The Chesapeake: Moving With (or Against) the Wind, Tide and Currents

We are making our way north up the Chesapeake Bay, sometimes swiftly and sometimes painfully slow.  Setting off from the Bluewater Yacht Center's marina in Hampton at 9:30 a.m. two mornings ago (Tuesday), we encountered light winds from the northeast, which was unfortunate since we are heading north.  We had to use the engine for a few hours until the wind picked up to 10-15 knots and shifted to the west.  Driving through the water with a boat is not nearly as pleasing as sailing.  Using the engine, we plow through the water with brute force, not in sync with the winds and waves, man against nature.  When we are able to sail, as we were in the afternoon that day, we are one with the elements.  Using the wind for propulsion, we slice through the water.  We settle into the environment of the water rather than push our way through it.  It is very peaceful (with winds under 25 knots, that is).

As sunset approached, we saw rain coming in and we headed past Smith Point on the western shore of the Chesapeake and up the Little Wicomico River.  I remember reading the signs along the road on the way to the beach every summer and delighting in this as well as other names derived from the local Indian languages.  We always assumed in was pronounced Wee-co-mee-co, a fun sounding word.  It wasn't until we started sailing on the Chesapeake in the previous decade and began listening to the marine weather forecasts that we learned it is Wi-com-ee-co.  It's a mellifluous pronunciation but the child in me still prefers Wee-co-mee-co.

We are a large vessel for a small river, towering over the little pleasure and fishing boats on docks along the verdant shoreline.  The river is dotted with bobbing re-used gallon plastic bottles marking crab pots, as is much of the bay itself outside the main shipping channels.  Unlike the open ocean, when long hours pass without seeing anything other the surface of the water and keeping watch can become tedious, the Chesapeake Bay requires vigilance because of the crabbing.  Sometimes maneuvering around them is like skiing down a slalom course.

The posts with red triangles and green squares marking the edges of the channel in the river serve a dual purpose.  They are also perfect sites for ospreys to build their nests, which they use year after year, adding more material each season.  Eggs are laid from mid-April through May, and incubation lasts about 40 days, so the nests we observed contained eggs which were being guarded from predators by one the monogamous parents.

Osprey guarding its nest

We dropped the anchor is a quiet place among the crab pots and settled in for the evening.  The rain began pattering on the deck as we ate dinner down below.  The air temperature is perfect right now for sleeping, not too hot, and everything was dry inside!

We woke up to a peaceful morning.  Two small skiffs, each with two local men, were moving from crab pot to crab pot in the calm water, collecting the crabs that had been trapped in the night.  We had had trouble lowering the mainsail the previous evening, so before breakfast, Peter had to lubricate all the cars on the track on the mast before we could depart.

Peter lubricating the mainsail track

After breakfast, we pulled up anchor and slipped away down the river.  Hauling up the anchor takes a bit more time here on the Chesapeake than it does in the Caribbean or the Bahamas because Peter has to hose off the sticky muck practically link by link as the chain clears the surface.

Crabbing on the Little Wicomico

Once again, the light wind was directly from the north, so we had to motor for a while.  The previous day, we moved 62 nautical miles.  Yesterday, the current as well as the wind was against us, and we only gained about five miles of northward progress in four hours.  The wind finally shifted a bit to the east and went to 14 knots around 5 p.m., and we were able to sail at a rate of seven knots for about an hour and half before heading in to the mouth of the Patuxent River to dock at Zahniser's Yacht Center at Solomon's Island, Maryland.  Solomon's is a popular yachting destination on the Chesapeake.  Other than the fact that it is well protected from winds from all directions, the only reason I can see for its popularity is that there are a lot of other yachts (as well as yachting services)!  The streets of town are pleasant and we walked a few blocks through a residential area with houses each surrounded by large lawns and gardens to a small restaurant, CD Cafe, where we enjoyed great food and a quiet atmosphere.

We see a lot more sunsets living on the boat than we do in our house because we spend so much more time outside.  We only stay below to plan navigation, sleep or make meals for the most part.  It's a great refuge from the rain, but otherwise most of our time is passed on deck, making us wonder why it is so important to have a well-appointed and comfortable interior.

Sunset at Solomon's Island

This morning's job for Peter (There is something every day!) is getting new battens of the right length for the main sail.  We are not pleased with the way the sail sets with the current arrangement of battens.  He is stowing them right now, and then we will cast off the dock and head toward Baltimore. Today the wind is from the southeast, which is great, but it is less than five knots, so it's not going to be very helpful.  Unlike the Caribbean, where the trade winds are fairly constant, the wind is fickle here, and there are currents and tides to add to the mix.

We fly back to Sacramento in two days, so, one way or the other, we will make it to Baltimore soon.