SHIP'S LOG:
"Perfect Peter" and "Debbie Diction" - the voices of the NOAA Weather Forecasts, used those three little words last night and again this morning which meant that I wasn't going anywhere. Truth be told, if I was at TYC 20-25 knots and gust to 30 makes for an exciting ride but there would have been no small craft advisory. The shallowness of the Bay allows the winds to whip up some nasty waves that make for hazardous travel by small craft, hence the advisory.
I actually think that gusts were more than 30 because they really got ABISHAG sailing around on her anchor.The rigging sang and everything that could rattle did! But the sun was out and it was in the high 60's so it was a good day.
I got a chance to complete a couple of jobs. I Re-hinged the port side cover for the anchor/ windlass locker that had been torn out by the storm. A little drilling, a little screwing, a little gluing and all is right with the world. I also put a barrel bolt latch on a locker in the forward head which broke during the storm. The banging was enough to drive you crazy when it was really rocking. Fred had literally duct taped it in place. IT was half open/half closed and not really usable, but I only just now got around to it. I also got around to learning the GPS/Chartplotter at the Nav station which is different than the one at the helm in the cockpit. Lots amore buttons to push but I think I have it down . . .sort of.
This morning I was awakened by what I thought was some idiot letting of a string of firecrackers. Then it dawned on me . . .in my paranoia . . .that someone was shooting of a gun to get my attention because I was going aground or something. As it turns out, today must be the first day of the duck hunting season, because Bubba and Cooder and Billy Joe were in a duck blind on the other side of the creek blasting away at anything in the sky, including the low flying aircraft approaching BWI! They kept it up until 10am when they ran out of targets, bullets and/or beer. I expect a reprise on the morrow. I wonder if they would get too upset if I used an air horn on the ducks? Naw, they'd probably shoot me!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Bodkin Creek at Anchor . . .Again
SHIP'S LOG:
It wasn't a long trip today, a mere 3/4's of a mile, right back to where I was on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.However, it meant that the $68.50 a night charge no longer applied which is good if you don't have $68.50 a night. Total dock bill came to $205.50 but now I am on my own hook and it is free . . . . except for the paranoia.
It took me four, count'em four attempts to get the anchor set and holding. Truth be told, it was probably holding the first three times but I didn't like where it left me hanging so to speak. The winds are 20 -25 with gusts of 30 so I want to be sure that when I wake up in the morning I am in the same place it was the night before when I went to bed! Laying out a 35lbs plow, with 12 feet of chain and 90 feet of rope rode, with 30lbs of anchor weights on their own rode thrown in, then doing it again, and then doing it again and then doing it a fourth time - all by hand - well it is more exercise than I have had in a while. But it is all down now, the bearings check, the GPS checks and I am in for the night.
I almost hated to leave the Yacht Club/Marina. It was comfortable there and there were people all around, then there is the old sailing proverb that says "good harbors rot good men and good ships." It was time to go, not far but go. I am not sure whether or not I will be moving tomorrow. It is supposed to be windy . . .small craft advisory windy. If the winds get too much they may even call it "a gale." One of those a trip is fine thank you! Then again, NOAA doesn't have a sterling track record so far on this trip. I will await the dawn and check the weather again and see what's what.
The weather is changing down here. Days still int eh high 60's/ low to mid 70's but the nights are getting cooler, in fact down right chilly. And the chill comes earlier in the evening and stays later in the morning. I guess fall even comes to Maryland. It was an actual long pants/jacket type of day. I may have to put my shorts and tee-shirts away for awhile, but not too long I hope.
I have 8 stops/anchorages plugged into the GPS. I can adjust them if I want but they are all comfortable day trips. I want to be able to be in and anchor by 4pm every day. It gives me a cushion against the unexpected. . . . . like having to set the anchor four times! If all goes well, I will be anchored in Sillery Bay this time tomorrow, one step closer to the ICW. At this rate I might even get there before November.
It wasn't a long trip today, a mere 3/4's of a mile, right back to where I was on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.However, it meant that the $68.50 a night charge no longer applied which is good if you don't have $68.50 a night. Total dock bill came to $205.50 but now I am on my own hook and it is free . . . . except for the paranoia.
It took me four, count'em four attempts to get the anchor set and holding. Truth be told, it was probably holding the first three times but I didn't like where it left me hanging so to speak. The winds are 20 -25 with gusts of 30 so I want to be sure that when I wake up in the morning I am in the same place it was the night before when I went to bed! Laying out a 35lbs plow, with 12 feet of chain and 90 feet of rope rode, with 30lbs of anchor weights on their own rode thrown in, then doing it again, and then doing it again and then doing it a fourth time - all by hand - well it is more exercise than I have had in a while. But it is all down now, the bearings check, the GPS checks and I am in for the night.
I almost hated to leave the Yacht Club/Marina. It was comfortable there and there were people all around, then there is the old sailing proverb that says "good harbors rot good men and good ships." It was time to go, not far but go. I am not sure whether or not I will be moving tomorrow. It is supposed to be windy . . .small craft advisory windy. If the winds get too much they may even call it "a gale." One of those a trip is fine thank you! Then again, NOAA doesn't have a sterling track record so far on this trip. I will await the dawn and check the weather again and see what's what.
The weather is changing down here. Days still int eh high 60's/ low to mid 70's but the nights are getting cooler, in fact down right chilly. And the chill comes earlier in the evening and stays later in the morning. I guess fall even comes to Maryland. It was an actual long pants/jacket type of day. I may have to put my shorts and tee-shirts away for awhile, but not too long I hope.
I have 8 stops/anchorages plugged into the GPS. I can adjust them if I want but they are all comfortable day trips. I want to be able to be in and anchor by 4pm every day. It gives me a cushion against the unexpected. . . . . like having to set the anchor four times! If all goes well, I will be anchored in Sillery Bay this time tomorrow, one step closer to the ICW. At this rate I might even get there before November.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
All Better! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
"Utility Lou" showed up at the crack of dawn . . . .literally!At 07:00 there was a pounding on the hull and it was Lou and the old alternator and the brand spanking new regulator. He went to work and before you could read "War & Peace," everything was installed, tested and worked. And it only cost 1.2 Maine Units. For those of you who don't know or remember what a "Marine Unit" is, it is a designation for an amount of money that lets you spend more than you should while making it seem less. It is far easy to spend "1 Marine Unit" then it is to spend "$500!" So 1.2 Marine Units - you figure it out!
Today the weather turned crappy. It is cold and has been raining all day. It is supposed to rain until midnight and then stop. There are small craft warnings out on Chesapeake Bay, even a warning of possible "waterspouts!", so I decided to bite the financial bullet and stay at the marina one more night. Tomorrow, the rain should be gone and so will I. If the wind is "too much," I will simply move "down creek" to the spot I was Saturday, Sunday & Monday and head of when the weather is good.
I talked with Chuck Estell, the launch drive from TYC, who has made this trip numerous times. He will be my personal guide in addition to all of the books, websites and info from other sailors I have received. He already has given me a few ideas that will be helpful. However, I am still maybe a week away from Hampton Roads/Norfolk/Portsmouth/ Newport News and the beginning of the ICW at Hospital Point.The is no real rush to get there . . yet. Beginning on November 1, everybody with insurance is released to go south of the Chesapeake and the ICW will become a veritable waterborne "I-95." Since I have no intention of pushing to make 50 -70 miles a day, I would like to get some distance before the rush hits, but again it is a question of seeing what each particular day brings about.
If I think of it, I will take a picture of this boat that is being worked on here at Pleasure Cove Yacht Club ( great name but terribly inaccurate as is their ad in the cruising guide). The boat is called "Plenty of Pleasure" and is a powerboat, with four huge props, each of which goes for $16,000 a piece!
It is chilly down here in the rain and near time for supper. Enjoy the storm that is headed your way in Connecticut!
"Utility Lou" showed up at the crack of dawn . . . .literally!At 07:00 there was a pounding on the hull and it was Lou and the old alternator and the brand spanking new regulator. He went to work and before you could read "War & Peace," everything was installed, tested and worked. And it only cost 1.2 Maine Units. For those of you who don't know or remember what a "Marine Unit" is, it is a designation for an amount of money that lets you spend more than you should while making it seem less. It is far easy to spend "1 Marine Unit" then it is to spend "$500!" So 1.2 Marine Units - you figure it out!
Today the weather turned crappy. It is cold and has been raining all day. It is supposed to rain until midnight and then stop. There are small craft warnings out on Chesapeake Bay, even a warning of possible "waterspouts!", so I decided to bite the financial bullet and stay at the marina one more night. Tomorrow, the rain should be gone and so will I. If the wind is "too much," I will simply move "down creek" to the spot I was Saturday, Sunday & Monday and head of when the weather is good.
I talked with Chuck Estell, the launch drive from TYC, who has made this trip numerous times. He will be my personal guide in addition to all of the books, websites and info from other sailors I have received. He already has given me a few ideas that will be helpful. However, I am still maybe a week away from Hampton Roads/Norfolk/Portsmouth/ Newport News and the beginning of the ICW at Hospital Point.The is no real rush to get there . . yet. Beginning on November 1, everybody with insurance is released to go south of the Chesapeake and the ICW will become a veritable waterborne "I-95." Since I have no intention of pushing to make 50 -70 miles a day, I would like to get some distance before the rush hits, but again it is a question of seeing what each particular day brings about.
If I think of it, I will take a picture of this boat that is being worked on here at Pleasure Cove Yacht Club ( great name but terribly inaccurate as is their ad in the cruising guide). The boat is called "Plenty of Pleasure" and is a powerboat, with four huge props, each of which goes for $16,000 a piece!
It is chilly down here in the rain and near time for supper. Enjoy the storm that is headed your way in Connecticut!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
"Utility Lou" is AWOL
SHIP'S LOG:
Lou Anderson, relative in some degree of Nelson Anderson, came to the baot yeasterday adn left with the alternator, the regulator and the belt that ran the alternator. Alas, he did not return today which means that the shop they use to check out electrical componenets a.) didn't get to the stuff; b.) did but didn't finish the work; c.) did but they were both beyond repair; or d.) they are trying to find replacements. In any event, I am here for another night.
Another boat joined the party, Tom and Shelia on "Two Spirits" down from Vancouver, BC. They will be receiving some friends tomorrow and will take them cruising for a couple of days before dropping them off and continuing south to the ICW. Tonight we had cocktails and goodies and schmoosed for a couple of hours before Ian and Leigh Anne and Tom and Shelia went off for dinner at the Chessie Crab, the restraunta here at the marina. I had to beg off as I don't know what the butcher's bill for the repairs will be yet and I have to be sure I can cover it. My own culinary delights will have to suffice.
I got to go up the main mast today to retrieve the spinnaker topping lift. It came loose during the storm last week and, even though I don't have a spinnaker pole that needs a topping lift, I had to retrieve it less it do some damage or cause further havoc a some unforeseen time. Ian did the cranking and I did the screaming to about 40 feet off the deck. Actually, it wasn't that bad and took about 10 minutes. You get a great view at 40 feet but I still hated it. But now it is down and all secured and all is as it should be.
Waiting for ""Utility Lou" to show provided me with time to was the floors, the dishes, the sink, the counters, to repair a broken latch, to store items that have been bouncing around the cabin and even look at the ICW on the Chartplotter. The frist part of the ICW is a little hecktic but after mile 10 it seems to become very sedate. Of course, as every cruising guide warns, that is when the grounding occur. As they all say, you have to get comfortable with going agound because there are only three types of people on the ICW, thouse who have gound aground, thouse who are about to go aground and those who have gone aground but lie about it. Thank goodness for "TowBoat US."
The creek must be a way point for water fowl heading south. Man, they are verywhere adn the noisiest creatures imaginable. You would think they would shut up once the sun goes down but naw, they keep right on sqwaking all night.
The days have been pleasantly warm, in some cases too hot and humid but the nights are cool. In fact, it is supposed to get down right cold tonight, a two blanket night for sure.
Well, tomorrow is another day and hopefully "Utility Lou," the alternator, belt and regulator all show up and I can get out of here . . .nice as it is.
O by the way, the wifi connection down here is awful. It is slow and undependable. Hopefully it will get better.
Lou Anderson, relative in some degree of Nelson Anderson, came to the baot yeasterday adn left with the alternator, the regulator and the belt that ran the alternator. Alas, he did not return today which means that the shop they use to check out electrical componenets a.) didn't get to the stuff; b.) did but didn't finish the work; c.) did but they were both beyond repair; or d.) they are trying to find replacements. In any event, I am here for another night.
Another boat joined the party, Tom and Shelia on "Two Spirits" down from Vancouver, BC. They will be receiving some friends tomorrow and will take them cruising for a couple of days before dropping them off and continuing south to the ICW. Tonight we had cocktails and goodies and schmoosed for a couple of hours before Ian and Leigh Anne and Tom and Shelia went off for dinner at the Chessie Crab, the restraunta here at the marina. I had to beg off as I don't know what the butcher's bill for the repairs will be yet and I have to be sure I can cover it. My own culinary delights will have to suffice.
I got to go up the main mast today to retrieve the spinnaker topping lift. It came loose during the storm last week and, even though I don't have a spinnaker pole that needs a topping lift, I had to retrieve it less it do some damage or cause further havoc a some unforeseen time. Ian did the cranking and I did the screaming to about 40 feet off the deck. Actually, it wasn't that bad and took about 10 minutes. You get a great view at 40 feet but I still hated it. But now it is down and all secured and all is as it should be.
Waiting for ""Utility Lou" to show provided me with time to was the floors, the dishes, the sink, the counters, to repair a broken latch, to store items that have been bouncing around the cabin and even look at the ICW on the Chartplotter. The frist part of the ICW is a little hecktic but after mile 10 it seems to become very sedate. Of course, as every cruising guide warns, that is when the grounding occur. As they all say, you have to get comfortable with going agound because there are only three types of people on the ICW, thouse who have gound aground, thouse who are about to go aground and those who have gone aground but lie about it. Thank goodness for "TowBoat US."
The creek must be a way point for water fowl heading south. Man, they are verywhere adn the noisiest creatures imaginable. You would think they would shut up once the sun goes down but naw, they keep right on sqwaking all night.
The days have been pleasantly warm, in some cases too hot and humid but the nights are cool. In fact, it is supposed to get down right cold tonight, a two blanket night for sure.
Well, tomorrow is another day and hopefully "Utility Lou," the alternator, belt and regulator all show up and I can get out of here . . .nice as it is.
O by the way, the wifi connection down here is awful. It is slow and undependable. Hopefully it will get better.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Happy (The REAL) Columbus Day! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
I am safely docked in the Pleasure Cove Yacht Club(& Marina) further up Bodkin Creek on the South Shore of the Patapsco River which leads into Baltimore. I am about 3/4 of a mile from where I was before and in a few hours Nelson Anderson should be here to work his miracles on my alternator/regulator problem.
I am docked next to Ian & Leigh-Anne who are from Australia. They, along with Sky the dog, have come here to buy a catamaran(Windwalker), which they have, and which they are in the process of making ocean worthy, with the idea of taking 3-4 years to cruise it home to OZ. They have been here 5 months getting the boat ready ( sound familiar) and expect to shove off in two-three weeks(sound familiar), heading south on the outside. We have shared sea stories and they have taken me to the market to replenish the larder. It has been a pleasant day to say the least though it has been a bit hot and humid.
I have had the joy of taking a shower. Boy, you don't know what you've got till its gone! I will definitely have to iron out the water system problems before too much longer as showers are one of God's great gifts to feeling human.
Hopefully, when Nelson Anderson gets here, the fix will be simple and inexpensive. Whatever it costs, it has taken a serious bite out of my cruising kitty and things will be very tight for a long while.Hopefully, this will be the last unexpected expenditure but who knows.
We had a lightening storm last night. No thunder, just lightening and rain. Can't remember such a phenomenon before but then I am no longer in New England! Heard from Fred today. He got a new phone. He wasn't happy with the last one and after what it went through, it probably wasn't happy with him either. He got his boat to Portland and is out of the water. He said he really enjoyed the trip . . . the puking aside.
I go to await the the electrician or someone like him. Anyone get that reference?
I am safely docked in the Pleasure Cove Yacht Club(& Marina) further up Bodkin Creek on the South Shore of the Patapsco River which leads into Baltimore. I am about 3/4 of a mile from where I was before and in a few hours Nelson Anderson should be here to work his miracles on my alternator/regulator problem.
I am docked next to Ian & Leigh-Anne who are from Australia. They, along with Sky the dog, have come here to buy a catamaran(Windwalker), which they have, and which they are in the process of making ocean worthy, with the idea of taking 3-4 years to cruise it home to OZ. They have been here 5 months getting the boat ready ( sound familiar) and expect to shove off in two-three weeks(sound familiar), heading south on the outside. We have shared sea stories and they have taken me to the market to replenish the larder. It has been a pleasant day to say the least though it has been a bit hot and humid.
I have had the joy of taking a shower. Boy, you don't know what you've got till its gone! I will definitely have to iron out the water system problems before too much longer as showers are one of God's great gifts to feeling human.
Hopefully, when Nelson Anderson gets here, the fix will be simple and inexpensive. Whatever it costs, it has taken a serious bite out of my cruising kitty and things will be very tight for a long while.Hopefully, this will be the last unexpected expenditure but who knows.
We had a lightening storm last night. No thunder, just lightening and rain. Can't remember such a phenomenon before but then I am no longer in New England! Heard from Fred today. He got a new phone. He wasn't happy with the last one and after what it went through, it probably wasn't happy with him either. He got his boat to Portland and is out of the water. He said he really enjoyed the trip . . . the puking aside.
I go to await the the electrician or someone like him. Anyone get that reference?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Happy Columbus Day!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, it's not really but it is when we are celebrating it so I guess it is OK.
It was a slow day. I contacted the marina and everyone had the plague. They're out of commission for a couple of says. i called the number of the electrician given me by the passing "Towboat/US" operator and talked with him and he figures its a couple of days as well. He'll do it IN the marina that has the plague. I waited all day for him to get back to me to confirm but he didn't. Such is life.
I spent the day plotting courses from here to the beginning of the ICW. I am giving myself 5-6 days which is a slow pace. I'll by pass major stuff like Annapolis and Washington in order to get going on the ICW. There really is no rush and so I won't. The weather should crap out sometime this week, it is just do for it, but right now it is like August in Connecticut!
I wish there was more to say but really there isn't. Tomorrow should produce more info to share. I've just finished supper and if I had port & cigars I would be doing them and watching the sun go done. But alas, I finished the last beer with dinner.
Well, it's not really but it is when we are celebrating it so I guess it is OK.
It was a slow day. I contacted the marina and everyone had the plague. They're out of commission for a couple of says. i called the number of the electrician given me by the passing "Towboat/US" operator and talked with him and he figures its a couple of days as well. He'll do it IN the marina that has the plague. I waited all day for him to get back to me to confirm but he didn't. Such is life.
I spent the day plotting courses from here to the beginning of the ICW. I am giving myself 5-6 days which is a slow pace. I'll by pass major stuff like Annapolis and Washington in order to get going on the ICW. There really is no rush and so I won't. The weather should crap out sometime this week, it is just do for it, but right now it is like August in Connecticut!
I wish there was more to say but really there isn't. Tomorrow should produce more info to share. I've just finished supper and if I had port & cigars I would be doing them and watching the sun go done. But alas, I finished the last beer with dinner.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
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!
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!
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