Century Club: Mick Meckler

Parkside to Old Road Bay: We were up early for breakfast, and afterwards I filled the water tanks as Sue stowed the gear down below. Jen called and we chatted for a good while. It was great catching up but that meant we were underway at noon with no idea where to go. Some people of the JSO were rafting up in bodkin Creek but it sounded like a large crowd, and we steered away from that. Rik and Susan were in The Patapsco River and were looking for a Creek to anchor in, so we followed along with them. We ended up going to Old Road Bay, off North Point and Sparrows Point. It was the first time we anchored using our new headphones and they worked great. Rik stopped buy after taking Rusty, his dog, in for a break on land. Afterwards he came over for a quick visit and appetizers. Dinner was chicken, mashed potatoes and string beans reheated on the grill.  We sat outside listening to music until boater’s midnight around 10. It was a quiet night.

Old Road Bay to Bodkin Creek: I went with Rik and Rusty, his dog, to check out Old North Creek for water depth in Rik’s dighy. The branch on the western side seemed to have enough water but the one on the east did not. We then took Rusty onshore to do his thing and then Rik returned me to by boat. Sue cleaned up the dishes from our bacon and eggs breakfast and we prepared to get underway. We motored out of the anchorage and down the Patapsco River towards the bridge circled around Fort Carroll and then under the bridge to the star-spangled banner buoy. On the way out I raised the sails and tacked across the river to the front of Bodkin Creek. We dropped the sales and then motored to Ralph’s. Once there, Sue went to visit with Margaret and I worked with Ralph and his oldest son, Mark, as we adjusted Ralph’s shrouds. Then inside for appetizers and dinner from Texas Longhorn. We picked up the tab for Margaret’s 80th birthday. Boater’s midnight at about 9:30.

Bodkin Creek to Parkside: We had a light breakfast and then Ralph and Mark came down to inspect my compression post pad job. Then we were underway with the jib out until Middle River after going through the cut. We used the headsets while docking at Maryland Marina’s pump out and they worked very well again. Then a stellar docking in our home slip. Sue got her stuff and headed home then I finished cleaning and left as well.

Days: 3     Days to date: 76

Miles: 50.9     Miles to date: 981.5

Since we were planning our big trip down the ICW, I decided I needed to inspect the bottom and have it painted and have the zincs replaced. I called many marinas around the area and the only one to respond positively was Cutters Marina on Middle River. I quickly finished the tasks I was currently involved with and made a mad dash out of the slip over to Cutters. It was a quick trip as the weather was projected to get worse with increased wind and rain, so I ran the engine at a high RPM most of the way.  Wind picked up just as I was backing into the haul out slip so I had to abort and try again. Finally, everything went OK and I successfully was hauled out. Catfish drove me back to Parkside so I could retrieve my vehicle and we had dinner at Alice’s. The next day I did some maintenance on the bottom of the hull and inspected areas of concern. I left for home on Friday as they were going to sand and paint. I returned on Sunday afternoon to be there early Monday morning for the splash. The paint job looked great on the waterline as it was clear they were very careful.

Days: 1     Days to date: 72

Miles: 3.6 Miles to date: 926.1

Since we are unable to get a pump out on our return home I needed to do a solo trip to the pump out. While the wind was low and before it heated up I quickly got underway. All went smoothly. Forward head was down to 4% in half down to 15 even though it sounded empty. Docking at both locations went well.

Days: 1     Total days to date: 68

Miles: .9     Miles to date: 889.9

Parkside to Still Pond: Today the winds were supposed to be from the West northwest two to five knots with temperatures in the mid-70s and sunny. Sue arrived around 1430 and we stowed the groceries and headed out. One quick trip to the pump out for the aft head and off we went. We raised the sails in Middle River and motor sailed all the way. The wind was great directionally but a little too light to make progress. We ran between 1500 and 1800 RPM to maintain about 6.5 to 7.0 knots most of the way. The wind was from the South between 6 to 12 knots, so we started on a close hall and changed to a broad reach up the Bay. We anchored on the north side. Anchoring went well as I twisted the anchor to deploy correctly with the buoy line. Rik and Susan rafted up and we had a nice chat over drinks and appetizers well into the evening. They broke away for bedtime around 10:30 and anchored west of us. It was a little bumpy overnight but otherwise nice.

Still Pond to Turner Creek: I was up around 7:00 AM and made coffee. Sue and I relaxed for a while watching nature in the cock pit, and then I made bacon and eggs for breakfast. Around 9:00 AM Rik and Susan came over and we boarded their boat for a quick ride back into Still Pond Creek. We carefully went through the cut and turned around in front of the Coast Guard station and then headed back out. Successful adventure! After a brief tour of the ‘southern field’ we went returned to The Office and separated to weigh anchor for Turner Creek. Light winds from the south had us on a broad reach all the way across the Bay. Then a gentle gybe headed us up into The Sassafras River. We sailed slowly, awaiting the tide to shift, before going into Turner Creek. Rik went in first and ventured very far back into the ‘less than 5-foot area’ on my chart. But we had 6.7 feet of water. We rafted up with them and Susan made guacamole dip and we brought the chips over. Then we prepared our respective dinners and ate aboard Shibumi, Rik's boat. I topped the evening with Klondike bars for dessert. We chatted until 2100 and declared boater’s midnight. It was a very calm night with no rain. Temperatures in the low 70s.

Turner Creek to Rock Hall Landing: It was a quiet night rafted alongside Rick and Susan. I awoke early and made coffee trying not to disturb everyone. Finally, as everyone was awake, we prepared sausage and eggs for breakfast. We got underway to take advantage of the outgoing tide down the Bay. It was a clean exit from Turner Creek and out into the river. I tried a trick that Rik taught me by not clamping down the outhaul line when hauling out the main and it worked great. We motor sailed in (low RPM) out of the river and down the Bay as winds were much lighter than predicted. Originally, the weather was predicted to be northwest to west-northwest 10 to 20 knots but we experienced 5 to 10 knots. Temperatures were in the low 70s to 80 and a mostly sunny day. The water was very brown from the recent rains containing lots of flotsams as it was being pushed over the dam. We went through the Swan Point shoal and into Rock Hall Landing – our favorite marina on the bay. It was too early for dinner, so we took a nice swim in the pool and then headed back to the boat for cocktails. Around 6 PM we had dinner at Waterman’s Crabhouse and afterwards we relaxed in the cockpit until boaters’ midnight.

Rock Hall Landing to Shaw Bay: it was a nice evening and quiet morning. We got underway after a nice breakfast of toast, banana, and coffee. Since there was little wind from the south southwest 5 to 7 knots, we motored gently to the Kent Narrows Bridge. It was a smooth trip through the cut and when we entered Prospect Bay the wind picked up a bit. So, after passing green can one, we raised the sails and started tacking across Eastern Bay. We sailed into the Wye River, north of green can 3 in a narrow cut - which went well. We sailed into Shaw Bay where we dropped the sails and found our anchorage in 14 feet of water. There was a southerly breeze all evening and night keeping us on station. A 55-foot Beneteau anchored to the west and a smaller sailboat at the mouth of the Bay. Dinner was grilled salmon, salad, and potatoes salad. I took a shower and then we listened to music until 11:00 PM in the cockpit. Oh, we saw Dauphin in the Chester River about four or five swimming out of the river.

Shaw Bay to CBMM St. Michaels: We had a comfortable night and sat and watched everyone else leave Shaw Bay as we had a light breakfast and coffee. Finally, we raised the anchor and got underway without use of the engine for propulsion. We tacked out of the Bay and into the river and then out of the river into Miles River. There was considerable tacking but worth the effort. Sailing down the Miles River we were trying to go between two fishing boats, but one kept moving and making it difficult for me. I got very frustrated, so I tacked early and got ahead of them. Finally, we headed into the wind and recovered the sails. We motored to Saint Michael's Marina for a pump out and then to W dock on the ‘T’ at CBMM. Tim and Maggie on the S/V Fiddle de dee helped with the docking. They are from Pennsylvania and keep their boat in Maryland Marina. We tide up and relaxed with lunch and afterwards we showered and went to The Claw for dinner. Reminder, it was not particularly good so we should not return. Back to the boat and Sue read a book in bed with her eyes shut. I watched the Penn State game and went to bed at 11:30. Predicted storms never showed up, but we were ready.

CBMM: Since rain was predicted for all day we deployed the dinghy and rode around the area in light rain to see the different parts of Saint Michael's Bay. As the rain began to get heavier, we stowed the dinghy back aboard. We toured Saint Michaels on foot dodging raindrops as well as exploring the museum during the day. We had an anniversary dinner at Awful Arthurs and then back to the boat for an early evening.

CBMM to Dobbins Island: After breakfast we took a final stroll around the museum grounds to walk into the lighthouse and look at the boats. We chatted with Josh and asked about the special events that it looked like they were preparing for. No one knew anything, interesting. Finally, we decided to sail today with good winds as tomorrow no winds were predicted. I added water to the center tank and then returned everything to prepare to get underway. We easily got underway as the wind blew us off the pier. We motored out into the Miles River and raised the main. We motor sailed with the main only up the Miles River as the winds were blowing 10 knots gusting to 20, with an average of 17 knots. We were moving along well tacking our way up until the wind speed dropped a little, but the gusting was still strong. Finally, the wind smoothed out and we started sailing again. We sailed out of Eastern Bay and then into the Chesapeake Bay. We tacked a few times and since the wind slowed to less than 8 and we needed to get somewhere before sundown we started the motor. We ended up in the Magothy River anchored behind Dobbins Island. Anchoring went perfectly and we paid out 55 feet in 10 feet of water. Light winds were predicted. We dined on grilled pork with mashed potatoes and green beans and brownies for dessert. Finally, boaters’ midnight at 10:30. It was a quiet night we hardly moved.

Dobbins Island to Bodkin Creek: The winds were predicted to be light from the southwest four to six knots and temperatures in the high 70s and a partly sunny day. We had a nice breakfast in the cockpit and showered and then got underway. Since the winds were so light, we motored out of the Magothy all the way to Bodkin Creek. We docked alongside S/V Margaritaville and stayed for the JSO party. We rafted up 9 boats off of S/V Margaritaville with Rik’s boat, S/V Shibumi being the outermost boat. Others anchored out and came up to the deck for drinks and appetizers. Then people prepared their own dinners, and we all ate together. We chatted until well into the evening as people eventually found themselves back onto their own boats.

Bodkin Creek to Parkside: I was up at 7 to make coffee before the group gathering on Ralph's deck. Sue and I went up and had a nice continental breakfast with all the other boaters. A few boaters had to leave who were in the middle of the raft up and we adjusted lines to allow them to leave. Finally, everyone decided it was time to leave around noon. We headed out around 1 PM as we were the last ones to leave. After we cleaned up the lines on the way out of Bodkin Creek, we grilled hot dogs for lunch. It was a great sale as winds were steady between 17 and 20 with following two-foot seas. We sailed on a broad reach all the way to the southern tip of Pools Island and then jibed into Middle River on a beam reach. Since winds were strong, we had the main out quite a bit. Once inside Middle River the winds dropped to less than seven and I hauled in the sails. We motored to Maryland Marina for a pump out and after a good docking against a southerly wind we found out it was broken so we motored back to Parkside. Sue gathered her things and headed home as I stayed and tidied up the boat.

Days: 9     Total days to date: 67

Miles: 162.1     Miles to date: 889.0