Back Creek to Rhode River

Day 4, Saturday, October 1, 2016. 

You can monitor our trip at the link: Second Winds Progress Live

And it is still raining.  It rained off and on all day today. 

We began our day with a walk to a local confectionery

Little Star leading the way out of Back Creek

called Bake and Company where our friend, Bob, bought a box of assorted breakfast baked goods.  We returned to Little Star and joined Barb and Jim for some wonderful scones and coffee.  We gathered to discuss plans for the days cruise.  I looked like there would be a window of no rain shortly after noon and the wild had moderated so we decided to head out for the Rhode River.  Our original plan was to cross to the Eastern Shore but with a shortened sailing day, we opted for the shorter trek down the Western Shore.

We spent the morning communing with our neighbors along the dock.  They all know each other from working at the boat shows over the last several years.  As

Thomas Point Light House

soon as the shows are over, they head out to various separate destinations.  Most of these folks are relatively young and I am amazed by the size and quality of the boats on which they are living.  I assume that it is just like buying a house.  It is their living investment.  I do understand that maintaining a large boat is really expensive and am amazed that they can afford their life style on a transient salary, whatever it happens to be.

At around 1:00, we decided to cast off our mooring lines and head out.  Getting out of the slip was decidedly easier than backing in.  We followed Little Star out of Back River into the main bay.  Jim had called the weather right.  It wasn’t raining and there was a nice breeze albeit that it was heavily overcast and  foggy.

Once out in the main bay, I set up our chart plotter on course to a buoy about 3

And it was foggy

miles down the coast, raised our sails and set the tiller pilot to steer us on.  And then, it began to rain.  The winds were such that we cruised along at about 4 knots on a broad reach.  During squalls of rain, the winds would increase a bit and then drop off as the rains slackened a bit. 

At the Thomas Point Lighthouse, we swung back west and ran about 4 miles to the mouth of the Rhode River.  With the winds now at our back, our jib became useless, flopping from side to side, refusing to set and pull its own weight.  I used the whisker pole to hold it out to the port side and we ran wing-and-wing, or “wung out” all the way to the Rhode.  Running before the wind is not the fastest point of sail and our speed dropped to between 2.5 and 4 knots, depending of the passing squalls. By this time, there was significant fog which dropped our visibility to about ¾ of a mile. 

Commercial crabber checking his traps

At one point, three small catamarans came flying past our bow.  They appeared out of the fog in what appeared to be a race.  The crew were all hiking way out as the boats were flying the windward pontoon. 

As lousy as the weather was, I was amazed at the number of sailboats that were out on the bay.  It is possible that they are part of the buildup for the upcoming boat show.

Little Star sails considerably faster than we do and had long since sailed out of our sight. We caught up to them a short distance up the Rhode River where they had dropped anchor in a broad cove called Canning House Bay. We pulled up alongside and rafted with them.

Aboard, we joined our friends for wine and party mix before Jim produced a pile of really thick pork chops that he later grilled for our combined dinners.  Jim also had fresh broccoli which Barb steamed.  Barb provided steamed rice and Janine and I baked a spice blob cake for dessert. 

After dinner we sat around spinning yarns until dark.  While the others cleaned up, I cast off Second Wind, moved her over about 100 yards and secured her on her own anchor. I put the motor on the back of Damn Dink Too and headed back to pick up Janine.  After our appropriate goodbyes, we headed back to our boat and to bed.  It was still raining.