Got to the marina about 10 and saw that the winds were better than expected, so I quickly got Bubbles ready and headed out. Temp was 80 when I left, Barometer was 30.8 under partly sunny skies (some big clouts). Winds were out of SW - I saw them as high as 12... so call it 5 - 10+. Got the main up quickly, followed by the Genoa as I tacked down Langford Creek to the Chester. Stayed out in the Chester for a bit, back and forth in the basin, working on Close haul and closer reach when the small handheld marine radio started alarming with weather. Everything seemed to be heading more north, so I was just biding my time and having fun... until I saw some storms further south heading my way. Did a broad reach - jibbing a few times - up Langford creek and into Davis creek. Was all safe and secure when the storm did hit - fairly nasty one... so I am glad I was in the slip.... or at least tied up somewhere! Another lovely day on the water - and I still got in a nice 3 hour sail!
Century Club: Tom Dean
Route
First mate
Wing on wing
Gennaker
Sunset
Sinrise
Paddling
Paddling
Got underway about 10 am after a night at the marina as the wind was picking up. The NW wind 10-15 with gusts to 20 never materialized overnight and there was certainly no need for the small craft advisory that was on till 11. Mostly sunny - warm with highs in the mid 80’s. We set out and sailed wing on wing down part of Langford creek before going to a broad reach-to practice controlled jibes. Winds were light, but we would get some gusts that kept us moving along. Finally, the wind was just too light, so we lowered the main, rolled in the Genoa and set out the asymmetrical. Had nice sailing with that around the Chester - and even did some pointing better than 90 degrees. Winds continued to die off- so we dropped the asymmetrical and headed for our anchorage in reed creek where we relaxed, put out the nettle net and had some fun.
Woke early - after a nice sleep- calm and cool - ate breakfast and then went exploring on the kayaks - waiting for the wind to pick up. Wind came up and changed to the south about 3 pm - so took off and headed back to the marina. As soon as we got out of Reed creek, we got the asymmetrical up and sailed up Langford creek into Davis creek, dropping the sails right outside the marina. Lovely weekend!
Neat clouds
Sailboat
Another sailboat
Got to the marina late morning. Had to pack the food for the weekend and do a quick stop to pick up some produce and get some diesel. After loading up the ice box - and adding sone fuel - I took off for an afternoon sail - as the winds seemed to be coming up. Partly sunny - temps ranged from 81-86. Winds out of the NW 5-10 knots with a few little gusts in the low teens. Headed down the creeks - under sail and passed both the Maryland School for Sailing bots. Got to the Chester on a beam reach - stayed that direction and sailed down the Chester to where Eastern Neck Island juts out. Figured it would be a much longer sail back, turned and started tacking for Langford Creek. Since the wind was coming straight from the creek, my only hope was to tack until I got to the mouth of the creek. Winds kept coming up and then dying... finally, after 5 1/2 hours of sailing... I had to turn the engine back on to get back to the marina to pick up the first mate. Lots of people out today - another lovely day of sailing!
Forecast was for little to no wind, and the day started out rainy. Ran off to the store to get items needed to fix my whisker pole and decided to head to the marina and pick up the whisker pole and at the very least also take care of a leaky fuel hose, however, after finishing those jobs, I saw that there was some wind, so I ventured out and lo and behold, I found some wind. Not a lot, but for the most part, it was between 6 and 9 knots out of the southwest, so it gave me a chance to have a little fun with a solo sail. Got the sails up quickly and turned off the engine. Had to be careful not to get too close to the Yacht Club as the little boats were out - summer sailing school. Tacked down Langford Creek on a close haul and out into the Chester for a bit, before turning back towards the marina. Managed to stay on a broad reach up the creek for the most part… had to go wing on wing for the last little bit to get around the number 7 daymark. Decided not to sail into Davis Creek, since the last time I did that a sailing school boat cut across my bow (they were under motor) as I was trying to drop my sails. A really nice and enjoyable solo sail. Going to be great when I can finally use the whisker pole as it was meant to be used…. With a proper fitting and spars that actually lock!.
There was little to no wind, so it was the perfect “in season” day to do a little bit of maintenance work day on Bubbles. The first job was to reposition the pre-heat solenoid to the correct spot - someone working on the boat had not placed it back correctly! Had a new solenoid, so got that out and then had to remove the screws where it was supposed to be. After dropping a spacer into the bilge a couple of times, I managed to get it secured and then began retiring it. Was hot and had to climb over the engine to do the work, but managed to get that done and had a little time to spare so I worked a bit on the plumbing too. Kept checking the wind - just in case - but even the sailing school boats decided there wasn’t enough wind and just practiced docking!
Rain was in the forecast, and it was overcast when we pulled out, but we decided that we really wanted to go for a sail, so we headed out even though we knew rain would be coming. First mate was a bit apprehensive- but I wanted to push on, because we have not had a lot of experience - as a crew - with bad weather sailing. Winds were out of the south at 5-10. We sailed down the creek and out into the Chester River basin area. We stayed close to North side of the basin, because we could see the rain pushing up from the south. Stayed out for a few hours… got rained on a bit, but nothing too bad. We got back in before the VHF radio started alarming and and all of the NWS alerts about flooding and heavy rains started. Sad leaving Bubbles, as I had been living on her for 16 days at that point - but had a Doctor appointment on Monday so I had to go home!
This was the day my daughter and family were leaving to head back to Iowa, so we started the day with a nice early morning paddle. She wanted to do Davis Creek again, so we did. It was far more relaxing than the last paddle - far less work, so we took our time and explored a bit more than we had earlier. Really was delightful - I will miss those early morning paddles!
Had another lovely early morning paddle with my daughter - this time headed out Davis Creek and down Langford Creek towards Rock Hall Yacht Club. Saw a lot of birds - and boy were they making a lot of noise! Later that day - after taking the grandson to the playground and pool, me and the first mate went out for an adult sail - just the two of us during nap time. Winds were out of the south 5-10 knots, lovely skies and an easy and fun sail!
Early morning paddle in Davis Creek
First, did an early morning paddle with my daughter. But I really wanted to go sailing, and so did the family although it was not perfect conditions!. Winds were out of the SW 10-15 and gusting to 20. Langford Creek was choppy with whitecaps galore, so we reefed both the head and mainsail, and we headed up the West fork of the creek instead of trying to fight the winds and the waves and head to the Chester (which looked even sloppier and messier than Langford creek. Had a nice sail, winds were much more subdued, although we kept the reefs in. After a couple hours of sailing, we anchored in the cove just west of Island point and put out the nettle net. After a nice refreshing swim, we decided just to motor back to the marina (nap time) as the winds were still kicking.
Many people know that I solo sail quite a bit in my Pearson 35 - and I have found many people are hesitant to solo sail - not because they can’t handle the boat, but because it can be hard getting in and out of the dock. Since my friend - former band director I worked with at MPHS has been on my boat and has watched me basically take it in and out by myself, he asked if I would stop by and help him make a plan so he could do the same - so I headed up to Skipjack Cove on the Sassafras and worked with him, made suggestions, rode in and out with him, talking him through the procedures and making the really bullet proof so that he could be a comfortable solo sailor like me. Things worked out well - and he has begun taking his own sailboat - smaller, Macgregor sailboat - 27’ or so in length. A fun day, and a challenging day. It’s always fun sailing on a smaller sailboat, although not as comfortable as Bubbles!