While still dry at Sprrows Point. Fresh bottom paint.
Well John, my son, and I moved the boat from Sparrows Point near Baltimore to Cambridge over the Memorial Day weekend. We had postponed the trip previously due to weather. We decided that this had to be the weekend. Anything short of a gale wouldn't stop us. The weather called for cloudy skies with possibility of showers. There was a chance of small craft warnings; but, there always are warnings.
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The forecast was for south winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 for both Saturday and Sunday. The south wind was our concern. Why? because we wanted to go south. It meant that we would need to tack all the way. All that zig-zagging would mean much more time.
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We left Lansdale around 5:30 AM. We were on the Chesapeake heading toward the Annapolis Bay bridge by 8:00 AM. I figured that we would get to the bridge by noon. Bad guess! We were still 10 miles away. The wind was from the south but light all morning.
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At first, I was cautious so I rigged the working jib; but, after an hour of nothing, I switched to the 135% Genoa. We got a little more speed; but, the wind was just to light to get going. Our tacking angle to the wind was about 50-60 degrees to the wind or worse. If it wasn't for the GPS, I would have thought that we were not making any southerly progress. At last we did what all modern sailors do, we started the motor. We motor sailed to a point about a mile north of the bridge and the wind started to develop again. OK, The fun begins.
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At the bridge, we started our tack from the east. We approached a large block of concrete that supports the main structure of the bridge. I noticed that the water was smooth behind it, a sure sign of no wind. As we got closer, I felt that I was about receive an unrequested sailing lesson. When wind goes around a large object, the back side will be calm; but, the wind will whip around its sides to relieve the pressure on the windward side. OK, back on the boat. we got behind the block of concrete and the sails started to flag. Just as quickly, we were hit with a quick gust of wind. It filled our jib quickly and spun us around. As gracefully as possible, we sailed with the wind and away from the bridge. On our next approach, we started the motor just in case. Of course, we avoided the concrete block all together.
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Now, we are south of the bridge. The bridge marks a point that's about one fifth of our total trip. We had the feeling that we would never get there. Originally, I thought that we would get to Tilghman Island at the end of the first day; but, now, It was 5:00 PM and we had to decide where the day would end. I had no interest being on the bay at night.
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After studying the map, it was evident that Queen Anne Marina was the place to put-in for the night. This marina was the last refuge on Kent Island. I checked the GPS only to discover that we were only one mile away. We radioed to the Marina with no response. We tied-on to the end of the dock and discovered that the marina office was closed but so was everything else within walking distance.
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After a dose of bug repellent, and an apple for dinner, sleeping on the boat proved to be a new adventure. It was really easy to get up at 6 AM to set sail. Oh, yes, we escaped before the marina opened so, we evaded the dock fee.
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On Sunday, the wind was steady the waves were variable as we cut across the bay. We covered the width of the bay twice on our four tacks. I was glad to have figured out the proper way to rig the jib sheets. It made our day much easier. Our last tack took us directly into Knapp's Narrows. I was thankful that our three foot draft would not be an issue.
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Memorial Day weekend at Knapp's Narrows was busy. We were happy to find a spot to tie-off at the restaurant to get a good lunch. Fish and chips tasted super after an apple for dinner and a granola bar for breakfast.
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We motored out to the channel only to find two motor yachts and a 45 foot sailboat in line for the bridge to open. When the bridge opened, we motored out in a hurry to get a lead on the large boats immediately behind us.
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Out on the Choptank, we stayed close to the channel. I was surprised to see some larger boats breaking out of the channel before us. I guess that they don't have any special memories of the shoals that lurk below and out of sight. With sails up, we continued east on the Choptank. The wind was a little stronger than it was in the morning on the bay. I was also surprised at the rough water. This area is reasonably sheltered. On previous trips, we always had smoother water with good wind.
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The wind on the Choptank was from SSW. That put us on a broad reach, starboard tack all the way. It was great to making good speed and on a rhumb line course. Tacking just eats too much time. We now had 16 nautical miles to Cambridge.
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The beam to broad reach, that we held, gave us a chance to see what this Tanzer 22 can do. While tacking on a close reach, we saw speeds of 4-5.5 knots with 15 knots winds.. On the broad reach we enjoyed 6-7 knots. Hull speed computes to 6.0 knots. Despite the physics, we saw 7.5 on the GPS once or twice when gusts caught us. The boat was riding waves and in transition to plane. Pretty cool.
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We sailed right to Cambridge Creek Channel before going to motor. I always enjoy requesting a bridge opening. How many times have you had to stop for a draw bridge? It is fun to be on the other side on the event.
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Continuing down the creek and into the marina slip concluded our adventure. John had to be relieved. He started with no sailing knowledge and became much more comfortable as the weekend progressed. We had a few back-winded jibs which forced us into a 360. Everybody seems to get screwed around with a tiller in the beginning. Push left. The boat goes right. It just ain't natural.
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Our trip had us sailing for two days, approximately 26 hours of travel time. We sailed 73 nautical miles even though the plan was 53 NM. All that tacking added 20 nm. What surprised us was how dry the boat was. Despite some good wave action, we never had any spray. Also we had no surprise blow downs with the gusts.
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If you got this far, you've earned a boat ride with Captain Stuckie, himself. I'm looking for crew. There are some weekend racing events that should be fun.
Come on down!
Captain Stuckie
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This answers the question: "Why do we have insurance?"
Boat dominos..one-two-three. Somehow the last boat on the row missed the domino effect.
good sailing, Captain Stuckbottom.
The boat is a Tanzer 22. It's a sailboat design that has a strong history as a racer/cruiser.
SAIL AREAS 
