2024 Chesapeake Bay Cruise

 

After bringing Navigator back to Norfolk, we had to move her back to Lankford Bay Marina.  To do this, we did an extended 104 class.  Like our regular 104s, we moved the boat during the day and stopped every evening, but for this class, we had two nights on the anchor instead of just one.   

Captain Frank Mummert met with the crew - Carla, Christie, Jessica, and Jim - in Norfolk at Cobb’s Marina.  All four of the crew had been trained by Maryland School, so they were well-versed in our methodologies.  We spent a day in port, first going over the differences between Navigator and the smaller 32s that the crew had trained on previously.  We also created the first three days of our navigation plan.   

We planned to leave Cobb’s, anchor the first evening near Delataville, Virginia, and the second evening on the Great Wicomico River, just south of the Potomac River.  Next, we would go into a marina in Solomon’s Island, Maryland, and then spend the night on a mooring ball in Annapolis.  This was exactly what we did. 

On Friday morning, we left the dock at Cobb’s and moved to the fuel dock to fuel and pump out the holding tank.  We were delayed by about 45 minutes because a 200-foot superyacht had to first clear the dock…after having taken in 1,600 gallons of diesel the day before.   

After fueling and getting out, we headed out into the Chesapeake Bay.  Jim, our navigator for the day, soon had us pointed in the right direction and we were headed north.  Unfortunately, so was the wind, at almost exactly the same speed as us.  At first, it was at a slight angle, so we still got some breeze on the boat, but it soon came onto our stern and the boat got warm. 

It got even warmer when the engine quit unexpectedly.  Fortunately, it was simply the first of Captain Frank’s casualty drills.  Jim and the crew quickly got the boat under control, assessed the situation and, after determining that the problem was not a “quick fix”, put out a (simulated) call to TowBoatUS.  

After doing a two-bearing fix to determine where we were, Jim plotted a new course and we were off again.  We were soon near the mouth of the Piankatank River, where we planned to stop for the evening.  As we approached the river, the breeze steadily rose and we put our headsail out, using it to hasten our trip into the river and toward our anchorage.  We dropped two anchors for a forked moor and opened all the hatches to catch as much breeze as we could, which made the boat surprisingly comfortable for the evening. 

The next morning, we lazed around, getting underway after eight.  Our trip for the day was a relatively short twenty-two miles, to the Great Wicomico River.  With great hopes, we set the main sail before getting underway but, as in the previous day, the wind in the morning was light and flukey.  We motored along, trying to get any hint of breeze that we could.  Our Navigator of the day, Jess, kept us moving along until the starboard side backstay snapped!  Not to worry, though - it was just another one of the Captain’s drills.  Jess led the crew in quickly dropping the mainsail and getting it furled.  The crew then used the now-free halyard to replace the failed backstay and again, we put out a simulated call for assistance from TowBoatUS.  As Captain Frank says, the most important tool in an inshore toolbox is your towing insurance card. 

Securing from the drill, Jess got a fix on our location and got us headed toward the Wicomico.  Because of the short distance, we were able to get in a little before three, which gave the crew the time necessary to complete the navigation plan all the way to Annapolis.  After dining on pasta and meatballs for dinner, we enjoyed watching the sun go down over the trees while the now improved breeze once again cooled the boat down and made the evening comfortable. 

Unfortunately, during the night, the wind veered from the south/southwest to a solid west.  This created two problems.  First, the change in direction caused the wind on the boat to drop, making the overnight period a little warmer and a lot more humid.  Second, the new wind direction was such that the sea state on the way to Solomon’s Island was a very disturbing corkscrew roll.  This was not dangerous, but the confused pattern made the boat’s motion uncomfortable.  For the first time on the trip, seasickness became a real possibility. 

The navigator for the day, Christie, did her best to keep her mal-de-mer under control, but she found that staying below was not a lot of fun.  By working as quickly as possible and taking frequent breaks to come up in the cockpit for air, she was able to perform all of her duties, but the captain decided that the drill for the day was a “medical emergency” for the navigator! 

The breeze did make setting the headsail possible and we were able to use it for the first half of the day, crossing the Potomac and passing the military gunnery range near Point No Point.  As we adjusted our course to make the turn toward Patuxent River, we found the breeze had come just far enough around on the stern to make keeping the headsail full tricky, so we secured it and motored our way the last five miles to the mouth of the river, where we would have secured it anyway. 

We arrived at the Solomons Yachting Center at about four and were soon secured in slip C-8.  The crew happily got off the boat for the first time since leaving Norfolk and were soon showered and enjoying the pool and clubhouse.  Cold drinks and a dinner ashore rounded out the evening. 

We were underway early the next morning for the longest leg of our journey - almost 40 miles to Annapolis and a mooring ball.  As we left the Solomn’s Island area and entered the Patuxent River, we stopped and set our main sail, anticipating a forecast that promised good wind from the northwest for our trip. 

The forecast was not wrong and we were soon romping along in a fifteen-knot breeze, which occasionally gusted to almost 25 knots.  Navigator loved this point of sail and we were finally enjoying great sailing.  Alas, it was not to last.   

About noon, we found ourselves in a situation where we were constrained to starboard by very shallow water and to port by a military exclusion area.  With our ability to tack restricted, we started the engine, doused the headsail, set the staysail, and motor-sailed a course at about 35 degrees off the wind.  We were still sailing, but our ability to change our direction was very limited. 

In fact, it became even more limited when we saw a huge cargo ship coming right at us.  Initially, the captain was nonchalant, certain that the ship would turn to the east and follow the shipping channel.  When, after ten minutes, it had not, he began to question the situation and he and the navigator of the day, Carla, dropped into the cabin to use the AIS information to determine what was going on with this ship.   

It was then that we discovered that the ship approaching us was the Dali, the vessel that had been in the news for the previous several months for having crashed into and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.  It was traveling under its own power to Norfolk, but because of the damage to the vessel, it was taking the most direct route, escorted by at least four tugs and three US Coast Guard cutters.  The Coast Guard explained to us that they were providing a security zone around the vessel and requested that we move “at least 500 yards” to the west.  We did so.   

Actually, we moved more than a half mile to the west, even though this put us in the military control area.  We figured that if anyone questioned us, we would direct them to the Coast Guard! 

We cleared the exclusion area a little before three PM and contemplated securing the engine, resetting the genoa, and tacking our way up the Bay toward Annapolis.  Of course, just as we did so, the breeze dropped from 15, gusting 20, to 10, gusting 12.  We calculated that, with the reduced breeze, which was still coming almost directly from where we wanted to go, we would not be in before nightfall.  We kept our original sail combination and continued our motor-sail, arriving at ball number 29 in the Annapolis Mooring Field at about 5:30. 

After securing the boat and opening hatches to catch the dying breeze, we hailed a water taxi and made our way ashore for dinner at the Middleton Tavern.  It was here that the Navigator crew accomplished a feat that, to the captain’s knowledge, had never been performed by a 104 crew. 

We competed in and took third place in the Middleton Tavern’s Trivia Night Contest!  We succeeded in winning a $10 gift certificate (for a future visit, sadly).  The crew, after trying to determine who should take the gift certificate, decided to all return for a future class and use it then together. 

After ice creams and showers, the crew returned to the boat and slept through the night, as the breeze continued to drop.  In the morning, the captain took the helm and the crew did the 104 examination below.  The only breeze stirring was that coming into the boat from our forward motion but it was enough that the crew was able to complete their exams in from two to three hours and were able to take control of the boat back as the captain graded and then congratulated his students on their successful passing of the test.  No one missed more than a couple, a tribute to the effort they had put into their studies. 

We were soon back in the Chester River, then in Langford Creek.  After stopping to pump out and take on fuel, we were tucked into Navigator’s home slip, a spot she had left more than a month previously.  After cleaning and clearing the boat, the crew reconvened in the Maryland School office for a last debrief, the awarding of diplomas, and sad goodbyes to now dear friends.