Up the Bay

5/20,21/16  To  38 07.427N,  76 24.940W    Smith Creek off the Potomac River    75.7NM   

With the knowledge that a more significant cold front would arrive Saturday, we hoped to get as far up the Chesapeake as possible before tucking in and waiting for it to pass.  Ideally, we would have liked to gotten as far as Solomons Island, but even with the extra hours of daylight in the spring, 80+NM would be a stretch.  My guess about runoff was correct, a .5+flood was  more like a -1.2 ebb as we headed N.  Even with a sunrise departure, there weren't enough daylight hours in a day. 

Sunrise as we depart our Back Creek anchorage

The ultimate in duck blinds

The forecast (depending on which forecast you believed) for an E wind in the afternoon was wrong, so we didn't have the bit of extra speed we get sailing.  The morning started with light head winds, and by afternoon the bay had an oily, smooth surface that comes with a dead calm, and as the overcast spread, it was difficult to differentiate the sea from the sky.  It was easy motoring, and after the early morning  fishermen rush to get out to where the fish were biting, there was little traffic.  There were surprisingly few bobbers to dodge, just enough 'singles' to keep us on our toes.  The ones we saw out on the bay appeared to be strays, but it only takes 1 line to wrap a prop.

Cormorants sitting on 'G1' at the entrance of the Potomac on a windless afternoon

After looking at various places to tuck in, we decided to check out Smith Creek, the first creek on the N side of the Potomac that looked promising - a narrow entry, but lots of coves to tuck into, out of the wind when it arrived.  Getting that far was a 14 hour day.  George Washington certainly didn't toss a silver dollar across the mouth of the Potomac!  At 10NM wide, it seems to take forever to get across.  Fortunately, with no wind, it was an easy. but still just under 3 hours thanks to an ebb current and an angled course to reach Smith Creek.

A panorama of our cove up Smith Creek

While we ate dinner, 2 other sail boats arrived, looking to join us.  They provided entertainment when one ran aground on his approach, and the other attempted to pull him free with a line.  Eventually he got off and both anchored outside of us.  We would have felt much better if they'd backed down on their anchors instead of just shutting the engine off after dropping the hook.  Part of the reason we sought a snug harbor was the forecast for winds in the 20-25kt range, and we don't want neighbors dragging into us. 

Our trusty Yanmar had occasional hiccups during the day, changing rpm unassisted, not a reassuring sign, indicating a change of fuel filters was due.  This is best done when anchored, so we kept our fingers crossed, held our breath, and continued on our way.  A job to tackle in the Saturday while we sat and waited for the weather to pass. 

Saturday morning, after clearing the back cabin (aka the garage) Leonard found a broken hose clamp on the fuel line, an easy fix, and removed the Racor filter to replace it, but couldn't remove the clear cap, a vital step in the process.  ARGH!  We drained the old filter and cleaned it as much as possible before reinstalling it, hoping it will function until we reach Solomons.  Looking for a replacement unit on line, Leonard discovered our unit has been deemed obsolete, lucky us.  We'll visit a mechanic (lots in Solomons or Annapolis) to see if they can get the darn thing apart in a vise or with a special tool.  Meanwhile we'll do some measuring to see which of the 'new' units will fit in the space available.  As we know, cruising is the art of fixing things in exotic places.

Since we reached Beaufort, our simple wardrobe solution of one set of salty shorts and shirt and one relatively clean one, became insufficient.  We'd become accustomed to warm sunny days with highs in the 80's and have had a rude awakening to cool, cloudy days with showers where,  if we're lucky,  the high may nudge into the low 70's and the wind feels distinctly cool sans sun.  Long pants, sleeves and fleeces replaced layers of sunscreen, so we must be getting closer to home.  We are currently in a no mans zone squished between 2 high pressure systems where the sun is unlikely to reappear until the highs move out to sea, with rain part and parcel of every forecast - we've been taking sunshine for granted.

5/22/16    To  38 20.252N    76 27.604W    Back Creek, Solomon's Island    33.9NM   

Although the weather forecast wasn't promising, we hoped they'd over estimated the wind speed, and headed on our way, as did the 2 boats that had joined us in Smith Creek.  We were anxious to solve our fuel filter issue and nudge a bit closer to home.  We ran the jib out as we headed down the Potomac, but once we turned the corner at Cape Lookout and headed up the bay, it was right into the wind and seas.  As luck would have it, the wind stayed between 10-12kts, preferable to the 15 forecast, keeping the seas between 2'-3'.   While it wasn't fun in the persistent drizzle and showers, the conditions were manageable.  Leonard wished he'd sprayed the connector with a bit more water proofing, another job for the 'to do list' if the weather ever clears (maybe by Tuesday).

Point No Point light house on a very gray day

We crossed fingers and toes that the engine would get enough fuel for us to reach the anchorage at Solomon's.  Suffice it to say the engine stuttered enough times to make it a bit of a stressful day.  Leonard was wishing we'd continued N on Friday when the seas were flat, but who knows what issues we might have encountered then, at least now we could sail if the engine quit, which wouldn't have been a viable option Friday.  Using our unlimited towing with Boat US would be our last resort since we're of 'do it ourselves' school of boating.  We could have launched the dinghy and outboard once we got close enough to port and in the lee of the shore along Drum Point out of the bigger seas and lashed it on the hip.

We made it, and had the anchor set before 1530. While we were underway, Leonard came up with an idea to get the fuel filter apart by McGivering a vise out of some wood pieces we have on board, and got right to work once we were settled.  He succeeded getting the unit apart and installed a new filter.  Once we bled any air out the fuel line, the engine started - a positive sign.  We'd find out if changing fuel filters (we have 2) resolved the problem once we are underway and the engine was working under a load.  We need to take on fuel, with less than a 1/4 tank, and I suspect sloshing the bottom of the tank only added to the already overloaded filter issue.

Early morning reflections of Spring Cove Marina (between rain drops)

5/23/2016  Underway for Annapolis

It rained off and on most of the night, and was still raining when we woke up.  I'd hoped to hike to the store bright and early, before the marina opened, but neither of us was in a hurry to launch the dinghy and hike several miles in the rain.  It was still raining after breakfast, but the radar promised it would let up before long, so once the marina opened, we went to the fuel dock.  We considered asking if we could tie up for a few hours while we hiked to the store, but decided we'd just head on our way to Annapolis. 

Solomon's Island Back Creek anchorage -  I've long admired this boat house and garden

Being only 45NM, it should have been an easy day, but the current god joined ranks with the runoff god, concocting a 1.5 kt current heading for the mouth of the bay.  The wind god didn't help either, although the wind was lighter than Sunday, it was still out of the N at 5-10kts, with 2' seas, which tend to knock close to a kt off our SOG.  With a bit of relief from the ebb current, we may reach Annapolis by 1900, another long day.  So far, we haven't heard the engine stutter, a good sign that problem has been fixed. To be on the safe side, we plan to pick up another secondary filter (we have another primary on board) in Annapolis, just in case.  We have a lot of motoring between here and home!

Iconic Chesapeake work boat hauling pots on the Patuxent River

This fish trap offers a convenient pelican perch and food source

Everything here is cloaked in bright spring green, thanks to all the recent rain.  From what I heard on NOAA, the area had below normal precipitation for the year at the start of May, but is now around 2" over.  It's rained 17 days since May Day (not including today).  We've been thoroughly spoiled by the beautiful sunny weather we enjoyed most of the trip.  The other 2 words that are part of the forecast for the week are 'light' and 'variable', most likely limiting our ability to sail and cover the necessary mileage between anchorages.  From our perspective, L&V is preferable to head winds.

Lynnea