SHIP'S LOG:
The first part of the day wasn't particularly pleasing. The promised 15-20 knots showed up but they came more from the NNW than from the North West. As a result, the wind was basically directly behind and throw in the 2-3 foot waves, with an occasional 3-4 footer, along with those occasional gusts of 25, and you can understand that the morning wasn't particularly pleasant. I am not sure if any boat handles seas directly astern particularly well, but ABISHAG doesn't particularly like it. Holding a course was a real pain. I could settle in for a while but the slightest drifting in attention and suddenly a wave would catch you and you were 2o or 30 or 40 degrees off course thanks to getting slapped with a wave on the rump. I would have top go through a whole bunch of yawing back and forth to get back on course and await the next lull in attention. Pitching and rolling and yawing, ABISHAG and I did it all this morning. I motor-sailed, mostly with just the main up. With out a pole for the Genny. the rolling and pitching would cause the Genny to collapse and occasionally snap open with a bang. Not good for the sail or my nerves.
The afternoon was a different story. Not that the wind change but the course did. Dead down wind became a reach as I head off toward Little Bay and Anti-poison Creek for the night. The motor off and with a partially furled main and slightly furled Genny, we screamed across the Bay toward the western shore. It was a fun ride but the chop kicked up by the wind was severe. I would really like to come back some day and sail the bay when it isn't such a mess. ABISHAG seems to handle this type of wind and seas rather well on this point of sail. She has a very comfortable motion.
When I was anchoring the boat for the night, I manage to drop my anchor weights over board as I was trying to attach them to the anchor rode. To say that I was a bit perturbed is to damn with faint praise. I do have an old anchor which I use as a lunch hook for the dinghy and so I used that in place of the anchor weights. It is less weight but it should work fine. I'll just let out extra rode if warranted. Heck, most people don't even used anchor weight but I use them all the time and feel "naked" without them. That makes two(2) book hooks and and two anchor weights lost over the side on this trip. Hope I have enough stuff to last til I get back. ( I had a very stiff drink after all was done to settle my nerves. Unfortunately, that was also the last of the rum!)
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I think what really irritates me about loosing the weights, and the boat hooks, is that it was totally unnecessary. I violated my own procedures and took a short cut and that cost me. I have been very carefully about following the procedures I have set up, but the times I have not I have learned a lesson. I also find that if I lay a course into the chartplotter, checking it as I do so, that I should always follow it when I am navigating. Things don't always look the same on the water as they do on the chart. True, they both eventually harmonize, but when you don't know a place, when you can't quite jive what you seed with what you think you should see, you've got to trust the work you have done before hand. Already, I have encountered missing buoys and marks and marks and buoys that aren't on the charts. Again coming into Little Bay I encountered two fish weirs not on the map and not marked in any way. It pays to be overly cautious or you will eventually pay.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A Glorious Day! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Today was glorious though it didn't start out as such. I needed fuel( 35 gallons worth), a pump out and some ice blocks. I hit one marina that had the fuel and the pump out but no ice. i took on more fuel than I expected and had to pump out more than I expected. This particular marina has a pump out hose with a clear plastic section that allows you to view the "holdings" of your holding tank. A great way to start the day! Actually, most marinas will not pump fuel or anything else because of insurance concerns. The most they will do is hand you the hose and get out of the way, but it seems to work out OK . . . .so long as you don't "have a spill." Then the EPA and all those other agencies get involved and the fines get ridiculous.
I tried to get ice at three other marinas. As I approached the first two, boats slipped in ahead of me. It was really frustrating but the third one, which was literally "up the creek" and looked sort of run down had no one at the dock so I swooped in, got my ice and beat a hasty retreat.
I motored out into the Patuxent River, raised a reefed Main and Genny and took off down the river to the Bay. I hung a right at the mouth and made it all the way to the Potomac on a single tack. I was accompanied by the boys and girls from the Navy flight training school at the Patuxent Naval Air Station who today were doing "Touch and Go". This maneuver is training for aircraft carrier landings. When you land, you slam the throttles forward so that you have enough power to take off again should your "hook" miss the arresting wires. It is amazing how much noise can come out of one of those little planes and there were whole squadrons of them doing it all day. My course also took me by the Naval Targets in the bay and while no one was dropping bombs or firing missiles, there were lots of planes doing low-level attack approaches to the targets in the water. While I am sure they missed by miles, the noise rattled the filings in my teeth.
The sail was glorious.The winds were between 10 and 15, with gusts to 25, which churned up 3-4 waves in the shallow bay. It was warm and the sun was shining, I could not have asked for a better day. IT was one hand sailing all the way. I seriously would have used the wind-vane steering, but it has been too long since I actually sail ABISHAG. The only sour note was the trip up the Potomac River. Turning up the river, the wind was on the nose and so were the waves. I had hoped to get up to St. Mary River but settled for Jutland Creek instead. If all things go as are hoped for, I will be in "Anti-poison Creek" in "Little Bay" in Virginia tomorrow.
Today was glorious though it didn't start out as such. I needed fuel( 35 gallons worth), a pump out and some ice blocks. I hit one marina that had the fuel and the pump out but no ice. i took on more fuel than I expected and had to pump out more than I expected. This particular marina has a pump out hose with a clear plastic section that allows you to view the "holdings" of your holding tank. A great way to start the day! Actually, most marinas will not pump fuel or anything else because of insurance concerns. The most they will do is hand you the hose and get out of the way, but it seems to work out OK . . . .so long as you don't "have a spill." Then the EPA and all those other agencies get involved and the fines get ridiculous.
I tried to get ice at three other marinas. As I approached the first two, boats slipped in ahead of me. It was really frustrating but the third one, which was literally "up the creek" and looked sort of run down had no one at the dock so I swooped in, got my ice and beat a hasty retreat.
I motored out into the Patuxent River, raised a reefed Main and Genny and took off down the river to the Bay. I hung a right at the mouth and made it all the way to the Potomac on a single tack. I was accompanied by the boys and girls from the Navy flight training school at the Patuxent Naval Air Station who today were doing "Touch and Go". This maneuver is training for aircraft carrier landings. When you land, you slam the throttles forward so that you have enough power to take off again should your "hook" miss the arresting wires. It is amazing how much noise can come out of one of those little planes and there were whole squadrons of them doing it all day. My course also took me by the Naval Targets in the bay and while no one was dropping bombs or firing missiles, there were lots of planes doing low-level attack approaches to the targets in the water. While I am sure they missed by miles, the noise rattled the filings in my teeth.
The sail was glorious.The winds were between 10 and 15, with gusts to 25, which churned up 3-4 waves in the shallow bay. It was warm and the sun was shining, I could not have asked for a better day. IT was one hand sailing all the way. I seriously would have used the wind-vane steering, but it has been too long since I actually sail ABISHAG. The only sour note was the trip up the Potomac River. Turning up the river, the wind was on the nose and so were the waves. I had hoped to get up to St. Mary River but settled for Jutland Creek instead. If all things go as are hoped for, I will be in "Anti-poison Creek" in "Little Bay" in Virginia tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Sone
SHIP'S LOG:
It started raining about 3am and has kept up all day. It was cold and grey and clammy and a good day to stay in bed curled up with a good book . . . . which was exactly what I did. I also rearranged a few things, discovered a few more leaks to plug and generally was indolent and lazy. I deserved it.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, it is off to the Potomac River and possibly ol' Virginny!
It started raining about 3am and has kept up all day. It was cold and grey and clammy and a good day to stay in bed curled up with a good book . . . . which was exactly what I did. I also rearranged a few things, discovered a few more leaks to plug and generally was indolent and lazy. I deserved it.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, it is off to the Potomac River and possibly ol' Virginny!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Herring Bay - A Learning Experience
SHIP'S LOG:
After I dropped the anchor in Herring Bay and had supper, it seemed the end of a very fine day. Two other sailboats were anchor near by, not close but near by, and we were a cosy- wave-at-a-distance community of sailors. I did all my normal checks and went to bed and slept the sleep of the just . . . . until about 1:30AM when "the wind shes astarted to blow!" I don't think the gusts got to be more than 30 knots but it was the fact that NOAA had forgotten to mention the possibility that was most irksome. Herring Bay is on the western shore of the Bay and the wind was coming out of East/Northeast with nothing to impede its progress. I was in 15 feet of water with 110 feet of rope rhode, 12 feet of chain, a 35lbs CQR Plow anchor, and 30 lbs of additional anchor weights on the rode. The boat wasn't going anywhere, not in that amount of wind, but that didn't stop me from worrying about it. I got up twice to check and left the GPS on all night. The GPS plotted the movement of the boat and gave the depth of the water under the keel. ABISHAG didn't move out of a fifty foot circle and never seriously approached single digit depths. Of course, at night everything seems magnified, all the noises, all the movements, and when you are rocking up and down, sometimes not too gently, it can work on your mind. I know that I must have gotten some sleep but it sure didn't seem like it. I kept waiting for the anchor to pull out, the rode to part or something else to go wrong . . . . but nothing did. I had set everything up well, as I do every night, for just such an unexpected event. Through truth be told, I did ask God several times to get me through the night!
The morning didn't look to hot and the weather was iffy to say the best, but since I had the course already laid in, I took off for Patuxent River and the Solomon Islands. It was a trip of about 31 miles, the longest trip alone on this particular journey. The wind was out of the east but light so I motor-sailed and made really great time. Along the way I was passed by the US Navy Hospital Ship COMFORT. It has the nicest captain I have yet heard. When he contacted a ship in front of him and asked him to maneuver, he would take the time to explain why he want the other ship to move and seemed to suggest the what was to their best advantage. A far cry from" I am passing you to starboard!" with no ifs, ands or buts.
Anchoring in the Solomon Islands, an area just inside the mouth of the Patuxent River, is really something. all the homes are magnificent. If they aren't receive mansions, they are old homesteads with the look and panache of ages. When I dropped my hook out in front of this one house and set about making the boat ready for the night. The owner came out with a friend and I could hear them and see them talking and pointing to my boat. I kind of felt for them. If I lived there, having me park my boat "in their front yard" would irritate me some too.
So far, there hasn't been a lot of sailing on this trip, but tomorrow, weather permitting , will be a sailing day. I will head out of the Patuxent and turn right and either anchor somewhere in St. Mary River, at the mouth of the Potomac or continue south and anchor somewhere in the Great Wicomico River. I wonder what's so great about it?
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Strangely, even though I haven't really gone all that far since losing Bob & Fred, it seems almost as though I am really pushing it. Today was the farthest trip yet and it was only 31 miles! I don't know why I feel it but it seems like I am rushing and pushing. True, I do want to get back to wearing shorts and tee-shirts, but it is more the attitude. I want to get somewhere. Where I am not quite sure but somewhere. I am really struggling to enjoy each day where I am. It is getting a little easier, but I am still looking too much ahead instead of living in the moment. After all, what's the rush?
After I dropped the anchor in Herring Bay and had supper, it seemed the end of a very fine day. Two other sailboats were anchor near by, not close but near by, and we were a cosy- wave-at-a-distance community of sailors. I did all my normal checks and went to bed and slept the sleep of the just . . . . until about 1:30AM when "the wind shes astarted to blow!" I don't think the gusts got to be more than 30 knots but it was the fact that NOAA had forgotten to mention the possibility that was most irksome. Herring Bay is on the western shore of the Bay and the wind was coming out of East/Northeast with nothing to impede its progress. I was in 15 feet of water with 110 feet of rope rhode, 12 feet of chain, a 35lbs CQR Plow anchor, and 30 lbs of additional anchor weights on the rode. The boat wasn't going anywhere, not in that amount of wind, but that didn't stop me from worrying about it. I got up twice to check and left the GPS on all night. The GPS plotted the movement of the boat and gave the depth of the water under the keel. ABISHAG didn't move out of a fifty foot circle and never seriously approached single digit depths. Of course, at night everything seems magnified, all the noises, all the movements, and when you are rocking up and down, sometimes not too gently, it can work on your mind. I know that I must have gotten some sleep but it sure didn't seem like it. I kept waiting for the anchor to pull out, the rode to part or something else to go wrong . . . . but nothing did. I had set everything up well, as I do every night, for just such an unexpected event. Through truth be told, I did ask God several times to get me through the night!
The morning didn't look to hot and the weather was iffy to say the best, but since I had the course already laid in, I took off for Patuxent River and the Solomon Islands. It was a trip of about 31 miles, the longest trip alone on this particular journey. The wind was out of the east but light so I motor-sailed and made really great time. Along the way I was passed by the US Navy Hospital Ship COMFORT. It has the nicest captain I have yet heard. When he contacted a ship in front of him and asked him to maneuver, he would take the time to explain why he want the other ship to move and seemed to suggest the what was to their best advantage. A far cry from" I am passing you to starboard!" with no ifs, ands or buts.
Anchoring in the Solomon Islands, an area just inside the mouth of the Patuxent River, is really something. all the homes are magnificent. If they aren't receive mansions, they are old homesteads with the look and panache of ages. When I dropped my hook out in front of this one house and set about making the boat ready for the night. The owner came out with a friend and I could hear them and see them talking and pointing to my boat. I kind of felt for them. If I lived there, having me park my boat "in their front yard" would irritate me some too.
So far, there hasn't been a lot of sailing on this trip, but tomorrow, weather permitting , will be a sailing day. I will head out of the Patuxent and turn right and either anchor somewhere in St. Mary River, at the mouth of the Potomac or continue south and anchor somewhere in the Great Wicomico River. I wonder what's so great about it?
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Strangely, even though I haven't really gone all that far since losing Bob & Fred, it seems almost as though I am really pushing it. Today was the farthest trip yet and it was only 31 miles! I don't know why I feel it but it seems like I am rushing and pushing. True, I do want to get back to wearing shorts and tee-shirts, but it is more the attitude. I want to get somewhere. Where I am not quite sure but somewhere. I am really struggling to enjoy each day where I am. It is getting a little easier, but I am still looking too much ahead instead of living in the moment. After all, what's the rush?
Monday, October 18, 2010
It Wasn't the Chesapeake Bay Bridge!
SHIP'S LOG:
A couple of days ago, as I was heading toward Bodkin Creek, off in the distance I saw this large bridge that stretched across the Bay and naturally I assumed that it was the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I learned absolutely for sure that it wasn't. The bridge in question is just south of the Magothy River and is, in fact, the William Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridges. Passing under them was impressive none the less.
On the Magothy River, I was surprised to fine that they removed the speed limit buoys they put up everywhere evidently on weekends when traffic is heavy. I know of lots of places where they put them up but I have never heard of anyplace that removes them after the weekend is over.
No wind from beginning to end. NOAA lied again. The 5-10 knots from the NE never showed. In fact, the Bay was like glass and I had to motor the whole way to Herring Bay. Lots of crabpot buoys in this stretch. What makes it even crazier is that some of the local water fowl are the same shape and seize as the most commonly used buoys and sometimes you'll come upon a field of them and they all fly away and other times they don't. One never knows until one is almost right upon them. So far I have been lucky and have not snagged a pot, and so I have kept out of the water.
Heading into Herring Bay, I found two(2) fish weirs, several poles with nets strung between them to catch, well, herring, of course. They are not marked on the any chart and naturally they were right across the course I had so carefully plotted. Not really a problem, just an annoying course adjustment.
The weather was also cool and hazy. To the west you could see that it wanted to rain but so far no rain has fallen. I actually had to wear a jacket and gloves for most of the day. It must have been the coolness of the water and the wind created by the movement of the boat, but it was chilly and damp.
Passed between a coupe of tankers moored off Annapolis. Who names these things? One was not too bad "CLS ATLAS," but"CENTURY SEYMOUR"?
The weather tomorrow calls for a 50% chance of rain. I am hoping that NOAA is as accurate with tomorrow's weather as it has been over the last few days!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It is a strange sensation, a bit unsettling, a bit uneasy, not knowing the places I am going to. Each morning I have no idea where I will be spending the night. True, there is a name on a chart but even if I get there it is still unknown. I plot a position on the GPS to drop the anchor and when I get there it is like nothing I imagine it would be . . .except that it is in the water. There is nothing known, nothing familiar. It feels a bit weird, exciting, strange all at the same time.
A couple of days ago, as I was heading toward Bodkin Creek, off in the distance I saw this large bridge that stretched across the Bay and naturally I assumed that it was the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I learned absolutely for sure that it wasn't. The bridge in question is just south of the Magothy River and is, in fact, the William Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridges. Passing under them was impressive none the less.
On the Magothy River, I was surprised to fine that they removed the speed limit buoys they put up everywhere evidently on weekends when traffic is heavy. I know of lots of places where they put them up but I have never heard of anyplace that removes them after the weekend is over.
No wind from beginning to end. NOAA lied again. The 5-10 knots from the NE never showed. In fact, the Bay was like glass and I had to motor the whole way to Herring Bay. Lots of crabpot buoys in this stretch. What makes it even crazier is that some of the local water fowl are the same shape and seize as the most commonly used buoys and sometimes you'll come upon a field of them and they all fly away and other times they don't. One never knows until one is almost right upon them. So far I have been lucky and have not snagged a pot, and so I have kept out of the water.
Heading into Herring Bay, I found two(2) fish weirs, several poles with nets strung between them to catch, well, herring, of course. They are not marked on the any chart and naturally they were right across the course I had so carefully plotted. Not really a problem, just an annoying course adjustment.
The weather was also cool and hazy. To the west you could see that it wanted to rain but so far no rain has fallen. I actually had to wear a jacket and gloves for most of the day. It must have been the coolness of the water and the wind created by the movement of the boat, but it was chilly and damp.
Passed between a coupe of tankers moored off Annapolis. Who names these things? One was not too bad "CLS ATLAS," but"CENTURY SEYMOUR"?
The weather tomorrow calls for a 50% chance of rain. I am hoping that NOAA is as accurate with tomorrow's weather as it has been over the last few days!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It is a strange sensation, a bit unsettling, a bit uneasy, not knowing the places I am going to. Each morning I have no idea where I will be spending the night. True, there is a name on a chart but even if I get there it is still unknown. I plot a position on the GPS to drop the anchor and when I get there it is like nothing I imagine it would be . . .except that it is in the water. There is nothing known, nothing familiar. It feels a bit weird, exciting, strange all at the same time.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Anyone Ever Heard of SIllery Bay?
SHIP'S LOG:
Me neither! Yet here is where my anchor is tonight. If it helps, Sillery Bay is off the Magothy River on the western shore of the Chesapeake, north of Annapolis. Feel better now?
Actually it wasn't much of a trip today, only about 12 miles but except for the first and the last it was all sail! It had been my intention go past Annapolis and anchor in the Rhode River, by NOAA lied again. The 10knots out of the Northwest became 20 and gusty and it kicked up quite a chop in the Bay and since I had a course to Sillery Bay already in the GPS, I made a mid-course correction and dropped in here. It is really quite a beautiful place. The entire shoreline is line with some incredible houses and it seems as though every bit of shoreline is held in place with rip-rap or bulkheads. It all must be privately done as it varies from house to house, but the land appears to be sand cliffs and if they weren't protected, the beautiful houses on the hilltops would end up in the Bay.
I ended up dropping the hook about 2pm and after it was down, I got to watch two different yacht clubs/sailing clubs racing in Sillery Bay. One of the hot classes down here must be Etchells(?) as each club had a group racing. It was an enjoyable way to have lunch, good food and a show. It would have been topped off if i could have gotten a football game, but I have no TV and trying to watch it on the computer is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO expensive.
I had thought that the depth sounder on my GPS had given up the ghost. It would read below 10 feet or so , even when I knew I was in deeper water. Thank goodness it turned out to be my fault. I hit the wrong button when I was "learning" to run the GPS in the Nav Station. A few simple buttons pushed and it is working just fine.
Tomorrow is a choice of locations. For one, I could go to the Rhode River which is south of Annapolis, about 12 miles away from Sillery Bay. I could also go to Herring Bay, a littler farther south on the western shore, about 26 miles away. I could also go to Dun Cove which is on Tilghman Island on the eastern side of the Bay. It is a matter of the weather and the time I get started. The weather Monday night calls for rain and Tuesday may be a washout, so where I drop the hook Monday may be for two days.
I haven't quite gotten into a routine yet. Hopefully it won't take too long. It is a bit unsettling not to have a routine so that I know everything gets done. It makes things comfortable and makes me feel more relaxed. It also provides great peace of mind, a considerable asset when you hanging on anchor rode in some place you've never heard of far from home. Peace of mind is a great thing!
Me neither! Yet here is where my anchor is tonight. If it helps, Sillery Bay is off the Magothy River on the western shore of the Chesapeake, north of Annapolis. Feel better now?
Actually it wasn't much of a trip today, only about 12 miles but except for the first and the last it was all sail! It had been my intention go past Annapolis and anchor in the Rhode River, by NOAA lied again. The 10knots out of the Northwest became 20 and gusty and it kicked up quite a chop in the Bay and since I had a course to Sillery Bay already in the GPS, I made a mid-course correction and dropped in here. It is really quite a beautiful place. The entire shoreline is line with some incredible houses and it seems as though every bit of shoreline is held in place with rip-rap or bulkheads. It all must be privately done as it varies from house to house, but the land appears to be sand cliffs and if they weren't protected, the beautiful houses on the hilltops would end up in the Bay.
I ended up dropping the hook about 2pm and after it was down, I got to watch two different yacht clubs/sailing clubs racing in Sillery Bay. One of the hot classes down here must be Etchells(?) as each club had a group racing. It was an enjoyable way to have lunch, good food and a show. It would have been topped off if i could have gotten a football game, but I have no TV and trying to watch it on the computer is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO expensive.
I had thought that the depth sounder on my GPS had given up the ghost. It would read below 10 feet or so , even when I knew I was in deeper water. Thank goodness it turned out to be my fault. I hit the wrong button when I was "learning" to run the GPS in the Nav Station. A few simple buttons pushed and it is working just fine.
Tomorrow is a choice of locations. For one, I could go to the Rhode River which is south of Annapolis, about 12 miles away from Sillery Bay. I could also go to Herring Bay, a littler farther south on the western shore, about 26 miles away. I could also go to Dun Cove which is on Tilghman Island on the eastern side of the Bay. It is a matter of the weather and the time I get started. The weather Monday night calls for rain and Tuesday may be a washout, so where I drop the hook Monday may be for two days.
I haven't quite gotten into a routine yet. Hopefully it won't take too long. It is a bit unsettling not to have a routine so that I know everything gets done. It makes things comfortable and makes me feel more relaxed. It also provides great peace of mind, a considerable asset when you hanging on anchor rode in some place you've never heard of far from home. Peace of mind is a great thing!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Those Three Little Words "Small Craft Advisory"
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!
"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!
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