2023 Chesapeake Bay Cruise

 

104 classes in the middle of the summer offer some unique possibilities to handle navigation and casualty problems.  This class was no different, with Captain Frank leading Ali, James and Sufyan through the hot days and warm nights to new learning opportunities.

SCHOLARSHIP departed Lankford Bay Marina on a cloudy Saturday after a full day of trip planning and provisioning.  With Ali acting as the Skipper of the Day, we motored out to the green day beacon 3 on the Lankford Creek and then performed a measured run to the junction beacon LC at the point where the creek and the Chester River meet.  We found, after calculating, that our knot meter transducer was reading about 20% low, an important piece of information for our ded reckoning. Having very little wind, we motored  down the course line that the students had planned the day before but, shortly after passing the green 9 buoy, one of the backstays suddenly parted as a drill.  Jumping into action, Ali and the crew quickly got the situation under control, by using the main halyard to back up the “broken” backstay.  This was just the first of the drills that Frank would run on the crew, to get them experienced at handling emergencies.  After debriefing the drill, Ali did a three bearing fix to reestablish the boat’s location and we were back underway.  Continuing on the engine in the negligible wind, which was now on our bow, giving a pleasant breeze in the warm, humid air, we made our way along to Swan Creek.

By the time we were settled onto mooring ball 3 at the Swan Creek Marina, we had a gentle but persistent zephyr out of the northwest, which would occasionally pull our bow around.  However, most of the time, the current held the boat and the breeze would come through the open portlights into the cabin below.  We enjoyed a pleasant dinner after a long day.  After sundown, the cabin eventually became comfortable for sleeping.

With sunup, SSCHOLARSHIP  was off the mooring ball and headed for Saint Michael’s.  Coming out of the mooring field, the water was as flat as a pond.  Skipper of the Day James did all he could to try to find wind, but it was not until we turned east out of the Swan Creek that we were finally able to set the headsail in the gentle wind coming up from the south.  As we motor-sailed along, we found the Love Point safe water mark and, turning south, we furled our sail.  We passed under the Annapolis Bay Bridge as the persistent fog finally started to burn off.  As we approached the light at Bloody Point, we saw a tug boat pushing a huge barge coming at us up the Bay and we quickly rounded the point and headed up into Eastern Bay.  Determined to at least try to sail, Matt had the crew raise the headsail and we used it for some very close-hauled motor sailing.     

As we approached 1E at the entrance to Eastern Bay, suddenly there was a loud high-pitched alarm - the raw water alarm had come in!.  Quickly diagnosing that the problem was not the water flow through the engine, James had the crew throttle down and prepare to anchor, while contacting TowBoat to request assistance.  Of course, it was just another drill, but the crew handled it well and soon, all that was left was to debrief the crew, get a three bearing fix and get back underway.  

As we came around Tilghman Point and headed for Bennett Point, we furled the headsail just before cutting through the shallows into the Wye, then we came into the Miles River and headed for the entrance to Saint Michaels.  

After taking slip 34 in the Saint Michaels Marina, showers and dinner ashore were a welcome set of events, but the night out on the town was interrupted by a torrential downfall.  Luckily, since we were tied up with electricity for the air conditioning, having to button up the boat to keep the rain out was no major problem.

Sufyan, our Skipper of the Day for Monday, calculated our passage at Kent Narrows, deciding that we needed to arrive about noon, so we were able to enjoy extra showers and breakfast ashore for the crew.  After breakfast sandwiches and strong coffee, we prepared to get underway.  The excellent breeze of the evening before had deserted us so, after taking on fuel and pumping out, we headed back out into Eastern Bay.  By the time we reached the Narrows, the winds were variable, but building and we went through on the noon opening, with a touch of current on the stern.  We were soon back out into the Chester River, with the breeze slowly building from the northwest.  We set the main and headsails, with a preventer and started sailing up the River, when all of a sudden, the skipper smelled smoke.  Quickly assessing the situation, Sufyan discovered that the smoke was coming from the electrical panel and, after a quick Mayday call, he secured all power and the crew fought the fire.  After the fire was out, he assessed his options and was waiting for the Coast Guard.  Again, it was just a drill and we were soon headed into the evening for Comegy’s Bight, where we were able to catch the sun and sea state at just the right conditions for a compass calibration data run.  Afterwards, we put down two anchors for a Bahamian moor and settled in for the night.

As the sun rose the next morning, it was comfortable as we pulled up the two anchors and we were soon performing Crew Overboard training in the Chester River area, before returning to Langford Bay Marina and our home slip.  After pumping out, we tucked back into our home slip and the crew departed, happy with their  hard-won new skills.