MAY 2023
May Day. How appropriate. Up early (for me) at 0700, before Laz to start prep for the day. Plan was to head to Mobjack Bay with winds W-SW at 20-25 gusts to 30. We were going along the Western shore to keep down the waves. Off the dock around 8:10 after prepping main halyard and the code-0 line to get Boji off the foredeck. Passed the Naval Amphibian base and slowed to put Boji in the water. Tied her short, as there would be waves. Then turned back into the wind to put up the main. Decided to reef 2 for both main and jib. Once out of the channel and into the Bay we unfurled the jib to reef 2. Had to tighten some as the sail stretched and was also not tightly furled. We were going along nicely at 6kts or so in the 20-25. Definitely saw a gust over 30. Hmmm. Boji flipped over, so i turned into the wind to slow our speed so we could tie her to both aft cleats. She kept flipping anyway and getting swamped. She is so light that she flips easily in 3-4 ft seas. At one point after securing Boji again, I came to course and suddenly the jib was completely unfurled and flapping in the considerable breeze. Hmmm. The jib furler, which is a Flatdeck furler, has webbing, not line and the webbing had snapped clean. Jeez. Only option was to drop the jib, a fun challenge for Laz in the wind and seas. Oh yeah, somewhere in here I turned the engine on. He did a great job of lowering the jib and securing it to the starboard bow with sail ties and made it safely back. Disappointed that we couldn't go further, but there is no way to go without a jib. We were not far from Hampton, although with wind, waves and dodging giant tankers, container ships and crab pots, it took a while. Once I got close enough to the beach just outside the tunnel the waves were lower and Laz could go to the mast and take down the main. Wind was now steadily 25+, I didn't bother to check the gusts, just working hard to keep baji-naji steady and on course. Wind was blowing us hard to starboard where the rocks from the tunnel were. Sigh. Got her to the cut through channel and had almost made it to the marina when a large commercial fisher was coming out, the Princess something or other. She gave me just enough clearance (since she took up most of the narrow channel) that I got by still inside the channel. Not much water on either side. Finally Safe Harbor Bluewater on our port. Laz radioed them and we glided onto the fuel dock, port tie, with Jared and Rich helping. Too windy to go to a slip. Laz was wet and chilled despite the foul weather coat, should have had full fouls. He took a hot shower and I made lunch since it was about noon when we pulled up to the fuel dock. Grilled cheese with spinach and turkey in the sandwich, a nice hot meal. Rich gave us the name of someone at Doyle Sails, Jim Miller, who came out to take a look he suggested calling the manufacturer of the Flatdeck to order new webbing. Dan spoke with someone at Facnor who was able to give us the part number for Jim to order. It will be FedEx and hopefully here tomorrow or latest on Wed. We could raise and lower the jib manually but we would have no way to reef it. We then worked on untangling the jib sheets. One of them was completely abraded with no outer layer, but luckily we only lost a couple of feet, there is plenty left. Cut the sad bits off and burned the end to seal. Flaked and tied off the jib so it would be out of the way when we moved to our slip. And yes, of course the horshoe life ring had fallen in at some point, and thrown back on the deck, so that line had to be untangled, with both nearly stowed back in place. Looked like we might be at the fuel dock for the night as the wind continued to howl (“there must be some kind of way out of here”) so Brandon and Jared moved us forward one cleat so our aft end was not in a fairway. I grabbed my shower while Dan napped, and iced and compressed my left knee. It was not happy as it was used and abused today. I had a hummus, carrots, grape tomatoes and pita chips snack while catching up on news. Apparently when we were enjoying our pizza and Ted Lasso last evening at 6pm, an E3 tornado touched down in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach, about 10 miles from where we were docked. Estimated 100 homes damaged, unknown if there were injuries or deaths. 😳
Dan went to find out if Surfrider was open (it is not on Mondays) and then checked with the guys if they thought we could move baji-naji to the slip since the wind was now ~5kts. We did so, I managed to back her in nearly. Cool. Except…we'd lost track of the dinghy painter and it got sucked into the bow thruster when Laz was trying to get lines on the front pilings. Sigh. We got baji-naji tied in with swim platform down and got the electric plugged in. We then had to get Boji to the dock so Laz could get in, row to the bow, cut the painter and gently extricate the cut ends from the thruster. Good news after all was done, bow thruster seems to work still. There is a diver here, if we wanted him to take a peek tomorrow. As it was a rather busy day, I didn't get pictures of anything. We did see a great blue heron land on the docks as well as a great American egret. Plus a mama Canadian goose with multiple goslings all in a row. And plenty of mallards. Late supper in the cabin, shared one of Nomadic Pie's excellent steak and gruyere pot pie along with fresh baked sourdough rolls. Staying put tomorrow as the wind will be about the same and we don't have a jib. Hopefully the webbing will be delivered, we shall see!
Dan’s addition: Laura has told the story in a matter-of-fact way, but in reality it was a lot of work and stress sailing in strong winds and tall seas. It got crazier when the jib furler broke. Through it all, she remained calm and focused. She was at the helm the entire time. She says it’s like a NICU code, resuscitating tiny babies; she doesn’t have time to be aware of the magnitude of the situation. But I think that is false modesty. She’s just that good. Other than the small risk of being bounced overboard by the waves, we were never in danger, but it sure was exciting.
And tangling the line in the bow thruster was just me not paying attention.
5/2 Enforced lay day. Even if we had an intact jib furler, we would be windbound as it was 20-25 with gusts to 30 again. After yesterday, we were pretty sure that may be a limiting factor for us. We'll see what the future brings. Slept late which was great as I didn't nap yesterday and I was tired. My body has aches in places I didn't realize I was straining yesterday. Made brunch: French toast, bacon and an omelette, with the delicious Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters Waterman's Blend. Yum.
Another laundry day (free at this marina) since we were here. Dan's Lands End coat needed a washing, as did our cold weather pants which got a bit salty/soaked yesterday. (See above for should have had full fouls on). Plus the bath towels. No line which was nice. Walked the docks and saw 60 ft Vikings and other motor boats come in as well as a 90 ft something or other. It has a horn so loud I thought the QE2 was pulling up. Made a lovely guacamole snack with my perfectly ripe avocado as well as cucumbers with ranch dip.
Figured out how to watch Arsenal v Chelsea on the laptop. Dan had to get his DirecTV password and account changed to our streaming, not the satellite. I found the game on my phone via NBC's Premiere League app. We got the second half on the laptop, which was awesome. Jim from Doyle Sails called just after halftime to tell us the webbing had arrived and he would swing by with it after work around 5p. We worked on the installation after the game. After NOT dropping any little screws and parts overboard, we got it attached. Needed my smaller hands to screw the webbing in place. Just like putting in a PICC line, my body was contorted in a weird shape to get this to work. After we furled we realized there was more webbing than would fit in the holder. We had, of course, forgotten to measure! We pulled out the old webbing and furling line and lo and behold the old line was significantly longer! But thinner. Laz went back to the computer for the directions and we then measured. Cut off ~ 12 ft. We will know if that is right when we get the jib up and furled. Had a nice chat with John and Jo Burton off April Wind as they came by to see what we were doing. Pretty sunset.
Headed to Surfrider for dinner. Made a calamari salad with calamari and a Caesar salad. Laz had a house salad with grilled chicken.
After dinner it was time to hoist the jib and see if we measured the furling line correctly. Had the deck light and our cockpit “Happy Lighting” on. Laz just had to say, “it'll be no problem, there is zero wind”. Of course as we had the jib 3/4 way up the wind picked up. By the time it was all the way up the clew was whipping back and forth across the deck. Got the port jib sheet on, then furled. We measured perfectly. Job done by 9:33pm. Cause for celebration!
Watched a Vulcan tugboat come in after we finished.
Cleanup then apple pie for dessert
5/3 Forecast for 15-20 with gusts to 25 from the W, building later. Since we had a working jib, we decided to go for it. Laz secured Boji to both aft cleats with a makeshift bridle, so as to avoid swamping and flipping over in heavier seas. John from April Wind stopped by to wish us well. Brandon helped us off the dock, a little tricky with the direction of the wind and how the pilings were set. Made it out the cut through channel before putting up the main, reef 2. Went with a full jib and had a rocking sail, tide with us, going as much as 7.3 kts with 8+ over ground. Saw many pelican and finally captured one on camera.
As we approached the opening to the York, it started to rain. The clouds moving in dropped the wind to 8kts from 15-20, but that gave us a little breather to make and eat lunch. When turning into Mobjack Bay, we realized we would be going directly into the wind, plus we saw the denser storm front approaching.
Vigorous squall blowing 30-35 on our nose. It blew over and we had choppy waves which finally settled as the wind stayed less than 20. Beautiful lighthouse lit up by the sun.
Headed up to and into North River as the rain clouds were all around but not over us.
Destination: the tiny and seemingly shallow Blackwater Creek to Mobjack Bay Marina. The owner showed us to a slip on the far end, many pilings and generous bow thruster use got us in safely. Had to get creative tying her up as the owner is new to boating and marina ownership. Very nice man though. Gorgeous views!
Filled the forward water tank, low water pressure, so took a while, then rinsed the salt off the deck, windows and everywhere. Amazing where bits of dirt and grime get into. While doing so, a great blue heron squawked at me while flying to his piling perch.
Lovely sunset noticed as I was making our dinner of corned beef hash and fried egg.
5/4 Sail, we will. Tricky getting off the pilings but we managed, and moved Boji from the bow to the stern in the homemade close up bridle that is quite effective on high wind and waves days. As Laz was hoisting the main, I heard something fall on the deck. Turned out to be the plate that holds the main sail cars in place at the bottom. I went to inspect and found the bolt and nut as well as the other piece from the broken plastic plate. We will have to fix that. Had a beautiful sail out of North River and Mobjack Bay downwind tacking with lots of breeze so we were doing over 6kts with 1 kt current adding to the fun. Turned north after New Point Comfort shoals with the wind WNW, a lovely heading of 60° so we were able to do 7+kts. Waves were building, but did not get big and confused until past Stingray Point and the mouth of the Rappahannock. At one point we caught a standing wave and had green water over the bow and water inside the cabin from the cowl vents, overwhelming the water prevented part. Found the starboard forward most cushion nicely salted with water. Luckily it is microfiber and rinses easily. Wind has also built so we while we started at reef 1, with steady 20-22, we went to reef 2. PB &J for lunch as it was rocking and rolling. I definitely felt seasick when I needed to use the head.
Motorsailed into Fleet's Bay, home of several crab pots, and up Indian Creek. Wind had shifted all the way to due NE so we had a very favorable lift all the way in. Destination Chesapeake Boat Basin. We needed a marina with pumpout, as the Purasan was not working correctly 🤬 Nothing like a clogged head system. Got pumped out, very narrow fairway and knocked the metal fish cleaning bench off the fuel dock as we made the turn too soon. The dockmaster managed to put it back in place. Apparently that was not the first time that has happened. I did not want to hit the boat in front of me. Got into the slip next to our assigned one as it was another narrow turn, but that was fine by the dockmaster. It is a beautiful marina set in a lovely area.
There was a nice lounge with colorful Adirondack chairs outside to sit and look at the peaceful scenery. We found amazing Nightingale ice cream sandwiches in the marina office/ships store. Orange Creamsicle is “Brown sugar cookie, orange Creamsicle ice cream with orange zest”. So exciting that we have a freezer! I bought 4 sandwiches, the Orange Creamsicle, a Black Forest Cherry, an Espresso chocolate and a Chocolate chocolate one. We asked if town was near as they had bicycles, and the dockmaster gave us the keys to a Honda Odyssey as a transient loaner car. 176,000 miles on it, leather seats and got us into town for dinner. Cleaned up first in the very nice heads. Soft water so hard to know when the soap was off. Went to Chao Phraya a Thai and sushi place that was excellent. We had delicious spring rolls, chicken satay, Thai dumplings, roast duck with sauteed veggies and a beef dish. Fried bananas for dessert. Take out sushi for lunch tomorrow. Then headed to Food Lion for more provisions. It's hard to gauge lunch provisions.
5/5 Slept in as it was a tiring day yesterday. Laz and I raised the main in order to put all the mainsail cars back in their tracks. Laz had to jury rig a fix for the car stopper. Used the larger piece of plastic and had to put the bolt in backwards to hold a washer and then screw the nut in. It will likely need a more permanent fix, but good enough for now. We refilled our gallon jugs from the boater's lounge and set off around 11:30am. Wind was 5-10 from the NW to start but then became SE as we motored down Indian Creek. It allowed us to put our main up though since we were going right into it. After clearing the shoal off Bluffs Point in Fleet's Bay, we turned Northeast as our destination was the Honga.
Aria under sail, not sure if is the one we know from Tidewater. Winds held 8-10kts and we threw up the code-0 and were going great. I made Dan a sandwich with the leftover beef dish and I had my sushi, Crunchy Roll, with salmon, tuna , cucumber and avocado, then fried. The fried part was startling last night, but delicious today. The wind shifted to NNE so we had to tack and sail mostly east and some south. Unfortunately since the wind was now coming from where we wanted to go, it was going to take much too long to get to the Honga. Decided to come back to Ingram Bay and Mill Creek. When we came into the creek, we were surprised to see 4 boats anchored, three on the first cove on the south side with one in the spot we were in last time. Hmm. Went farther to the next cove on the south side where we stayed last year and put our anchor in there. I went to log the engine hours and could not find my log book! Looked everywhere for it, it's not that big a boat! Finally found it well under the sink/refrigerator in a pocket we didn't know existed. We also found Dan’s spiral bound notebook and a page of notes. Laz was amazed that the sink/garbage can area is cantilevered and not supported. It took some maneuvering with the rail from the fridge and the Swiffer holder to get all of the things out from under. There was also a tremendous amount of dust, etc, so after everything was out I used the Swiffer to get as much of the dust as I could. We then took Boji for a ride to see the other boats anchored. Turns out the folks on the Island Packet Sugaree are from HdG! Small world. They had left in October and sailed to the Keys and Abacos. They are also musicians and had gigged wherever they went. Dave and Dar. They were buddy sailing with another guy, Ross, on the Catalina back from Norfolk to HdG. They were wind and weather bound as we were. No one home on the catamaran Katera or the 42’ Beneteau that was where we were last time. Went a long way up Mill Creek, almost to the end.
Saw what could have been a grain elevator but couldn't figure out where it was from. Found a bald eagle up on it's perch.
Explored a small creek off the south side and found a couple of great blue heron fishing.
Headed back, made spinach and ricotta ravioli with marinara sauce for dinner and enjoyed that in the cockpit watching the sun set.
Another Nightingale ice cream sandwich for dessert.
5/6 Coronation Day. Did not get up to watch as there was minimal signal where we were. Up at 0800 as we hoped to sail to the Honga. No wind to start, so Laz up anchored and motored us out of Mill Creek while I made breakfast burritos with egg, cheese, spinach, tomato, mushroom and potatoes. They were pretty yummy on a cold morning. 49° was the low overnight, but was up to 59° with the sun out. It may even have made it to 66° during the sunniest part of the day. Passed a fish haven marking the shallows in Ingram Bay.
We put up the mainsail as we were going NW and the wind was coming from there. As we motored out of Ingram Bay and 1/2 way to Smith Point, the wind shifted to the N then NE and we were able to sail a bit close hauled. Lovely sail.
We tacked and went inside Smith Point, and the the wind went to zero. Ah well, lovely while it lasted. We furled the jib and motorsailed the rest of the way. Saw some pelicans and cormorants having a convention with more arrivals imminent.
We saw a shipwreck due East of Smith Point and later found out that the Navy used it for target practice. Apparently it is a good fishing spot.
The wind picked up and was now from the S, SE at 5-7kts just as we approached the mouth of the Honga, but with the numerous crab pots we decided against sailing. We saw a small pod of 3 dolphin just at the mouth of the Honga There was a trawler ahead of us , the Emma. We went further up to the 3rd red, and a sailboat was anchored where we did a couple of years ago. Came back to 1/2 between Emma and the marks for Hooperville and dropped anchor. No weather expected overnight, however we were in 12 ft of water so we put out our 75 ft of chain and another 35 ft of line so we had 110 ft out. The water goes from 9ft to 2 ft very quickly near the islands. We then got the engine on Boji and motored over to Middle Hooper Island and Hooperville, a couple of miles away. Love our EPropulsion engine, nice and quiet. We had used the 12V to recharge the battery while under engine, and it is a lot slower than the 120. It brought the battery from 50% to 80% in 5 hours. Good enough for a ride to Hooperville and back.
Met Janet, who is part of the Rippon Brothers Crab family. She was welcoming and shared great info about the crabbing and Hooperville. She is 3rd generation there, lived there her whole life. There were no steamed crabs for her to sell but she could sell us a pound of picked crab. It was not a good day of crab fishing today and the guys didn't bring in as much as hoped for. Something about water temperature and salinity and if the she crabs would lay or not she was a wealth of information and offered the loan of their truck if we wanted to go to the restaurant on the Upper Hooper Island. We declined and went for a walk instead. Across the street is the Bay with a view of Hooper Lighthouse.
The drainage ditches were salt water with minnows! And part of the salt marsh It's odd to see minnows in the storm drains when you grew up near freshwater.
Many of the houses looked new including the church which Janet welcomed us to visit. Hurricane Isabel had wiped out part of the island, so a fair amount of rebuilding has happened including the multistory building called the Hooperville Highrise, up at flood height.
We returned to Rippon's docks and Janet sold us a pound of picked crab meat for $22. Laz gave her $30 and told her to keep the change. She then insisted on giving us a quart of fresh strawberries which has just been dropped off from the farmer. We had the opportunity to watch the steamer in action and see the guys take a large wiremesh trolley full of crabs out of the steamer (looked like a bank vault). They placed the trolley in front of a large fan to cool. What a nifty field trip!
On our way out of the Rippon docks, we were buzzed by the papa osprey who took umbrage at our coming so close to the nest.
Snacked on strawberries as we took Boji back to baji-naji. They were so sweet!
Made a salad with lettuce, cucumber, celery, tomato, carrots and crab meat for dinner. Cobbled together a Thousand Island type dressing from ketchup, Miracle Whip, sweet gherkins diced, a couple of grape tomatoes diced and fresh lemon juice. Baked the last two sourdough rolls and Voila! A delicious dinner. Dessert was another Nightingale ice cream sandwich, along with some of those fabulous strawberries.
Gorgeous sunset over Middle Hooper, and the. A gorgeous orange almost full moon over Middle Hooper at night.
5/7 Up at 0830 and anchor up at 0918. Enjoyed more of those amazing strawberries with my Greek yogurt and Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters Waterman's Blend. Wind from the SE, we were able to fly the code-0.
Wind started at 10-11 kts which was nice. Awkward moment when the downhaul for the code-0 delaminated. It looked like we had a spinnaker pole for a moment there.
Laz was able to repair it on the fly. Everything was at the right height and arm length for him. We had plenty of line for the downhaul, so just needed to cut the affected section out and use the rest. We were able to wave at Hooperville and the other Hooper Islands as we passed.
We listened to both the Newcastle United game v Arsenal (Laz is the Arsenal fan, good win for them) and the West Ham v Manchester United game, sigh, my team making life more difficult for themselves. The wind softened and we were going less than 4 kts, at some point, less than 3 kts, so we furled the code-0 and motorsailed awhile. It's about 20 miles from the mouth of the Honga to the mouth of the Choptank. My goal was to go to Scottish Highland Creamery and they close at 8p. Wind picked up a bit, coming from mostly due S. We were able to unfurl the code-0 again.
We were able to sail up the Choptank, then furl the code-0 and drop the main. We were assigned the T head of D1. We gently pulled up and tied baji-naji and Boji securely and hoofed it to Scottish Highland Creamery to pick up ice cream. I got a cup with strawberry and Belgian chocolate and Laz had peach. We put them in our carry bag, which had an ice pack in it. Then walked another 0.3 mile to Pope's Tavern, an Italian restaurant in the Oxford Inn. Had a delicious goat cheese mousse with grape tomatoes and microgreens drizzled with balsamic and pesto.
Main course; lamb chops with cipollini onions, oyster mushrooms and lamb reduction for me and chicken piccata for Laz.
Glad we stopped by, this is a charming tavern.
Walked home and took a turn onto Tilghman St. Love the Cutts and Case Shipyard.
Gorgeous night sky, as always, in Oxford
Back to baji-naji to watch Sail GP San Francisco on the laptop, since we have good wifi. Very exciting! Had the ice cream for dessert as it was melty when we got back. Saving the blood orange chocolate cake from Pope's for another day.
5/8 Despite staying up late to watch Sail GP San Francisco, up at 0800. Had yogurt with the last of the amazing strawberries and then made a grocery list. I still have plenty of breakfast and dinner provisions, it is lunch we are a little short on. Walked up to the Oxford Market and picked up deli turkey, salami, potato salad and their shrimp salad, which looks excellent. Restocked our OJ and might have gotten another package of Pepperidge Farm Chesapeake cookies. We are sailing the Bay after all! After stowing the groceries and topping off the water jugs and filling the aft water tank, next step was fuel. Laz got the lines aboard and I had my first solo journey on baji-naji from the T-head to the fuel dock. Gently spun her around for the starboard tie, as the fuel refill is on that side. Gentle breeze, no real wind, so easy peasy. Got 18.28 gallons for 28.5 engine hours and 2 generator hours, calling it 29 hours for 0.63 gallons per hour. Raised sail in the Tred Avon shortly after leaving the Town Creek channel marks. Not much wind ~3 kts from the W. When we turned into the Choptank, the wind was not even 3. We motored through the cut off Tilghman into the main Chesapeake channel, past the Leaning Lighthouse. When we got into the Bay, the wind started to build from the NW, we were able unfurl the jib and started to sail. Wind shifted N then E and picked up so we had a great sail across. The halyard knot on the outhaul somehow came undone so Laz had to redo it. Sailed into the South River and crossed with Eliane as we entered the channel for South River.
Furled the jib and took down the main in a pocket between red 8 and 10 and then followed last year's track into Harness Creek to anchor in roughly the same spot. I wanted to go to the little cove on the right, but Laz was concerned about having enough room to swing if the wind shifted overnight. There is certainly enough depth. We took Boji out for a nice explore up Harness Creek.
We saw an osprey high in a tree watching us carefully and a pair of Canadian geese with 2 goslings
Our Boji is an intrepid little explorer
The end of the creek is marked with a red and green stick with a heron between. I'm sure the heron was extra, and not part of the navigational marks.
There was also a heron in the tree, preening
There were lots of boats in docks and on lifts. I thought I saw a turtle poke it's head up as we were moving quietly, but it quickly ducked back into the water. As we headed back to baji-naji we saw a water snake swimming.
View of baji-naji and Boji
Beautiful and serene Creek next to the Quiet Waters Park
Enjoyed sunset and my spaghetti sauce on bow ties with garlic bread.
5/9 Predicted rainy day. Slept in til almost 10 am. Caught up on emails (went from 150+ to 10), read articles I had earmarked while Laz read books. Made scrambled eggs with zucchini, mushrooms and pea pods seasoned with soy and sesame oil for late breakfast. Enjoyed shrimp salad wraps for lunch. It rained on and off all day and was chilly. The sun came out in the late afternoon. I tried to do a dance recording in the cockpit but did not have enough signal to steam a recorded class. So I turned on the Sirius XM to Mosaic and danced anyway. My choreography is not as great as Luisa's, but it was better than not dancing
Then settled in the cockpit to read. It was beautiful outside and the sun was starting to set
Made mini pizzas and crab dip with pita chips for dinner.
A lovely relaxing day at anchor
5/10 Up anchor and away at 0910. Fresh baked croissants served with strawberry rhubarb jam at 0930. Great breeze from the N 10+ kts, waited til we were at the mouth of the South River then put up the main. Had a great sail across the width of the Bay past all the large cargo ships and tankers. Tacked several times as the wind shifted to NE. Saw a schooner out of Annapolis and a beautiful yawl.
The wind died for a while, so we motorsailed with the main under the Annapolis Bay Bridge. It then decided to shift S so we pulled out the code-0 as we headed towards the channel to the Magothy. Large ships were busy in the channel from Baltimore, it is a working day for most.
Was on a short reach towards Deep Creek then jibed towards the channel to Eagle cove on a long lovely reach. Furled the code-0 as we came up to the narrow channel but waited til we were in Eagle cove to drop the main. There was one other sailboat there, with a large trawler arriving after we were settled. We were able to anchor much deeper into the cove with a great view of the horse farm
Of course we took Boji out for a ride, we wanted to see what the inner harbor at Gibson Island, home to Gibson Island Yacht Squadron, looked like.
Lots of lovely boats in a large mooring field, and a boatyard with docks. There was even a sloop with the same name as Dan's Aquacat!
You could see baji-naji's mast from the inside cove
On our way back, we got a closer look at the horse farm and noticed there was a beach with one horse dipping a hoof in. The pile driver that we've seen for years is rusting and has an osprey nest in it. There was also a beautiful osprey nesting site just off the farm.
The ketch at the dock of the horse farm was named Tom Bombadil of Eagle Cove, which I found charming. Going around Eagle Cove, we spotted a Great American Egret. Got close enough for a photo using magnification as we did not want to spook it.
Headed back to baji-naji. Love my dinghy driver and the electric engine
Relaxed with a cheese and salami plate while reading and watching another sailboat come in and anchor. Around 7p I made bison burgers with spinach and cheese. No grill yet, I used the oven. Had two jet skis racing about as we ate. One of the young men fell, but managed to get back on I was concerned about hypothermia as the water temp was 63° and he was wearing just shorts and a life vest.
Eagle Cove never disappoints with wildlife and sunsets. As I write this I can hear great blue heron squawking outside.
5/11 Beautiful to wake up in Eagle Cove. Slept in as there was a shorter sail today, in familar waters. Laz got the engine on and anchor up at 10:15a. I made coffee and put a bacon gruyere and caramelized onion quiche in the oven, of of Molly's Nomadic Pie creations. Motored out of the Magothy. There was a good wind from the S, at 8-10kts so we raised the main and unfurled the code-0.
There were some seriously large and in charge cargo ships moving in the Baltimore to Annapolis channel. We passed a little close to one but did not get the 5 horns. When we were well out of the channel, we heard 5 deep horns. Apparently a motorboat was drifting and fishing and did not notice the giant ship coming up on it! Glad it wasn't us. We saw our big guy Atlantic Sky and watched it carefully before crossing the channel. Calling Starboard was not going to help
We could see familar landmarks: Poole's Island to port and Worton Point to starboard. It was nice to see other sailboats out on a sunny warm day. Finally above 62°, it got up to 75°. Sailed in shorts, what a concept.
We anchored up Worton cove, off the channel into Worton Creek and were greeted by the usual bald eagle in the tree
After a snack of Tillamook cheddar slices and honeycrisp apples we took Boji out to explore. On a cove to the left we saw 2 masts; there was a trimaran and catamaran on the beach. The cat was from NorthEast and the tri from the Magothy, so they were meeting in the middle. All kinds of plovers, I think, on the little sandbar. They startled when I got Boji in too shallow water for the motor.
We went up Worton Creek to check out the mooring field and both marinas. We stayed at the farthest one before. Sad that the restaurant up the hill, Harbor House, is permanently closed. Could not find out why on the internet and the marina office was likely closed as it was past 4:30p
Back to baji-naji. Unusual for her to be the only boat anchored out here, but it is Thursday, or so I'm told. Snacked on chips and salsa (guacamole for me) and tomato bisque with crabmeat added (thank you Janet from Rippon Brothers Seafood) and grilled cheese and baby spinach sandwiches. Enjoyed a wicked sunset thanks to the Canadian wildfires in Alberta and BC
5/12 Late morning as it will be a short sail. Made French toast, omelette and bacon. The eagles were squabbling outside, maybe they like bacon too.
Turns out they were squabbling over something on the shore
Saw the R33 catamaran leaving as we enjoyed breakfast, we exchanged waves.
In a change up, Laz cleaned up from breakfast and I brought up the anchor, prepped the mainsail and got us going. There was a light breeze at that moment of maybe 3 kts so I brought baji-naji into the wind and hoisted up the main. It was easy at first then a fair bit of work so I had to use the winch in the easier direction. By the time Dan came up from the galley the main was all the way up and I was motor sailing. Wind was about 5kts, 30° from port side, from the WSW, so once we cleared the shoal off Worton Point, we were able to head up the Bay and gybe tack our way. At one point the wind picked up to 8-10kts, lovely. The wind switched all the way to S and got lighter as the day went on, then picked up again after we tacked from Grove Point off the Sassafras. We saw a funny looking working boat with a digger on it making it's way from Northeast to us.
When it got closer, we saw it was a pile driver. Not sure why it needed a digger too
Got back into Tidewater around 4pm. I went into the store to get a new extendable boat hook for Laz at the bow and chatted with Dave from Lallapolooza. Saw that Altair had a bright new hydrovane installed
Will & Emily were headed to the marina, so we met for dinner at Tidewater Grill, where there was another beautiful sunset
5/13 Back to baji-naji to finish offloading all the gear. We had the 4 seasons in 3+ weeks = lots of laundry. Had the car all packed and turned around to find our very own Ichabod walking our finger pier. We like this amenity to our new slip assignment!
5/26 At Tidewater to do some minor updates on baji-naji. Garrett helped check the batteries, which all tested fine. Discussed the fuel gauge and decided to have it checked when we winterize and just continue to log engine hours. Dan put a new latch on the soda drawer to encourage it to stay closed while on port tack. Also installed a pinch grip for the forward extendable boat hook. Hopefully this one will stay on deck even in weather and boisterous seas. I got to put seizing wire on all the shackles to prevent things like the boom disconnecting from the traveler. Still need to do the one at the jib furler. We had left the freezer box at 25°. The main box was 56° which is too warm. Almost all the ice was gone from the outside of the box, but not all. The turkey was still mostly frozen, but the summer sausage has thawed and was just cold. Sodas felt cold. Turned temp down to 20° and the fridge read 48° in the box several hours later. Still too warm for my comfort. Set the temp to 18° and we shall see. At 18° the summer sausage refroze. Laz pulled the spare propane tank which we will need to refill.
Helped Fitz ascend the mast on Tranquility, so he could change out the VHF antenna and fix the flag halyard on the starboard side. It was cool to learn how to do it. Barb, Dan's sister, showed up around 2:30 while we were still helping Fitz. Had lunch after we saw Fitz safely down, sandwiches from Talula's, and then I had the opportunity to go up Tranquility's mast.
It was so much fun!!! Hawk's eye view from above, absolutely gorgeous day. Did not bring a camera since I didn't want to drop it but you could see so far.
Laura and Dave from Lallapolooza showed up as did Jonathan and Kristen from Jus' Fun and shortly afterwards Christiane and Bill from the Happy Place arrived as well. We headed home with Barb with tentative plans to anchor, etc, the following day.
Ribs, baked potato and corn fritters from Old South Smokehouse for a lovely dinner at home.
5/27 Stayed up too late talking to Barb so a very slow start. Had a quick breakfast of the buttery Wildgrain English Muffins with PB or jam and headed to Tidewater. Could not find my sailing sunglasses when I got there. I thought I had left them on the chart table. Used my regular ones, which are not ideal. Saw Christiane and Bill and told them we were likely sailing to Worton, and would be happy to raft up for cocktails or supper. They were not sure about their plans. Left the dock around 1pm. Bow thruster did not work so needed to go forwards and backwards the old fashioned way to get out of the slip. Good news, I got us out without hitting anything. baji-naji is a good girl. Wind from the East, said NOAA, but in reality from the South so we put up the main as we motored down the channel. Brought up the bow thruster and deployed it again, tested and it worked just fine. No idea what happened before. Could be the buttons aren't happy. Wind shifted to SE and we put out the code-0. Off the mouth of the Sassafras, wind did a 360°. Gave up, furled the code-0 and motored. Wind shifted to N so we put out the code-0 again and were flying. Shift to the NE so sailed past light stanchion and jybed. Great breeze all the way into Worton.
Texted Christiane and Bill that we were anchored and they decided to join us. After a successful raft up, i took Christiane and Barb out on Boji to show them the little sand spit as round the corner and we went all the way up Worton Creek to see which marina had a fuel dock. Worton Creek Marina at the end had fuel, but looked to be $7+ a gallon.
Had a lovely appetizers and dinner feast with Christiane grilling corn and steak, Bill made a salad and apps and I brought out smoked Gouda, summer sausage and two pot pies, jambalaya and pizza. We finished with fresh strawberries and cream, some maple candies from Canada and lemon poppyseed shortbread bites. Wonderful evening with friends and a gorgeous sunset.
5/28 Fresh baked croissant and hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Breeze from the NE and headed back to Tidewater. Good breeze in the beginning but not much by the time we got to Yellow 'L'. Saw Tranquility’ out, not moving very fast but lovely nonetheless. Picked up Red Sombrero for dinner.
5/29 After Barb left the house, decided to come back to baji-naji and sail. As we arrived at Tidewater, we saw a young man stepping the mast on a Supercat 17! His name is Victor and he just bought the boat for $700, a 1982.
We were loaded in and out of the slip by 2pm and headed out. Saw Victor on the Supercat and his friend on the Hobie
Brisk wind from the N, once out of the channel sailed straight across to say hi to Altair who was anchored off Grove Point visiting with friends.
Headed down the Chesapeake after saying hi, awesome wind staying 10-15 from the E. Headed to Still Pond. Anchored by 5p and took Boji out to explore Still Pond.
Saw a beautiful boat anchored near us when we got back out from exploring Still Pond and Churn Creek. It's a Hans Christian, did not catch her name, and they are headed to Maine. They will be at Robinhood Marine Center in Georgetown, ME. If we get up that far we will try to stay there and say hi.
Egg salad on lettuce with fresh baked sourdough for dinner with a stunning sunset.
5/30 Scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms and scrapple! Used a stainless pan, which worked well for the scrapple. Decent wind most of the way back. Saw the Kalmar Nyckel heading south in the channel. She is a Tall Ship out of Wilmington Delaware, as well as an interesting looking work boat. Back to our slip and home in time for dinner with the soccer team at Kooma. Lovely tempura and sushi!
