Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: October 12, 2016, 12:25:48 pm »

Ed,  I guess that you don't have the same weather considerations now, but if
you do end up in the Great Wicomico River, you might want to go up Cockrell Creek
to Reedville. It has some beautiful places to anchor, not much further off your route
than Sandy Point and much more protected, with the option to go into the small town
for restaurants and a very few stores, one good seafood restaurant/outlet right on the
water.  You might have to contend with the smell of the menhaden processing plant,
but it's usually not too bad, especially if you choose your anchorage upwind of the
plant. There's also the "adventure" of having to go around all the docked menhaden
fishing boats through a narrow fairway and around the very tall smokestack of a ruined
plant that looks like it might collapse on you at any minute.

I have also been in the Little Wicomico River, through Smith Point, but that was
on a catamaran and as I recall at that time there were some depths that might
have been problematic for a boat with a deeper draft.

How do I get your "follow by e-mail gadget"?

2

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: October 12, 2016, 11:34:07 am »

Ed, I really feel bad for you and Joan. At this rate maybe my boat WILL be ready to
Go along with you, before you get the chance to start out. Bob Morrow

3

General Discussion / Re: High Winds After Dun Cove Raftup

« on: June 22, 2016, 12:09:42 am »

I had a similar exciting return to my home marina from the
Dun Cove race & raft up on Sunday June 12,2016. I also went through
the Knapp's Narrows channel despite my misgivings due to the horror
stories I had read about severe shoaling. I felt better about it though,
since Jordan Snyder on "Base Camp" had gone through in the opposite
direction the day before and said he had no problems. Just make sure,
if you try it, going west from the bridge, that you hug the greens (but don't go
on the starboard side of them, even though at least one chart shows the channel
gong on the starboard side of the G-3) and don't go ANYWHERE NEAR the reds.
They have helpfully deployed several white spar bouys to show where the deepest
water is, so if you go between them and the greens, you should be ok, at least with
a draft of 4' 8" or less.

Coming out of the channel, the winds weren't in an ideal direction, but my boat points
pretty well, so I put up full main and jib and sailed as close to the rhumb line to the
Bay Bridge as I could. The winds kept building, so I dedcided to partially furl
the jib and put a reef in the main.  We got a little beat up by the strong winds on Sunday. I was enjoying the excitement of sailing with one reef, something I rarely do with my stiff sailing boat, and then two reefs, almost never on my boat, but my crew had never sailed in conditions like that, and it wasn't long before he lost his breakfast over the side. Then somehow the sliding car pounded the stopper off the end of the track for my self-tending jib, and the car followed, scattering ball bearings all over the deck. Not being able to use the jib, I motor sailed with two reefs in the main. My crew was ready to soldier through his discomfort so we could get home, but then as we were motoring towards the Bay Bridge, we were stopped by the USCG Aux. telling us that we would have to wait for at least an hour for the Bay Swim (which I somehow hadn't realized was being held that day) to be over. I knew my crew wouldn't be comfortable circling for an hour in those conditions, so I detoured to Cantler's Riverside Inn, where we got ice tea to help with dehydration (not a good time for any type of alcohol) and snacks. By then my crew was feeling better, but not looking forward to going back to bash against the waves, and he had to be at work early Monday morning, so he called and got an Uber car ride to my marina, to pick up his car. I asked Cantler's for permission to hang on their dock overnight and started home the next morning, still with strong winds, but not a gale."
Bob

4

General Discussion / Re: ICW 2016

« on: April 03, 2016, 07:12:41 pm »

Ed,  I know we talked about it at the brunch, but I thought I'd reply to your post to make it official. Also I wanted to play around with the new website to see how it worked. I would like to be one of those "buddy boats" if I get all the work done on my boat that needs done before I go on a long trip like that. Mostly creature comforts, nothing affecting seaworthiness. In fact the boat could make the trip fine without me, as long as I could steer by remote control from a video screen like a drone. As far as timing, I've always heard its best to start south of Annapolis either a week before the boat show (October 6 to October 10 this year I believe) or two weeks afterward, to avoid competing for slips &/or anchorage space with all the OTHER snowbirds heading south after stopping at the boat show on the way down. Bob Morrow