Honeymoon Cruise: Day 5

Today was amazing! Monday morning came and I was excited to be out of bed! I put the fiddle blocks in the table and prepared the boat to go sailing. We raised anchor in the calm waters of Harness Creek and ghosted out into the river. 

We were working to windward the whole day so I tightened the backstay and tied a sheepshank in the adjuster to take up the slack. Tightening the backstay actually tightens the headstay which greatly improves windward performance. When the headstay is tighter, the luff of the jib is held in place and doesn't fall as far to leeward. This holds the jib in a more ideal airfoil shape which improves its windward performance. Adjusting halyard tension also helps position the draft of the headsail just forward of the middle to help power the sail more while we work to windward. All of these adjustments were made at the beginning of our first tack as we set out into the bay, holding true throughout the rest of the day. 

At various times, I would go forward and sight the mast and sails to see how the tuning is holding up, but it didn't need much adjustment as the day moved on. We worked our way South, beating against the prevailing winds until the sun started to get low on the horizon. This was our clue to find a nice anchorage for the night.

After being spoiled by the perfectly calm waters in Harness Creek for the past few nights, the last thing we wanted was a rough and bumpy anchorage in the middle of the bay. I began looking at the chart to find where we could pull in that would shield us from the swell and from the wind, but not be too far out of the way. Herring Harbor was our destination of choice, just outside of Herrington Harbor South Marina. Overnight slip fees there are $2 per foot, and at 45 feet, would cost us around $90 for the night. We decided that we would rather take that money and spend it on a wonderful dinner ashore, and we did just that by anchoring in the harbor and rowing in to the restaurant!

Herrington Harbor has a wonderful restaurant next to it called Mango's on the Bay. Maddie looked at their menu on her phone and we both fell in love with the fillet covered with lump crab meat! As Maddie was reading the menu, my mouth started to water and all my thoughts switched to having that meal melt in my mouth. The winds were steady and carried us right into the harbor where we dropped the hook and rowed to shore. 

Herring Bay is very shallow, so the closest we could get was a half mile from shore. With the dreams of this delicious meal in mind, Maddie and I rowed our hearts out to get there as fast as we could! 

Dinner that night was so special, we celebrated our 2 year anniversary (for dating) with a delicious meal, a cocktail for Maddie and a neat scotch for me! The sun had set by the time we finished our meal, making the horizon a dark abyss. We were very glad that we left our anchor light on, even though it was light out when we left, because we would never be able to find our boat without it guiding us home.

While I do feel that masthead anchor lights are dumb since they are frequently confused for stars, they do serve to alert others to your existence from a distance. When you are closer though, a masthead anchor light is not easily visible, and accessory white lights should be present to alert closer boats of your existence.

As we approached the anchor light, the LED deck lights guided us directly to our boat. I personally feel that it is very important to have lights marking the length of your boat in addition to the masthead anchor light. If a boat were approaching and confused the anchor light for a star, the deck lights would alert them to our size and position and hopefully avoid a collision.

Once back on board, we went to sleep with full bellies and an anchorage with protection from the southerly winds and waves.

Honeymoon Cruise: Day 4

We decided to sail to Oxford next, but the winds are very light today, so we decided to stay put for the day. We thought about it and figured we could either spend the day in the sun drifting with light airs at the mercy of the tidal currents or spend another day relaxing in our little piece of heaven. So we stayed put!

The day got hot and we decided to practice a man-over-board recovery (since it involved us getting in the water). This was a very good learning experience for us, as it taught us how complicated it is to pull someone out of the water and the importance to stay attached to the boat (via tether) no matter what the weather conditions are. 

We both gave it a go, one of us playing the victim and the other the rescuer, then we traded places. Both of us were successful in getting the victim raised and on board the boat under very calm and relaxed conditions. Even though everything was going smoothly in the recovery, we know that this would be very difficult to do during rough weather and we would much rather not fall over board in the first place! 

It was a Sunday afternoon, so everyone who needs to go to work come Monday morning had to return to shore. We were alone once again.

We noticed that all the power boats that were anchored out left, and only the sailboats remained. The few powerboats that we saw near sunset pulled up anchor just before dark and returned to port. The moral of this story is: If you want to stay out on a boat during the week, you should buy a sailboat instead of a powerboat!

Maddie and I looked at the forecast and decided that we would set sail tomorrow morning to begin making our way towards Oxford.

Honeymoon Cruise: Day 3

Day 3 was awesome! We woke up at anchor and had a very peaceful and relaxing morning. 

There wasn't a ripple on the water or a whisper of wind on this calm morning at anchor. I leisurely made breakfast for Maddie and me as the sun continued to climb in the sky. After breakfast, it was time to take Morty to shore again for his morning walk, giving us a different perspective of our home.

Our entire world is floating right before us, everything we have and care about fits somewhere inside of Wisdom. My main job is being a dentist, and I frequently hear people who live in massive McMansions complain about not having enough space to keep their stuff! I don't think they could comprehend the concept of owning less and filling your world with experiences and travels instead of material possessions. By living in a boat with few material possessions, we are able to take off long periods of time from work and go sailing. Our expenses are much lower than that of land lubbers, allowing us to save more money which in turn affords us to go cruising. Our only recurring debt payment is my student loans, and they only have a few years left to go before they are paid off!

I set up the rope fenders since my parents and a friend were coming out to raft up with us. Maddie's parents drove to a community pier on the creek by car and I went to pick them up in our dinghy Tooth. Today started off quiet and alone, but in a few hours, we would be surrounded by friends and family. This meant that we should be presentable, time to clean Tooth!

Tooth was looking rather disgusting! Morty and I were tracking shore mud all over the dinghy, which would dry and form a layer of filth. I emptied everything in Tooth onto the shore and bailed some river water into the hull. I then used this water to loosen the dirt with a gentle brush. With enough scrubbing, all the dirt and grime came loose and the boat looked much better.  The lines were also coiled and hung form the cleats, making the inside look more organized and the chain was stored under the bows deck. 

After scrubbing the boat clean, the dirt and mud was scooped up in the bailer and dumped overboard. I would also add some fresh river water to help flush out any last bits of mud. In the end, Tooth looked much better and much more presentable! 

As I rowed back in the now "clean" Tooth, I heard my name called from the distance. I looked around unsure from where it originated, until Maddie raised her arms out of the hammock. 

Maddie had been reading in the hammock while Morty was relaxing in the shade of the hammock under Maddie. He likes to be close to us at all times, and if he can't with you, he will be as close as possible.

As our parents and John (blue hull) arrived, they tied up to us and put the rope fenders to the test! The rope fenders managed to keep more than 1 foot of space between the hulls at all times, which kept all our topsides pleased. We hung out together and grilled delicious meals without a care in the world! 

When John left, I took the opportunity to clean that side of the hull. Later on, my parents left for a few hours which gave me time to do the other side of the hull. 

Later that evening, my parents returned and we all slept rafted together. While the day started off at a very relaxing pace, with nothing planned and nothing on the agenda; we ended up having a very packed and productive day: Morty got walked a few times, the hull got cleaned, and we all ate many delicious meals while enjoying each other company. Time on the water is special, especially when it brings people closer together. 

Honeymoon Cruise: Day 2

Last nights thunderstorms poured rain down onto us all night long as we slept soundly in the marina slip with our air conditioning and secure dock lines holding us in place. I awoke early in the morning and unplugged the shore power and untied the dock lines just as the sun was coming over the buildings in the distance. The winds were almost non-existent, allowing us to easily walk the boat out of the slip and silently power out of the marina with our electric engine.

Once outside of the marina, the motor was turned off and the sails were raised, awaiting the wind that should soon begin. Once the wind came, we began ghosting along under reefed main and staysail. I was flying reefed sails even though the winds were light because there was a small craft warning in effect and I was sailing alone since Maddie was still sleeping. I would rather sit with reefed sails waiting for the storm than scurry along trying to tuck in a reef during a storm!

As we moved out of the protection of the harbor, the wind began to build and any thoughts of shaking out the reefs vanished. In the distance, a front was approaching and we were anticipating much stronger weather. We sailed along as we saw the front coming towards us with its ominous shelf cloud, warning all sailors that strong winds will be coming soon.

The wind slowly began to build to 15 knots as white caps started to crop up around us. I was glad that I had the reefs in, as the wind was starting to build with the approaching storm. Then out of nowhere, the storm began to push back and retreat; the winds once again died down and the skies cleared up. Our dance at the edge of the storm front ended and the skies became clear and blue with no wind on the bay.

We shook out the reefs and raised all the sails as we made our way South towards South River, near Annapolis, MD. The storm might have left with all of its wind, but the local winds seemed to be blowing in the opposite direction. The prevailing winds on the Chesapeake Bay blow from the South, this means you have to tack South but get to run North. Today, we got to run in light airs, making it to our destination in no time and in no tacks! All of this sun also meant that plenty of power was available for our solar panels to collect. This kept our battery banks topped off while we sailed in light airs. 

I love looking up at the bridges that cross the bay. Many people drive across this bridge everyday, focused on the road ahead of them and the cars around them, taking for granted the marvel of engineering required to build this massive bridge. I find that when I sail under this bridge, I'm either full sail in light airs or heavily reefed down in heavy airs.

As we rounded Thomas Point Lighthouse, we turned onto a beam reach which carried us up the river all the way to Harness Creek. In my four years of sailing to Harness Creek from Fells Point, this had to be the easiest sail by far. Light steady winds kept us moving along with wind on our quarter allowing us to broad reach without fear of an accidental jibe. I am very glad Maddie wanted to leave today and not yesterday during the storm. We arrived in Harness Creek and dropped the hook in our favorite spot, ready to relax for the next few days. Morty enjoyed being taken to shore where he got to run around and stretch his legs before sunset.

We relaxed on the deck as we grilled our dinner and watched the sunset behind the trees. There is nothing more peaceful than arriving in a quiet creek with no plans and no set leave date.

Honeymoon Cruise: Day 1

Our honeymoon cruise started with me working a half day in the office. I had one set of wisdom teeth to pull before we could set sail!

I got the four wisdom teeth out and the patient stitched up, and made my way home to the boat, excited and ready to cast off the lines and set sail for our honeymoon cruise! When I got home, I did a quick inspection of the rigging and decided that the two new check stays were a bit slack, so I set everything up to get them adjusted.

After adjusting the check stays, the forward lowers could use a bit more tension, then the aft lowers, and then the backstay! The only stays that didn't need adjusting were the cap shrouds and the headstay! This took some time to do, which set back our departure time. Then began the regular preparations to go sailing: uncover the sails, hank on the jib, run the sheets aft, un-plug the boat, the list goes on. 

By the time the sails and running rigging were set and ready to go, a severe thunderstorm approached from the South. Maddie and I decided that we could either spend one more night in the slip with air conditioning and have a nice shore-side dinner, or cast off and anchor in a horrible thunderstorm. That was an easy choice to make!

We went to shore to get sushi for dinner then headed back to the boat to relax in port one more night before we set off.

The first day of our honeymoon cruise was off to a non-start, which was ok with us. This fit our "we get there when we get there" attitude. The winds and weather were not conducive to safe sailing, so we waited for better weather to start our honeymoon cruise! 

Tomorrow morning we will cast off for sure!