Nor'easter

Off Jackson Creek

Tied up at Deltaville Maritime Museum for the night. Out before light in the morning...

Tomorrow

I'm heading out to Gwynns Island to start my week of spring sailing aboard Annie. It's been a bit hectic lately but I feel prepared and ready to get back on the water. Taking small canvases and watercolor equipment to document the trip. I hope it takes me to the islands of the Eastern Shore.

Ready to load in the morning

Festival Day

Ellie and I drove to the Bay yesterday to pick up some gear that I needed to prepare for this weeks trip. First we traveled to Deltaville where the maritime Museum was having the year's opening weekend. Food, vendors, antique cars and historic boats in the water made for a nice day in the sun. John Barber was on hand with new prints to sell and two buyboats, including the museum's F.D. Crockett, were on the docks ready for "inspection". We took a ride on a restored oyster deadrise up Jackson Creek. I was particularly interested in seeing the approach markers leading in from the Piankatank River where I will be crossing over this Thursday at the beginning of my Chesapeake trip.

Deltaville Maritime Museum is a true testament to local pride and volunteerism. The museum burned in 2012 and new buildings are up and they are on their way back. I look forward to finding a way to help out.

Down the creek

Nesting season

Jackson Creek boats

Free ride aboard Cricket

Log Oyster Buyboat F.D. Crockett
Captain (and friend) John England standing just to the left.

Turning to Windward

Yesterday I drove over to the Bay. Spring is coming on hard, the pollen is almost gone and the brown has turned to green almost overnight. After picking up supplies in Gloucester and sorting out gear onboard I launched Annie into a stiff onshore wind. Maybe 15 knots at the time and quick about face at the launch readying for a safe cast off. Hailed the Milford Haven bridge tender on channel 13 and slipped through as the she swung around, bell dinging. Under full jib and mizzen she broad reached into Hills Bay and on to the Piankatank. It was later than I would have liked so we came about and got wet. Lots of white caps and short chop. Short, then long, then short tacks back to the bridge never touching the double reefed main lashed to the deck.

I remember another log entry long ago. I had spent a leisure couple of days in Beaufort, North Carolina. I was 29 and still a bit green. The weather was beautiful and I decided to head south offshore. After clearing the last sea buoy I eased the 24' wooden sloop's jib sheet and started running south. Had planned to raise the main but the wind was fresh and as I headed up the chop became very apparent. About 4 feet and knarly. No way to raise  an unreefed mainfor a green single hander even hove to. Without the main I couldn't make headway and after about a nasty half an hour I decided to run south. It was 1630.

The wind slowly picked up out of the northeast as night fell and the rollers grew. Radar reflector in the spreaders, dinghy riding well on a long painter, one wash board in, and 14 hrs at the tiller as we rushed forward and up and then down into the dark. The waves grew to 10 feet and as the eery white glow of dawn set in I turned her a bit to starboard and started searching for a sight of land. Then it happened.

For a second it was all different. The feel. I quickly looked over my shoulder and saw the wave break, the painter snap and the dinghy disappear. I thrust the tiller hard alee and she spun into the next wave and we were back in the familiar up and down rhythm. My heart was pounding. Water had filled the cockpit and was slowly going down the thru-hull. Water had breeched the washboard and I stooped to pump the Gusher. As we regained stability I reached for the VHF and called the Coast Guard. The operator asked if the shore was visible and I noticed what seemed to be a condo with three vertical stripes. He identified it and said that I was approaching Masonboro Inlet above Wrightsville Beach. There would be a large rock jetty protecting the inlet and that I was to stay as tight to it as possible as I turned in. 

In about 15 minutes I saw it. Waves were crashing over and it came up fast. I started the old 2-cylinder... always a bit suspect.. and closed in. As we turned sharp at the point we dropped. It felt a bit like a roller coaster drop. And then calm.

The tide was dropping and it was all she could do to make way into a protected area. I went forward, dropped the jib and the anchor, and fell on the wet bunk below sheathed in foul weather gear. 80 harrowing miles, a lesson learned.

These days I am hopefully more prepared with more manageable gear and better planning skills. I need to remember this story. I will need to turn into the wind again.

Right Side

Drawing boats can be a challenge especially when you want them to have soul. There's the curving lines, foreshortening, and heaving postures in moving water. Some people, like my old friend Buckley Smith are able to do it without much effort. He was pretty much a sailor of the same ability.

Sketching for me goes back to childhood with maritime drawing coming much later. The great awakening came in 1979 sitting on a dock in southern Maryland. My friend Neil, who I had bought my boat Quelle from, asked me to come up from St. Augustine and help him design and build out a restaurant in Solomons Island that he was going to lease. I prepared Quelle for my absence and headed north. I arrived to find Neil and the owner in a squabble over the lease and I was left with my hands in my pockets. I had purchased a copy of the popular Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and dove in. After many exercises in the book I started to see better and my drawing improved. After decades of concept drawings in my design work, sketches for painting in exotic lands, and now in my maritime painting ... I still think back to those days on that Chesapeake dock when I was lucky to have "nothing to do".

Learning to draw upside down

Spring in Florida

Although it is still cool in Virginia the weather is quite mild in Florida as you might expect. My sailing friend Terry was in Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast this past week and sent this picture of himself aboard his boat Quest. Looking forward to hearing about his adventure.

Finding My Way

I have had a life-long interest in navigation. I have proud memories of winning the orienteering award at a Boy Scout camp jamboree in North Carolina. They gave out small compasses, a set of coordinates, distances to travel and judged on where you ended up. I loved it.

When I started sailing in the late 70s I read all I could find on how to understand charts, dead reckon, triangulate and obtain all the skills one needed to get somewhere safely on the water. It proved in practice to be a challenge at times but my interest kept me at it. The parallel rules and the dividers come out less frequently now; the radio direction finder with its spinning top magnet is just part of old stories. They are replaced by small gadgets invisibly linked to satellites far from me and my destinations.

Did you have one of these on your boat? Do you like your handheld GPS better?

Maps and charts are, to me, quite fascinating. While curating in Maryland I had the privilege of designing and overseeing the production of the exhibition Charting the Chesapeake 1590-1990. It contained scores of original charts from the Morrison Collection. It is now permanently housed in the Maryland Hall of Records. Two years ago I was again fortunate to design and produce the current map and chart exhibit Five Centuries of Our Coast for the St. Augustine Historical Society. Many of the charts can be seen here.

Charting the Chesapeake, first installation, Calvert Marine Museum, 1990

More recently I finished reading On the Map by Simon Garfield. I highly recommend it for he wittingly demonstrates through maps how history was and continues to be shaped by politics, greed, self expression and technology. Hopefully in paperback soon.

So, I'm off to find a haircut in Richmond. My first here. Does anyone have a map?

March Bluster

Yesterday was proclaimed to be a sunny warm day along the middle Chesapeake. I got up early to head  out for Gwynn's and noticed that 'sunny' had changed to overcast. But what the heck... it would still be warm. At least that's what was predicted. I found marina closed on Monday and Tuesday so I was quite alone and that was alright. There was much to sort out.

Once loaded I hooked up and crossed over the island bridge to the public boat ramp. It was high tide but a stiff cold wind was blowing onshore. So I stood there for a minute (alone) and scratched my head. Decided to lengthen the dock lines and drape them on land from the starboard side where I had decided to launch close to the bulkhead. Got wet, hustled and puppeted Annie out to the end with the wind pushing hard against us. Tied off with a couple of quick clove hitches. So far so good.

The outboard, fresh with its new juices, fired off easy. Soon we were in a short chop heading in the direction of Hole in the Wall. We passed a deadrise crew hoisting their oyster dredge. That type of fishing is limited but I suppose they were harvesting their quota whatever that might be. 

It was cold and the wind was following the creek right on our nose. I anchored, closed the spray hood and ate lunch in the lee. I sailed for a bit and made way back to the launch. The reload was "just as much fun" as the launch. Good practice. You get a lot single-handing.

Fast forward. I had rinsed off, flushed the outboard and started back to slot where I store Annie on trailer. The tires started spinning and before long we were mired up. I couldn't unhook the trailer, too low now and with 200 lb. tongue weight I was again scratching my head. Thanks to a pile of gathered pine needles in the ruts the wheels grabbed and I escaped. 

Annie performed well and is as beautiful as ever. Can I say as much for myself?

Looking Down

Here is a photo sent to me by a friend of a friend taken from a kite cam at the start of the Everglades Challenge. More shots here.

Spring Track

In May I plan to explore the central Chesapeake Bay. Possibly the first or latter due to college graduation occurring on the 13th in Richmond. My preliminary track touches several places that interest me. Starting at Gwynn Island the course could start north in a clockwise circuit or east, counterclockwise. Will probably watch the weather and decide later.

I worked at Smith Island in the early '90s and look forward to returning. From the isolated culture, to feral cats, to the marsh "graveyard" for spent cars... it is a step back in time. My friend Steve of Log of Spartina may be in the area completing his circumnavigation of the Delmarva Peninsula. It would be great to be around when he and his friend Bruce finish.

Will start tomorrow researching safe harbors along the track...

Shopping Day

I ventured out of the studio this morning with a bit of paint still wet on the palette. It rained and sleeted last night but had started to clear. With Annie in mind I headed out to West Marine.

I had a small pocket full of money that had come from a melt-down silver coin sale. (Silver prices are up by the way). When we left St. Augustine I returned an 11-pound claw anchor that I had borrowed from my sailing friend Terry. It had been stowed in the bilge for weight and as a backup to the deck-mounted Danforth. With spring sailing in the Chesapeake coming up soon... it was time to dole out.

I also grabbed new flares and a waterproof chart to study and use. It will be time to get wet again soon.

Making enlarged copies of river entrances

A claw will really dig in and hold

Work Day

I arrived at Van & Denise's place on Pepper Creek yesterday, late morning. I was there to pick up Annie and had brought a small load of firewood to share. The fields were pretty soggy from the rains and it was a slow, deliberate tow out. Headed back north up the neck and turned off toward Gwynn's Island. On arriving at Morningstar Marina I found the office closed and not a soul about. The 'boat on trailer' area was open so I decided to back the rig in and get about my work.

Winterizing had alluded me. I knew it important for the outboard but with spending so much time in North Carolina and still in the Florida head, it had gone undone and fear of repercussions had set in. With fogger, 10-40 oil, a new spark plug, gear oil and crossed fingers I set in. All went well until it came to the oil drain plug. The supplied wrench (they are never the best) started to strip the hex head and I stopped. I fashioned a water bottle/water tubing suction device that worked well pulling out the old oil. All and all the maintenance, albeit late, felt positive. 

I emptied out gear that had been left aboard, did a bit of cleaning, and found the wast oil dump. Although the place was deserted the clean restroom/ shower was open. Left a note, locked the trailer ball and headed back west.

Gwynn's Island road cut-off landmark: the old Donk's Theater

A temporary mess

Works great!

Callis Wharf on the island across Middle Grounds

Gwynn's Island swing bridge from Morningstar

Great Guy

I named Annie after my mother... for her bright, adventurous spirit. But there is much more to single-handing in a small traditional boat than adventure. Along the way you must learn, plan, experiment, and fail. There is a constant parade of decisions and problems to be solved, often in the moment and full of consequences. I am a pretty handy guy that can fix things and work through adversity. I love the outdoors and thrive when I have a chance to be a part of nature. Those qualities come from my father. He passed away a few weeks ago and left our family a lot of memories. He was great guy.

I took this photo in 1980. I was waiting for a haul-out in Oriental, NC on my way south to Florida. Dad had driven down from Hickory and together we repaired Quelle's (page 24) leaking transom.

Bernette Lindon Bowman
1923-2013

30 Degrees

I have been sorting through equipment with thoughts on spring. There are a pack of checklists, some dating back to camping trips in the early 90's. Not sure why I keep them... so much has been weeded out in the past couple years.

Just finished a painting of a deadrise crabber that has been on the easel for what seems like forever. I now feel that it is resolved and its on to another. Maybe I'll have a go at a rousing run onboard Annie. Where I would like to be today... if it wasn't 30 degrees outside!

Headin' In
Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 48"
© Curt Bowman 2013

Sketch of the Day

At the end of last April we passed through Jekyll Island, Georgia before our trip to Spain and Portugal. Walking along the shrimp boat docks we saw an egret tiptoeing along a shrimper's stern eyeing the hold, maybe hoping for some leftovers. I hope he scored.

Checking the Hold   pen & watercolor wash
© Curt Bowman 2012

Best River Town

Richmond, Virginia- where we now live- was built on the James River at the fall line where the Piedmont Plateau drops to the Coastal Plain. It is navigable up to the downtown area and beyond is strewn with boulders and rushing waters and in some places Class V rapids. In October Richmond was awarded "The Best River Town in America" by Outside Magazine. The article is worth a read.

I went across the river yesterday afternoon, along the skywalk to Belle Isle. The sun was going down and it was quite warm. I will go back again soon.

Had fried shrimp lately?

I'm thinking about a big platter. With sides of hushpuppies and cole slaw. Maybe a large sweet tea...

Probably won't indulge until we return to St. Augustine for a visit. Northeast Florida is the birthplace of modern shrimping and still somewhat home to shrimp boats and the industry that they provide for. It is nothing like it used to be but you can still get some of the best anywhere.

Shrimper on the easel...

Return to Solomons

From 1988-1993 we lived in Solomons, Maryland on the western shore of the Chesapeake. I was the curator of design and exhibits at the Calvert Marine Museum. It was an exciting and challenging job that took me from the great eastern maritime museums to the dinosaur fossil fields of Alberta to Great White Shark research in Capetown, South Africa. Our daughter was born there in 1990 and we all wanted to return and see what had become of that place and those we had known. So this past Friday the three of us headed up and had fun exploring and remembering that time in our lives.

The same exhibits with new upgrades. 20 years later.

Maritime Patuxent, the permanent maritime exhibition

Our family with Megalodon, in the
paleontology exhibit I designed

One of the many aquariums in The Estuarium

Boat basin with Small Craft Shed beyond

Drum Point Lighthouse

The first boat I built was here... a 12' sailing skiff

A view from atop the lighthouse

Wm. B. Tennison, the oldest, Coast Guard approved,
passenger carrying vessel on the Chesapeake

Late Fall in Florida

Today is Thanksgiving here in the States and we are cooking and hanging out at home. My friend Ron sent me a note and a picture from Placida just north of where Terry and I sailed about this time last year. I was really taken by the image and stayed up late painting it. Annie and I will get back there some day. Highly recommended!

Still Harbor, Placida
Pen & Wash, 8" x 10"
© Curt Bowman 2012

Getting Up to Speed

Have been painting everyday and starting to get in the groove. I've gotten a good response... that sure helps in this sometimes lonely endeavor. Thank you to all and Happy Thanksgiving with your family tomorrow.

PS Catch a fish and save a turkey!

Basque Fishing Boat Tenders

Acrylic on canvas  24" x 24"