2023 Chesapeake Bay Cruise

 

Many people who sail in the Chesapeake Bay find that the months of April/May and September/October make for the best sailing weather.  This trip proved that feeling to be true.  Wind, weather and temperatures all aligned to make a highly enjoyable class for captain and crew. 

When SCHOLARSHIP left the marina at Langford Bay, after stopping for a quick pre-departure pump out, the skies did not promise a good day.  Clouds and mist hung over the boat as Skipper of the Day John piloted us out and down into the Chester River.  A cool breeze pushed us along as we motored along, then turned into the wind to set the main, following that by setting the genoa.  We proceeded to sail, the main held in place by the traveler, with a bit of flukey action in the headsail, but once we made the turn around Green 11 and Green 9, we found the wind perfectly set for a deep beam reach and we were soon romping along toward the Red Buoy 6.  After turning up toward Red 2, we found ourselves hard on the wind and sailing the best course we could.  We had to tack several times to work our way out of the Chester River, but were making good time, when the backstay snapped. 

Well, not really.  This was just the first of Captain Frank’s casualty drills.  The crew leaped into action and soon had the sails down and the “broken stay” doubled with the halyard.  Securing from the drill, John did a three bearing fix to determine his location and we were soon underway again, making it to our final destination for the night, Swan Creek Marina’s Mooring Ball 3, just about dinner time. 

Predawn the next morning, we were up and preparing the boat for the next day’s travels.  Skipper of the Day Mike had the crew working in the gathering daylight and by the time the sun rose, a little before seven, we were ready to drop the mooring ball and head out.  Since we had a prediction of a northeast wind that was going to - possibly - be gusting into the 30s, we set a reef in the main before getting underway, a decision that proved to be excellent later that afternoon. 

We left Swan Creek, followed closely by our sistership, ACADAME and we headed down the Swan Creek Channel, pausing near Green 1 to set the main and genoa, before turning into the Chesapeake Bay.  We found ourselves screaming along toward the Love Point safe water mark, but once we turned down the Bay Bridge, we were running wing-n-wing and found that we had to gybe several times to get properly lined up for our passage through the bridge.  The closer we got to the bridge, the more the wind and currents became confused and eventually, Mike made the decision to douse the headsail and set the d-sail (start the engine).

We found ourselves motor-sailing south of the Bridge as we waited for the wind to come back up to its previous strength.  Eventually, it did and we were once again enjoying fantastic sailing conditions, until we turned up into Eastern Bay and found the wind smack on the nose, while increasing and bringing a band of stinging rain with it. 

There was no choice but to douse our headsail once again and return to the motor-sailing.  The inability to get good marks in the rain ruled out the possibility of short tacking in these waters and it was much better to “run the rhumb line” than to risk getting lost in the murk.  After an hour or so, the rain relented and the sky started to clear some, but we continued to motor sail up and around Tilghman’s Point, stopping at Red 8 to drop the mainsail.   

Another hour found us tucked into Saint Michaels’ Marina, awaiting Acadame, who came in shortly after us.  Taking the opportunity for a meal ashore, the two crews settled in to dinner at the Blue Miles restaurant for hot food and good company. 

Morning found much clearer skies, but the wind continued to hold at about 10-15 knots from the north and northeast.  Our calculations indicated that the slack water at the Kent Narrows Bridge would be at about 1115, so Skipper of the Day Nate decided that we should go through on the 1130 opening, necessitating an 0830 departure.  Fortunately, this gave us enough time to enjoy a hot breakfast at the Blue Crab restaurant in Saint Michaels and we left the dock full of eggs and coffee.  We followed Acadame out into the bright sunshine, with a good wind and a bit of a nip in the air.   

While transiting from the Miles River into the Wye, in preparation for cutting north of the shoal in that area, we heard a call for Scholarship on the VHF radio.  Anticipating that it was Acadame’s crew wanting to perform some VHF radio training, Nate answered, but it turned out to be a call for Captain Frank.  We were being hailed by a Hunter 25.5 being sailed by two people who had taken classes from Maryland School the previous summer and who had decided to buy a boat based on their positive experiences.  That’s just how it is with distinctive boats such as Scholarship and Acadame.  We get recognized everywhere we go! 

We passed through the Bridge at 1130 and, with a rising tide, made our way out of the northern channel from Kent Narrows, a tricky bit of maneuvering that called the crew’s skills into full use.  Once clear, we headed back to the Red 6 buoy in the Chester River, pausing a moment to congratulate ourselves on another successful circumnavigation of Kent Island.   

We set our sails for the day - you can’t sail through the Kent Narrows area - and were soon flying along toward Green 9.  Suddenly, Nate smelled smoke!  Once again, it was a simulated casualty but the crew jumped on it and soon discovered that it was an electrical short in the DC breaker panel.  Once the “fire” was out and Nate fixed our position, we were underway again.   

We sailed around the shoal at the southern end of the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge and chased Acadame (they had passed us while we were dealing with our simulated casualty) up the Chester River.  Five o’clock found us anchored in Gray’s Inn Creek on a Bahamanian moor, with a dinner of pasta and meatballs cooking on the stove.   

Once again, the crew was up before the sun and we recovered the “lazy” anchor as the sky lightened, leaving us with one anchor to raise as it and the sun broke through almost simultaneously.  After a morning of Crew Overboard training near the junction of the Chester and Lankford Creek, we made our way back to the marina to pump out, refuel and wrap up another exciting 104 class.