When
Jackie at Haven Charters says “It will be windy Saturday and Sunday, so reef,
reef, reef!” – we listen.
That was Friday morning just after breakfast. The crews of Legacy and
Silver Lining were preparing to depart for four days of sailing Above the
Bridge – north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Skippers Mia McCroskey (Silver
Lining) and Bob Rainey (Legacy) met on the dock around 9:00 a.m. and
declared it a skippers’ meeting. The plan was simple – sail from Rock Hall north
into Worton Creek. The first to arrive would anchor with the other tying up
alongside.
After safety briefings, making lunch, and stocking up on ice, both boats were
away. After motor sailing south outside of Rock Hall to Can 3, Silver Lining
turned west to reach across the bay for a bit, hoping for a better angle on
Worton Creek. The breeze was southwest clocking north and building.
As the
afternoon progressed, the breeze built into strong winds and the swells built
up. The final couple of miles to the mouth of Worton Creek seemed to take
forever. Legacy made her way into the creek and found a good spot with
some protection from the wind. Quite a while later Silver Lining rolled
in and came alongside to raft up. Conditions were questionable – the swells were
bending around the point into the river and the wind gusts were swaying the
masts, but the crews secured the raft, at least for the time being.
Members of both crews jumped in the water for a delicious swim. But when Mia
stuck her foot in under Legacy’s stern, something nipped at her toe. She
squealed rather uncharacteristically and kicked hard away from the invisible
predator. She wasn’t sure the others believed her until, a few minutes later,
Virginia was also attacked by what we decided must be a large fish sheltering
under Legacy. It left clear bite marks on Virginia’s skin.
As
preparations were starting for a summer solstice Club appetizer party, the boats
rocked together on confused swells. “We’re un-rafting,” Mia
announced.
“Before the party?” someone asked.
“Before it gets any later. And before I have a drink!” was Mia’s
urgent and immediate response. Lines were quickly loosed and
Silver Lining motored back behind Legacy and anchored, letting out a
lot of scope. When skipper and crew all agreed that it was holding well,
appetizer preparation resumed, as well as another swim. Legacy’s crew
sent photos of their display of “summer solstice” appetizers, declaring Mary’s
lemon blueberry cupcakes the solstice theme winner. On Silver Lining the
food vanished before anyone could take pictures, but Craig’s
tortellini/olive/sundried tomato skewers were the agreed winner.
It was a
long, rolling night with constant wind and strong gusts. In the morning both
boats were still in place, as well as the three or four others in the anchorage.
Legacy weighed anchor and headed slowly for the channel to exit the
creek. Silver Lining’s anchor was slow to come up, but lost its hold
early on. So the strong wind pushed her into shallow water before Mia could take
control. As the anchor broke the surface, the keel brushed the bottom. Mia let
the bow pivot around and applied a lot of reverse. Bump, bump, bump – the keel
dragged through mud, but she kept moving backward for about ten yards into
deeper water. Mia finally breathed and turned the bow into the wind and toward
the channel. Legacy deployed a reefed main and jib while
Silver Lining stuck with just the reefed jib for the reach down into Kent
Narrows to Castle Marina where slips were waiting. Seas were slightly abaft the
beam and rough, with swells starting at a couple of feet, but building somewhat
higher as the day went on. The wind was hardly steady, but averaged around
twenty knots and gusted a lot higher, driving from the northwest. The sky was
overcast and the water looked muddy brown with occasional lighter patches where
the clouds broke and the sun came through. Off of Rock Hall, Legacy
surged past Silver Lining, looking like she had a little more sail up
than was efficient. Silver Lining’s crew didn’t feel inspired to put up
more to compete.
Once
south of Love Point the seas flattened a little and the wind felt less intense.
The boats reached down toward the channel into Castle Marina and turned in,
Legacy just ahead of Silver Lining. Both boats stopped at the fuel
dock to pump out the holding tanks, then moved to their slips. Docking beers
were cracked open, crew members went to the pool and hot tub, and everyone
relaxed.
Later the crews fired up two grills and occupied a pair of picnic tables for a
wide selection of grilled vegetables, hamburgers, chicken kabobs, and home-made
desserts. Beth’s faux key lime pie (faux because it was regular lime juice) and
Mary Ann’s flourless chocolate cake, made with garbanzo beans, were both
winners.
During the long sail on Saturday, aboard Silver Lining there had been
discussion of just staying in the marina if Sunday’s weather was the same as
Saturday’s. Fortunately, overnight the wind dropped considerably and after a
very good night’s sleep the clear morning renewed enthusiasm for venturing out.
Both boats had perfect sails north from Kent Narrows and across the bay to the
Magothy River. The wind was still strong, but the swells had calmed a bit and
both boats enjoyed great speed under reefed sails.
Legacy was first to the anchorage again, and took a few minutes to
explore the inner harbor at the north end of Gibson Island, finding a sandbar
and a lot of moorings, so no room to anchor. They returned to the usual large
anchorage, which was somewhat crowded with, we assumed, Father’s Day revelers.
Legacy was finishing anchoring when Silver Lining arrived, and
shortly Bob waved Mia in to tie up on port. As crews were passing and securing
lines, a shout from a third boat got everyone’s attention:
“Legacy, you’re dragging!”
Indeed she was, right into that guy’s boat. Bob got behind the wheel, while Mia
got her lines back on board and Silver Lining away within half a minute.
“I’ll anchor, you raft,” she shouted to Bob as his crew worked on pulling up
their anchor.
With seven-to-one scope out and the anchor holding steady Mia signaled Bob to
come in. This time the raft took shape beautifully and no neighbors complained.
Some appetizers were shared back and forth between the boats, and both cooked up
their final dinners. Legacy’s crew took up their ongoing Farkle game
while Silver Lining’s admitted to being too tired to play anything.
Overnight the front we had experienced all weekend passed, leaving us with cool
temperatures and no wind on Monday morning. After leisurely breakfasts, the
boats separated and headed back to Rock Hall, motoring all the way.
Pre-summer solstice had provided variety and challenge, and we’d risen to both.
We departed the Eastern Shore both tired and energized.
Silver Lining: Mia McCroskey (Skipper), John Francischetti (First Mate),
Craig Gill, Ilene Greenfield, Barbara MacMillan, Eleanor Popolizio
Legacy: Bob Rainey (Skipper), Hank Jelinek (First Mate), Beth Jelinek,
Mary Ann Gordon, Virginia Malik, Mary Wojchik

Photo Contributors: Craig Gill, Mary Ann Gordon, Ilene Greenfield, Mia McCroskey |