Captain’s log 10-22-06
Departure Point / Start Time Cambridge MD() 8:30AM
Arrival Point / End Time Little Choptank MD() 3:30PM
Distance Traveled / Engine 37NM 6h
We spent several days at Greg and Gracies house. It was very nice and the food in Choptank is very good. We went to the Suicide restaurant and it was the best seafood buffet ever with all-you-can eat oysters, and Chesapeake Bay crabs. But the cold was setting in and we knew we had to get going. The forecast called for two approaching cold fronts with winds out of the NW and I saw this as an opportunity to ride the winds south, down the Chesapeake bay and into Norfolk VA. Almost as though I didn't learn from the last Cold front experience in NJ. We spend Sunday morning motoring in no wind out of Choptank River. By noontime the wind had lifted out of the SW and it was already blowing 20-25 knots. The chop in the bay was heavy. New pieces of the rig were stretched out and the jib was no longer set correctly. It was hard to keep the main sail shape correctly as well. I used the breeze to motor-sail on each tack and adjust the rig. I put three turns on each upper shroud, and two on the lowers. The headstay still needed tensioning. Since it was so uncomfortable in the chop, we looked for an alternate destination. Original plan was to head for the Solomon’s island, which was a great cruising destination. Unfortunately we had to revert to the Little Choptank River. By afternoon we had already reached the entrance markers and after another couple of hours we found a good anchorage. We traveled 37 miles by water but we were only on the other side of the peninsula where Cambridge was. So in essence, we were a half hour bike ride from Cambridge. In any case, we were protected from the strong SW winds and the anchorage offered protection form the NW as well. The rest of the evening the winds shifted to W and then NW and increased severely. I am glad I locked the wind generator blades because it started blowing in the 30s. I had no doubt our anchor and chain will hold the boat. And it did, we spent Sunday evening and all of Monday in the same place listening to the weather forecast and planning our next trip. NOAA had the heavy weather forecasted for the rest of the week. I decided to head on further down Chesapeake bay on Tuesday. I also tentioned the head stay which was a major pain. I had to dismantel good portion of the roller furling system to get to the nut. I hope I put everything back in place correctly. But the rig is very stiff now. I'll pay attention to it and hope that it stays this way for a while.
Arrival Point / End Time Little Choptank MD() 3:30PM
Distance Traveled / Engine 37NM 6h
We spent several days at Greg and Gracies house. It was very nice and the food in Choptank is very good. We went to the Suicide restaurant and it was the best seafood buffet ever with all-you-can eat oysters, and Chesapeake Bay crabs. But the cold was setting in and we knew we had to get going. The forecast called for two approaching cold fronts with winds out of the NW and I saw this as an opportunity to ride the winds south, down the Chesapeake bay and into Norfolk VA. Almost as though I didn't learn from the last Cold front experience in NJ. We spend Sunday morning motoring in no wind out of Choptank River. By noontime the wind had lifted out of the SW and it was already blowing 20-25 knots. The chop in the bay was heavy. New pieces of the rig were stretched out and the jib was no longer set correctly. It was hard to keep the main sail shape correctly as well. I used the breeze to motor-sail on each tack and adjust the rig. I put three turns on each upper shroud, and two on the lowers. The headstay still needed tensioning. Since it was so uncomfortable in the chop, we looked for an alternate destination. Original plan was to head for the Solomon’s island, which was a great cruising destination. Unfortunately we had to revert to the Little Choptank River. By afternoon we had already reached the entrance markers and after another couple of hours we found a good anchorage. We traveled 37 miles by water but we were only on the other side of the peninsula where Cambridge was. So in essence, we were a half hour bike ride from Cambridge. In any case, we were protected from the strong SW winds and the anchorage offered protection form the NW as well. The rest of the evening the winds shifted to W and then NW and increased severely. I am glad I locked the wind generator blades because it started blowing in the 30s. I had no doubt our anchor and chain will hold the boat. And it did, we spent Sunday evening and all of Monday in the same place listening to the weather forecast and planning our next trip. NOAA had the heavy weather forecasted for the rest of the week. I decided to head on further down Chesapeake bay on Tuesday. I also tentioned the head stay which was a major pain. I had to dismantel good portion of the roller furling system to get to the nut. I hope I put everything back in place correctly. But the rig is very stiff now. I'll pay attention to it and hope that it stays this way for a while.
posted by sundowner-cruise at 9:05 AM
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