After the thunderstorms that were forecast for Saturday failed to materialize, I had to begun to wonder if maybe that wet, cold front might finally makes its appearance on Sunday.  But there was no use in wondering.  We had already decided that holding off our departure for Sunday was the prudent thing to do.  I was not surprised, however,  when we arrived at the marina this morning and it was raining and COLD.  We had promised each other that it would be fun and that we would enjoy ourselves regardless of the conditions.  Just the idea of being under sail again was so exciting that our spirits absolutely would not be dampened.  So we unpacked our lunch, gear and spare tools from the car and busied ourselves about getting the boat ready for departure.

Lance started the engine.  It sounded good.  A strong wind was already starting to blow so we tied a reef into the main.  ("it's easier to shake out a reef when you're bored than it is to tuck one in when you're scared". Jack Jamison, Sea Belle)  We had never used roller furling before, but despite the unfamiliarity I took some comfort in the fact that it would be easy to shorten sail if we needed to.  After everything was organized and we had had all the necessary conversations about how we were going to exit the slip and basin, we both said a short prayer for the trip and our future with the boat.  By this time the rain had stopped.  We then gathered in the dock lines and backed out of the slip without incident.  It was 11:39 AM and we were on our way.



Leaving Hammock Island

When Lance put the boat in forward gear things started to get a little bit exciting.  Even after bringing the engine up to full throttle we had little more than enough speed to keep steerage on the boat.  We made our way nervously out of the basin and into Bodkin Creek.  When we reached the point where we needed to turn to port around the channel markers to head out toward the Bay, the boat would not turn.  It seemed we had no maneuverability to port but the wind and current were working to push us to starboard so Lance just let the boat turn 180 degrees and headed back into the basin.  We were considering pulling up to the docks at Ventnor Marine and leaving the boat for someone to take a look at on Monday.  But then we picked up some speed, almost as if something "shook loose" (growth on the prop perhaps?) so we thought we would give it another try.

Our speed still wasn't great, but this time when we made it to the channel markers we were able to make our turn to port. This put us in a perfect position to raise the sails (read that, directly into the wind).  At 12:49 we fell of the wind onto a starboard tack and cut the engine.  We were sailing at last.


Lance Is Loving It!!

After we settled into the boat's motion under sail and had checked around to make sure that all was well with the boat, I went below and brought up the ham sandwiches that we had packed for lunch.  This turned out to be a good thing, because as the day wore on we would become cold and tired from constant tacking and we pretty much lost interest in going below for food or drinks. 

The depthsounder showed good water and the Garmin 72 GPS seemed to be working perfectly.  Every waypoint showed up just where it should, although we were unable to point directly to any of them until we reached waypoints 12 and 13 at the end of the day.  The boat was performing beautifully even though we were quite sure she had a fouled bottom.  She felt so stable and the motion comfort was better than we had expected (and being familiar with Cape Dories we had high expectations from the start).  This was a truly good sailing experience and our concerns about our first sail on her being in somewhat rough and windy (and did I mention COLD) weather were very quickly put to rest.  We congratulated ourselves again on our wise choice of a cruising sailboat.


Becky At The Helm

After a couple of hours we came into sight of Hart-Miller Island and the Craighill Channel Lower Lights.  This is our nautical backyard.  We can see Hart-Miller Island from our front porch and these are the waters we play in when we're out and about in our runabout, so we were in the home stretch.  Or so I thought.  First a starboard tack toward the front light.  Then a port tack toward the rear light.  Then starboard, then port.  The objective was to get around the east side of Hart-Miller Island and head toward the entrance for Middle River.  But it seemed to me that all we did for the better part of 2 hours was sail in place between these 2 lights.  The GPS showed that our distance to home was decreasing.  For the first time I was beginning to doubt its accuracy.  By this point I was also annoyed by the fact that I had now been shivering for a couple of hours and my muscles were beginning to ache from it.  Lance insisted that he was not cold, but I doubted that he was telling me the truth.  He is not one to complain about such things. Finally I begged him to stay on the next starboard tack as long as it took so that I we could make it around the island without passing the lights again.  It added some distance to the trip, but that's what we did. 


  
        Craighill Channel Lower Front Light  

Craighill Channel Lower Rear Light              

The next port tack set us directly on course for the marker buoy at the entrance to Middle River.  It was getting late, and colder by the minute.  A trip that should have taken less than 3 hours had stretched to 7 hours and we still had a little way to go so Lance turned on the engine and we started motorsailing.   It didn't take long after that and we turned into the river and there, off to our port, was the welcome sight of Sue Island. 


Approaching Sue Island and the Baltimore Yacht Club

Just outside the entrance to the basin we doused our sails and headed slowly in toward the docks.  Even with full throttle we were only moving at perhaps one and half knots.  (Getting the engine and prop looked at is first on the agenda.)  Lance set the boat very nicely into her slip at 7:42 PM and it seemed like immediately folks started dropping by to introduce themselves and welcome us to the basin.  (We have actually been members for about a year now, but it's really our boats that bring us together!)  Motivated by cold, fatigue and hunger, we had the lines adjusted and the boat organized and wrapped up for the night in very short order.



At Home In Her New Slip

It was a gratifying day.  The sailing was good and we arrived safely at our destination.  The boat is everything we have ever wanted.  Our retirement cruising plans have been infused with new energy.  The dream is still alive.

Fair Winds!
Becky