Fall Cruise 2023, Part I

We started our fall cruise with tropical storm "Ophelia" moving up the coast from Georgia.  Our location - the North East River - was north of the storm surge; rain and wind gusts to 45 were the main concerns.  We passed a delightful day listening to rain drumming on deck, eating comfort food (black bean soup and corn muffins, homemade stromboli), playing a board game, and catching up with friends digitally.  By dawn, the wind gusts were few and far between and the water was back.  We sailed to Still Pond, beating the whole way there.  The Bay is still warm enough (70-degrees) for a quick swim to refresh.  The next day saw us to Annapolis, where the harbor was wearing the monochrome weather so well - a different kind of beautiful.

The Havre de Grace YC Invitational Race drew us back up the Bay - Cornfield Creek off the Magothy to Worton Creek to Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace - beating, beating, beating.  We arrived exhausted and sore, eager to sip, sup, shower, and sleep.  The day of the Invitational started out with wind - enough that we were able to sail from Fishing Battery Island down to the start line 1 mile south of RG"A".  And enough to provide for an intense start of close-quarters maneuvering.  Even enough to give us a fine reach down to "the red you can't get to" (it seems the wind blows from there most times) and over to Grove Point.  We had a favorable close-haul up into the Elk River, but when we turned toward the finish line at RG"A", the ebb was brutal.  The breeze started to fade.  No!!!!!!  We worked so hard to keep GRACE pointing and lose as little as possible, but the writing was on the wall.  If you've raced on the Chesapeake, you've been there.  On that first approach, we were a gentle stone's throw from the finish line.  Subsequent tacks moved us increasingly farther away, and we called the race committee to announce we were retiring.  Ah well - time to go drink a beer, eat good food, and talk sailing.  As we motored back to Tidewater, we took a wayward Lightning in tow.  An ambitious father and two older teenage sons had undertaken to sail to Betterton and back (a lofty goal on a good day), and the breeze had abandoned them just like it had left us.

Our next engagement was the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.  We learned last year that a fleet exists for Non-Schooner vessels; this year we made sure to be a part of it.  We arrived at The Anchorage Marina on October 3rd, in time for "Open Boat" public visiting hours.  However, we'd noticed in a pre-dawn departure from Bodkin Creek that our steaming light was out.  It figures - we left the bosun's chair at home.  Adding to our embarassment, we had spare mini Buddhist prayer flags but no light bulbs.  Dobbs rigged up an adequate climbing harness that got the job done, with the help of light bulbs from the local West Marine - a 2-pack, so now we have a spare ;-).  Jack Zuraw, captain of the three-sail bateau JOLLY DOLPHIN, invited us to join him and his crew for a sail.  For most of the morning, we motored around the harbor with the foresail up.  Our guests took turns at the wheel, learning the feel of steering.  About an hour before it was time to head in, the wind filled in enough that we could hoist the other two sails, turn off the engine, and sail.  There's nothing like the quiet pull of wind in the sails and a gurgling bow wave.  In the afternoon, GRACE participated in the Parade of Sail, and then everyone reconvened on the docks at 7pm for a hearty BBQ dinner party.  The following morning, the race began in painfully light wind.  It's breath-taking to watch tall ships like PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, VIRGINIA, and DENIS SULLIVAN maneuvering, and we felt for NELLIE CROCKETT - the committee boat and one end of the start line, anchored amidst the "dancing elephants".  Thanks to Dobbs' excellent sense of maneuvering and timing, GRACE had a solid start and we began to pull away from many of the "N" class yachts right away.  BENNU led the charge, and she would for the entire race, out-pointing us all.  TIPSY was our closest competition and we never could shake her - we finished just on her heels, minutes if not seconds apart.  It was a grueling race - very light wind from the SSE (so beating into chop with little power in the sails) and half the time against the flood.  We sailed GRACE very well and finished at Cove Point at 04:23:30.  Our focus paid off - when times were corrected for boat handicaps, we came out in 1st (in the "Non-Schooner" Fleet)!  Two treats during the night:  trading tacks with VIRGINIA and PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II and seeing their sail plans silhouetted against the lights on shore, and moonrise - a slice of tangerine rising from the dark horizon, glower ever brighter before disappearing into the low cloud cover.  Safe Harbor Zahnizer's treated us to free dockage, allowing Dobbs and me time to visit the Calvert Marine Museum.