Century Club: Tom Dean

Deadly still - no wind when I got to the marina - also very hazy. Saw that predict wind was saying some wind should come in  after 1 - so I waited, but nothing came, so I headed out on the kayak to explore Langford creek - down towards the RHYC. About 45 minutes into the paddle, the wind did start to come up... but it was coming up from the Chester - SW. it wasn't huge, but enough to sail. Once I got back to the marina - after 2 hours out paddling, the wind shifted and was back from the North... and then it slowed down again. Oh well, at least I got out on the water which is the most important thing... and I got to explore some shoreline that I normally can't get very close to so that was nice. Hioefully the wind will pick up for tomorrow - although the forecast is not very promising.... guess I will keep the kayak ready as I really hate to run the engine more than I need to - after all she is a sailboat! Maybe it is time to invest in a small dinghy ssiler!

Temperature was 69 degrees at 9:45 as we left the dock. Barometer was 30.0 and falling.  Winds were out of the East 5 - 10 and it was mostly cloudy - becoming cloudy later in the day... with a few drops.

Got underway early as we had slept over on the boat and wanted to get a sail in before the rains came. Got the sails up quickly in Langford Creek and shut off the engine. Decided to stay in the upper basin, so we were sailing back and forth between the Corsica River, Reed Creek, and then over towards Grays Inn Creek. Had some nice wind most of the day - and when the skies started to look threatening (about 1:30, decided to reef the headsail a bit - preemptively as to not get over powered. Had good control and nice speed even though partially reefed. A lot of "collision alerts" from the AIS - and only one closer call - evidently there was no one on watch!

Started heading back about 2pm... when the really dark clouds started moving towards us from the east - very odd... usually checking out the sky to the west for storm clouds! Got back in and tied up before the little bit of rain came.  Got to catch up with some dock neighbors - so.a plus of coming in early. A little blustery, but as always , a fun day on Bubbles!

Had to pack for the weekend - so I got to the marina a bit later than I wanted. Started out Mostly Sunny then moved to mostly cloudy, 73 degrees - pretty constant. Barometer 30.24 and falling slightly. The NWS was predicting 10 - 15 knots with gusts to 20 out of the East for today.... I found winds from the ENE 5 -10... no real gusts to speak of... at least in the Chester! Started with a reefed headsail, but let that out pretty quickly.  Saw a lot of sailboats - and powerboats heading up towards Chestertown for the tea party. All in All a nice sail with fairly light winds that would from time to time kick up a bit. Was looking forward to the heavier winds, but some wind is better than nothing - and a.day on the water always beats a day on land.  Crew should be joining me this evening - and tomorrow I should hit the halfway point - day number 50!!!

Well, the youngest daughters flight out kept on getting delayed, and then finally cancelled... so a bit after midnight we crashed at home and headed back to the marina about 7am for a sail to Annapolis for the Blue Angels!. Winds were very light - 5 knots.. starting out of the north and then later in the day turning from the southwest.  Barometer was at 29.9 and fairly steady - and temperatures were upper 60's into the mid 70's.  Got the gennaker up as we were leaving Langford Creek, but we were only making 2 knots.... and knowing we had to be in place by 2 pm... we dropped her after a half an hour or so and turned on the engine.  Motored down and got a great place to watch the show!  It was the first time that the girls had gone under a bridge - and of course, going under the Bay Bridge is an awesome experience! Had a great spot for the show.... with the only problem being the shit show that happened after the show with all of the powerboaters plowing through the anchorage with absolutely no courtesy at all. We stayed anchored until 4 and then began our trek back to the marina. After going under the bay bridge, enough of the wake had subsided (as all of the idiots had gotten past us) and we were able to get the gennaker up and sail along Kent island and across Love point, before we had to drop it because of wind direction.  Our youngest took the helm with the gennaker and really did a nice job handling Bubbles! Another great - and last sail... as both girls had flights out the next morning.  Got back to the marina a bit after 9pm.  Long day - but a wonderful day.  1st mate really liked having additional crew on board!!!