Vicariously Onboard

My good friend Steve is anchored tonight in East Bluff Bay on the western shore of the Pamlico Sound of North Carolina. That location is about 20 miles NNW of Ocracoke on the Outer Banks. I checked Windfinder SuperForecast and the wind tomorrow morning will be SW at 10-12 knots with waves 1-2 feet from the ESE. My bet's that he 'beams up' an Ocracoke location tomorrow!

Traditional small craft single-handed expedition sailing. Oh yea.

Steve on Spartina, Neuse River, NC, 2011

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Fog and a Song or Two

Day 4
Fog was thick in the morning so after breakfast I sculled over to talk to Peter and Mike on Nip. Little by little each boat weighed anchor and worked out into the open water off Sandy Island at the entrance to the Nanticoke River. The wind died as we migrated into the river and we collectively decided to return and sail in the open bay area. The wind increased from the south as the day wore on and Annie responded with the best sailing on the trip to that point.

Mike aboard Nip

For protection from the forecasted southwest blow we decided to raft up behind a sand bar near Dames Quarter Creek where many had put in the day before. Rafting was new to me... I am usually anchored solo. It was fun though. After a somewhat shared dinner we pulled out the instruments and took turns offering a folk tune or a sea song. I had my old Gibson LG-0 stowed in the forepeak and it sounded pretty good for a boat guitar.

Settling in for dinner

Inside the bar

Three Marsh Cats total

Out the portlight

Released from the forepeak

Get Dry

I have a high metabolism. And that means, for me at least, attracting bugs and getting hot when I sleep. Sleeping in the buff helps but when its hot and damp on the boat and my legs stick together, sleep is hard won. Then there is the saltwater itch. Just sayin'.

On the last trip I had a small unit of Gold Bond Body Powder. It was very helpful after my nightly "bird bath". It does give you a surge in the folds due to the aromatics.

My favorite is Anti-Monkey Butt. I purchased some a couple years ago in Beaufort, North Carolina. It is talcum and powdered calamine lotion. Most highly recommended. And not just for the name...

So, here's to getting wet on the topside and staying dry down below.

The Track

North Sail

Day 3

We decided to head north to meet up with the "Chesapeake Float". Since the wind was out of the south we decided to retrack back to Ewell through the Big Thorofare that cuts through Smith Island. As we reached the Bay we turned north skirting the island's northwest shore. We crossed Kedges Straits and our downwind path carried us up Tangier Sound by South Marsh and Bloodworth Islands. Kevin's Marsh Cat left me further and further behind. Her light dishy hull and large gaff main made for a downwind 'machine'. At least from my position.

After several hours running wing-in-wing I rounded Deal Island to starboard. The bay at the opening of the Nanticoke River was being criss-crossed by close to a dozen small craft. I approached as they scattered and later as I collected myself we all gathered to choose an anchorage. The wind had dropped with the setting of the sun and like a flotilla we set out with some of us towing the motor-less boats. A buggy raft-up in Monie Bay, dinner, conversation and splitting off to anchor finished the day. 

Barry and his Melonseed Aeon

Kevin B in Slipjig, a Welsford Navigator

Annie towing Peter in Nip, a Caledonia Yawl

Fog setting in

Crossing Over

Day 2
I woke early as I usually do when there is open water to cross. After eating my fortified oatmeal and drinking a cup of Earl Grey, I motored out the river, through the breakwater and into the Bay. Winds were light from the SE until 7am when it freshened, enabling a close reach at about 4knots. It dropped off around 8:45 and I tacked toward Smith Island sliding north with the flood.

Full sail

Intermittent showers throughout the morning

Crossing the shipping lane

Motoring through the breakwater around 10:45 Annie slipped into Ewell, the small but largest town on the island.  It was pretty quiet except for the activity around the fishing boats unloading at the docks. I toured the small museum and after finding Rukes closed, stumbled on a small grocery that made sandwiches. I had been to the island some 25 years before to consult on the feasibility of developing the museum. It didn't seem that long ago. But not much does.

Entrance to Smith Island

On return to the dock, I was somewhat surprised to meet my friends Mike and Kevin. We had loosely communicated about a rendezvous but with no time plan. They were aboard Kevin's Marsh Cat that they had launched at the Janes Island Campground on the mainland to the east. They grabbed a crabcake sandwich and we explored a bit on foot before heading to Tylerton on the island to the south. Even smaller and more remote I was taken by the hard scrabble existence these island people endure.

Kevin & Mike

Little T, Kevin's Marsh Cat

Aptly named I must say...

Kevin and Mike had located a somewhat sheltered anchorage behind a dredge spoil and we turned in early. It had been a full day.

Unfinished Business and More

I recently returned from a week-long single-handed trip aboard Annie. We crossed the Chesapeake and explored islands on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia as well as rendezvousing with friends on the annual "Chesapeake Float" on the Nanticoke River. I had attempted to sail for Smith Island and its vicinity a year ago but was impeded by cold weather, high winds and steep seas. This year I was luckier.


After being invited to join the "float" group, I decided to trailer from Gwynn's Island to Smith Point above Reedville. The alternatives were to trailer 5 hours or so over the bridge near Annapolis or head SE to the Norfolk area, cross the Bay Bridge/Tunnel and north (at least 5 hours for me). I decided to on Smith Point.

Annie is ready to go in the water at Smith Point Marina

Smith Point is where the Potomac enters the Chesapeake and adjacent to the shipping channel that funnels up and down the Bay. It can be rough. I was fortunate to have good weather. The first day was spent driving, provisioning and rigging, taking a side trip to the marine railway in Reedville, and anchoring in the calm waters of the Little Wicomico. More sorting out of gear.. the first extended trip of the season... and last minute checks on waypoints before bed.

At the Railway

Little Wicomico

On the water

Crossing TangierSound heading for Smith Island MD

At Rest

A wooden shrimper sketched while she sat tied alongside waiting for a dawn run...

San Sebastian River docks, St. Augustine, Florida  Late winter, 2014

Into the Wind

It was a blustery first sail of the spring. After a lengthy but enjoyable re-storing of gear I launched Annie at the Gwynn's Island ramp and motored through the bridge into the Piankatank River. Setting sail I tacked west passing Stove Point Neck into Fishing Bay, busy with sailboats of all descriptions. There was a pod of Optimist dinghys being maneuvered through buoys by kids displaying new skills.

It became apparent that the northwest wind was getting fresher. I furled the headsail, tightened the mizzen and dropped the main yard while hauling in the reefing line that gathers the luff. Then the leech line was pulled and wrapped tightly around the excess sail aft of the new double reef clew. I tied a couple reef point in the reduced main, unfurled the head sail and was underway without leaving the cockpit.

She settled down and started an all-day series of short and long tacks as we worked up the river. Wind often seems to follow the a river changing directions at each bend. Around midday gusts became more prevalent and then it happened. A strong gust hit and Annie headed back up to level up, a wave smacked the beam and water shot aboard and got my camera. I popped out the battery, toweled it down and put away. It still drying out... I am hopeful.

The wind freshened more and I reefed in half the headsail, slacked the main a bit and tacked on. I reached my destination at Freeport Marina around 1700 after 7 hours. I was chilled but happy about the day's run.

I anchored up near the head marsh of Harper Creek, cooked dinner and turned in early. Slept well in the cool. 'Fortified' oatmeal and tea for breakfast and little chores kept me busy until I returned to Freeport where my friend Rob joined me to sail back. The day was sunny and cool but the wind had gone to the southwest and we found ourselves tacking into it all the way back!

Rob, new to sailing, took to it quickly and we had a great time plodding downriver. He had brought food from grilling the night before. All in all it was a lot of fun having him aboard. We arrived back about 1700, trailered up, washed down, re-covered and left out to get Rob's car on the way back. First sail... and ready for more. Approximately 42 miles, average 3.4 knots.

Rob at the helm. He might have the bug...

First day's track

My First Drascombe

Today I read more in the Log of Spartina about my friend Steve's new friendship with Webb Chiles. If you sail a small boat or maybe any boat for that matter you have probably read about the adventures of Webb Chiles and his Drascombe Lugger. If not, crank up your Google... its some of the best.

Webb Chiles aboard Chidiock Tichborne, 1978

I was lucky to find a Lugger back in the early 1990s in Southern Maryland. I was working as a curator at the Calvert Marine Museum and among other things she became my 'research vessel' and commuter craft. We lived out near the end of Drum Point and to get to work I would drive inland and turn back southeast to Solomons Island. It was much closer by water, so many days I would get out early and sail/motor along the creeks and tie up at work beside the bugeye Wm. B. Tennison under the old Drum Point Lighthouse. In the late afternoon 'we' would return as the sun set.

Maggie Mae belongs to a friend there now and I am sure she still cuts the water along the Maryland Chesapeake.

Maggie Mae