2024 Chesapeake Bay Cruise

 

September tends to bring better weather for 104 classes and this one was no exception. The drier days and cooler nights were marred only by a lack of wind as Alex, Jakes, and Sharon, along with Captain Frank, prepared for a week of cruising. All three of these students are alumni from Maryland School classes, so we were starting ahead of the curve!

Scholarship left Lankford Bay Marina under bright, cloudless skies. The Skipper of the Day, Alex, started us down the river under power, but our forecast was for very light winds throughout the day. Now and then, we saw indications of stronger wind, but it was almost always because of land features “funneling” the wind over the water.

We didn’t find any wind as we motored north of the Kent Narrows, but we did have the excitement of a high raw water temperature alarm. Fortunately, it was just the first of Captain Frank’s drills and we soon had it sorted and a two bearing fix taken and plotted. The students learned the value of correctly identifying the objects in real life that were matched on the chart since they used a tower that was about a quarter mile from the actual tower shown on the chart..

After clearing the mouth of the Chester River, we entered Swan Creek Channel and were soon motoring through the crab pots off the mouth of Rock Hall Harbor. Rounding into Swan Creek, we picked up our pre-arranged mooring ball #5 and settled in for the evening. Although there was very little breeze, the cooling weather made the night very comfortable and there weren’t any bugs (well, not very many).

In the morning, we debated setting the mainsail before getting underway, as the wind had come up overnight. However, since we still had a forecast of negligible winds, we held off on the sail. We headed back out into the Chesapeake Bay, and after entering the Swan Creek Channel area, we headed southwest toward the LP safe water mark. Rounding the mark, we motored down through the Eastern Channel of the Annapolis Bay Bridge. 

Once past the Bloody Point Bar, we headed up into the Eastern Bay, still listening to the engine groaning along. We did pass some other boats with their sails up, but each time we passed them, we realized they were motoring. 

After passing Green 1 EB buoy, the Skipper of the Day, Jakes, started to smell smoke. Taking control of the boat, he directed his crew to find the source of the fire, which they soon did. Again, it was one of Captain Frank’s drills. Calling for help, Jakes and the crew made the boat safe and waited for assistance. After securing from the drill, we did a two-bearing fix and restarted our journey.

Crossing the Eastern Bay after passing Red 4, we headed over towards the Wye River and used the technique of following a fathom line to work our way between two shoals, a handy thing to do when you are not exactly sure where the channel is.

On entering the Miles River, we proceeded into the Saint Michael’s harbor, where we were directed to slip 35 at the Saint Michael’s Marina. As the temperatures had climbed during the day, the crew was very thankful for showers and shore power for the night. After a late dinner, all were happy to head back to the now-cool boat and drop off to sleep.

After a hearty breakfast the next morning at the Blue Crab restaurant, we proceeded to get underway. Skipper of the Day Sharon got us out into the Eastern Bay again and we were soon headed north toward the Narrows. 

We passed through the Kent Narrows bridge on the noon opening. High tide had been predicted for 1206 and we had a slight following current as we passed through the bridge and into the northern Kent Narrows channel. After stopping to celebrate our circumnavigation of Kent Island, we continued our motoring up the Chester River, since we still had no wind to sail.

Unfortunately, one of the backstays parted as we passed Red 12 (yes, it was another drill). After successfully anchoring and using the halyard to reinforce the broken stay, we used our navigation skills to once again do a fix using the compass and developed a new course to our next waypoint. We went all the way up the Chester River to Comegys Bight, where we set two anchors in a Bahama mooring configuration and settled in for the evening.

During the night, a heavy fog built up, and by morning, we could not see the land around us. Fortunately, since by this time the crew was well-versed in following compass courses, we were able to find our way home by charting and ded reckoning, keeping a sharp eye out for the multitudes of crabbers all around us. As Captain Frank pointed out, everything was just where it was supposed to be, according to the chart and everything showed up right on schedule.

We returned to the marina for a pumpout, refueling and final return to the slip. Just as we were finishing up our clean-up of the boat, the sun began to peek through the clouds. It was a very successful 104 class.