  That did the trick.  So in the end, instead of my usual 6.5 hours of sleep I got about 4 and also got drenched twice.  That's right, I'm too lazy at 0300 to put on my foul weather gear.  Fun night.  Life on a boat.

This morning when I climbed up to the cockpit to go to work I found the creek was up pretty high, almost to the decking of the dock.  I think I earned a Bronze in gymnastics for getting off the boat.  At the end of our dock is a nice picnic area where Bella likes to run around.  She would probably need water wings today.

We have seen it higher here.  About four years ago we drove into Annapolis to get some ice cream (B-R's mint chocolate chip) and when we came back the water was just over the decking on the dock.  Felt like we were walking on water, kinda eerie.  The boat was sitting so high I fell in the creek trying to get aboard.  Shortly after that we bought that cool-man step you can see on the side of the boat in the first picture.  But I'm pretty sure that was in the middle of a tropical storm.  This is just a good old fashioned rainstorm, nothing unusual.  The wind seemed to be blowing out of the NE which is kinda weird because we usually only get flooded when it blows outa the S or SE.  There might be something else going on here.  Maybe Greenland melted down last night!  Or the poles reversed causing the earth to tilt and all the water rushed over to one side!  This is up about 3' higher than normal where the deck of our boat would be level with the dock.  If the global warming dudes are right it's gonna go up at least another 3' beyond this.  Good thing we're on a boat.