Chesapeake Bay (11/11/2014)

I found a quote from L.A. Meyer in an article by Lisa Frost in the recent Old Boat magazine that also applies to me: "We clear the harbor and the wind catches her sails and my beautiful ship leans over ever so gracefully, and her elegant bow cuts clearly into the increasing chop of the waves.  I take a deep breath and my chest expands and my heart starts thumping so strongly i fear others might see it beat through the cloth of my jacket.  I face the wind and my lips peel back from my teeth in a grin of pure joy."

I think that most sailors feel that way.  There is something magical in sailing a boat.  For me it is when I shut off the outboard and the boat keeps going propelled by the wind.  It is an amazing thing, the silence and the feel of the boat underneath you.  I simply love it.

This was the feeling I had going out on Tuesday.  It was misty and the winds were light.  But despite all that it was still exhilarating to be out, to shut off the motor, pull it up and settle in at the helm for a few hours sail with a friend.  During our sail trip we saw lots of overwintering water fowl, a few recreational fishing boats and one of the scallop boats (pictured below).  We got a little wet but felt sad when we had to start the engine and return to port.

Chesapeake Bay (8/7/2014)

Came home last night, ate a quick left over/reheated or as we say at home second hand dinner and we went sailing.  It was a beautiful evening; the wind was from the northeast and there were some waves.  Just floating along, with only the main up.  Absolutely wonderful evening.  All the ospreys and their chicks were panicking when we sailed to close to their nests on the channel markers.
On the way out, one of the scallop boats was either ready to go out or doing a test run.  I shot this photo of the boat.  A great sight indeed.  We were back at the slip by 8:30 just in time for it to get dark.  A wonderful evening, absolutely worth repeating.

Claxton Creek (7/5/2014)

I generally tend to stay away from posting pictures of my family, but it being the 4^th of July weekend, I feel more brazen (I guess).  The picture below was taken on the 5^th.  We decided to motor out to Claxton Creek, hang a tarp over the boom of our sailboat, put the boarding ladder down, throw in the floating seat and just spend an afternoon swimming, floating and trying to clean the hull a bit.  It was great weather (which it usually is after the passing of a hurricane), and it simply was a lot of fun; very relaxing. 

Claxton Creek is fairly secluded and sheltered from the waves off the Bay.  We anchored in water that was approximately 6 feet deep.  We have seen jelly fish in the creek (but not this time) and dolphins.  There are a few crab pots and there is an abandoned (partially submerged) sailboat in the creek, for someone to salvage, although I think it has been there a while and it would be too much work to fix up.  I am really wondering if the motor in the boat still has fuel and oil in it and what the impacts would be when they finally deteriorate that much and rupture.  Oh well.

In the background of the photograph you see the SeafordScallop Company at the entrance to Back Creek which leads to the marina we are members of.  Just a nice relaxing weekend; I am ready to go back out there and teach people about stormwater management.

Seaford (7/7/13)

Scallop fleet ... Seaford in York County is the home of the Seaford Scallop Company, one of the largest companies in the area.  As I understand it, they go out off the New Jersey coast to harvest them.  I heard this is sustainable fisheries.  We kayaked by the boats Sunday afternoon; they were very quiet being the long weekend of the 4th.