September Chesapeake trip

Wed Sept 13 Had a great weather window to get to Annapolis to have our autopilot evaluated. Had morning appointments. PSA all sailors should get annual skin checks, we did today. And use sunscreen! Packed up provisions and clean clothes, got to Tidewater Marina by 1 ish. Laz ran to Conowingo Gas and lo and behold they had the correct hose and fitting for baji-naji‘s propane system! Laz put it together, checked for leaks, tightened a few things when a small leak was detected and we are cooking with gas! Yup, literally. Off the docks at 3ish and headed for Still Pond. NE winds, fairly decent.

Laz teased that I am up for best dressed captain as we took off and I never changed out of my dress into shorts. It's a sporty dress, go anywhere, do anything Title 9 dress.

Sun started to go down as we sailed. Sailed right into Still Pond to see another sailboat anchored on the north side. Seriously expected no one else there on a September weekday. Oh well. We also dropped anchor on the N side as there was potential for increased winds and weather from the N. Luckily our usual spot was further in and far enough from the sailboat from Quantico, VA

Love how the rays are coming below the cloud bank

Sun setting and peeking out below the cloud bank

Chicken Caesar salad with fresh tomatoes from our neighbors for dinner. Plus cheddar stuffed baguette from Talula’s

Peaceful evening with blue heron and bald eagle cries. Off to Annapolis tomorrow

Thu Sept 14 Up before 0800, breakfast of almond croissant from Isabel et Vincent which we did not finish, it was not very good, sad to say. The cherry cheese croissant from Talula’s was great! I had yogurt with blueberries, raspberries and granola. Anchors aweigh by 0900. Good breeze inside Still Pond, put up the main before we got to the main Bay. Had the jib out to get out far enough from the shoals and this was ~60° angle. When we turned downwind we furled the jib and brought out the code-0.

Wing with the code-0. Water was flat enough to wing for a while heading down the Bay. Great wind 10-15kts from N to NW.

The other sailboat from Still Pond. Left 1/2 hour or more before us, but we caught up past Baltimore

Never looks like we will make it under the Annapolis Bay Bridge

You know it's Annapolis when you see all the small boats racing. Got into Horn Point Marina around 2:45pm. It has the angled slips and a lot of people back in. There is just enough room in the fairway to go in forward then turn around to dock. It was still breezy but the wind didn't grab the bow in the fairway which was good. Backed her into the angled slip with help from Mike, the dockmaster, Laz as another set of eyes and the trusty bow thruster to adjust.

Hung out and relaxed for a bit. Watched this one go back and forth working on upwind and downwind legs. Nice spinnaker. Went ashore to say hi to Todd and Tammy from SailTime. They used to run Bay Sail in Havre de Grace and we chartered many times from them. Met Jeff Cook at Davis' Pub and Todd and Tammy were coming from across the street where they have an apartment. Tidewater/Bay Sail reunion! Todd and Tammy were going to a fundraiser and we went into Davis' Pub for dinner. Lovely time catching up with Jeff. Leandra, our waitress, remembered us from April and asked how our sailing trip was. Here tomorrow as well; John Lavelle is coming to take out the autopilot and see if he can fix it.
Fri Sept 15 There is a new coffee truck located at the marina, Oscar's coffee. Apparently they serve pup cups as well, as the many dogs that were inline (with their owners) can attest to.

Excellent mocha, not too sweet with a decent everything bagel and cream cheese. Saved 1/2 for later.

Another gorgeous day. View from our cockpit

Herons are silly. Walking through their own poop to make heron prints on the dock. John arrived around 9:15 and wrestled with the autopilot, finally getting it out. He said he was looking forward to taking it apart to see what happened, especially as Lewmar has never had a failure like ours. Ain't it great being special? After John left we decided to walk to Chesapeake Bay Media to pick up our 2023 Guide. It's been a few years since they released one and we really use ours.

Along the way passed a beautiful garden with this butterfly drinking. Got a call from Erin Townley who, with her dad Dave, was our broker for *baji-naji*. I texted hoping to see them while we are in Annapolis but Erin is in Wisconsin on vacation and Dave is in the Solomons for work. So nice to catch up! We will see them at the Boat show in Oct. I was talking to her from outside the Chesapeake Bay Media office on the 3rd floor of the Annapolis Marina complex overlooking the water and it was breezy. Erin encouraged us to go out today as it sounded like a beautiful sailing day. We stopped at Bread and Butter Kitchen to get a Southwest Chicken wrap, an decided we would take off. Got back to *baji-naji*, filled the forward water tank and let Mike know we were leaving. He helped us tie off to the pumpout station, helped us get it turned on and then we were off. Great breeze, brisker than yesterday with 13-17kts

Sun's out fun’s out and so is the code-0. Texted Erin with this sailing photo to thank her for getting us going

Tricky to selfie and smile while going full out in breeze, but no one was hurt in this endeavor. And the cell phone remained in board. Decided to anchor in Eastern Bay. Had a couple of choices but the first was too wide open, so we settled on Shipping Creek, a small snug creek with homes and docks all around.

Anchored in about 7ft at ~6:20pm. Looking back out towards Eastern Bay. There are no marks for the creek, and plenty of shoaling, so you need to watch and follow your navs closely. Even when we were sailing up this way we had to watch the navs for shallow spots. Such brisk wind, we were able to sail most of the way.

View of one of the homes on our starboard side lit from the glow of sunset

Leftovers for dinner: pork tenderloin, ciabatta and a small salad of butter lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Tomato and cucumber supplied by wonderful neighbors in PA and CT

A lovely evening in a lovely spot. Off to Hudson Creek off the Little Choptank tomorrow.

Sat Sept 16 Ben's birthday!

Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes and garlic for breakfast along with leftover bagel and lemon poppyseed pound cake. And a clementine and coffee of course. Great wind today from the N, NNW.

Great wind today from the N, NNW. With 13-16kts we were able to sail with the code-0. Lots of sailboats out, which was great to see. Also saw some of a regatta that the Navy sailboats were competing in, all with spinnakers out like the one we saw in Annapolis. Wind was strong enough, with waves from behind that *Boji* swamped and the port D ring came off with the fabric tearing. Laz put the tether on the center and starboard D rings and tied her close. The center D ring fabric has a small tear as well but luckily did not give way.

Arrived in Hudson Creek and anchored outside our favorite mansion by 4:30p.

Took Boji out for a ride to see the other side of the mansion, and then all the way up Hudson Creek. It is a long way. Did not get to the end but made it to the Y at the top

This large great blue heron was not remotely perturbed by our going past.

*baji-naji,* the only boat anchored. Beautiful backdrope of trees on Cassons Neck

Another glamour shot with the mansion in the background

Brilliant view from the cockpit with the sun starting to set

Hudson Creek sunsets are always stunning. One our our favorite anchorages.

Sun Sept 17 Up before 0800, anchor up before 0900. Lemon pastry, last of the Isabelle et Vincent, and zucchini bread, last of the Swamp Farm goodies and yogurt for breakfast. Good wind 10-15kts from S, SSW and occasionally shading E, as predicted. Boji swamped once, but did not after we tied her even closer. Able to sail the whole way. Strong enough that when it was 60-90° wind angle we decided to furl the code-0 and being out the jib. Whee!!! with both sails.

Great to see so many other boats out in this brisk breeze

Passed a regatta at the Tres Avon Yacht club

Not sure what class of boat, maybe some upgraded 420s. Have never sailed up the Tred Avon before, so we continued past the channel for the marina for a while. Very pretty scenery. Turned back after a while, furling the jib and dropping the main before coming to the Safe Oxford fuel dock for pumpout. They gave us a spot on one of the Ts at the end of BC, and helped us tie off.

Took a walk into town. Finally here on the right day and time to go to Oxford Social. Too late for coffee but we had a lovely quiche for lunch. I had burrata and tomato and Laz had steak and cheese. Bought a few baked goods then went across the street to Scottish Highland Creamery. I had the chocolate nutty buddy, their double dark Belgian chocolate chock full of peanuts. Laz had orange with chocolate streaks, tasted like a creamsicle. Back to Safe Harbor. Checked the laundry room, very nice new washer and dryers. $2.50 a load. Bathrooms are the same lovely ones and the lounge has 2 toaster ovens now. Checked with Jeff in the office re: Uber vs taxi and he mentioned that Pope’s has offered an English taxi where they will pick up and drop off from the marina. With the looming rain, I arranged for a 5:30 pickup. Got the anchor put back on *Boji* so hopefully will be less likely to swamp. Who knows?

Delicious spinach salad with pineapples, pecans and goat cheese with a poppy seed dressing.

I enjoyed the veal Marsala and had plenty left to bring home

Shared an angel food cake with chocolate mousse.

Walking back to the marina we saw these adorable lawn decorations. Love the cat amongst the gnomes

A small glow behind the rain coming down over Cambridge. The yacht club is in the left

Beautiful Shannon on the other side of the marina from us. Tomorrow we're off to Rock Hall to meet the Caggianos. Rain tonight, I can hear it now. Hopefully it will stop before we need to go in the morning. It will be an early morning for us as it's a long sail with the wind in our face

Mon Sept 18 Up by 0700, off the docks at 0720. Made coffee and heated up some monkey bread and the “donkey donut” (“ass end of chocolate babka”). Made my usual mug of coffee with the Ethiopian Worka, the Oso 1/2 caff and the lo-fi decaf from Bard. Raining all night and as we started so wore my foulies. Love them. Keeps me warm and dry on a rainy morning.

Even when the rain stopped there were ominous skies behind us

It didn't really rain again after it stopped around 0900. Motored til nearly out of the Choptank before putting up the main. Good wind but in the direction we were going. After raising the main, we could get some oomph from the sail if we were at a 20-30° angle. Wind was from the NNW but would move W and was strong, 10-15kts. We were able to pull the jib out at one point and tack our way past Poplar, and then towards the Bay Bridge. Somewhere past the Eastern Bay the wind was 5 or less so we put the engine back on to motor sail. By 3pm we were still about 2 hours from Rock Hall with 3-5kts of wind in our face so we decided to furl the jib and drop the main. I took a nap on the port side seat. When I woke, the wind was up to 13-15kts but still mostly in the direction we were trying to go. Was cutting up an apple for snack when Laz asked for my help. *Boji’s* center D ring came off. He used *Boji's* painter and the black line around the top to secure her, as well as her starboard D ring which was still intact, but this is not a good solution. Snacked on apples and cheddar on our way in.

Passed these fishermen on the way to Rock Hall Landing Marina.

We were on the T at the end of A dock, next to Waterman's. Had time for showers and walked over to Harbor Shack to meet John and Ann Caggiano for dinner

View of Rock Hall Landing from Harbor Shack. We are the one with the orange *Boji* on the side.

Had a delicious jambalaya for dinner with enough leftovers to bring back. John had the same thing. I was disappointed that Waterman's doesn't serve this anymore, so glad we gave this a try.

Laz had the shrimp fajitas. Great to catch up with friends over dinner. Next time we will meet at Schafer's, closer for them as well as they live in Middletown DE. Have not decided where we are going tomorrow.

Tue Sept 19 Slept in, leisurely morning , even read in bed. Made scrambled eggs with chive cream cheese and served with warmed biscuits from Social Cafe. Had the raspberry preserves and a little butter with the biscuits. Yum. Had the usual coffee blend, today with Oso 1/2 caff, Ethiopian Worka and the La Mulita Humble Mule decaf. Helped Laz get Boji to the dock so he could clean and disassemble. There is no way to tow her safely in brisk wind without the D rings. While he worked outside, I was able to clean off some of the latent mildew on the port wall/ceiling with the Clorox wipes. Cleaned the head as well. Laz was able to clean Boji with Clorox wipes, the good sponge (microfiber) and water. He needed my assistance to help fold the parts into their respective storage bags. Had a nice chat with the young dockmaster as he was walking the docks. Apparently the change in menu at Waterman's was universallly poorly received. Did not help when the management was saying "if you don't like the food you can go somewhere else". He agreed that the Harbor Shack jambalaya is outstanding. The parent company for Rock Hall Landing is based on NYC and the owner is in Australia. They seem amenable to suggestions from Meghan, the office manager and himself to improve things. As with everything else, it's about the budget.

View from the docks on is always so beautiful

There was a heron fishing across the way

It was quite windy so I made our roast beast roll ups before we got underway. Left just before 2pm and had 13-15 kts from the WNW shading to the W. Nice reach to the green, then close hauled across to the Baltimore channel, tacked and able to go all the way to Still Pond on that tack. The sailboat in the distance is named *The Office*. I can hear it now “Honey, I'm headed to *The Office!”*

Adjusted sails a few times, and at one point when I was adjusting the jib I noticed the true wind was a steady 18kts. Got out the life jackets and we decided to reef one. Still going over 6kts with one reef on the main. Left the jib alone. Around Poole's Island we raised the main again as the wind was steadily 10 or less. Went back to 11- 13 kts after crossing Poole's, but not more than that.

Still going more than 6kts with one reef in the main. We kept a careful eye on *Ross Sea*, a tug and barge. We were able to sail our course and cross the channel before they got near to where we were. Overhead a hilarious conversation between *Ross Sea* and Jordan Rose. *Ross Sea* was towing an empty barge and faster than *Jordan Rose*, so had arranged to overtake him where there is room, instead of in the C&D canal. Shift change and the new person at *Jordan Rose* did not agree with the plan and sped up instead of slowing down and letting *Ross Sea* overtake. So *Ross Sea* had to slow down. Drama on the high seas!

Headed into Still Pond with the setting sun.

Cute guy at sunset. Who could ask for more?

All this view behind us. Looked back to enjoy and take photos and looked forward to avoid crab pots which were numerous.

We were coming around the land that juts out to protect from wind, but does start to obscure the sunset view. Not that this is bad.

Leftovers for dinner, I had the jambalaya and Laz had the veal Marsala. I had one last tomato from the Smiths but all the basil had rotted, so I put fresh mozzarella and balsamic glaze instead. Still delicious! Cherries and the last of the sour cream coffee cake from Isabelle et Vincent for dessert.

Another great day of sailing with a beautiful sunset.

Beautiful crescent moon with birds flying by.

Wed Sept 20 Another leisurely morning as we do not have far to go

September Chesapeake trip

April 2024

September 2023