Tuesday August 1st
Left Lankford Bay marina at 11 am after getting everything together/provisioning for a 4 day trip to be followed by another 4 day trip with crew. Barometer was at 30.19 with a temperature of 76 when I set off for destination south. Winds were out of the north 5-10… but faded away later in the day.
Put the asymmetrical up immediately for the trip down Langford Creek and down the Chester. Was able to fly it down to the Chester river 9 buoy outside of Kent Narrows. Had a little struggle putting it down, it got caught up a bit, but got it down and put the other sails up. Kept sailing until I had to turn to get across Love point, then had to fire up the diesel for a bit. Decided at that point to head over to the Magothy. Got to sail a bit more across the Chesapeake, but had to use the engine to get in to the Magothy. Sailed up to Broad Creek and anchored there for the evening with a few other boats.
Wednesday, August 2nd
Was considering staying in Broad Creek off the Magothy and just exploring by Kayak, but they were doing some construction… adding rocks to prevent erosion at the Glass House and I found the constant beep, beep, beep of the construction vehicles to be very annoying… so, weighed anchor and headed out for parts south at 9:30 am. Temp was 77 Barometer was at 30.20 with winds out of the NE 5-10… at first, then dying to less than 5 knots. Worked really hard, playing with the angles, and managed to sail all the way out of the Magothy which to me was a huge accomplishment as it is a pretty tight little entrance and was filled with fishing boats and crab pots. Sailed a bit down the Chesapeake, but had to fire up the engine as the winds really died off. Decided to shoot for a mooring in Annapolis, and I arrived about 1pm. Caught the mooring off the side (on second attempt), got settled, inflated the dinghy and headed off into town for a bit. Got a beer at Pussers while watching ego alley, then headed back for dinner on the grill and the sailboat races. Didn’t catch much of the race, but watched the aftermath which was really fun!. South winds came in furiously during the night and the whole mooring field was a rockin and a rollin - very uncomfortable…. Moved to the settee for the night.
Thursday, August 3rd
Time to start heading back north to pick up crew on Friday. Set off about 10:15 am after deciding it would be safer to deflate the dinghy and stow inside as the winds were still blowing out of the south 10-15 with gusts in the 20’s. In addition, the waves out in the bay were easily 2 feet and even though I had mostly following seas, thought it best to secure the dinghy inside. Temperatures ranged from 70-83 with some humidity starting to build later in the day. Barometer was at 30.20 virtually unchanged from the previous day. Decided before leaving that I was going to reef both the main and the headsail, so had that set up in advance. Saw the Sultana in Annapolis and noticed that she had left a bit before me. I caught up to her in the harbor and then passed her with my sails up - she had her sails up too! It was then a race! Seas were rough, pretty much had to hand steer as the autopilot seemed overwhelmed - not so much by the wind, but by the wave action. Managed to keep the winds 120-130 off the starboard, riding the wind and waves up the bay to Love point. Should have had a preventer on the Main - would have had a . Sultana started catching up with me right outside of Kent Island off of Love Point, but I was able to cut across Love point earlier than she was and then I was off like a shot down the Chester… leaving her in my wake. Got the preventer rigged on the Chester while on a close haul knowing that I would be on a broad reach or running later - which made me feel far more comfortable. Flew up the Chester and decided to go into the Corsica for the evening as I had never anchored overnight there. Went right inside the entrance and anchored in Middle Quarter Cove which had protection from the south. Still had some nice winds and heard the anchor snubber stretching during the night, but great holding and far calmer waters than I had experience in Annapolis.
Friday, August 4th
Barometer 29.90, winds out of the south 5 knots (although NWS said 10-15 with gusts to 25!!) Foggy, Drizzle in the morning and overnight. Decided to wait until at least 10 am to head back to the marina… with the lighter winds (although, from the looks of it (looking at the Chester from the anchorage), the wind was a bit heavier out there, I wanted to be working with the current instead of against it - and I didn’t have a lot of chores to do once back at the marina… so I had a couple cups of coffee, waited out the rain and then headed back to the marina mostly under sail. Pulled anchor at 11:00 Was a great 4 day journey… would have been nicer with crew, but a nice break from just my normal day sailing. Need to do this more often!! Found it challenging, exhilarating, and rewarding having to solve all of the issues by my lonesome.