LORD’S PRAYER LOG, Part 491:

Friday, September 23, 2005

Anchored Kent Island, MD

0330 The wind is still blustering and bobbing us around; there’s no sign yet of any let-up.

0605 The wind has finally, within about the last 30 minutes, lost some strength; it’s westerly 4-7 kts. We’re still bobbing around at anchor, though, in the leftover wind waves.

0625 Lord’s Prayer is underway, bound for home, a distance of 32 nm.

0634 Exiting the lee of our anchorage, the wind picks up SW 10-12 kts; the water surface is a lot smoother than it was yesterday, though.

0639 There are about a dozen workboats in sight; they are all trot-lining for crabs.

0653 Sunrise.

0716 The wind is SW 9 kts… on the nose. We’re motoring out the Eastern Bay between Kent Island’s southern necks and the northern tip of Tilghman Point. Happily the current wind and waves are not slowing us much, nor is the boat having an uncomfortable ride like we did yesterday. It certainly seems as if we’ve had more than the normal fair share of headwinds on our trip home from Maine this year. In previous years (this is the 8^th time I’ve made this trip) I’ve typically been able to bring the boat home in about 6 days, coming generally via the same route. On one occasion it took 7 days (I think that was the year I went to the mouth of the Chesapeake because of a strong northwesterly wind in the Delaware) and on another occasion it took just 5 days. This year, however, it is going to take 9 days and if one counts the 24 hours we delayed our departure from Maine waiting for Hurricane Ophelia to define its track, we might even call it 10 days. I’ll just call it 9 days, though. Over the course of this 9-day transit, we have managed just one short sail from Atlantic City to the midpoint between there and Cape May. It was a glorious sail, though! At times like this, when the progress is unusually difficult, I find myself wondering just how anything ever got accomplished back in the days of the  “great age of sail”. Painfully, I suppose!

0935 Passing through Knapps Narrows, the bridge opens on request.

0940 Chris adds: We’re back in the Choptank River – finally!

1000 There are lots of trot-liners working the water east of Tilghman Island… The wind is calm here.

1234 We start into Cambridge Creek… Home is in sight…. We’re looking forward to spending time with our families, real beds, showers, a washer & dryer, a microwave, toilets that don’t have to be pumped, air conditioning, Cable TV, ice cubes, high speed internet, and no headwinds! Oh Boy! Our little condo looks like a castle!

1245 Lord’s Prayer is moored in her home slip at the Harbor Haven Condominium, Cambridge Creek, MD. Position: 38 34.265 N 76 04.457 W. This voyage began from this location on June 20 of this year. It ends today September 23, 2005, some 95 days later. During the voyage the boat sailed 3,043 nm, or an average of about 32 nm per day. During the voyage, Lord’s Prayer visited Cape Cod Massachusetts, Maine, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and St Pierre et Miquelon. Engine time at shutdown: 1645.3 hrs.

END OF PART 491

END OF LOG, SUMMER VOYAGE 2005

Christine and Jim Kidd

Onyx, the sailing cat

Aboard Lord’s Prayer