Century Club: Tim Ford

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

I took the fishing rod out for a paddle, but the tide was so low, I never tried a single cast...why bother? I did find some interesting stuff on the bottom, including what was once a nice aluminum oar, but it looked like it had been on the bottom for awhile and it was nasty. Pulled it out of the water and left it ashore.

Back in the NE arm of the creek, it was so pleasant that I ooched down in the kayak and fell asleep for 10 minutes. Kind of an all-purpose paddle: lunch, exercise, a stint on a beach and a nap. Beautiful November day!

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Nov 11 - pre Oyster paddle

We were having our trophy and oyster party, but I needed to paddle for a couple of hours to blow off some steam and get my head right. Perfectly lovely conditions for a floating lunch and few casts into likely spots, which luckily for me, produced no response. But it was an excellent paddle, probably good for two NM in absolutely perfect November condits.

Friday, November 10, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Nov 10 - Two Piers and 2 cats

Nasty day, too awful to kayak. So I searched out a park near Edgemere where I was due a little later for a celebration of lfe for a sailor friend who'd died. Found this little gem of a park in Essex, where I fished with another fellow who'd pulled up in his pickup truck. I like meeting folks with similar odd habits, like taking a lunch-break on a cold rainy day to fling a lure out even if it's probably not going to be fruitfull -- it was low tide. We had a nice conversation.

I did see some fish feeding at the 2nd pier but they were too far out to toss a lure to...and clearly someone had a much better outing a day or two prior, as these two monster blue catfish attest.

I think I'm close to my limit of PIER FISHING or BOATWORK days - I think I have nine logged...but I should easily surpass 100 days this year.

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Nov 7 - Paddle and Perches

One yellow perch and one white perch, but a gorgeous day on the creek due to the lighting! Lunch and peacefull float in early November on a warm day and a calm sea state. I'll take it.

Monday, November 6, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Nov 6 - No Fish from a Pier

Craighill Light seemed unusually far out at sea.
Bad day at black rock

Not really a pier I guess. But a very long way out in the bay. Probably 3x as long as any pier I fished fronm this year, maybe with the exception of the NEB pier in Newport R.I.

No fish either, but I think I had a better day than this person had...not an easy entrance into the tiny beach and from the holes, I suspect it was lifted over the rocks/breakwater by wind and tides.

I have just 2 other "fish from pier" days, and I was definitely "on the water" here at North Point park.

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

November 4 - work day

It was our club's work day. Not specifically a "boat work" day, but I spent 4 hours within two to ten feet of the water, wailing away at some thick water snake cover, including a lot of creeping virginia vine and other sundry invasive stuff.

One person's dinghy had 11 snakes under it earlier this season, aggressive snakes in their own personal suana who get pissed off when their downtime gets interrupted.

They don't always vacate the dinghy when it's overturned, either.

I have 4 boat work days so far, so I'm going to call this a day. I'll definitely have more than 100 days by Jan 1. So I don't feel too shabby about calling this a day. It was a day alright....quite a day.

Thursday, November 2, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Nov 2 - Short Paddle

Prior to (hopefully) my FINAL board meeting, I took a relaxing paddle. I had forgotten how quickly the water in the creek turns clear. And it's not even that cold, I don't think water temps are below 60 in the creek. Nonetheless, I love being able to see the bottom now and maybe I'll find a winch handle or a cell phone later on when the water really gets clear.

One solitary osprey in the trees...I guess he is the last to leave.

Friday, October 27, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Oct 27 - ride to Ford

The 1860 Martenet Map of the Magothy shows a spot called "Ford" in the backwaters of Cornfield Creek. My great-grandfather, John R. Ford, owned and operated a bugeye and did oysters in the 'R" months, hauled product from St Michaels up to Balitmore in the summer. His gravesite is about a mile away at Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church. So I guess I should assume, as my relatives have suggested, this was the family hideout. I shot some video and we ate lunch drifting gently offshore. Surprisingly undeveloped property! I suspect it was pretty swampy when we Fords owned it. But it looked pretty and if I won one of those billion dollar lottos, I'd offer a pretty penny for that property,

Fun day and a 15 mile motor boater ride on a sailboat.

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Oct 24 - Pier, Perch, Paddle and Tri

Mixed day of pier fishing (good!) paddle fishing (no good) and then a great sail on Mr. Floyd's Corsair 27.

Then on the porch with adult bevs to top off a perfect day.

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Number of days:

1 day

Oct21 - BCYA Harbor Cup

Larry Forgy's ITINERANT gets launched
intrepid crew
wind data

We tried going off with a single reef and a number 3. Clearly we had too much sail area up and it quickly became an exercise in futility. I asked the skipper how he felt about retiring. He said fine. We asked the rest of the crew, they said yes, we are fine with that. On the way in we heard two boats in the CRCA fleet having a conversation on 72. One said they were going to retire as he expected the breeze to build. We had already seen gusts over 35 all the way up to 39. But the data from the Patapsco "smart" buoy suggests he was right, as by 3:30 there were puffs in the 40s, one up to 42.7

So it was a good decision. Out of 42 registered boats, only 14 finished. Hats off to them!

Century Club: Tim Ford

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