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2025 DELMARVA Reports |
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The October 17-26 2025 DELMARVA Circumnavigation presented the crew with a varied and challenging series of conditions that required application of the many seamanship skills and navigational resources highlighted within the Maryland School of Sailing’s curriculum for this advanced coastal cruise. Weather conditions for the duration of the course required careful monitoring of the forecast to avoid storm conditions that would have been in opposition to the intended route of travel the crew had planned. However, careful timing of the date of departure and a day’s delay in Cape Charles enabled the crew to take favorable advantage of the shifting winds as several weather fronts traversed the region during the progression of their journey and enabled them to enjoy brisk sailing for a majority of the trip. Student crewmates Dan Clifford, Sufyan Siddiqui, Mike Williams and Bob Zachary led by Captain Brian LeBlanc and 1st Mate David Gifford came together as an excellent team, seamlessly adapting to the shifting plans and conditions, making for a successful, challenging and enjoyable experience. The adventure began with a virtual meeting conducted via Zoom several weeks ahead of the cruise. During the call, Captain Brian provided the crew with an overview of the training plan for the cruise, their intended route, a review of the primary navigational resources and instructions for each student to complete an assignment on researching relevant navigational information for critical segments of the trip. He detailed a recommended gear list for the crew to pack and fielded their questions. The crew mustered in person for the first time aboard Navigator on the afternoon of Friday, October 17th, 2025. Instruction began with an inspection of the vessel, a review on the operation of the boat’s systems (such as the marine head, the seacocks and the propane stove) and an inventory of the equipment stored within the cabin. Working through the checklists in the Advanced Coastal Cruise Training Plan, the crew finished their inspection of the cabin and then broke for dinner together at the Flying Decoy restaurant in downtown Rock Hall at 1745. With both Sufyan and Bob having endured a long day of travel from out of state on top of their afternoon of training aboard Navigator, the crew made the decision to call it for the night after the meal and resume instruction in the morning. All of the students elected to stay at local hotels for the first two nights of boat familiarization and navigational preparation detailed in the agenda to appropriately plan for their journey.
Day two of the course commenced with the crew meeting aboard Navigator at 0900. They continued with a discussion from the day before on an overview of the basic operation of the ship’s electronic equipment (Garmin MFD, VHF and SSB radios) followed by completing pre-departure checks in accordance with the checklist. During a break for lunch, Captain Brian and 1st Mate David made the decision to delay departure from Langford Bay Marina (LBM) for a day based on an analysis of the offshore weather forecast for the original timeframe of the ocean transit down coast of the DELMARVA peninsula. This course of action was designed to avoid having to sail (or more likely motor) into a 20-knot headwind the entire transit of the coast. Waiting a day would enable the crew to take advantage of winds forecast to shift to the west and decrease in strength, hopefully enabling them to sail down the coast on a beam reach. Captain Brian accounted for the extra day in port by adding focus on familiarizing the crew with Navigator’s rigging and deck gear followed by hands-on practice on raising, lowering and reefing the sails while at anchor in Davis Creek. With Navigator out of her slip, the crew also took the opportunity to top off on diesel fuel and empty the holding tank. This provided an opportunity to get some experience docking and undocking using the MDSchool’s docking bridle procedure (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJF7nr6TJx4). After returning Navigator to her slip, Captain David and Dan decided to head home for the evening (both living relatively locally) while the rest of the crew elected to go out for dinner at the Blue Heron Oyster House and Inn, filling the remainder of their evening with cheesy jokes and sailing stories. Day three was an 0900 muster again aboard Navigator. They began with a discussion on man overboard procedures and a review of the ship’s emergency equipment. Captains Brian and David then walked the crew step-by-step through the procedure of setting and recovering the whisker pole. After a brief break the crew reconvened in the MDSchool’s classroom where Captain Brian provided instruction on the use of navigational publications and online resources to aid in the process of route planning. He covered the current process of accessing and creating custom navigational charts using NOAA’s online ENC data, reviewing the Local Notices to Mariners (LNM) using both the digital print and online Marine Safety Information (MSI) tool, referencing the relevant copy of the Coast Pilot, accessing tide and current prediction tables and using a protractor triangle for plotting their course on paper charts. The crew then set to plotting their route according to the steps laid out in the Advanced Coastal Cruise Training Plan and entered the details into Navigator’s logbook. Working as a team, the crew plotted their intended route all the way to the entrance to Chesapeake Bay at Fishermens Island. They wrapped up for dinner at 1830, capping off their final evening ashore with the whole crew enjoying a meal together at the Harbor Shack in Rock Hall.
Monday, October 20th 2025: Excited for their journey to finally begin, the crew mustered aboard Navigator at 0900, neatly stowing their gear in assigned spaces. Mike served as the student skipper for the day, directing the crew through the pre-departure checklist and entering waypoints into the MFD for their planned route to Swan Creek. The weather was sunny with temperatures in the upper 50s, winds 15-25 knots out of the north/northwest. They departed LBM at 1130 and proceeded to the vicinity of the “G1” channel marker at the entrance to Langford Creek from the Chester River. There they performed a calibration of the waterlog meter (also referred to as the “speedo”) between the “G1” day marker and the Langford Creek preferred channel mark per the procedures outlined in the training plan. Based on their calculations, Navigator’s waterlog was providing an error of .03 per nautical mile. The crew would need this correction to account for their later calculations of the ships position in their dead reckoning estimations. By this time the winds were now gusting at 25 knots out of the west, so the crew set a doubled reefed mainsail and deployed the staysail for their run down the Chester River. On rounding the riverbend close to Kent Narrows, the wind was straight on the bow, kicking up three-foot choppy waves against a one knot flood current making for bouncy ride and limited forward progress. The crew furled the staysail and motor sailed into the opposing seas with Captain Brian guiding each member of the crew through taking cross bearing fixes from objects on shore. All were relieved when Navigator finally made enough headway out of the Chester River to turn North, unfurl 80% of the genoa and sail at a brisk pace to the entrance of Swan Creek. On the transit into the creek, the crew anticipated that “R4” would be off station based on the warning noted in the current LNM. They also observed that the “G5” buoy was missing but was not reported as such. Dan, being a dutiful former Coast Guard Officer, had the phone number for the Annapolis Coast Guard station programmed into his phone and reported the navigational discrepancy. The crew secured the headsail prior to entering the channel and motor-sailed into the protected waters where they doused the mainsail and tied on to their assigned mooring ball for the evening. Once settled on their mooring, Captain Brian prepared a pot of delicious hot chili while the crew finished navigational planning for the final leg of their journey that would take them from Cape Charles back to LBM. Due to the weather delay, the crew made the decision to bypass a stop in Annapolis on their return up the Bay. The chili was ready just as the crew plotted their final waypoint. The meal paired perfectly with a massive bag of corn chips. After a rough afternoon, everyone was ready to turn into their racks as soon as Navigator was tidied up – lights out, 2045. Tuesday, October 21st 2025: The Captain called reveille at 0600. The morning was clear, cool and calm, temperature in the upper 40s with light winds of 3-7 knots out of the southeast. A beautiful Fall Day to be out on the water! Dan was assigned as student skipper for the day and reviewed relevant information with the crew from the Coast Pilot pertaining to navigation of the C&D Canal as they enjoyed their breakfast and a steaming cup of perfectly percolated coffee. They discussed the day’s navigational plan, which called for a transit north up the Chesapeake and halfway through the C&D Canal to where the crew planned to take a slip for the night at the Summit North Marina. At this stage of the course, crew assignments were laid out in a predefined schedule with positions rotating on a 24-hour basis. The day’s plan had Mike serving as the Navigator, Bob as Bosin and Sufyan as the Engineer. Predeparture checks were completed per the checklist laid out in the Advanced Coastal Cruise Training Plan. The crew slipped their mooring at 0740 and made their way down the Swan Creek channel back into Chesapeake Bay, paying close attention to staying in the middle of the channel with the G5 and R4 buoys missing from their assigned locations. On making their turn into the Bay, the crew set the full mainsail and genoa and lined up on their course heading north parallelling the Tolchester Channel, staying just to the west of the channel to avoid commercial shipping traffic. With light winds on the starboard quarter, Navigator made slow progress under sail at around 3.5 knots. To add some excitement to the mix, Captain Brian reviewed the procedures for a Quick Stop man overboard recovery and tossed Winnie the Pumpkin Head over the side. The crew then methodically completed the maneuver several times, successfully recovering Winnie on each evolution. With the dripping wet plastic gourd tied to the rail (and smiling no less intensely) the crew resumed the course north. To make better time toward their destination, the crew kicked on the engine and motor-sailed along the intended route. Shortly thereafter, Dan discovered flooding covering the cabin sole (this was again a drill instigated by Captain Brian). Following proper emergency protocol, the crew uncovered a gaping hole that could not be adequately plugged. They simulated a mayday call and prepared themselves to ditch the vessel. A lengthy discussion followed on emergency procedures at sea and use of the associated equipment.
The crew took turns standing hour-long rotations at the helm and performing the required duties of the navigator to prepare themselves for the 24-hour watchkeeping shifts that would be initiated starting the next day and remain in effect for the remainder of their time underway. Captain Brian guided several of the crew through the process of obtaining a running fix from stationary objects on shore. The crew also observed how to utilize range lights to maintain a position in the center of a channel as they transited past Grove Point. On passing the Elk River, the crew secured all sails to prepare for entering the C&D Canal (due to the narrow fairway, presence of large commercial vessel traffic and strong currents, sailing is prohibited in the canal). Based on a conversation with the marina staff at Summit North, Captain Brian made the call not to attempt entry to the Summit North cutoff due to marina’s warning of heavy shoaling at the entrance and anticipation that they would arrive right at the low tide mark. Instead, the crew obtained a slip for Navigator at Schaefers Canal House & Marina, located just across the canal from Chesapeake City. On arrival, the crew topped off on diesel fuel and worked through a minor challenge of getting Navigator turned around in the marina’s very narrow fairway against the opposing wind and rapidly accelerating ebb current to tie up alongside her assigned slip. With some help from the marina staff they got everything settled, completed the checklist for securing Navigator for the evening and went ashore to enjoy dinner together at Schaefer’s restaurant. The marina was well maintained, and the food was great! Downside, Schaefers did not have shower facilities or equipment to pump out the holding tank…. Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025: The crew was up and about at 0600. The next leg of the journey involved an ocean transit down the coast of the DELMARVA. Sufyan was assigned as student skipper for the next 24-hour period and oversaw the completion of the predeparture checklist. They were underway on schedule at 0700. The morning was clear and calm, temperature in the lower 50s with winds veering to the northwest at 3-7 knots and expected to build through the afternoon. On exiting the C&D Canal, the crew set full mainsail and genoa and motor-sailed south along their intended course down Delaware Bay. Commercial ship traffic was light throughout the morning. Captain David individually guided the crew through calculating distance off stationary objects, utilizing the method of doubling the relative bearing. Captain Brian provided instruction on performing running fixes for the crewmates who had yet to work through that process. The six-hour watch rotation commenced at 1200, with Mike and Bob partnered as Team A and Sufyan and Dan as Team B. Team A took the first watch (1200 – 1800) with Team B encouraged to get as much rest as possible for the 1800 – 0000 shift. For the rest of trip down to Cape Charles, Team A and B would alternate six-hour shifts, 24 hours a day (Team A 0000-0600/1200-1800 – Team B 0600-1200/1800-0000). Captains Brian and David also stood six-hour shifts but offset their rotation times by three hours to allow for both A and B Team to have the opportunity to engage with both instructors (Captain Brian 1500-2100/0300-0900 – Captain David 2100-0300/0900-1500). Team A was also assigned responsibility preparing dinner for the crew in advance of their shift change. Team B had the task of washing the dishes after the meal. The food preparation and dish washing responsibilities flipped for lunch (Team B food prep/ Team A clean up). Everyone was responsible for making their own breakfast.
The winds intensified to 15 knots, gusting to 20, and shifted to the west throughout the afternoon, in line with the forecast. This enabled the crew to turn off the engine and enjoy some downwind sailing, with Navigator moving along at 7 knots on a favorable ebb current. Early afternoon saw some commercial ship traffic transiting the Delaware River Channel, but the crew’s planned course to the south of the channel safely avoided the larger vessels. Navigator rounded Cape Henlopen at 1800 with an incredible sunset as the crew enjoyed a delicious dinner of beef stroganoff jointly prepared by Bob and Mike. After the shift change, wind gusts began to intensify to 25 knots out of the west and coupled with the onset of dusk, Captain Brian instructed Team B to take in the first reef on the mainsail and furl the genoa to 80%. At 2000 Navigator made her turn to a southerly course, bringing the winds onto the beam and making for a brisk sail down the coast. At 2030 Dan took his first bearing off the Fenwick Island lighthouse in an attempt to obtain a running fix, experiencing the difficulty of trying to perform the task at night on a rolling, pitching boat healed at a 15-degree angle, using a dim red flashlight. In spite of the challenge, Dan’s fix was within two nautical miles of Navigator’s actual position. Captain David relieved Captain Brian at 2100 as Navigator continued shouldering through the three-foot southerly swells on course and making good way toward her destination.
Thursday, October 23rd, 2025: Captain Brian relieved Captain David at 0300 with wind and sea conditions remaining consistent and minimal vessel traffic to report over the course of his watch. The only shift in sail plan was that Navigator was flying a single reefed main, full staysail and 40% genoa. Team B had also turned over their watch rotation and Team A was now on duty, with Mike at the helm and Bob working as navigator. The night sky was clear, temperatures in the lower 50s. The moon having set early in the evening, an incredible display of stars was visible over the ocean. Shooting stars periodically streaking through the sky with it being the peak of the Orionid meteor shower. With the Ocean City Jetty light visible in the distance off the starboard quarter, Captain Brian guided Bob through the process of obtaining a running fix. Similar to Dan’s experience, plotting the lines of position on the paper chart was a challenge. The pounding waves and pitching of the boat sent navigational tools flying to leeward. Bob persisted though and managed to plot a running fix that was within half a nautical mile of Navigator’s GPS location. Mike was spared having to conduct a running fix in the dark due to the lack of visible navigational aids along the stretch of coast during that portion of his watch. As dawn approached, vessel traffic coming from the coast picked up as fast-moving sport fishing vessels headed to sea. The winds also began to diminish and back toward the southwest requiring the sails to be hauled in to a close reach and causing Navigator’s track to begin drifting to the east. Team B took over the watch from Team A at 0600 and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise. Mike chose to stay up a bit past his watch rotation and worked through taking a running fix off a large tower visible on Wallops Island. He too did an excellent job of calculating his fix within a half mile of Navigator’s GPS position. The remainer of Captain Brian’s watch was uneventful, with the exception of Dan making a fantastic pot of coffee. Captain David assumed his watch at 0900. At 1500 Navigator was heading southwest directly into 15 knot winds and 3-5 seas, making for very slow progress toward Cape Charles. Captain David had a single reefed main and staysail rigged close hauled and was motor-sailing on a starboard tack. Attempting a port tack resulted in a course heading back in the opposite direction. All that could be done was to push on to the mark at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, close to Fishermans Island. Captain Brian made the decision to drop the sails at 1800 when everyone was up for shift change and prior to having dinner. Thankfully, around this time, the winds began to diminish and the seas settled with waves of 2-3 feet out of the southwest. Bob and Mike cooked up another excellent meal of pasta, red sauce and ground beef, which was a bit easier to prepare than their last meal with Navigator cruising more level under engine power. The crew rounded the point at Fishermans Island at 1930 and experienced the challenge of locating unlit buoys in the dark. They successfully lined themselves up in the North Channel of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, carefully observing the navigational lights marking the correct spans to pass beneath the double set of bridges.
Navigator took the western fork of the channel north of the bridge and followed their planned course to the entrance to Cape Charles at Old Plantation Light. Mike was on duty at the helm for navigating through the Cape Charles Channel and experienced the challenge of trying to steer on course using range lights. All went according to plan and Navigator was tied up in her assigned slip at Cape Charles Yacht Center at 2200. The crew celebrated their successful passage with hot showers and some much-needed rest.
Friday, October 24th, 2025: No specific wake up time was specified for the morning, but the crew was up and about by 0730. Assessing the weather forecast for the next several days, Captains Brian and David concurred that the best course of action was to delay for an additional day in Cape Charles. The forecast for the evening on the Chesapeake Bay called for winds out of the northwest at 15-20 knot for most of the afternoon and overnight. This would place the wind and waves straight on their bow and make for rough slow progress for over 16 hours. Delaying their departure until the next morning would enable them to travel up the Bay with north winds of 0-10 knots for the duration of the trip back to LBM (easier on the crew and the boat.) This decision allowed the crew to enjoy a leisurely breakfast at Cape Charles Coffee House and do some exploring around the town. The crew filled the afternoon with refueling Navigator, discussing nautical topics likely to be encountered on the test, learning some valuable lessons in line handling and sitting for their ASA 106 exams (everyone passed with flying colors). After the test, the crew enjoyed a hearty meal together at The Shanty restaurant, located a short walk from their slip. They turned in around 2130 to get some additional needed rest before the final leg of the voyage up Chesapeake Bay the following morning. Saturday, October 25th, 2025: Reveille was set for 0700, but most of the crew were up and about early to take advantage of the hot showers ashore. Bob was given the responsibility of serving as the student skipper and oversaw the completion of all relevant pre-departure checklists. They slipped lines and Navigator was underway by 0800. It was another beautiful Fall Day, with temperatures in the lower 50s and winds out of the north at 0-5 knots. Departing the Cape Charles Channel during the day was nowhere near as challenging as it had been coming in in the pitch-black darkness. The light of day revealed the numerous navigational hazards that lined the channel they had avoided on the way in and the importance of understanding what the symbols and cautionary notes stood for on the navigational charts. The waters on the Bay were near dead calm, so the crew motored north along their planned course. To add a little excitement to the mix, Captain Brian unexpectedly tossed Winnie overboard and the crew conducted a successful recovery using the Quick Stop. After several MOB practice runs, the wind picked up slightly and veered to the east, so the crew set a full mainsail and genoa. Captain Brian threw the crew an additional curveball, declaring that the starboard shroud had parted. Captains Brian and David helped walk the crew through the steps on dealing with the emergency and guided them through the process of using a spare halyard to stabilize the mast. Once they secured from the drill they were back underway, making good progress motor-sailing up the Bay. The 24-hour watch rotation commenced again starting at 1200 keeping the previously assigned teams and schedules. Commercial vessel traffic in the Bay was much heavier than the transit down the coast and the crew paid careful attention to maintain their course outside the primary channel. At 1500 Captain Brian directed the crew to chart a new course to the western side of the Bay in order to make a close pass by Smith Point Light at the entrance to the Potomac River. They arrived at Smith Point just after 1730 and just in time for shift change to begin, so the crew all had a chance to get a couple pictures of the historic structure before continuing their course up the Bay. Bob and Mike prepared another exceptional meal using what stores were left aboard and the crew enjoyed a mix of chicken, lentil bean soup, stir fried vegetables and salad. Wind and wave conditions remained remarkably calm for the remainder of the journey. Sunday, October 26th, 2025: The crew were challenged with avoiding a large amount of commercial vessel traffic during the night, requiring close observation of the AIS and radar systems. All was relatively quiet though until Captain Brian threw in one last MOB drill at 0530, just as Team A was waking to take over their final watch. Winnie got to go for another swim in dark of night and the crew had the added challenge of trying to locate the MOB with an intermittent strobe light. Once recovered, the crew was spared any additional MOB drills in the dark with Winnie’s strobe having completely stopped working after being brought aboard. Dawn broke just as Navigator rounded Love Point into the Chester River. The water on the river was flat as a mirror with a light steam fog forming over the surface. Another beautiful morning and a perfect conclusion to an exciting and challenging cruise! Navigator tied up alongside the LBM pump-out dock at exactly 0900. The crew made easy work of completing the pump-out, filling up the diesel tank and returning Navigator to her home slip. Captain Brian assigned Sufyan to serve as the student skipper for completing the post cruise checklist. The students removed their gear, tidied up the boat and prepared themselves to get on the road home. Captains Brian and David passed out the diplomas and congratulated the crew on a job well done! Handshakes and goodbyes were given all around along with best wishes and hopes to cross paths again somewhere out there in the sailing world (there may have even been a couple man-hugs). All proved themselves to be very capable sailors and came together as a fantastic crew. Excellent work, Team! Fair winds and following seas…. Captain Brian
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