2021 Chesapeake Bay Cruise

 

The weather had turned appreciably cooler while Captain Frank Mummert and students Walt, Scot and Zach prepared for our tenth 104 class of the 2021 season. As always, it was Frank’s intention to do a circumnavigation of Kent Island and the crew was prepped and ready for the trip. After a day of sail handling drills to get the group working as a team and navigation preparations, the team settled into a lasagna dinner with the crew of Captain Robin Bauer’s parallel 104 class. Discussions ranged from trip anticipation to future classes and plans.

SCHOLARSHIP was off the dock by 0830 the next morning, with a comfortable five to ten knot breeze from the north. After clearing Langford Creek, Skipper of the Day Walt had the crew set the mainsail and genoa, with a preventer for the downwind run. After a couple of gybes to get south of the wildlife refuge, we turned west and headed for the mouth of the Chester River. It was at that point that Walt noticed that the bilge pump had been running excessively. Investigations determined that we had a leak in the bilge (courtesy of Captain Frank) and the crew quickly dealt with the flooding drill. 

We turned upwind into the dying afternoon breeze and headed for the Love Point Light. Unfortunately, the wind had dropped to the point that we now needed some help from the engine to maintain our desired speed. After rounding the northernmost point of Kent Island, we headed southwest toward Sandy Point Lighthouse and the Bay Bridge. As we progressed, the Bay got flatter and flatter due to the dying wind. Finally, after passing under the bridge, we bowed to the inevitable and Walt and the crew doused the sails. We motored into the washing machine that is Annapolis Harbor on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.

After taking a mooring ball, the crew and Captain Frank availed themselves of a water taxi and set out to see the sights of downtown Annapolis. After an hour or so ashore, we returned to Scholarship, passing our sistership, ACADAME, as she picked up a mooring ball not far from ours. Dinner was soon passed around the cockpit and the crew settled down for a quiet evening. As the equinox approached, the lengthened evening hours meant more studying by flashlight.

Bright and early the next morning, SCHOLARSHIP was off the mooring ball and headed for Saint Michael’s. Unfortunately, the light wind conditions of the previous afternoon persisted, with winds out of the North at 3 knots reported by the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse weather buoy. Sailing was out of the question and we motored south to Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse and around into Eastern Bay. 

By the time Skipper of the Day Scot had dealt with the loss of engine drill that Captain Frank had thrown at him, we were well inside Eastern Bay and headed toward Tilghman Point. We watched with interest all of the boats heading southwest out of the bay, presumably heading toward warmer climes in the south. At this point in the season, the “snowbird” sailors have started their annual migration to Florida and the Bahamas and we watched them pass, the crew discussing future sailing plans to warmer places. 

As we approached Saint Michaels, the breeze began to build from the east, promising a good day of sailing for the next day. After stopping at the Saint Michaels Marina pumpout and fuel dock, we settled into slip #33, our customary spot at the marina and awaited the arrival of Captain Robin and her crew. Dinner, once again, was a joint enterprise, overlooking the harbor where the two Maryland School boats were nestled side-by-side.

Because we needed to pass the Kent Narrows Lift Bridge tomorrow at slack water, which was scheduled to occur at 1330, we didn’t leave the marina until 0930, which gave us time for a delicious breakfast ashore. Zach was now our Skipper of the Day and he piloted us out of Saint Michaels, a town near which he had grown up, and we headed out of the Miles River and into the Wye in order to skirt the large shoal at the southern end of the Eastern Bay. Passing to the west around the top of the shoal, Zach had the crew set the sails, again with a preventer as the wind was now out of the southeast.

The variable wind, which at times was running more than 10 knots, but at others was less than five, made the sailing challenging and tested the experience and ability of the crew. Of course, the fire drill that Captain Frank ran in the middle of the bay did not help matters, but by this point, the crew was well up to the challenge and we were soon underway again. We passed the green 1P buoy, marking the dividing line between Eastern and Prospect bays and dropped the sails after passing the red number 2 buoy. ACADAME joined us as we motored up to the Kent Narrows bridge and both boats progressed through on the 1330 opening, as planned. Then, it was out through the northern channel, a tricky bit of boat handling as we were going through just after low tide and the channel is subject to significant shoaling. However, we never saw less than six feet of depth and we were soon back in the Chester River.

Passing red buoy number 6, we stopped for a moment to contemplate that we had passed that point, outbound, fifty hours earlier and had actually circumnavigated the island. From this point, we headed east and, after rounding green buoy 9, set the sails and headed up the Chester River. Since the wind was on the beam, we were able to make good time and we soon back in Langford Creek and headed toward Cacaway Island, where we planned to meet up with ACADAME for a quick lesson in rafting. Unfortunately, ACADAME’s crew had a minor problem and we were forced to anchor without her.

After we dropped two anchors for a Bahamian moor, we settled in for the evening and started preparing dinner. As we did, ACADAME settled in a few hundred feet away and we waved and called to our companions. Dinner finished, we sat and discussed the upcoming written exam, exploring the areas of uncertainty that the crew still had.

After breakfast the next morning, Captain Frank directed the crew in raising the mainsail and then pulling up the two anchors. We were off the hook and sailing into the wider area near Lankford Bay Marina as Frank prepped the crew for their Crew Overboard (COB) training. First, the entire crew performed a series of COB recoveries. Then, as the boat sailed, Frank would call out a student’s name while tossing the COB mannequin over the side. The designated student had to go below and the remaining students had to perform the recovery as if they were rescuing their boatmate. The increased realism brought home Frank’s repeated dictum that it is better to stay attached to the boat than to be rescued.

After a trip to Long Cove Marina to pump out, SCHOLARSHIP returned to Lankford Bay to take on fuel and then headed for home slip. Because of a fluke of wind, SCHOLARSHIP missed her first approach at the slip and had to turn around and do a portside approach. The crew handled the change in approach admirably and we were soon in, cleaned up and restowed, ending another excellent five-day class.