| Course: |
ASA 104 Intermediate Coastal Cruising |
| Date: |
May 19-23, 2005 |
| Vessel: |
IP-32 MOXIE |
| Students: |
Bill Antoshkiw, Philip
Berger, Howard Berger |
|
Captain: |
Bill
McClure |
May 18th
I met the students as they came in the evening, and we went into town for supper
and a food run.
May 19th
In the morning the other student arrived and we went over the introductions to
each other and the boat. We followed with the course objectives and the safety
issues: MOB, some rules of the road, radio techniques, and reefing procedures.
The weather service on the VHF predicted that a low was going to come through in
the evening with thundershowers, strong winds and a dip in the temperature. The
weather report was ominous so we decided to just go across the bay to the
Magothy River. It was a wise decision as the wind was already up to 25 when we
dropped anchor and the rain was started. We decided two anchors and extra rode
were called for and set them at 60 degrees with a 10 to 1 scope. The wind blew
all night and increased to 45. The rain poured.
May 20th
The dawn came up gray and drizzling. As we waited for the wind to moderate, we
had breakfast, did some more lessons, and talked about where to go next. We all
agreed that with half the day gone and the weather still a bit iffy Annapolis,
which was not far away, would be a good choice.
We had a vigorous sail to the Severn River and found a
mooring buoy with no problems. Though this was Saturday, last night's storm had
kept the weekend sailors at home and the place was all ours.
Showers and the Chart House for dinner and we were ready
for a quiet night. The water taxi driver said that it had been the worst storm
short of a Hurricane that he had experienced in his 5 years in Annapolis.
May 21st
Our third day was sunshine and light wind but we were able to sail all the way
to St. Michael's.
We arrived late in the day to find that dock space was
reserved. Strange it looked like there was a lot of empty space. We anchored and
rowed in our dinghy. We went to the Crab Restaurant which also looked half
empty. We were told there would be an hour wait. As we were coming back from our
walk through the town, the mystery was solved. Large black SUVs with darkly
tinted windows came up each street , and pretty much surrounded the area. Then a
large Trumpy named "Margaret" and an escort boat pulled up to the
docks and the Vice President and Donald Rumsfeld with their party came off the
boat.
May 22nd
The weather report looked good so after dinner we studied a bit then hauled
anchor and prepared to do an overnighter to Baltimore. We had the opportunity to
talk to a couple of tugs during the night and were temporarily lost at least
once. We arrived at the inner harbor as the day broke and went in search of
breakfast. We were too early for anything but coffee at a hotel just off the
water. After a short nap we practiced docking and then set off for Rock Hall.
May 23rd
We arrived in Rock Hall by mid day; fueled and pumped out; tucked MOXIE
into her slip; and cleaned up. It was a memorable five days. We had all kinds of
weather and enough excitement to make it a true adventure. And everyone passed
their tests!
Captain Bill McClure
Aboard S/V MOXIE
Rock Hall, MD
May23, 2005
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