Sassafras River & Bodkin Creek

SHIP'S LOG:

I rose at the crack of 9am on Friday the 8th and proceeded to make coffee. I was in desperate need of coffee. Despite lots of sack time and a great meal, I was still feeling pretty wiped out. But not being able to afford another night in the marina, I performed my morning ablutions - showers are wonderful - , hit the market, pumped the holding tank, bought some more ice, paid the bill and shoved off. . . . . . . SOUTH. I was headed for a place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland called the Sassafras River about 16 miles away. The wind was light, but from the west and I was going to sail as far as I could before time and sundown forced me to turn on the engine.

I was able to sail 1/3 - 1/2 of the distance toward my goal, passing the Aberdeen Proving Grounds as I entered the Elk River again near Turkey Point. It was in the mid 70's and the sun was shinning and all was right with the world, or at least the little part my boat and I were occupying. I had some greater idea of making this short jump with the intention of cleaning up the boat after the hook was down. The chances actually of that happening were slim and none and slim had left town. I did take a stab at it but really wasn't bale to accomplish all that much. No enthusiasm.

The water up here in the northern Chesapeake is muddy brown. I am not sure if that is normal or the result of the recent storms. Lots of sand cliff faces right down to the water's edge as if the Bay is still being gouged out. Lots of boats and strangely the people down here seem to have a fear of leaving their boats in the water when they are not using them. Most of the boats I've seen not being used are hoisted out of the water.

Got to the Sassafras River about 4:30pm, dropped the hook with LOTS OF SCOPE (line played out) and anchor weights. I took three triangulated bearings that I checked every 15 minutes. I left the GPS and set an anchor alarm that would go off should I move 50 feet. I did everything possible to insure that ABISHAG would stay put short of hoisting her out of the water.

After a congratulatory beer/ale ( Blue Moon Belgian Ale), I made supper ( left over fillet Mignon and pasta from Livia) and plotted out the course for the next day. I did something different this time. Not only did I lay out the course, but I wrote down each of the marks/buoys that I chose for waypoints so that I would know that the GPS was functioning correctly.

Since I could not get a Internet connection in beautiful Sassafras River, I check the anchor for the 100th time, put up the anchor light and went to bed to sleep the sleep of the just!



SATURDAY - OCTOBER 9, 2010

SHIP'S LOG:

Rose with the ducks, of which there are a huge number in this part of the world, and found myself and ABISHAG right where we were the night before. My average is improving. Had coffee and rechecked the course. All looks good. Performed my "morning ablutions", trying to establish a routine. I did my morning boat check - oil, fuel level, batteries, weather, etc - and it was time to get moving.

The engine went on and I raised the anchor weights and then the anchor itself. Once again the clutch lock ( a handle that you twist) for the side of the windlass that raises the rope rode, which I was using , loosened forcing me to raise the whole thing by hand. Actually, I sit down put my feet on to bollards on deck, grab the rode, and straighten my legs. It is a good morning exercise which I will cease doing as soon as I can get the bloody clutch to stay tight.

I motored out of the Sassafras River, about 4 miles, into the Bay expecting to find the NOAA promised "steady 10knots Northeast Wind" and got 5 knots south wind. It would be a day of motoring but my goals was a creek called Bodkin on the south side of the channel that leads into Baltimore. It was a 30 miles trip. I don't want to do any more than that/ There is no reason to rush anywhere.

I'll say one thing for Chesapeake Bay and that word is "crabpots!" Man, they are everywhere. New England and her lobster pots having nothing on these. Not only are the "exceedingly numerous" the floats are very small and hard to see. If there is any wave action they are all but invisible. I was able to avoid them though in 67 degree water, it wouldn't have been really, really awful to unhook. Again it was in the mid to upper 70's and bright sunny skies. Even though I was motoring, it was a great trip.

About an hour out of Bodkin creek, I noticed that the tach wasn't registering. It is attached to the alternator and when I went down stairs to check, the boat wasn't charging the batteries. Now I don't need juice to run the diesel, only to start it, so i isolated the starting battery and ran on just the house. It would run the two GPS and the radio until I got to the anchorage. On one of the trips into the cabin, I must have hit the bilge pump switch which moved from automatic -on when needed, to "ON" which means it just ran. The batteries began to run down, fast because of the pump, and went dead just after I dropped my hook in Bodkin Creek.

I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Cliff and Chuck and Don the Magic Electrician but the best we could come up with, with all of testing I did at their bidding, was that either the alternator and/or the regulator are toast. How they/it got damaged it is hard to say but considering the pounding the whole boat took and all the wen that got inside, it is not hard to imagine that had something to do with it. It is not something I can fix on the boat. I don't have the parts, so it looks like I will have to have it done "professionally."

Still and all, it was a good day and tomorrow God is giving me a day to clean out and rearrange the boat!