Labor Day cruise – part II

After a great cruise south of the Bay bridge (see ‘Less Labor – more fun!’) and a re-supply stop at my home slip in Back Creek, it was off to catch up with the ‘Northern’ group.  In brief, I anchored Wednesday night at Bodkin Creek, then sailed across the Bay to Fairlee Creek to meet up with the other CCYC boats – Mugwhump II and Resolve  – Thursday night, then back to Bodkin on Friday to be joined by Scarlett and Riannon; weathered a storm Saturday evening then sailed home on Sunday.

Wednesday brought a steady 8-11kt south wind making for a nice downwind sail of about 13nm to Bodkin Creek. It was a short run to the north side of the Bay Bridge ..

Bay Bridge looking south

.. a close look at Sandy Point light

Sandy Point Light

..and not quite so close to the Baltimore Light

Baltimore Light

Navigation markers offer benefits other than their intended purpose. Birds (Cormorants in this case) welcome the resting perches and provide wildlife interest …..

After a pleasant night in Bodkin Creek and a great sail across to Fairlee Creek, I arrived ahead of the other boats and waited at anchor to raft up later.

My early arrival provided the fun of watching as the others navigated the VERY narrow and shallow entrance.

Resolve slipping in behind the trees..

This was my first trip into Fairlee.  Mike (Resolve) had offered his best advice on entering the creek – ‘just don’t go aground.  I’m sure it was offered in jest. In any event, justice was served as I watched him put Resolve on the ground coming around the point.   After a bit of maneuvering he managed to motor free.

Snick the boat cat surveys the world from her perch on the bimini.

Boat cat…

We enjoyed a quiet evening, a great dinner and good company aboard Resolve.  Friday morning arrived clear and with a brisk SW wind – unfortunately just the direction we were headed. That made for a motor trip, against wind and tide, across the Susquehanna flats sprinkled with crab pots. Now, I do love crabs!  However, sailing through the aray of pots in 2-4 ft waves with limited visibility is NOT a fun trip. The crossing back to Bodkin Creek was a challenge. Up to 4ft waves and 8-14kt head winds made for a long trip, and a very welcome arrival back in Bodkin at Jubb Cove where the others were already anchored. Their longer and heavier 42’ boats managed the conditions more easily than my 30ft. 

The Saturday morning forecast promised the arrival of severe weather later in the day and overnight. We watched the radar carefully, and the marine weather alerts suggested prudence. We chose to stay in the protected anchorage and break up the raft to anchor separately. The storm arrived on schedule and lived up to all the warnings.  Winds blew at 20-35kts, and torrential rains fell for the better part of two hours.

It eventually passed and left behind a very pleasant condititions.

I made an early departure Sunday morning after struggling to retrieve the anchor that the storm helped set firmly.  With 10-15kt winds from the north, it was another great downwind sail home.

I watched with interest the wise choice another sailboat made to change course and allow the tanker first passage under the bridge.

A simple right of way matter

From the bridge to home slip is less than an hour, and my slip neighbor Ron was at hand to help with lines as I pulled in. Two hours of clean up, reorganizing and arranging for pumping out the holding tanks  brought to an end a great 10 days on the water that provided a lot of great sailing as well as new experiences with storms and anchorage entrances!