Tilghman Island and the Early Frostbite Trip

I appreciate the good humor and thick skins of all the trip participants. This write-up almost wrote itself. The only events I can comment on for sure are those on Intention and that witnessed by me and a few trusted spies. All the rest is considered “Rumor Has It.”

Most of the crews arrived at Haven Harbor Marina in time for dinner at Waterman’s. The garlic mussels on the half shell – dubbed “Garlic Delivery System” were excellent. Good thing the crew of Intention all liked garlic with its after effects.

Patty and I brought a folding step stool for crew access onto Intention. When not used, it was lashed to the stanchions (it was too long for the lockers).

Arriving after midnight, Dave and Eileen (Pepperpot crew) debated how much to unload and ended up with a cart piled high. Eileen proceeded onto the boat safely with her purse and personal items in tow. Then hearing a yelp and a splash, she turned to see Dave prone on the finger pier frantically grabbing for their luggage in the water. Dave had misjudged the width of the finger pier and had just made the decision to back out when the cart and everything on it went into the water. Who knew that loaded duffle bags would float? Jeff H, the skipper, “sprang from his bed to see what was the matter”. He did not see reindeer, but instead grabbed the boathook to assist. Early-risers leaving the boat the next morning were greeted with a laundry-strewn cockpit which was just the beginning of a continuing laundry saga. Over breakfast, Eileen announced that this was her first overnight sailing trip and marveled over her experience thus far. Those who had slept through the finger pier fiasco (Gary and Linda) and our latest arrival (Jeff Fournier) caught up on all the details over bagels and coffee. While talking, we decided to distinguish between our “Jeffs” by calling Jeff Fournier (Where’s Jeff) “Big Jeff”….this name stuck for the remainder of the trip. We also observed the cart rescue by marina personnel.The raft-up in Tar Cove in Rock Creek off the Patapsco River was well planned and executed. At completion the eight boat raft became a floating party, with people making the long climb from one end to the other. Many of us did not make it all the way to the end, but sat down somewhere around boat four or five … as the food choices were excellent everywhere! Some used the excuse of the long climb between boats to request additional grog and were quickly accommodated.

Friday: Mostly Sunny 73°F High at 2:25 pm 55° Low at 6:45 am; Wind Speed / Gusts:SE at 15 mph The fleet left before 9:30 and all but Mast Transit motor sailed to Knapp’s Narrows at Tilghman Is. We were concerned that there may not be room for the fourth boat. Mast Transit, not getting the word, sailed most of the way and actually came in third. The thirty-three mile trip was made under sunny skies, flat water and wind on the nose. Joel, on Intention, surprised us with roasted walnuts, not like “roasting chestnuts on an open flame”, but it was enough to set off the smoke alarm.

Arriving at the outer mark around 4:00, with a falling tide, Intention missed Steve K’s revised instruction about red “4” and with the old information about leaving paint from “4” on our starboard side, we ran aground. Cherie C, at the wheel, wiggled off by using the depth sensor as a divining rod to point to deeper water. She had to do this a few times since the shoal was not cooperating. It turned out that the latest communication from Steve K. was to treat “4” as a green and keep it to port. Neither Intention nor Jeff H on Pepperpot received that little tidbit of information.

Jeff H on Pepperpot, ran aground and, despite their best efforts to get out of the mud, kept pivoting around going nowhere. Luckily, a local man and his son were following (stalking?) them in, so he agreed to provide a tow. Once out of the mud, they proceeded to the Knapp’s Narrows Marina dock and landed safely. The local guy at first said the tow was gratis, but was convinced by Jeff to accept an appropriate token of their appreciation. Haven includes free towing service from Tow Boat US, but not from this independent. The problem with the channel was extensive shoaling and dredging operations were not scheduled until November 2015. Good thing we don’t do this trip every year.

With all the fleet lined up on the outside dock, we noticed that Mast Transit, skippered by Bob R, had this cute little shiny stainless steel – bent anchor. We called it jewelry, his crew called it “bling”. This was the second anchor for this boat, the first having been bent and replaced, only to be bent again. The quote was $1300 for a replacement anchor on order. Bruce G figured that if they bent it more, it would cost them nothing since the replacement was paid for already.

Intention broke out the step stool and secured it with a bike lock. We were not worried about theft, just a sense of humor by some of our members.

Dave on Pepperpot, tackled the laundry again by taking still-wet items up to the marina dryers. Unfortunately, this did not end well either. As Dave was trying to put the clothes back onto the boat, some of the stuff went back into the water.

The night was cold & windy with a persistent and irritating halyard noise. I think everyone was waiting for me to get out of my warm bunk and deal with it – I did – freezing!

The morning promised to be warmer and with a visiting friend of mine – Greg V from Delaware. We crossed the bridge and enjoyed the festivities. Tilghman Island Day was memorable. The jigger toss had several memorable moments - a marriage proposal and losing the jigger due to "someone" not tying the knot correctly. The speed docking contest this year included an Under 14 Year Old category. Most kids that age (one kid was only 11) would not be as fearless driving such expensive boats as this bunch. Their fathers often did worse, and caused more damage. The festival location, on the leeward side of the island, had everyone shedding layers of clothing. The seafood was fresh and delicious, the crowds friendly and fun, the music invigorating and the draft beer smooth and more than refreshing

The best of show was the docking contests with a new youth division. Watching the 10 – 14 year old boys & girls handle & dock the fishing boats was such a thrill. The winner, a 14 year old boy, leaped ashore like a ninja and lassoed both pilings at the same time while in the air. His time of 23 seconds was best of ALL classes & age groups.

Intention had an excellent dinner aboard – steamed oysters, crabs and a salad. The dressing, provided by Cherie C was Ginger Marinade. The salad was topped with cornbread “protons” (John F.). Our guest decided to stay the night at the Inn and joined us for dinner.

Sunday: Partly Cloudy / Windy 58°F High at 3:25 pm 47° Low at 10:25 pm; Wind Speed / Gusts: WNW at 19 mph gusting to 29 mph. Sunday morning required a late start with high winds, temps in the low 40's, and lots of chop/waves. Crews pulled out every available jacket, sweater and hat. We started leaving around 11 AM. The order of departure was Mast Transit (4-10 draft) with Bob Rainey, Sea-Ya Later (5-2 draft) with Steve Krakauer, Intention (5-6) with Mia McCroskey and Pepperpot (5-2 wing keel) with Jeff Hamer. Those waiting their turn observed with anxious eyes the progress of the boat currently passing #4. Radio commentary let us all know where to go and what to do. Keep to the south side of the channel until reaching the last pilings; treat the white speed limit buoy as a red (keep it to the left) and #4 as a green (keep it to the right). All went well until it was our turn with Intention. I must say our commentary was the most detailed and we gave constant depth & location information. We did get too close to #4 and ran aground again. We should have stayed off 30 feet, not 10 feet. With Mia at the wheel and the rest of us holding our breath, we backed off and found deeper water, but we were not out of the woods yet. The wind and waves keep trying to push us out of the channel, but Mia prevailed and we had clear sailing. Jeff on Pepperpot made it through without incident.

Out in the bay, winds were sustained at 15-18 knots, with gusts to 25 knots. On Pepperpot, Gary and Jeff agreed we could do some sailing, so out came the jib. Big Jeff (formally “Where’s Jeff”), a former sailboat racer, protested, “I’m not taking the helm with just a sissy jib out.” So out came a reefed main sail, proving that heavy winds are a “real” sailor’s delight.

Once at the helm, Big Jeff was truly in his element. He forsook direction for optimized “tell-tails” by following the wind wherever it took us. We had reported being just south of Bloody Point during one of the boat radio checks; five or six tacks later, we found ourselves essentially still at Bloody Point. We were happy to leave him to it. Skipper Jeff was going with the flow, but eventually advised that we had to make our way to the raft-up.

Our destination was Aberdeen Creek off the South River south of Annapolis. The distance was about 20 miles into a Northwest wind with waves 2-3 feet. Most of us motor sailed under jib at 5 – 7.5 knots and 4.5 – 5 knots without the motor. Mast Transit had a flat screen TV in the lounge with a satellite receiver. Henry J, while at the wheel, watched the football game and saw a touchdown. Talk about driving while distracted!

On Pepperpot, Eileen, their newbie sailor, had considerable difficulty going to the head in the rough ride, so made her way to and from on hands and knees. Unfortunately, while traversing under the chart table on her way back out, all of the charts and other paraphernalia fell on her, leaving a scene that looked like a frat-house after a party. She was laughing about it and was uninjured, but once again was amazed at breadth of happenings on this sailboat experience.

Mast Transit arrived first, followed shortly thereafter by Intention. Steve K arrived with Sea-Ya Later and tied up on the other side of Mast Transit. With the arrival of Pepperpot, around 5 PM, the party could start.

Aberdeen Creek was idyllic; the food plentiful and superior; the discussions hilarious! Rainey's stuffed mushrooms brought everyone aboard Mast Transit and the party didn't break-up until about 10 PM – the guests that would not leave! It did not help that several guests settled into the salon to watch football once they learned that it was on that afternoon while underway. However, a different few of the crew thought it was the beginning of the end and a waste of electricity! The engine did start Monday morning.

Monday: Partly Cloudy 65°F High at 3:45 pm 41° Low at 5:05 am; Wind Speed / Gusts: S at 17 mph gusting to 24 mph. We were all up around 8 AM and off the hook at 10:00. The raft had rotated & had to be “unrotated” using Intention’s power. The sail back to Rock Hall was one of the best we had ever had. Leaving South River and heading toward the Bay Bridge, we set sails for a broad reach and Intention, Pepperpot, and Sea-Ya Later never tacked. Once under the bridge, and a course set to 60 degrees, it was a reach at speeds of 7.5 to over 9 knots all the way to can #3. Intention even managed to sail wing on wing for a short distance until a nasty wave on the stern caused a jibe (no damage, main was close to center).

We all fueled and dumped at Gratitude before heading into Haven Harbor. There, Joel backed Intention into the slip with minimal rebound from the pilings and the assistance of all crew. Gary on Pepperpot, did a couple practice runs at the Haven slip before landing us safely home. Clearly, the third time is the charm for re-entry. After unloading and cleaning up, everyone headed home. A wonderful crew on all boats and a great time…let’s do it again soon!

Larry Sherwood Contributions from Maryann Gordon, Linda Murphy, Steve Krakauer and Bob Rainey