Sunday,
August 9, 2015
My student crew - some hailing from as far away as the Texas coast or
mile-high Colorado – has serious, long-range plans for their intended
lives on the water. They are eager participants in our startup activities:
meal planning/provisioning, dinghy and outboard operation in the harbor,
line and winch handling, boat systems check, and navigation planning. Once
lines are dropped, and with a needed practice spot available, we begin
with the most challenging of all anchoring exercises – the Mediterranean
Mooring. No surprise, that one requires practice in good communication and
execution. After that much hard work, navigating to our first anchorage,
Queenstown Creek, is downright relaxing. So is our dinner of chicken salad
washed down with a cold drink.
Day
Two
The crew is taking turns looking up times of high/low water in the
NOAA Tide Tables, 2015. Then, we navigate out of the narrow Queenstown
Creek Channel to gain sea room to be able to focus on underway safety,
including man overboard evolutions (MOB) that include utilizing such
critical elements as the electronic MOB button on our Chart Plotter and
deployment of the Life Sling device. Unusual for this time of year, we
encounter thick haze and fog mixed with sheets of rain and wind gusts. My
crew concludes that navigation lights are called for.
In this restricted visibility, time-speed-distance calculations
help us to locate the buoys in Alexander’s navigation plan. Fortunately,
his plan also includes a measured latitude/longitude waypoint at 39º03.75'
North; 076º16.52' West as a safe turning mark into the Bay that keeps us
well off Love Point Shoal at the mouth of the Chester River. To achieve
the safe turn, he monitors the GPS read-out screen and asks for course
adjustments to get us onto the proper longitude. He then requests a course
change toward Annapolis once we have reached our waypoint latitude. A
spirited, albeit wet, leg toward the Severn River follows.
Once there and the main sail is doused, we are virtually pulled
downwind to the Annapolis mooring field by our billowing Genoa. We learn
to tie up properly, catch a water taxi into Ego Alley for showers ashore,
and enjoy Virgin Island drinks and dinner at Pusser’s
Virgin-Island-themed Restaurant.
Day
Three
It’s a busy training day. First
come engineering and troubleshooting topics. Those are followed by VHF
communication, chart interpretation, and DR plotting conventions,
including conversions from compass heading to True or geographic north and
vice versa. After dropping our mooring and pumping out at the Annapolis
City Marina, my crew learns to find the entrance mark to Back Creek by
depth sounder alone, namely finding and staying on a charted depth
contour, until the mark is but a boat length away. We practice setting and
retrieving two anchors off the bow before we set all sail and follow
Steve’s navigation plan to the West River. Just short of Pirate’s Cove
Marina, the crew arranges overnight docking and Steve completes our slip
docking without a hitch. Showers in the marina are most welcome, then a
rest period followed by a tasty seafood dinner ashore.
Day
Four
It’s our best sailing day yet: Wind WNW 15 knots on our port quarter,
clear blue sky. Led by Tim, students have laid out a DR (Deduced
Reckoning) track of 143º True (132º psc) to Eastern Bay. Using
cruising-level log keeping conventions, the crew collaborates in recording
hourly weather observations plus status indicators concerning the boat and
its systems. We use VHF Channel 13 to hail a tug and tow on a collision
course. Although we, as a sailboat, are the stand-on vessel, we recognize
the challenge in towing/maneuvering a heavy load and tell the tug captain
that we’ll fall off to achieve safe passage. Tim, utilizing Chart
No. 12270, Chesapeake Bay, Eastern Bay to South River, is applying his
new navigation skills to advantage. He chooses as his turning-mark up
Eastern Bay our arrival at a 60’ depth contour off Kent Point when buoy
G “1E” Fl G 4s is about ½ mile distant at a bearing of 90º relative
to our port bow. Wow! From here his DR track is 062º True before we turn
south again to St. Michaels. We pass a graceful, wooden Skipjack under
full sail and dock at the Crab Claw Restaurant for a late lunch. Later, at
anchor in secluded Tilghman Creek, my well prepared crew takes the ASA104
test (all pass) and enjoys a Kielbasa dinner prepared by Stephen.
Day
Five
On our last day, we will be crossing through the Kent Narrows Bridge
channel, a two-leaf Bascule Bridge, Horizontal Clearance 48 ft., Vertical
Clearance 18 ft. (closed) connecting Prospect Bay and the Chester River.
Stephen has asked to have that crossing experience as helmsman since he
will be chartering an Island Packet very shortly. Using again Chart 12270,
he has worked out a very good navigation plan that includes a
latitude/longitude waypoint East of Tilghman Point at 38º51.33' North;
076º14.66' West where we’ll make our turn to 353º True to G “1P”
Fl G 4s East of Parsons Island. Alex and Tim have marked the eastern edges
of Tilghman Point and Parsons Island to take a range bearing fix once both
eastern edges come into view. Their fix results into a good EP (Estimated
Position) as they also monitor our GPS read out to signal arrival at
Stephen’s waypoint and our turning mark. Once near the Bridge, the crew
hails the Bridge Tender on VHF-Channel 13 to discuss the next opening and
safe passage. Once through the Bridge, Tim as navigator, uses a
time/speed/distance calculation to keep us clear of an extended shoal. The
sail up Chester River is uneventful. We pump out, fuel up and put the good
ship AcaDame
safely back in her slip.
My Shipmates are ready for extended
cruising. They have done well. Your captain thanks you.
Fair Winds, always.
Captain H. Jochen Hoffmann
On board S/V
ACADAME
Rock Hall, Maryland
