Chesapeake Bay Spring 2013

May 6

Leaving today with the hopes of putting SunShower in the water at Holiday Hill Marina without getting soaked. Small Craft Advisory tomorrow will keep me off the water, but at least I'll be ready to go when the weather clears.

May 7

I did get SunShower in the water and rigged without a drop of rain. Overnight and today it is pouring. Spent the day in Annapolis with a drive over the Bay Bridge to check out Kent Narrows. Small Craft Advisory expires at midnight.

May 8

U.S. Naval Academy

Dressed in full foul weather gear down to my boots, I motored out of the Rhode River expecting showers all morning with 10 knot southerly winds headed to Annapolis. The fog lifted as did my foul weather gear and I motor sailed in light wind up to the point where one bears west into Annapolis. The wind filled as predicted and three hours of delightful sailing ensued. Once docked at Mears Marina in the same slip I have had three times now, I walked around Annapolis.

Sultana, a replica of a British Royal Navy schooner that patrolled the east coast just prior to the American Revolution, was sailing out of Annapolis today. She is a school ship taking kids on cruises and teaching them about the history and environment of the Chesapeake Bay. Sultana is based in Chestertown, MD.

May 9

Breakfast followed by a walk around Eastport (to log Fitbit steps) set departure time from Annapolis at 10:30 a.m. Light winds dictated motor sailing to the Bay Bridge. This is the first time I sailed under it. My early years sailing with Garland were spent below the bridge and when I have sailed SunShower north of the bridge, I trailed her above the bridge. It is an impressive bridge from below! Once through the Bridge, the wind filled and I had a quick broad reach into the Chester River. Once in the River heading East, the tide and a beat slowed progress to under 2 mph, the signal to start the motor. I motor sailed until I could bear off and then reached again up to the entrance of Queenstown Creek. I had not planned to stop here on this trip, but the late hour and a possible threat of thunder storms ( note dark clouds building) make this the best anchorage option. It is a beautiful spot, plus an eagle flew by when I was setting the anchor!

May 10

Headed up the Chester River under power with a slight following wind. Just after noon, the breeze filled in and I sailed up to the junction of the Chester and Corssica Rivers. It is a wide area and I had several hours of fine sailing before heading up Davis Creek to the Lankford Bay Marina. Nice day on the water.

May 11

Small Craft Advisory today but the winds were not that high and the waves out of the south decreased in size by early afternoon. So I was able to get in another nice three hour sail in the same area as yesterday. The marina bus is not running regularly but a cruising group was here and the bus took us to Rock Hall for dinner. BTW, they had large boats and sailed all the way (34 nm) today from the West River only to return tomorrow! I did learn some local color at the bar of the Swan Point Inn (mediocre food). If you move to the area, you are known as a "chicken necker"; since newcomers buy chicken necks to catch crabs. I wonder what the natives use? Anyway, no matter how many years one lives in Rock Hall, if you are not born here, you are a "chicken necker." The man sitting next to me said he has been one for 40 years!

May 12

Stuck in Rock Hall again, just like a couple of years ago. A Small Craft Advisory in effect with winds at 15-20 kts and gusts to 25 kts means no sailing for SunShower today. Maybe she could handle the weather but her skipper could not! So it is a day for crosswords, blogs, reading and letting the Zen side of me surface. OK, it has not surfaced in 64 years but there is always hope, right? Took a walk to log steps (11,414 as I write) on my Fitbit and hope tomorrow I can head south under sail.

May 13

The Small Craft Advisory was suspended from 4:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., so I was up early, ate breakfast (with coffee) and was motoring out of Davis Creek before 7:00 a.m. Yes, that is truly too early for me but I needed to head south so I can get back to Holiday Hill Marina in time to make a wedding in Richmond on Friday. A fast reach down the Chester River with a reef in the sail got me very close to the entrance to Kent Narrows. But...I had to point into wind and waves for the final approach. With the main secured, I motored in with enough sea spray to dowse me to the bone. But a call to the bridge tender at 9:57a.m. found SunShower south of the bridge and heading to Wells Cove Marina at 10:05 a.m. I was truly glad for a hot shower! Tonight I ate at the Fisherman's Inn next to the marina. I was expecting it to be a fried seafood kind of place but to my surprise, I had a perfectly cooked dish; mussels, crab, shrimp and tomatoes over whole wheat pasta in a white wine sauce!

May 14

Small Craft Advisory in effect for tomorrow so today it's time to cross the Bay; a 20+ mile trip back to the marina. This plan will forgo a night on the Wye River and shorten my planned trip, but I need to make sure I can make the wedding. Heading south from Kent Narrows with 12-14 kt winds made for a great sail this morning out of the Eastern Bay. However, setting a course for the Rhode River called for beating directly into the wind; one tack toward Popular Island and the other toward Bloody Point Light with little progress across the Bay. It did not take much of this endeavor to decide to strike the sail and crank up the motor. I arrived back at Holiday Hill Marina about 4:00 p.m. and readied SunShower for trailering. I took Roger's recommendation and headed to Cantler's for dinner. I had a great crab cake but this is definitely the place to come with friends and pick crabs!

May 15

Pulled SunShower out of the water and was on the road to Lynchburg by 10:30 a.m. Even with all of the Small Craft Advisories, I did get a lot of good sailing in on this trip and explored two new places on the Bay I had not been. I must admit my aging body is really feeling the effects of an extended stay on my small craft. I think a one week trip with 5 or 6 days on SunShower will be my goal in the future. Truth be told, Maine last summer spoiled me. Gretchen and I sailed almost every day but returned to the comfort of a nice cabin with amenities each night!

Sent from Tom's iPad

 

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Early Repudiator

Yesterday, I took a big step backward! I have always been an "early adopter" when it comes to technology, but one thing that has been driving me crazy is the price we pay for cable TV; particularly when we do not watch 90% of the channels. In USA Today (iPAD app), I read an article indicating cable companies had to provide an adaptor to provide basic digital service for broadcast channels. So I checked Comcast. They do not have the HD version of their adapter here in Lynchburg, but if I'm willing to sacrifice HD, I can turn in my cable box ($9.xx per month) for an adapter ($1.99 per month) and get the basic package for $13.50 per month. So, Gretchen and I save over $40.00 per month with no change in our Internet service or its price. We still can stream any content from the web, watch DVDs and listen to music in HD and surround sound. I love being an "early repudiator!" $15.50 a month for TV is a price with which my psyche can live peaceably....at least for now. :)

 

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Bunny finds Longwood Road

It's Easter weekend, the grand kids, their parents, and Sally are here. Thirty minutes in and the house is strewn with their arrival not to return to a semblance of order until mid next week! Constant motion, giggles, yells, babbles and cries fill the house and...it really is grand! The big question of the day is, "Will the Easter Bunny get the email and know we are in Lynchburg?"

The answer is YES! Baskets are full, chocolate bunnies and eggs abound and kids are eating them in lew of breakfast! But wait, there are plastic eggs hidden all over the house...and inside those eggs....CANDY! That Easter Bunny is sure quiet, how could he put them all over without anyone hearing a sound?

I found another one!

It was a great weekend. Grandpa even survived a round of cards. Thanks to everyone for coming. Gretchen and I look forward to the next time the family gathers. We also appreciate the fact that you have to be young to have children!

Aunt Sally and the strawberry girls!

 

 

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Marriage Tip

Did you know that seahorses pair up and dance every day? They wrap their tails, change colors, swirl around and make clicking sounds as part of their marriage ritual. (From "The Lined Seahorse", Save the Bay Magazine, Fall, 2012)

Sounds like a good tip for human marriages as well!

 

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Kingsolver

Last night we were delighted by an evening with Barbara Kingsolver at Sweet Briar College. She talked about the process she goes through developing an idea into the scheme for a novel, read from her new book Flight Behavior, and answered audience questions. I have not read one of her books since she moved to Virginia, so it has been a few years, but I always loved her writing. It is rich prose, the kind that draws the reader in, etching a picture of a scene into one's mind. From Flight Behavior,

The people, she and the others here, were human boulders in the butterfly-filled current. They had waded into a river of butterflies...

Kingsolver's books are not for speed reading, rather they are ones to savor, to enjoy the flow of her writing as the words paint a picture in your memory. I look forward to reading the rest of the book!

Why Sweet Briar College? It turns out that professors Lincoln Brower, a renowned Monarch Butterfly expert, and his colleague Linda Fink helped Kingsolver in her research for Flight Behavior, even reading drafts to ensure that the science about butterfly behavior was accurate in the novel.

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Is that snow?

Is that snow or snow geese? On Gretchen's last spring break we went to Pennsylvania to see her mom and sister. One day we went with Peg, Priscilla, Phil and Jon to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. It is on the Eastern Migration Route of snow geese. Twenty to forty thousand snow geese arrive daily to feed and rest before taking wing once again on their northern journey. The birds literally cover a field like snow and move from one end to the other feeding. Then they all take off at once and move to another field. The pattern continues until dusk when they move to the lake to sleep. The next day they are gone and more geese arrive taking their place; pausing to rest and feed on their journey.

There was cause for many toasts on this trip. Peg is doing great as she approaches her 93rd birthday! Matt passed his state boards and is officially a dentist and in this photo we were raising a class for Liz's birthday while eating dinner at The Westy in Hamburg. It was a great trip. Thanks Pris and Phil for you hospitality. We appreciate you opening your home to us!

 

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A Cultural Expererience

After living in Lynchburg for 33 years, I finally did it. I ate at the Texas Inn (the T-Room)! David planned a bike ride so we would eat lunch at the T-Room near the end of the ride. During the ride he prepped Gary and me on the lingo for ordering. So when my time came, I confidently said to the waitress, "I'd like a Western all the way!"

I really liked that relish stuff.

I give the T-Room two thumb's up. I felt like I was in Germany eating an egg on my burger but it was mighty fine. The people who work at the T-Room are great and the atmosphere is unique. So what's next? We're grabbing the girls and going out to Leesville Road to check out their new restaurant. I'm thinking I'll order a "Bowl with"!

 

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