LORD’S PRAYER LOG, Part 586:

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Anchored Still Pond, Chesapeake Bay, MD

0335 The NOAA forecast for today for the north half of the Chesapeake Calls for

Small craft advisory now in effect until 11 am EDT this morning

North of North Beach - N winds 10 to 15 kt with waves 1 to 2 ft

South of North Beach - NE winds 15 kts with waves 2-3 ft.

The weather.com forecast for Cambridge, MD calls for:

Today - Abundant sunshine. High 82F. Winds NNE at 10-20 mph.

Tonight – Mainly clear skies. Low 62F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.

0615 The wind in the anchorage at Still Pond is NNE 10-12 kts and the sky is clear. Air temperature is 68.

0627 Lord’s Prayer is underway, bound for home, a distance of 59 nm.

0630 I hoist the mainsail while motoring upwind and then turn NW to clear Rocky Point; once clear I turn west to head for the bay and I set the jib.

0632 Sunrise.

0653 At Plum Point, I turn SW and secure the engine. It is going to be a beautiful day for a sail, I think.

0700 I have found it rather interesting that I have seen quite a lot of bay grass floating on the surface here in the north end of the Bay this year – more, in fact, than I can remember – and a fair bit of it is eel grass. I don’t remember seeing eel grass in the Bay previously, although I know from old timers that the Bay used to be full of it. It made a wonderful habitat for little crabs and fishes. I do hope this is a sign of improving health for the Bay.

0756 Running now before the wind, I split the jibs and put them on the poles. I leave the mainsail up.

0800 The boat is making 6.8 kts through the water – nearly hull speed. Whitecaps abound on the bay surface. Humidity is low. I am in shorts and it is really quite comfortable.

0821 With Lord’s Prayer a mile SW of Tolchester Beach, the Bay Bridge comes into sight 13.7 nm ahead. What a clear day it is! The bridge is actually beyond the horizon and it looks like it is rising right out of the bay water. It is a welcome sight whenever the bridge comes into view on a trip home!

0838 Standing at the bow, letting the autopilot do the steering, I’m impressed by the roar coming from the bow wave pushed up by Lord’s Prayer as she charges downwind under a full press of canvas. What a glorious day! And the wind… it lies blessedly at my back! Can life be any better?

1037 I pass under the Bay Bridge in the East Channel.

1135 Just past the halfway point from the bridge along the west side of Kent Island, the wind goes light and it veers E 8-9 kts. I can no longer carry the twin jibs on the poles. I stow the jibs and the poles and start the motor. The day is getting warm and now the flies have found me – the biting kind. Soon I’ve eliminated about 50 of them with the swatter. Like before though, they seem to be in endless supply.

1207 Abeam of Bloody Point Light, I turn SE to go behind Poplar Island. I retrim the mainsail and set the jib for a port reach.

1250 Heading south in the passage behind Poplar Island, the jib begins flopping about; I stow it and flatten in the mainsail. I am now motoring downwind almost as fast as the wind itself.

1324 Off Marsh Point I drop and stow the mainsail in preparation for transiting Knapps Narrows. I can hear a lot of chatter on the radio… mostly with the bridge keeper here on channel 13… and it sounds like he is very busy… It’s Labor Day Weekend and there are many, many recreational boats moving around all over the bay.

1340 Lord’s Prayer passes through the Knapps Narrows Bridge last in a string of 7 sailboats and along with about 4-5 motorboats.

1355 In the Choptank River, I put the boat into the wind and hoist the mainsail… then when I am back on course, I set the jib. Wind is NNW 8 kts. The boat is on a port reach motorsailing.

1554 Throughout my trip up the Choptank River, I must do many sail adjustments due to shifts and lulls in the wind. The one constant is that I continue running the engine to keep the boat moving along toward home.

1607 I pass around Hambrooks Bar in Cambridge and turn the boat into the wind where I drop the mainsail. I stow loose gear and rig lines for the slip.

1630 I turn and head for the creek.

1658 Lord’s Prayer is at home in her slip in Cambridge Creek, MD after a 72-day, 1478 nm voyage to Maine and back. Position: 38 34.265 N 76 04.457 W. Engine time at shutdown: 2121.6 hrs. Indicated fuel quantity: 1/2. How is that for fuel planning!

END OF LORD’S PRAYER LOG, PART 586

END SUMMER VOYAGE 2007

Christine & Jim Kidd and Onyx, the sailing cat.