Work is Done!

The primary work to get the boat ready for our trip to the Dry Tortugas is complete. Grace and I  put (bent) the mainsail on and adjusted the Dutchman System. There is absolutely no wind, so the sail is wrinkled a bit, but Haarstick Sailmakers did a great job. The sail has a nice amount of draft built into it and the fit is absolutely perfect!

Before Putting (bending) the other sails on, Grace and I took the tender and rowed to a local restaurant on the water, Berdine's,  for lunch.

Berdine's is a Tiki hut on the upper floor above the marina store and gas dock. I believe it is called the Chiki Tiki.

Where else would you find a water fountain at a gas dock?

On the way back, I tried to take a nice picture of Grace. Like me, she prefers to be behind the camera instead of in front of the lens. So... I got "The Look" instead.

Upon our return to the boat, we bent the other head sails on. I was satisfied with completing all the work planned for the day. Grace, on the other hand, looked around at the remaining sails in the salon and suggested we store those away now; instead of waiting for tomorrow. Who am I to argue?

So now the sails are stowed and the V-Berth is once again usable, which is exactly where I will sleep tonight.

Return to Marathon, FL

Grace and I are back in Marathon. We arrived about 4am today. The new mainsail from Haarstick Sailmakers (http://www.haarsticksailmakers.com/) was waiting for us when we got here. It is now on the boat and partially installed. Tomorrow we have to install the battens and adjust the Dutchman System control lines. A big thanks has to go out to Doug, Tony and the guys at Haarstick's for making this sail on such short notice.

It was a wonderful day, all-in-all. Grace would have preferred I didn't get her up at 8:30am for breakfast, though. We accomplished all our goals for today and are ready to continue tomorrow. We were even rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Marathon Sunrise

I was chatting with one of my High School classmates last night. The conversation ended with a request for sunset photos. Not being one who follows directions well, I got up early and took this sunrise photo. 

AIS - Position Reporting

One of the pieces of new equipment I installed this summer, is an AIS transponder. AIS stands for Automated Identification System. The transponder means I can receive information about other boats and ships in my area, and I also transmit my information. Some of the useful information transmitted is the boat/ship's name, speed, direction, and position. A lot more data is transmitted. This makes it easy for me to identify a ship from a long distance. For instance, when crossing the Atlantic I stay out of shipping channels for reasons of safety. However, I always see a ship every few days. With AIS, I can call the ship on the radio and ask for the latest 3-day weather forecast. The watch commanders love to help. English is the international language for the maritime industry and is rarely the first language for shipping crews. Since they are required to log all radio communications, they get an unexpected log entry, which is good for their professional ratings.

AIS is radio based, not satellite based. So, to have my position reported I must be within radio distance of  a receiving station. Even though a can use it for ships in the middle of the ocean, my position will not be reported because I am well beyond a receive site. The same is true for the ship.

A website has been developed that captures all the AIS signals and plots them... around the globe. You can got to HTTP://www.marinetraffic.com to see all the ships currently being reported, including me.

For anyone who is interested in following the boat using my AIS (Automated Identification System) information, I just finished wiring the mast and turned the transponder on. I checked, and my position is being reported.
Goto http://www.marinetraffic.com; click on the Search (magnifying glass on the left); Type: Distant Horizon in the Vessel,Port text field; then click on the Distant Horizon name when it comes up; You can click on filters (the icon below the search) and select "Show Ship Names" to easily find us.

We Have Arrived!

This morning, I met the boat in Marathon, FL. It didn't take long for the Marina owner to greet us (me, the boat, and Andy the truck driver). The owner got us situated and before long the yard was taking the mast and roller furler off the truck. Then a small fork lift came to lift the tender off the truck for us.

That was the opening act. The main event followed shortly after and Distant Horizon was once again in the water.

The riggers and I worked on preparing everything. A crane was scheduled to arrive after lunch. The crane was needed to step my mast. That is, put it in the boat standing upright.

The riggers worked hard in the South Florida heat getting the mast "in column". This means getting iit standing up straight so the top of the mast is properly aligned with the bottom of the mast. They continued until sunset tuning the rig. That means, the tightened everything down to the proper tension; ensuring the mast did not bend inappropriately.

As the worked, they checked on the concerns I had with the work done by the rigging company in Annapolis. They agreed that the previous tune was way off.

Since I single-hand the boat (sail it without any other crew), they also showed me how to do that efficiently He said he has singled-handed a 1200 mile journey once. In his 20+ years of sailing it was by far the hardest thing he has ever done. So, we talked about that and my future crossing of the Atlantic single-handed.

Tomorrow, I'll be doing a lot of work preparing the boat for Grace's trip to the Dry Tortugas.
.

Taking the Fast Route to Florida

After the Deltaville Marina and Boatyard Christmas party on Friday night, I had to this weekend and Monday to prepare the boat. It is being trucked to Florida on Tuesday.

The mast must come down. So all the sails and rigging will have to be removed. The wind generator is too tall for the highway. That has to come down. The solar panels are too high and must be removed too.; as does the boom gallows, dodger and bimini.

The work went pretty will with only a few complications. The sun was setting on Monday night, and I was not done. I planned on working in the dark and cold until midnight to finish up my tasks. Then comes George who was preparing his trawler for the winter. He had a headlamp on and walks up to me; no hellos; he just says give me something to do. At first, my reflex response was about to come out. "It's all just one-man tasks..." Instead, completely out of character I said, "Can you finish this up, and I will start on the solar panels." I showed him what needed to be done.  Soon afterwards, he was on deck with me. The solar panels were already off and I was taking the wind generator down. By 6 pm, we had everything done. It was dark. So, I left the task to putting things down below and tying things down until the morning. Thanks George!

George wasn't the only one to help. On Friday night, I met a new arrival to the Marina, Prashantt. He was from India and was in the process of purchasing a boat. On Sunday morning, Prashantt helped me get the sails down, folded and bagged. Donna who lives on her boat "Mac Nab", a Bristol Channel Cutter, was there to help move the boom from the deck to down below, and then a hundred other small tasks I had overlooked.

On Tuesday, both Donna and Prashantt were there to help take the tender off the deck and lower it down so it could be placed on the trailer ahead of Distant Horizon, along with many other tasks. A Thank you Donna and Prashantt.

Here Prashantt and Andy, the truck driver, are tying down the roller furler.

Distant Horizon, taking the fast route to Florida.

Deltaville Christmas Party

Today there was a Christmas party at the marina. Everyone was invited, employees, customers and guests. The boatyard guys cooked up some roast pork. There was an old rowing dinghy full of beer. Everyone was asked to bring a dish to pass. We had a feast.
One of the guys brought a stockpot and made us hot Butter rum. Let me tell you! That will warm you  up from the inside out! ... I need that recipe!

This Bristol Channel Cutter was all decked out for the holidays

There was also a bonfire to keep us warm. This picture was taken early. I put the camera away when the fun began... read... when the rum started flowing.

One of the fishermen brought his boat and took us for a tour up both legs of Jackson Creek to see the homes lit-up with all their Christmas lights.

Deltaville, VA, specifically the Jackson Creek area, has some very nice homes along the water. They decorate and light up their homes just like anywhere else. However, with a backdrop of the water, can be special.

Boat Tour - Galley and planning food provisions

At the class reunion, Mr. Patternini asked me about planning the provisions on the boat when making a long voyage. We only had a brief discussion. So, I decided to add more here.

The way I go about it, is to plan a rough menu for the duration of the cruise; breakfast, lunch, dinner, and also snacks. Dinner is the primary meal of the day. To avoid boredom, I rotate the meal's focus; pasta for energy storage, protein for muscle nourishment; and a balanced meal for general nutrition. I figure  a few meals in those categories and then split them up through the course of the trip. This will give a basic grocery list for provisioning.

The menu is not cast in stone. It's a good way to identify the necessary provisions. The daily menu can always change to fit the demands of sailing.

To store these provisions, a wet hanging locker was converted into a pantry. It can hold canned goods for preparing meals for well over a month.

That doesn't mean we just eat canned foods. In fact, that is not true at all. We start with fresh foods: meats, fruits, and vegetables. The boat has a reasonably sized refrigerator where these foods can be stored. The planning of meals for a longer voyage starts with the fresh foods. Those that spoil the quickest, are eaten first. For instance, iceberg lettuce will last three days if you're lucky due to the moist environment. We can still have salads with our meals the first two or three days. After that, we use cabbage. Saute the cabbage for a softer salad; just chop it, add diced tomatoes, onion, a little fennel seed, and olive oil for a firmer salad.

The canned goods supplement the fresh foods, just like they do at home.There are also meals planned completely on the canned goods for the end of the journey when the fresh foods have been exhausted. Although, potatoes, onions, and cabbage last a very long time when stored properly.

All this talk about meals... here are a few photos of the galley where all the meal preparation is done.

Galley, looking aft towards the companionway. Taken from the salon.

View of the galley taken from the nav station.

The main appliance is the three burner gimballed stove. Gimballed means the stove top will remain horizontal as the boat heals over. 

On the right are the sinks. There are two sinks, just like home; a little smaller, but also deeper so water doesn't slosh out. Each sink has a cutting board cover. You can see four faucets if you look close. The closest is a fresh water from the water tanks, which is operated by a foot pump, so no electricity is required. Next is sea water, also operated by a foot pump. You can use a mixture of 60% fresh water and 30% sea water when cooking pasta. Thirdly, is your typical faucet, just like home. There is an electric pump on-board that brings fresh water from the tanks. Lastly, just beyond the Gatorade bottle is a filtered water faucet for drinking. This is also feed by the electric pump.

At the end of the counter top you can see a third cutting board top that is removable, just like the sinks. Under there, there is a vegetable bin made of stainless steel. The bin is removable and more storage is below and behind that where I store extra paper towels, napkins, zip lock plastic bags, potatoes, and snacks.

Since potatoes and onions can't be stored together, the onions and other firm vegetables go in the vegetable bin... along with bread.

Wrapping around the galley above the counter tops and stove are cabinets where the dishes, pots & pans, lots of food, containers of oatmeal, flour, sugar, olive oil, peanut oil, pesto's, spices, are all stored.

Still Waiting...

Well... I'm still waiting. I'm waiting for the cooling system to be re-installed. I'm waiting for the weather to clear.

As for the cooling system, the simple solution did not work. So, the mechanics took the heat exchanger off today. It is being acid dipped to remove any scale from the salt water flowing through it and then just cleaning it out. They did find some obstructions in there, but not a lot.

While they were doing that, I rebuilt the sea water pump that draws sea water into the heat exchanger and pushes it out the exhaust. Comparing it to the radiator in your car... the sea water is the equivalent to the air that flows through your radiator.

Tomorrow we re-install the entire system and give it another test. If all goes well, I plan to depart on Wednesday. Coincidentally, that is the start of the next favorable weather window. The low pressure systems bringing snow and ice to the North East, will have passed north of here. A cold front will move in bringing a nice high pressure system behind it. That means, I should have winds from the north gently pushing me south for several days.

I plan to go non-stop to Miami. I do not have time to make stops along the way. I'm not really in great sailing shape, but the conditions should not warrant more.

Tomorrow, I'll post the results of the cooling system test along with a few pictures . It's really nice here. The big houses along the water have all their Christmas lights up.

Home for Thanksgiving

I rowed the tender ashore. First I talked to the boatyard. They said they were very busy, trying to get the work done before the holiday. They would not be able to troubleshoot and repair my boat before next week. That was okay with me. I was going home for Thanksgiving.

Next I went to the Marina office to get a slip. The boat would be much safer in a slip, as I was leaving her for about a week.

The boatyard did send the yard foreman, Neil, to do some initial testing. After a while, he comes up from the engine and say "I have good news". I was thinking how odd that statement was. None of the probable causes could be considered as good. Then he says, " You have a bad pressure cap."  Okay I was wrong. That is good news!

There are two reservoirs an upper one in a cockpit locker where I filled the system with water, and also a lower one on the heat exchanger on the engine. He said the lower one should have a higher pressure rating. It doesn't. Also, it was not allowing the system to reach full pressure. It was overflowing into the bilge.

They will replace the cap with a higher rating and re-test the system.

I rented a car from Enterprise and drove home for the Holiday.

Last Day South Before Thanksgiving.

The plan is to get up early, get going, and don't stop until I reach Hampton, VA. In Hampton, I will leave the boat for a few days; renting a car to drive home for Thanksgiving. Grace got home from Ithaca on Friday night.

You've all heard the saying; "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor's take warning." Well there is a scientific basis for the first part of the saying, there is really none for the second. So, when I motoring out of Ingram Bay; back to the Chesapeake, I paid little attention to this sight.

It was pretty enough to snap a picture or two, but not ominous enough to cause angst over the weather for the upcoming day.

The wind was from the south, directly where I wanted to go. I'm on a time crunch of sorts. I wanted to make Hampton before sunset. There was a storm coming through later tonight and I wanted to beat it to Hampton. So, I motored... no sails. With this wind direction they would not help.

I was making good time. It was a little after 11 am and I had less than 6 hours to Hampton.

As a pilot you are trained to scan the instruments. While sailing, I still make regular scans of the engine instruments when the engine is running. That is in addition to the sailing instruments. On this latest scan, I noticed the engine temp was elevated, and not just a little. I eased the throttle, but kept going at a slower speed. I wasn't overheating yet, which gave me time to troubleshoot a bit. The temperature started to drop.

I wasn't pushing the engine hard;  certainly not hard enough to cause it to run hot. I decided to idle down and to neutral so I could have a look. There was no water in the upper reservoir. I went to the galley and filled a gallon jug and filled the reservoir

I started moving south again, at a slower speed. The temp was perfect, but I just added water. In the back of my head, I was wondering... where did the water go? After a while Increased the speed, and then increased it again. Once again the temp started rising.

I couldn't find any leaks, although I could smell antifreeze. I thought the odor may be coming from the exhaust; meaning the heat exchanger had a leak in it. The heat exchanger is the equivalent to a radiator in your car, but instead of using air to cool things off, it uses the sea water.

Then, not being the eternal optimists, I was thinking head gasket.. a simple, but costly engine repair. Costly in both dollars and time.

I decided to turn around and head for Deltaville, which is known to have excellent service facilities. There was no way at my present safe speed I would make Hampton before dark. With all the Naval ships in the area, and total lack of familiarity, turning around was the safest option in all regards.

I anchored out across from the Deltaville Marina.

A Cold and Frozen Anchorage

In an anchorage, you look for enough water at low tide so you won't hit; good protection from waves; and protection from the wind. I found all three my first night out. With a chilly 22 degrees in the forecast, and still some work to do on the boat, I thought it to be a blessing. That is, until the next morning.

It was definitely a cold night night. I burned through an entire bottle of propane (1lb) with the heater. When I woke up, there was ice in the sink. 

I immediately checked the engine, but that big mass of iron holds it's heat well. It was cold and damp, but no frost . There's antifreeze in the heat exchanger anyway, it's the fresh water side I was most worried about. 

The had ice formed in the entire creek, except a small boundary of about 18 inches around the boat.The current temperature was 20 degrees.

Now, this is a fiberglass boat not steel or aluminum. So, breaking through the ice would be a very delicate process.

First, I waited two hours to allow the sun to start melting the ice. I didn't have much room to maneuver around in, but I turned the boat so it was pointing in the direction we had to go.

Then I inched forward and dropped an anchor just far enough to break the ice. In doing this, I was able to see how thick the ice was... not very thick at all. So, I started to inch forward and then let the boat coast to a stop. As it did this I watched how the ice was breaking and running along the hull. The bobstay fitting was actually breaking the ice. That is a heavy stainless steel part. Then, the ice would fold over so the hull was rubbing against the flat side, not the thin sliced edge. So, I kept this up until we were able to get to running water.

You can see here the path taken. I took this picture just was we broke into the flowing current.

The air was so still over night the water didn't move and froze. That wasn't the case for the rest of the day.

It warmed up quickly to 40 degree. The wind was strong, about 20 kts, gusting to 30 kts and quickly built 3-4 foot waves. It doesn't sound like much, but salt water has a greater mass due to the volume of salt. So, they were more like 6 foot waves on Lake Ontario... just enough to keep me busy all day. I was tacking back and forth across the bay all day. This extends the distance to the next anchorage, but I also need to get accustomed to single-handing this boat. When the sun had set, I was still two hours away from my next anchorage.

The NOAA 6 pm weather reported 4-6 foot waves and winds over 30 kts. This was turning into a light gale. I was happy to pull into the entrance to Ingram bay and the Wicomico River. another mile up stream was my anchorage. When I arrived, there was another boat quietly at rest, but this anchorage could easily hold another ten boats. I picked a nice spot, dropped the anchor, and went about getting dinner and getting some sleep.

I had a two hour delay this morning due to the ice, So, I plan to get an even earlier start tomorrow.

Departure South

This morning I left the Yacht Yard around 7:35. 

The trip however, was a much better journey than that with the rigger.

It was cold; just 29 degrees when I left. I did not get chilled for a few hours. I think the excitement was keeping me warm. My hands and feet let me know first. At least my hands were compensated with a pair of warm gloves. I keep a pair of leather gloves in a small compartment above the engine. I swapped my fleece gloves and leather gloves a few times during the day. The feet weren't too bad, but I need cold weather footwear for the boat!

When the rest of me started to get cold, I knew I needed another layer. That is another on top of my Under Armour long johns, Under Armour mock tee, Under Armour long sleeve waffle shirt, and Carhart hoodie. So, the next layer was my foul weather gear; even tough the sun was shining. That did the trick! I'll start with that tomorrow morning.

The wind was blowing 15-20 knots; gusting to 30. So, the first time single-handing this boat was a challenge. I needed to make some adjustments to the mainsail. So, when the winds built up, the sail went down. It didn't matter, though. I was still doing around 6.5-7 knots. The waves were 3-4 feet, making it a good day to regain my sea legs too.

I had hot tea in a thermos to sip on throughout the day, which makes a nice hand warmer too.

All-in-all the trip from Annapolis was uneventful. I arrived at Solomons, MD around 4:30. I was going to see if the Holiday Inn Marina had an opening... then I could stay in a warm location for the night. I didn't though. I still had to make those adjustments to the mainsail, and that can't be done easily in a slip at a marina. I went the other way to find a good, protected spot to anchor.

After picking my location in Old House Cove, I immediately set myself to get all outside activities completed; including the mainsail. Once inside, I started the portable propane heater and cooked spaghetti for dinner with a Power Bar for desert.

After dinner, I went back outside to check the anchor and take one last look around the decks. Everything looked good. Just before opening the companionway hatch to get back into the boat, I looked up. The sky was amazing. This is a great, dark, anchorage since there are just a few houses nearby. It's not even in the cruising guides.

Well, tomorrow will be a long day with a very cold start. They are saying 22F overnight!

Ready for Departure!

It's been over a month since my planned departure of October 15th. 

It's been three weeks of the revised departure of November 1st. 

The rigging work is not done. That means, I am not fully satisfied and the rigger needed to fix some items. 

I gave him a list, but he only completed the essentials... leaving my teak decks covered with metal shards. I guess he is one professional who doesn't know to turn duct tape upside down and the shards will stick to it. After he walked all over the decks, the shards were embedded into the teak... no bare feet for a while!

I plan to leave in the morning.

Preparing for a departure south.

Over the past few weeks, I have been performing upgrades to Distant Horizon.

Most notably, would be a complete refit of the rigging, both running rigging and standing rigging. For non sailors, that means the mast and boom have been removed from the boat. This was done mostly for inspection and upgrades. All the wires that hold the mast up and keep it straight have been inspected... that's the standing rigging. The running rigging is all the ropes and associated hardware used to operate the sails. By the way, rope on a boat is called a line. All this work is being performed by a profession rigging service.

Also, I am completely updating the propane system. A new stove, hose, and regulator. There will also be a new gas monitoring alarm system to warn me of an inadvertent leak. The propane locker, which should be completely air-tight from the rest of the boat, had over a dozen old screw holes in it. So, I am cleaning, sanding, and fiberglassing the propane locker to make it truly safe.

I have replaced the old AIS transducer, as it was intermittent at best. AIS is the Automated Identification System. This is an automatic tracking system for ships and other vessels like my boat. A lot of information is broadcast over the short range radios; most notably the ships name, position, speed, and direction. Receiving this information is great for me. When at sea, I can call a ship directly... by its name... Since the international language for communications for aviation and the marine industry is English, the ships always answer back. You see, they have to log all their radio communications. So, an officer on watch who is originally from Indonesia, gets to practice his English and log the 20-40 minutes time. For me, I can ask for the latest 3-day weather forecast or latest position of named storms. Since I installed a transceiver, that means my information is also being broadcast. So, the ship has my boat's name, speed, direction, etc.

AIS is used for vessel traffic safety... kind of like an air traffic control for the sea.. or at least for approaching a port. I use it for collision avoidance. Knowing a ship's position, how fast it's moving and in what direction, I can quickly calculate whether we are on a collision course. In fact, the AIS system I installed will perform that calculation for me. The older system did not.

For all of you reading this, AIS is handy too. As long as I am close enough to a shore station, my information will be received and updated on the internet. Checkout http://www.marinetraffic.com. Once there, click on the magnifying glass on the left and type in “Distant Horizon”. If I have been received recently, my boat's information will come up and the map will zoom in to my last known position. As previously mentioned, the mast is being worked on. My VHF (short-range) radio antenna is at the top of the mast. So, there will not be any information on Distant Horizon at this time, but get familiar with the site and you will soon be able to track my movements. As this is an international system, you can track my position anywhere in the world when I am close enough to a receiving station.

Next, I added a NAVTXT receiver. This is another international system. This one provides navigational and meteorological warnings and forecasts, as well as urgent marine safety information. It works when I am within200-400 miles of a coast. That's another 3-days or more for Distant Horizon. Being that far away, I will be able to stay away and let a storm pass by before I call on the next port.

Finally, I have installed a wifi antenna on the boat. This will allow me to receive free wifi where it is available. In the U.S. that would be most marinas. Internationally, wifi is rarely free.

Day 7 - End of the Shakedown Cruise

The  quick journey from Norfolk, VA to Annapolis, MD was over last night. Today we attend to the true purpose of the trip.

We are having Distant Horizon hauled out. It will be about a month before we can return to the boat. So, while out of the water, we will have some professional services performed. The new decal will be also be installed. So, no more confusion with the name and pictures after this.

When we rose in the morning, I could see the Yacht Yard right across the creek. It was getting too dark last night to actually find the yard. So, we anchored in a safe location. It was a pleasant surprise to know we only had to move the boat a few hundred feet.

I called the Yacht Yard to see when it would be convenient for me to bring the boat for it's haul out. I had made a previous appointment, which simply identifies my planned day of arrival. They are very accommodating. They said to call when we were ready and the Dock Master would wave us in.

When I called him, he said I'll see all the boats are stern in (backed in). He told me to come in bow first because he knows this boat will not turn when in reverse... it was a nice confirmation of my experience over the past week. One they were ready, they turned her around by hand.

Distant Horizon waiting to be hauled

Being carried by the Travel Lift

Distant Horizon, once again "on the hard".

I'd have to say, this is the most impressive yard I have ever seen. They work in teams like a well-oiled machine; handing off lines from one man to another and never a word spoken.

Wait until you see the re-launch. I don't want to give anything away, but that process was simply amazing!

This trip was a bit rushed. We had to move the boat everyday... except that one day in Mobjack. In the future, we hope to have more leisure time. Therefore, there should be many more pictures... and since you know most of us now, there should be less text too. Check back in a month or so for our new adventures.

Day 6 - Annapolis

As usual when get up in the morning, we listen to NOAA Weather Radio. All week, there has been a mention of a cold front coming through and bringing with it thunderstorms. Yesterday was out hottest, most humid day of the week, and today a cold front was moving in. A perfect formula for thunderstorms. Along with the winds, waves, and especially lightning, thunderstorms are not the favored conditions of sailors. I think it has something to do with a large aluminum pole reaching 55 feet skyward.

The boat owner next to us said he heard reports of 4 foot waves in the Chesapeake. I checked the weather buoys, which reported 0-1 foot waves. There was a small craft warning for the eastern side of the Chesapeake, but we are on the western shore and are definitely not a small craft. My primary concern was the safety and comfort of Linda, Matt and myself.

Annapolis was 43 miles away. There were some nice beaches, but not many harbors along the route. There was Knapp Narrows. It didn't sound all that inviting with the report of its tidal currents, which immediately brought back memories of moving 3 knots sideways at Tangier Island; but it would have to do as an alternate destination.

This could be our most strenuous day. So, Linda and I walked to a plaza and had breakfast while Matt slept in. We brought breakfast back for him an hour later. Then, we prepared the boat for the trip; settled up with the Dock Master; and were on our way to Annapolis.

... and we were not alone. Shortly after reaching the Chesapeake's main channel, we saw this Canadian sailboat headed in the same direction. With the bluffs along the beach, this picture could have been taken on Lake Ontario. That's the wake from a power yacht between us.

A Canadian sailboat headed north too.

The Chesapeake was busy today, or so it seemed. The main channel is narrower through here, and so we were closer to the shipping lanes.

Container ship headed for Baltimore

This tug boat was heading south with a large barge in tow. They stayed close to the western side away from the main shipping lanes. Many of these barges are carrying coal for the power plants.

A tugboat towing a barge

Through the progression of these three pictures you can see the calm water building to small waves. This means we have wind, and luckily for us it was from a favorable position. It was too light to simply sail. However, we had a great boost with the staysail.

Staysail? ...Oh, Distant Horizon is a cutter. Most notably there can be two sails in front of the mast. The forward most is a jib, then one closer to the mast is a staysail. When motorsailing, the staysail worked best on this boat. We could get half a knot or more boost even with winds less than 5 knots. Today, we were getting almost a 1.5 knot boost!

The sky to the north of us was turning black. NOAA weather radio was announced the storm was moving at 40 mph and producing 60 mph winds with higher gusts, hail and lightning strikes in areas I was not familiar with (inland, west of Washington).

Storm ahead of us to the north.

Matt had 3G reception. I had none. He checked the weather radar on his phone and came to me with a plan. He pointed out the speed of the storm and direction, which pass between us and Annapolis. There was also another smaller storm cell south of us.

Storm behind us to the south.

We were still in clear skies. Matt suggested we hang around here and let the storms pass ahead and behind us, as there was a large gap between them. I explained that a squall could fill that gap when it reaches the water, but it was still the best plan we had. So, we hedged our bets by heading southwest, which would get us near the entrance for a small harbour on the west side of the Chesapeake Bay. Knapp Narrows was out of the question. We were past it and now on the other side of the Chesapeake. I liked Matt's plan.

We waited out most of the storm passing in relatively nice conditions. It took about 45 minutes to pass. All the while we were motorsailing in the wrong direction. When the worst of the storm had passed, we turned around and headed north again. Just we were doing this, a squall was building right over us.

Squall building right overhead.

We were hit with the down flow winds. Our boat speed, under motor, was cut in half. There were four foot waves shortly after, but probably from the storm.  This was all pretty quick. In 15 minutes we were gaining our speed back  and steering to minimize the effect of the waves. The sky to the north was clearing. We now had a blue sky and rainbow ahead.

Rainbow

We lost a total of two hours, but avoided a pretty nasty storm. The VHF radio had the Coast Guard and several boats looking for people who had gone overboard. That was from the smaller storm cell to the south of us.

Nearing Annapolis,  we reached the Thomas point Shoal Lighthouse close to sunset.

Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse

Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse at sunset

We motored up Back Creek and dropped anchor just as the last scrap of sunlight was dissipating. It was an amazing day! We encountered a little bit of everything and were now safely tucked away for the night.

Day 5 - Solomons Island

We woke to an overcast sky. It wasn't threatening, but the sky remained overcast all day. We need to depart early since we had 45 miles to go today. Early is a relative term. I still had time to take some photos.

This fisherman was returning from setting his crab pots. I'm not sure what time he left, but it was around 7 am when I took this.

Tangier work boat returning early in the morning

After breakfast, I noticed this fisherman was preparing his boat. There were actually two guys working. They have a lot of crab pots to set. Just look at their dock.

This fisherman was preparing his boat for the days work.

Many channel markers form the foundation for Osprey nests. This one marks the entrance to Tangier island. You can see the mother Osprey watching as we went by. It gets shallow quick outside the channel, so I was focused on steering. Matt said he heard the chicks chirping in the nests.

An Osprey keeping an eye on the chicks

Even with the overcast sky we had a little breeze and were able to motorsail for a couple of hours. After that, the wind died completely and we just motored on. I would have bought a trawler if I just wanted to motor. Where is the wind!?

Linda was relaxing with her book in the cockpit. I thought it was a cool picture with the Smith Point Lighthouse approaching.

Linda relaxing as we approach Smith Point Lighthouse

All week the weather was very calm. So, we tried to get as close to the lighthouses as possible for these photo opportunities. Their purpose is to mark dangerous shoals and rocks. Matt and I usually took turns; I would steer while he took photos and then we would switch for me to take photos with the longer lens. In this way, one of us was always fully engaged in safely navigating.

Here's a closer look at Smith Point Lighthouse.

Smith Point Lighthouse

We had just pass Point Nonamed Point, and then to the delight of all onboard... Dolphins! I never knew dolphins were in the Chesapeake. We counted six dolphins in this pod. I've seen them in the rivers around Charleston, SC... but that was just a few miles from the ocean. These were about 60 miles north of the entrance to the Chesapeake.

Dolphins!

Entering Solomons Island, we noticed this house. At first we were impressed at the size of the house on the water. Then, as we came closer, we noticed many windows were boarded up; others had the plywood just hanging there. 

This derelict was probably a very nice house not too long ago.

In contrast to the previous house, I thought this was a yacht club. Matt pointed out the swing set and toys in the yard. Not bad... they have their own private beach. 

Nice house on the water!

We followed the channel to the end. Tonight, we stayed at the Holiday Inn. I heard rumors of a private marina that works with the Holiday Inn. We were not able to contact anyone as we arrived. So, I pulled into the only empty slip. Actually, I backed into the slip. It was a typical Chesapeake slip with pilings. Being at the end of the channel... as in dead end... it was very calm.  We didn't have any trouble. We found the boat backs straight as an arrow.

I went to the desk at the Holiday Inn to inquire about the slip. The girl at the desk told me I would have to talk with the Dock Master. He arrives around 7 am. Then she gave me a key to the showers and gym. So... Rumors confirmed.

Sorry, I can't believe I didn't take any pictures. Obviously, I was getting a little tired from having to move the boat each day.