Association Forum - Sailing around Kent Island

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Cruising Forum

Sailing around Kent Island

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

Member Avatar

1520 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/31/2010 : 21:39:03

I took off a few days from work to go sailing on the Chesapeake. I brought enough food and drinks for 4 days out on the water. I had to remember to bring along my docklines, for once. Here are a few pix for you guys.

I thought I would try a circumnavigation of Kent Island - about 80 or 100 miles. The GPS tracks I can download later will give me the exact distances.

I wanted a relaxing sailing trip, in the cool Spring weather, that would take a few days to go east out of the Magothy River across the bay to the Chester River and down through the Kent Narrows, then south down Prospect Bay and Eastern Bay, then west across the Chesapeake to the western shore and back north up the bay to my home marina. This is a clockwise trip around Kent Island. On the charts copied below (12268 and 12270) my itinerary started at "1", and plans include the possibility of spending the first night at "2" or "3" or "4". Later I had options of stopovers at "6" or "7" and maybe a last stop at my local popular anchorage "8".

Key:
1 - Mill Creek on the Magothy River - home
2 - Rock Hall harbor on the Chesapeake Bay
3 - Queenstown Creek on the Chester River
4 - Mears Point Marina in Kent Narrows
5 - Tilghman Creek on the Miles River south of Eastern Bay
6 - Pirate's Cove Marina on the West River
7 - Rhode River anchorage off the West River
8 - Dobbins Island anchorage on the Magothy River

Rock Hall is a good harbor with marinas and restaurants and Swan Creek to the north is a good anchorage. Queenstown Creek has a very narrow (20 feet?) entrance and is a pretty anchorage, according to my cruising guide. I sailed across the bay, called ahead for a slip at Mears Point marina right on Kent Narrows, and thought I would try Harris Crab House next door to the marina. Below is the view when I passed the Baltimore Light on the way across the bay, looking south at the center part of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Kent Narrows is an interesting waterway, with a narrow dredged channel leading to a bascule bridge connecting the wide J-shaped Chester River on the north to the Eastern Bay on the south. Here's a view of the markers in the Kent Narrows dogleg to the right that I had just passed through. I put in at Mears Point Marina and walked over to the restaurant.

I had a delicious crab dinner at Harris'. I brought leftovers back to the cooler on the boat for lunch the next day. The next morning I motored out of the marina.

I called the bridge operator on my cell to request he raise the bascule bridge for me. The Gypsy was the only traffic on the water, and the fellow agreed to raise the drawbridge right away. With 2 knot or stronger current, boaters like to time their passage near slack tides to avoid loss of steerage. I ran through going 4 knots about an hour before low tide. The bridge doesn't go all the way up, so sailboats need to stay towards the center.

The bridge operator signals opening with a long horn blast followed by a short horn blast. Closing is announced by the same signal. Boaters can request raising the bridge off season, and in the summer there is a half-hour schedule of routine daytime openings. There are also traffic jams, I've heard. You can call by cell phone, by VHF radio on channel 13, or signal the same way with your boat's horn (4 sec - 1 sec). The higher fixed bridge you can see in this photo is for the main highway, US route 50, and is part of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

I had to motor south out of the Kent Narrows. I saw the channel marker cans 6, 7, and 8 were not shown on my GPS chart (bought in 2005) while they were on the paper chart and on the downloaded updated chart I made of the narrows. By the way, the red-right-return applies in both directions heading towards the drawbridge!

I motored south across Prospect Bay to get to the big water of Eastern Bay where I could beat to windward to the south to my next stop - Tilghman Creek anchorage. The steady 15 knot southeast breeze convinced me to reef and go with the 110 jib. I'm glad I reefed, because I hit hull speed a few times, but the boat was under good control.

The winds seemed to build to maybe 20 knots from the SE as I tacked down to Tilghman Creek and then dropped the sails. The creek has a left turn-right turn entrance with channel markers that guide you past shoals in 1 to 2 feet of water.

The welcoming committee consisted of a male osprey singing the blues for an hour or more after I arrived, while he was perched on his stick nest on a platform near the shore. The southeast winds mostly died in the protected waters of the creek, and I chose a spot to drop the hook up against a tree-lined bank on the southeast side. There were no waves all night, in spite of strong winds on the Eastern Bay just outside the creek entrance.

Here's the little anchorage looking to the east at the other boats tied up.

This is a printout I made of the Tilghman Creek detail on the chart 12270. There's my leftovers of crabmeat, onion rings, carrots and a muffin!

It rained hard that night, and the weather turned bad for the next 2 days, making it unlikely I would want to keep sailing. I decided to motor out onto the Eastern Bay from Tilghman Creek and see if the predicted 10 knot south wind would materialize and help me sail westward across the Chesapeake. The photo below is looking down into the water next to the boat. You can see the wave pattern - no hint of a breeze.

So I headed back home, motoring through a few fog banks holding my horn in one hand and the tiller in the other. There would be no stopover at #6 or #7 on my itinerary - the West River or the Rhode River. I've anchored in the Rhode River last year, but I have not seen the Pirate's Cove Marina on Councillor's Point on the West River, with its restaurant and other facilities there.

The marine forecast predicted showers possible all day and the next day. While motoring north up the bay, I heard the captain of a tug pushing a barge announce on channel 16 his concern about the fog and possible traffic.

I saw only one commercial ship on the bay loom up out of the fog and pass me silently. I was headed north holding to the east side of the shipping lane.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge came into view, and some of the clouds seemed to clear a little.

I cruised on by the Sandy Point Light on the western side of the Bay above the Bay Bridge, while I was heading towards the mouth of the Magothy River and my home marina.

The decision was to head for home, to sail another day. Maybe next time I'll try a circumnavigation of Kent Island with different stopovers and go counterclockwise. I suppose you have to be lucky to plan an outing in the Spring and end up getting 4 days without rain!

This weekend should see the temperatures hit 80 around here. I'm looking forward to more good weather, not only for my veggie garden, but for cruising on the Chesapeake Bay!

Happy sailing!

JohnP
1978 C25 SR/FK "Gypsy"
Mill Creek off the Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay
Port Captain, northern Chesapeake Bay

Edited by - JohnP on 08/23/2011 09:06:07

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2010 : 06:39:34

Great travelogue, great area! Thanks!

Edited by - on

Unsinkable2
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
273 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2010 : 07:05:27

Thanks John - that was great!
What are the two red lines you have tied to your upper boom vang?

Edited by - on

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1520 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2010 : 07:12:48

Those are my preventers, ready for use anytime. They run through blocks at the fore end of the genoa track back to the cockpit.

Edited by - JohnP on 04/01/2010 08:49:47

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2010 : 08:57:55

Great job John! Thanks a lot. That's the way you do a cruise summary! I love that pic of you with the ship in the background.

Edited by - DaveR on 04/01/2010 08:59:02

Don B
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2010 : 09:46:52

Great trip report John! What a beautiful area you have to explore.

Edited by - on

SEAN
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
772 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2010 : 06:26:18

Edited by - on

Even Chance
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
393 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2010 : 08:31:49

Nicely done. Harris' is a great place. You can tie up during a meal right at their bulkhead, if there's room.

BTW, as you were heading south from Rock Hall, you might have noticed a big old Georgian brick mansion to port, just before the gut separating Eastern Neck from the island (@ Willson Point -- that's the correct spelling no matter what the charts say). That's Trumpington, our family home place (now owned by distant cousins).

Also -- looking at your main with a reef tucked in: try tying your reefing lines beneath the boom. That will give you better sail shape.

Edited by - Even Chance on 04/02/2010 08:34:35

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2010 : 15:45:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Even Chance
 ...Also -- looking at your main with a reef tucked in: try tying your reefing lines beneath the boom. That will give you better sail shape.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Hmmmmmm... Those lines shouldn't put any tension on the sail--the grommets aren't intended for it. The shape should be controlled only by the tension between the tack and the clew. With a loose-footed main, tying the "tidy-up lines" under the boom is dangerous.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 04/02/2010 16:07:59

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1520 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2010 : 17:12:49

Nobody can get away with poor sail shape on THIS FORUM!!! I knew that already when I took the photo.

Since I pulled the sail slugs right out of the mast track when I reefed that day and then had to repair the loose parts, I did not risk pulling the tack too tight again later.

So, I now have added a new chore to the list - Add a mast gate to cover that gap below the spot where the slugs are held up by 2 wing nuts. I also don't like that the sail cover is stretched at the slip and is getting worn out.

If the tack of the main were held down in the correct position, then the jiffy reefing line would give the reefed main a nice flat shape.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/03/2010 : 07:39:52

That's why I prefer two-line reefing--so I can tighten down the tack first, and then tension the sail from the clew. Single-line doesn't make it as easy to protect the slugs. (Another solution is a reef-hook, but that requires going to the mast.)

Edited by - on

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 04/05/2010 : 17:31:59

John - great write up...sounds like a super trip ! ! do I see a possible MAINSHEET submission ...

Edited by - jerlim on 04/05/2010 17:32:25

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2010 : 06:04:48

Good idea Jerry!

Edited by - on

ruachwrights
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
258 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2010 : 19:57:48

Nice cruise John! I especially liked the bridge shot. I assume you were single handing... Nice of you to take us along for the ride though.

Vern

Edited by - on

johnsonp
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
606 Posts

Response Posted - 07/30/2011 : 10:20:28

JohnP

For single handling cruising and taking pictures, the sails look good to me.

The arrangement of the food on the plate is Top Drawer.

Thanks for taking the time to post.........

paulj

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3476 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2011 : 13:59:00

Sweet!!! That looked like fun.. Now do it again in October for a good time!

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3468 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2011 : 03:22:56

John,

I am envious of your journey. Taking the timeoff and successfully completing your scheduled route. I have seen other postings of some of your journeys and especially like the way you arrange the write-up with the chart showing details of your route and selected photos taken along the way capturing the adventure. Great snapshot of your crabmeat dinner !!

Edited by - on

Sam001
Vice Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
441 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2011 : 00:37:30

Great job! I sail out of hidden point when I am up there and you make it feel like home! Thanks. Sam

Edited by - on

Arlington
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
196 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2011 : 20:47:26

Hi John thanks very much for sharing your journey, very informative & well written! Okay so now my two questions, (1)what are your two preventers and what do they prevent? Second, you wrote that you took off a few days, how long did it actually take?
Thanks
Doug

Edited by - on

Arlington
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
196 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2011 : 20:48:22

Edited by - on

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1520 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2011 : 14:45:20

Doug,
A preventer is a line attached to the boom that stops its motion when backwinded. If you sail on a broad reach or a run the boom is let out to the leeward side and is held there by the force of the wind. If the boat turns accidentally, or if the wind direction shifts without a corresponding change in course, the wind can, and often does, accelerate the boom back across the cockpit with dire consequences for the crews' heads, for anything caught in the mainsheet flying by, and for the rig itself that is badly stressed by the shock of the sail banging against the mast, stays, and shrouds with great force.

Holding the boom with a preventer is helpful when the wind is moderate or weak, but it's not safe to use in strong winds, because of the need to rapidly adjust the sail trim to the conditions and avoid broaching.

There was a recent discussion on the Forum of preventers you might like to read, too.

Edited by - on

sfsmith
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
123 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2012 : 08:16:57

Thanks for sharing, John. Adventures like yours help sustain me during winter!

Edited by - on

Tradewind
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
531 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2012 : 07:54:54

Great pics, thanks. My first sailing experience was at Kent Island in 1970. I was attending U of Md and my girlfriend lived on Kent Island, she took me sailing one fine afternoon, been hooked on sailing since. I wonder what ever happened to her.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.