Sunday 24 July 2011

Marina Life - the kindness of strangers

Hi everyone
Not a lot of sailing activity right now for several reasons: 1. We're trying to do the right thing and get properly certified for cruising in the US. Australia is pretty bureaucratic, but at least we all seem to work to the same set of rules. Here the relationship between federal, state and international rules is a morass - and if we don't get it right we're sure to run into the maritime equivalent of Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane*. 2. Still some work to be done on the boat, which should be well underway by tomorrow. 3. We're in the middle of a record-breaking heatwave. We Aussies are used to century plus (Farenheit) temperatures, but 3000% humidity is a bit enervating.



All that aside, life here in Mears Point Marina is pretty splendid. The very best thing about it is the generosity and camaraderie of the good people who live here or spend much of their time aboard their boats. For example, Jane's boat Bliss is an institution for happy hour, and the folks on O Dock run movie nights with the DVDs projected onto a sail. Dave and Penny Renoll have been endlessly generous in driving the carless Hogans to pick up groceries and boat parts; Steve and Margot of Island Duchess came to Terry's rescue when he got a puncture in his bike tyre; Tim and Pam Fisher of Querida Grande kindly invited us to their home for a delicious meal of buffalo burgers and fresh sweetcorn and shared their inspiring stories of cruising in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and all places in between. People say that the cruising community works on karma, so I hope these kindnesses translate into well-timed acts of generosity back to all these fine people.

* Dukes of Hazzard

Monday 18 July 2011

Maiden Cruise on the Chesapeake Bay

On Sunday July 10th it was finally time to test out Common Sense, and ourselves, with a proper cruise. As I mentioned earlier, we had the good fortune to enlist the services of Captain Dave Renoll of R&R Charters. His wealth of knowledge and experience was exactly what we needed to help us learn about our boat's capabilities and features, to build our skills and confidence and to understand something of the unfamiliar waters, winds and weather of Chesapeake Bay.

We planned a six-day cruise, stopping overnight at several beautiful, sheltered anchorages and one marina where we could re-provision. As most of you know, I'm famously unco-ordinated when acquiring physical skills, and my sense of direction leaves a bit to be desired too, so I was pretty apprehensive about navigating, taking the helm and just about everything else. Fortunately Terry's skills are way ahead of mine, and Dave was one of those patient, encouraging teachers who sees mistakes as 'learning opportunities'. His strategy was to gradually hand over all aspects of navigating and sailing to us, so that by the end we were pretty much doing it all successfully. A bit like when your dad runs along holding the back of your bicycle seat and you don't realise he's let go until you're riding by yourself! For Terry, having Dave there was more about being able to ask questions about the boat's systems and picking up some local knowledge - it is a totally different environment from home. (For example, you can't tell the depth of the water from colour anywhere - it is the same jade green whether it's two metres or forty metres deep.)

On Day 1 we left our cosy berth at Mears Point Marina, took on fuel and water and sailed approximately 12 nautical miles south-east to the Wye River. This is a really lovely spot - calm water surrounded by woods. I thought about the lyrics of George Gershwin's 'Summertime' because the livin' was easy and the fish really were jumpin' - great big ones, right out of the water! Our anchor wasn't a great success - it didn't set easily and dragged ('drug' is the correct word, according to Dave) when the wind changed next morning. More boat shopping ahead.



Day 2 we had brisker winds and covered about 22 nautical miles to Dun Cove, another very pretty anchorage on Harris creek, a tributary of the Choptank River. (The Choptank is the setting for James A. Michener's famous historical novel Chesapeake, a place I was very keen to see.) We entered through Knapps Narrows Bridge, a 'bascule' bridge which lifts at one end to allow boats to pass under. Minor dramas next morning as we just touched the bottom in Dun Cove at low tide, but managed to wiggle clear.


Day 3 was another excellent day of sailing, with lovely conditions and easy location of all our markers and waypoints. We covered nearly 60 nautical miles, averaging about 6 knots, much of it running with a light tailwind. Entry into Spring Cove Marina at Solomon's Island was relatively comfortable, but docking in a small slip was a challenge, and Terry was mortified by a minor encounter between the port rubrail and the dock. Spring Cove was a very pleasant marina, with a pool, good clean bathrooms and a shuttle service to the local supermarket where we could restock our provisions. By the way, our meals were all reasonably successful, with the pressure cooker a major hit. I would have overcome my anxieties and bought one years ago if I'd known how brilliant they are for creating really well-cooked meals in very quick time - a very tender and delicious beef rendang in just 20 minutes, for example! A pressure cooker has many advantages on a sailboat - rapid cooking saves battery power or the need to run the engine; you don't heat up the cabin so much in hot weather; and a single pot is much easier to clean up and stow. On the marina night, however, we availed ourselves of the local restaurant, the Captain's Table, with squid for Terry, crabcakes for me and for Dave, his favourite rockfish.

Day 4 was an education in the vagaries of the weather on the Chesapeake Bay, with pleasant light winds first up, followed by dead calm where we had to motor for about 10 nautical miles, to a full thunderstorm with winds gusting to 40 knots and heavy rain! Fortunately we had just taken in the mainsail before the storm struck, but we were a bit late with the wet weather gear. Windy, low visibility conditions made it impossible to enter the narrow channel into La Trappe Creek, so Terry motored around in circles, keeping an eye on the marker and the depth until the storm finally passed. As we entered the anchorage, the weather cleared and all was calm, peaceful and radiant with a gorgeous sunset and moonrise. I even went for an evening swim - unbelieveable when there had been thunder, lightning and torrential rain just a couple of hours before!


On our last two days I was responsible for plotting our course on the charts and I'm delighted to say that we got to both our destinations. Thursday's passage from La Trappe to Rhode River might have been a different story had not Captain Dave stepped in to remind me about factoring in magnetic variation of 11 degrees, but I felt quite proud of my chartwork on the final day. Unfortunately we had to motor most of the way home to Mears Point as we headed directly into the wind all the way up past the Thomas Point Lighthouse and the magnificant Bay Bridge; however the final leg was a nice sail and we arrived safely with a lot more knowledge and confidence than when we set out.

It was a wonderful introduction to the cruising life and we really appreciated Captain Dave's wisdom and generosity of spirit. I hope he appreciated the opportunity to add a few choice Australian expressions to his vocabulary.

Friday 8 July 2011

Spending Spree/ Sailing Plans

Common Sense is our name, but Spending Spree might be more appropriate at the moment. A few minor repairs and additions need to be made from the survey report ... and then there are the things we've just decided to buy; folding bikes, a new dinghy, new lifejackets, wet weather gear, boots, new head pumps, freezer, flares, compass, binoculars, galley stuff ...  I think we'll end up having to tow some kind of storage container along behind the boat if this continues! That said, good stuff is so affordable here that it's hard to resist. Not only are the prices very reasonable, everyone is keen to make you a special offer, do a deal or give a big discount for cash or multiple purchases. My rather splendid top of the range Musto jacket, for example, retails here for just over $600, but after various discounts it was $345. Recommended retail price in Australia? Between $890 and $1100!
Sailing plans are taking shape, partly in response to the various rules and regulations we're encountering, as well as the weather of course. For example, we had intended to sail north to Boston and Maine in August anyway, but local law stipulates that if you spend more than 90 days in the state of Maryland in a year, you have to pay (a fairly steep) Maryland tax. So we're definitely off to cooler climes - the locals say that August is way too hot and humid here for enjoyable sailing. Back to Annapolis for October, which is the best month and time for the famous boat show, then head south to Florida and the Bahamas. Because of our lack of experience, we'll probably travel the 'boring' way, down the Intra Coastal Waterway. The sea route rounds Cape Hatteras, also known as 'the graveyard of the Atlantic', which sounds somewhat unattractive to me. Next May there is a rally across the Atlantic from the Bahamas to Portugal, which we will probably join.

Marina life is rather lovely, with all sorts of comforts including a good pool and gym, and especially lots of very friendly and generous people. Everyone is happy to share their favourite sailing destinations, restaurants, advice about gear and help with problems, and there are lots of both organised and informal social events. On Sunday we are heading out for our first real cruise, five days to St Michaels and Solomon's Island (NOT the Solomon Islands - that's for later) accompanied by Captain David Renoll from R&R Charters. We thought it was a good idea to source a bit of local expertise as we get to know this beautiful but very complex and busy bay.

Sorry I've been a bit slack with the blogging - life aboard seems to have cured my lifelong insomnia ZZZZ!