Waking up in Harness Creek

After a long day of sailing, we made it to Harness Creek. This quiet creek lies around 3 miles up a river that is scattered with shoals and erratic winds. You might ask yourself why we would struggle so much to get here when there are plenty of other creeks on the Chesapeake Bay that are far more accessible. 

Once you experience the peace and tranquility of this creek, you will be willing to struggle and push to make it to this creek! Not a whisper of wind disturbed the waters in this creek, transforming this anchorage into a dream world.

As wonderful as this creek is, it is also a wonderful launching pad to further adventures and journeys.

How to Spot a Cruising Boat

When you see different boats in an anchorage, how do you know which one is a liveaboard cruiser? 

By the amount of junk on their deck!

When your whole world is in the boat, your deck tends to accumulate items that are needed but are too large to fit inside.

Our deck at anchor holds:

Sails
Sculling Oar
Hammock
Anchors
Fenders
Sofas
Gangplank
and Spare Lines

The sails are located on their stays, flaked and rolled up on the foredeck.
The hammock is strung between the mast and inner-forestay.
The fenders are deployed for friends that are coming to raft up. 
The gangplank lives on the port side-deck.
The sofas are positioned in their most comfortable locations.
And the lines are coiled and stowed on the davit arms.

All together, Wisdom looks a bit different from the weekend coastal cruisers that come out for the afternoon. 

While all this gear may seem like it clutters the deck, it does make for a comfy living situation! While underway these items are all secured and put away, but when anchored for a few days in a quiet and relaxing creek, they seem to pile up into a comfy home afloat.

Favorite Place on a Sailboat

If you are in the market for a new boat, you might be looking at things like SA/D, Sail plans, Keel design, LOA, and Draft. These are all important features in a boat, but you should also look at the cozy places on the boat.

These are the places where you will feel at home while underway. No matter how big a boat is, there will always be a place where you like to spend the days. You should make sure they are both available inside and outside of the boat.

The inside one should be very cozy, a place that you can curl up with a good book or watch a movie while eating a snack. On Wisdom, we prefer the starboard settee in the salon: it has a table, a fire place, and a hatch. You can easily make it warmer or cooler, more or less light, and with the addition of pillows, more cozy!

Outside should be a place where you can still keep watch, have quick access to the helm, and be really comfy. On Wisdom, we dub this location "The Throne". Maddie likes to lay down here with pillows and a blanket (to keep the sun from burning her) and watch the clouds go by during the day, and the stars by night. When the sails are balanced, I will join her in the throne as we watch the world go by.

From the throne, you can easily keep an eye on the depth sounder, chart plotter, and compass. You can also see if any ships are approaching, making this a great place to keep watch while relaxing.

The comfy spots listed are unique to Wisdom. Everyone I know (who likes their boat) has a favorite inside and outside spot, and they are all different. When you are looking at a boat, try to find the comfy spot in the boat and try it out before you sign any papers. If you can't find a spot that feels comfortable to you, maybe you should look on to other boats that are comfortable to you!

Sailing Corgi

Morty is an experienced sailing dog: he grew up on a sailboat and has been sailing since he was a 8 weeks old. At the age of 3, you can tell his favorite parts of sailing are. 

He will sit out in the wind, smelling the air that blows over our boat as we power through the waves. He sifts through scents from beyond the horizon while resting in his comfy seat on the deck. 

The massive rope fenders are a new favorite place for him to relax. He likes to lean into them when he goes forward on the deck. I think he feels comforted by their size and weight. Before the fenders, he would snuggle up in a jib that was flaked on the bow. He was only able to do this if the jib (Josh) was not raised. Under full sail, he would need to find something else to snuggle up to.  

He will  always have us when he needs some pets, and we are easy for him to find on board the boat while underway! 

Stereotypes

Maddie and I grabbed a mooring ball in Annapolis, Maryland for the night and rowed to shore for a delicious meal of epic quantities at Chick and Ruth's Delly . Annapolis is very boat focused, after all it is considered the sailing capital of the world (by people who live and sail out of Annapolis); so each street ends in a dinghy pier. 

This is wonderful because you can take your dinghy to the street you want to walk on, tie up, and walk to your destination!  

Our dinner destination is located on Main St., and the dinghy pier is located at the end of Ego Alley, an alley where the biggest, flashiest, most extravagant boats go to show off.  

Tied up on the sides of ego alley were immaculately restored wooden motor yachts, 70 foot sleek yacht with under water lights, and cigarette boats; all glistening in the lights from the city.  

Up ego alley we went, in our wooden row boat I built two years ago. The paint is chipping, the bottom paint is almost gone, and the oar locks squeak on each stroke.  

Sailors always arrive in style!