Dolphins and Lighthouses
Wolf Trap Lighthouse
Today we sailed from Fishing Bay to the East River in Mobjack Bay and got in a great sail as well as some interesting sights. The pick above is the Wolf Trap light. Apparently you could have bought this on Ebay a few years back, and it’s still for sale according to Wikipedia.
Abandoned Lighthouse at Mouth of Mobjack Bay
We passed another abandoned lighthouse on the mouth of Mobjack Bay. I know nothing about this one. Maybe you can move in for free?
We had good north winds today and our sailing direction and wave motion made for very smooth and fast sailing, almost 9 knots at one point. Here is a video of how fast and smooth we were moving.
The other cool thing that happened today was twice we were visited by two different pods of dolphins. The first was in the morning as we were leaving our anchorage. The would swim right up to the boat, jump out of the water while looking right at us. We saw at least ten in this first pod. Later, another pod of about ten swam up to follow us as we were sailing. Fortunately I was able to get them on video and here it is!
Posted in Sailing by Mark with 1 comment.
Mill Creek to Fishing Bay
Staysail Works!
The voyage of the Good Karma continued today to Fishing Bay, Virginia. We had more moderate wind today but enough to test out our staysail. This is a foresail you use in place of the jib, which is the front sail on a sailboat such as ours. The mainsail is the largest sail that is behind the mast, while the jib and staysail are in front of the mast. In the picture above you see a sliver of the white staysail. In front of it is the jib rolled on the front stay, it looks like a thick bar running vertically to the left of the staysail. The staysail is used in higher wind conditions to get better performance than a reefed the jib. On this type of boat you use either the jib or staysail but not both at the same time.
We really needed the staysail yesterday in the 25 to 30 knot winds we had but the wave action was too wild to put it up in those conditions. You kind of have to anticipate when to use it, at least we do at this point in our learning curve.
Today was shorter, about 35 nautical miles and far less windy which made for a very enjoyable ride.
Tomorrow we move again.
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Solomon’s Island to Mill Creek, Virginia
Sun Setting on Mill Creek
We spent four nights at Solomon’s Island where we were visited by our friend Martha, a sailing buddy Shelly met many years ago and has sailed with all over the world. She stayed the night but we didn’t get out to sail. There wasn’t much wind anyway. The weather was very nice, with autumn temperatures in the 70s with lots of sunshine.
On November 4 we continued our run down the east coast. We had a long way to go today, about 50 miles to the next possible anchorage. Fortunately we had a lot of wind blowing in the right direction, from the north, kind of like when we sailed out of Annapolis. At times we were getting up to 7.5 knots with reefed sails, extremely fast for out boat. Lots of waves too, I would guess at least five feet at times. Here is a video of Shelly at the helm when she notices a 24 knot gust with 4 foot waves in the background. It was cool but not really cold, the only time I felt chilled was when I got soaked by spray blowing over the cockpit. Here a video of Shelly on the foredeck getting some things straightened out. Looks relatively calm but notice the horizon angle. That isn’t the world moving, that’s the boat rocking in the waves.
It took us about seven-and-a-half hours to get here, a tiresome day in those conditions. Shelly was expecting it to take at least nine hours, but because we had so much wind we got here a lot faster. On the way we crossed twelve mile wide mouth of the Potomac and are now in Virginia! Goodbye to Maryland for a year (if not longer). Tonight we are anchored at Mill Creek in Virginia just south of the Potomac (this is the third “Mill Creek” we’ve been to).
The next couple of days are fairly long but not as long as today was, looking forward to getting much further south where it is warm!
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Scary Stuff!
Look Close, You Can See the Leaning Sharps Island Light… Where Is The Island?
I write this on All Hallow’s Eve… Also known as Halloween! We are anchored in Mill Creek near Solomon’s Island. No trick-or-treaters SO FAR…. Not so scary here yet so I will recount some scary encounters we have had on our trip so far…
Maryland. One of the scariest states in the nation. Why? Think Blair Witch Project. It takes place near Blair, Maryland, a fictitious town on the site of the real town of Burkittsville, Maryland. Well, when we visited the Antietam National Battlefield last summer, a scary site in itself, it was CLOSE TO BURKITTSVILLE! We might have even driven through Burkittsville. I don’t remember, I was too freaked out at the time to remember those little towns.
Then there was two days ago as we passed the Sharps Island lighthouse. At one time there was an island here, but not any more. And the lighthouse, pictured above, has a freaky history. From Wikipedia:
The first lighthouse was built on Sharps Island in 1838, but due to the island’s erosion it was moved in 1848. This was replaced with a screwpile lighthouse in 1866 near the original location of the first structure.
The second lighthouse lasted until 1881 when it was forced off its foundations by an ice floe. It floated nearly five miles down the Chesapeake—with its keepers still inside—until it ran aground, allowing the men to escape unharmed.
The current light, a sparkplug lighthouse, was constructed in 1882… Leaning by about 15° since it was ice-damaged in 1977.
And now, no more island. Disappeared. Scary.
Anchorage on Mill Creek
Other Halloween-type things: On Mill Creek, where we are currently anchored, monstrously big, beautiful houses. Last night our anchor held in the evil wind. And today, we took the dinghy into town. Walked down the main street to a marine store where we bought some supplies, pictured below. These talisman’s keep the evil spirits of worn parts at bay.
Oh, and for would-be trick-or-treaters at our boat: Shelly says the candy is stale (though I’m eating it)…;)
Talismans: D-rings, Eyed (of Newt) Carabiners, 5/16ths Line and 1-Inch Webbing
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Jim Detterline
Goodbye Jim Detterline
I read in the last few days that Jim Detterline was recently found deceased. I haven’t heard the details yet, but it is possible he was in a fatal solo climbing accident. He was apparently doing the something he loved and at which he was an unquestioned expert.
One thing not mentioned in news articles I’ve read so far, such as this one, is that not only was he a ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park who had climbed Longs Peak over 400 times, he participated in numerous rescues on this notoriously difficult and treacherous mountain, as well as other rescues in the park. He won the Department of Interior Medal of Valor for one of these rescues.
He was an invaluable resource to me in most of my writing about mountain rescue, contributing to Colorado 14er Disasters, Playing for Real, and an article I wrote for Alpinist magazine, number 5. He wasn’t always happy with what I wrote, mainly because I was too direct for his tastes, but he consistently helped my research despite that disagreement.
He recently retired from the National Park Service and had an all too short retirement. Happy climbing in the afterlife, Jim.
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Wild Ride from Annapolis to Dun Cove
Good Karma at Anchor in Dun Cove
Friday we sailed from Annapolis to Dun Cove on the eastern shore of Maryland. It was pretty wild, with wind varying between 20 and 30 knots from the northwest. We were able to sail most of the way with only a reefed jib, moving at 6 to 7 knots! That is fast through pretty heavy seas, with waves at about 3 to 4 feet. I wasn’t able to catch the worst of it on video, but you can see Shelly at the helm in a short video here! We were getting spray over the cockpit and it was quite brisk, but overall not too bad.
Route from Annapolis to Dun Cove
I found out there are several free web services that track AIS data of ships and guess what, we are there. Above shows a track of how we sailed from Annapolis to Dun Cove and where we currently are anchored. This is pretty cool. You can see where we are at any time by clicking here: Where We Are! I’ll try to put this link in posts, at the bottom, under “this is where we are.” but you can save it in your bookmarks and see where the Good Karma is in real time.
Dun Cove is one of the most peaceful anchorages we have been to yet. We took the dinghy in to a tavern to check things out in the community here. Shelly named the dinghy Namaste. She wanted to name it “Bad Karma” but I exercised my veto on that one…
Shelly Piloting Namaste
The tavern was on a beach and it was actually quite hot, supposed to be record breaking heat again tomorrow, for October 30 that is, so it should be very nice. Next up: Solomon’s Island!
On The Beach at Lowe’s Wharf Tavern
Posted in Sailing by Mark with 3 comments.
Finally On Our Way!
Only New Landings Ahead!
Today we transitioned from having a fixed return dock to being transients. We left our home of three months at Haven Harbor in Rock Hall to head south. We have launched the wandering adventure today! Things should become much more interesting now.
Chart Plotter, We Are Under the White Cross in the Center
We headed south, as we have many times before, toward the Bay Bridge. The predicted good wind from the north never really materialized though we did get a couple of hours of sailing done. We decided to go as far south as Annapolis and hang out for a couple of days.
Shelly On The Lookout As We Pass A Luxury Yacht
On the way to the Annapolis mooring field, we passed a huge private luxury yacht being towed out by a a small tugboat. The Annapolis harbor mooring field, just off the Naval Academy, was directly ahead. We grabbed a mooring ball and settled in for a couple of days.
Wednesday Evening Sail Race in Annapolis!
We watched a sailboat race of small racing crafts that happens every Wednesday in the harbor. Pretty cool, like watching the Olympics.
As today begins our next stage, we had a little celebration in Annapolis where, for the first time, we arrived by boat. Living at Haven Harbor for the last three months was good. The people were friendly, the town was small and very homey, and the weather was good overall. Haven Harbor did some excellent work on the Good Karma to get her ready for our trip. However, we were more than ready to shift this adventure into high gear. It’s time to explore!
Goodbye To Haven Harbor and Rock Hall
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Another Windy Day
In Case of Emergency, Break Plastic
Today was cold and windy, similar to when hurricane Matthew came through. We are at the marina dock so no problems. I spent the day doing homework, that is, watching a 90 minute video about how to dock in various conditions. Learned quite a bit. I also mounted our new Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). This is a transmitter that calls for a rescue automatically when it’s turned on. It works everywhere in the world because it uses satellites to communicate. You turn this on in an extreme emergency, i.e, your boat is sinking in the ocean. I hesitate to call this “safety equipment,” it’s more like last minute desperate call for help equipment. There is a very slim chance, if any, we’ll have to use this but if we do run into a bad situation this is good to have.
I stayed on the boat today to make sure no problems arose in the gale force winds. Shelly took the car to Annapolis and sold it. Our last tie to land is gone, we are free to travel to wherever we want. And we need to, the cold days are piling up here!
An Elemental Goodbye!
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Sail to Baltimore
Approaching the Francis Scott Key Bridge
Our latest excursion was a three day trip to Baltimore to visit some friends from our distant past: Geeta and Jim, neuroscience researchers at Johns Hopkins University. We had met about 30 years ago when Shelly worked in a neuroscience lab at CU. It’s actually quite a distance up to Baltimore from Rock Hall, so we anchored overnight at Bodkin Creek. The next day, in what was again record-breaking heat in Baltimore, we motored ten miles up the busy Patapsco river to Baltimore’s inner harbor.
Watch Out!
On the way we got to check out our AIS system, the one that tells us where the big commercial ships are going and how fast. It helped us immensely and also told all these ships who and what we were. We are very conservative and avoided the large shipping channels when possible anyway, so we had no conflicts. This was good practice for Norfolk Virginia, the busiest shipping area in the continent. We have to get through there to enter the ICW in a couple of weeks.
Good Karma in Baltimore, Tested and Commissioned!
We now feel all the prep work to get the Good Karma seaworthy is pretty much finished. There will certainly be ongoing maintenance, probably quite a lot. However, all we can take care of for now is finished. We plan on leaving our three month home in a week, ready to head down the Chesapeake toward Florida!
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…And More Boat Work
New Handheld Radio and Mount
Even more work to be done, albeit much smaller, but necessary jobs. In mountain rescue as well as most mountaineering, you should have a backup systems and plans just in case something goes wrong with your equipment. This is directly translatable to sailing. In sailing, your two-way VHF radio is critical, it gives you real-time, direct contact to the world. Most notably, in an emergency you can call for help and in the U.S. and many nearby island nations, channel 16 is monitored. The Coast Guard will come to the rescue in life-and-death situations in coastal waters, as well as other boaters if they can. If you lose your engine, you can call for a sea tow. In everyday operation, you call marinas to reserve a slip or fuel stop. Commercial ships will contact you if there is a navigation conflict, e.g., get out of the way! You want your radio to work.
I bought a handheld just in case the shipboard radio goes out. Plus it’s useful for communication when you aren’t in the cockpit and need a radio. I mounted the charger on the chart table as shown above, secure and easy to grab when necessary.
Air Conditioner Strainer Housing
Another job completed was to give the air conditioner strainer housing a good cleanup. It was pretty messy. The air conditioner uses seawater to help channel heat out. It pumps seawater in, cools the heat exchanger and then back out to the sea. The sea is full of stuff. This stuff will clog the pump or heat exchanger, so you have to filter, or strain, it out. The strainer has to be cleaned periodically, which is very simple. However, over time the housing gets dirty and must be cleaned out well. So I had to remove it and wash out the cylindrical object pictured above. Unfortunately there was also a lot of corrosion so I had to clean it with a wire brush as well. The O-rings needed replacement as well. Finally got it done, took about a half-day total. Works great.
Next, sail to Baltimore!
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