Friday, December 21, 2007

CONCLUSION OF SUMMER SHAKEDOWN CRUISE TO MAINE ON "EVERGREEN"

NOVEMBER 1, 2007

It has taken us two days to strip down the boat and remove all the provisions and gear that we wish to take home. It is still hard to believe how much stuff had found its way onto the boat. The boat came up at least two or three inches in the water as we removed everything. Notes were made concerning projects that needed to be done both here at the marina and also at home. The remaining gear had to be shuffled around so that the marina crews could get their work done. As soon as we are gone the boat will be winterized, hauled, the bottom cleaned, and the boat stored ashore for the winter.



Our summer cruise to the north end of Maine and back covered 2,525.4 nautical miles. It was basically a shake down cruise. We wanted to get to know our new boat and find out what improvements needed to be made so that we will be able to confidently cruise further and to more remote areas in the future. All in all we had a good time but much to our surprise it was more difficult than we expected to make the transition from our Catalina 22 to our new Cape Dory 36. "Evergreen" proved that she was every bit as good as we had hoped. With the lessons that we learned this year we hope that next years cruise will be easier.

We came back with a few resolutions for next year:
Sail more and motor less.
Get off the boat more regularly and get more exercise.
Not to have any schedules or set deadlines other than when to be back.
Not to try to keep a Daily blog again. The days will be grouped in the future.

We found that the single most important improvement that we had done to the boat the year before was to install a salt water wash down system. The list of uses that we found for the system is endless.

One of the things that we enjoyed most about having a bigger boat was the ability to have guests along. It is a lot of fun treating interested family and friends to the cruising experience. In the future any family or friends who would like to cruise with us sometime are more than welcome. You just need to let us know.

I hope everyone who looked at all or part of this blog enjoyed it. Its primary purpose was to give family and friends back home an idea of what we were experiencing. That is why so many photos were included. For those of you who are not familiar with blogs: They are presented in reverse order (the latest entry is first). You can click on any photo to enlarge it to full screen --- then just go "back" to the blog.

Some of you are probably wondering why we keep our boat in Maryland when we live in Florida. There are several reasons:
Sailing on the east coast of Florida is limited to going up or down the intracoastal waterway depending on which way the wind is blowing.
The Chesapeake Bay is only a 15 hour drive from our house and is a superb place to do long weekend sails in the spring.
The Chesapeake Bay is also two weeks closer (sailing) to our primary cruising destinations (the Northeast and Canada).
So each year we plan to do several long weekends on the Chesapeake in the spring and then a long cruise north each summer and early fall.

I would like to thank the countless people who helped make this summers cruise a success. We could not have done it without their help and/or advice.

DAY #111 - HUDSON CREEK TO ZAHNISER'S, SOLOMONS, MARYLAND

OCTOBER 30, 2007





Today was another crisp, clear, cold day but with no wind. The water was calm and disturbed only slightly by the occasional passing of a crabber and his dog.







Sadly, we must head for home today.





We motored across and down the Bay and turned up the Patuxent River to Solomons. As we were going south on the Bay we looked over our shoulders and noticed a whole fleet of "snow bird" cruisers also heading south. We wanted to keep right on going with them. Aside from the commercial traffic the only boat going up the Bay was a solitary Catalina 22 (a sister of our smaller boat). Hopefully someday soon we will be able to continue on with the rest of the flock.





23.7 NM

DAY #110 - LA TRAPPE CREEK TO HUDSON CREEK, LITTLE CHOPTANK

OCTOBER 29, 2007





When we woke we said "Happy Anniversary" to "Evergreen" (our boat). It was a year ago today that we took our first sail on her. What a year it has been. She has kept us very busy indeed.





The day was crisp, cold (in the low 30's in the a.m.), clear, and blue. Absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, there was no wind.





So we woke up our faithful Mr Perkins (our engine) and headed for Hudson Creek in the Little Choptank. That is where we had spent our first night on the boat a year ago, so, of course we had to return there on her anniversary.





It was a beautiful as we remembered. Naturally we had to celebrate not only Evergreen's anniversary but also the successful completion of her first summer cruise north. This was a happy day despite the fact that we were not able to set her sails.





23.3 NM

DAY #109 - DIVIDING CREEK TO LA TRAPPE CREEK, CHOPTANK RIVER

OCTOBER 28, 2007



Today turned out to be a sunny, cool, and very windy (25+ knots). Just what we like.





With a double reefed main and the staysail set we headed out to the Bay and then south to the Choptank River. We decided to anchor just inside La Trappe Creek. It is also said to be one of the nicer anchorages on the Bay and since it was Sunday evening we figured all the weekenders had probably gone home. It turned out to be a beautiful spot. It was very well protected and yet open enough to have good views. We found only one other power cruiser at anchor.





We saw a few modest old fashion homes on the shore surrounded by agricultural land. There was an abundance of Canadian Geese and several different species of water fowl.





The day finished off with one of the best sunsets of our entire trip.





40.3 NM



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DAY #108 - DIVIDING CREEK

OCTOBER 27, 2007



The pouring rain continued all night and into the morning. The wind is now 15 - 20 knots from the south. Between the strong south wind and four straight days of rain the water level is steadily rising above normal levels in the Bay. The radio is announcing flood watches everywhere, on both the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays.





As the day progressed the sky cleared. We crawled out of our cabin as if we had been cloistered in a cave for several days. The sunlight brought out all the colors of our beautiful surroundings. All the wildlife started moving about in search of food once again.





We relaxed and took in the scenery and fresh air. Since it was Saturday evening we attended NPR's "Prairie Home Companion" services while sipping on wine and enjoying a beautiful sunset.



Tomorrow we will move along.

0 NM

DAY #107 - DIVIDING CREEK

OCTOBER 26, 2007

Pouring rain all night and again today. Thank goodness we had all our ports rebedded before the sailing season.



Needless to say we stayed at anchor and only occasionally peeked outside at the wildlife and pretty weather clouds.



0 NM

DAY #106 - DIVIDING CREEK

OCTOBER 25, 2007







Strong winds and more rain today. Reportedly Maryland has had a drought this summer and early fall so I suppose everyone is very happy.







The rain stopped for a period of time. We took advantage of the opportunity to paddle our dinghy around the creek and explore some of the state park land that borders the creek. The wildlife was abundant and varied. It sure was good to see our boat from the outside for a change.





0 NM

DAY #105 - DIVIDING CREEK, WYE EAST RIVER

OCTOBER 24, 2007



Dividing creek is supposed to be one of the most popular anchorages on the Bay, however, it was a week day and a storm was on the way so there was only one other "snow bird" cruiser there. It is indeed a beautiful spot. There were no houses in sight in the creek and consequently you felt far from the influences of civilization. Ashore the trees showed a hint of autumn which is always exciting for those of us from Florida.





We woke to a day overcast with very dark and convincing storm clouds. Showers last the entire day so we were stuck on the boat.



0 NM