June Weeklong—the Confused Cruise
By Luci Stone
S/V Tidechaser
In years past, the June Cruise was known as the Summer Solstice Cruise as it occurs during the summer solstice. Then we called it the Wild West Cruise as we planned to hit destinations that were all on the western shore. Then COVID-19 hit and it was the COVID Cruise. Call it what you want, as usual, sailing with NC3 is always eventful, sometimes suspenseful but always fun.
Day One Saturday June 20
Cruise participants trade weather reports from their favorite apps as participants get ready to depart from many ports. Isabel from Gunpowder, TideChaser and The Great Esc from Cutter and Halcyon, Afternoon Delight and Saranac form Maryland Marina. Halcyon and furry crew were out of the gate first. TideChaser and The Great Esc left Cutter with threat of storms and hung out by Bowley’s Quarters waiting for the storm to pass. After half hour and no storm, we headed out through the cut and to the south entrance of Rock Hall. We got hit with a major thunderstorm and blinding downpour that just about stopped the minute we got the anchor down. Halcyon beat most of the storm but still experienced some as they approached Swan Creek and Haven Harbor where they docked for the evening.
Afternoon Delight and Saranac wisely waited a bit and then stayed on the western shore. They anchored in the Bodkin and taunted us with photos of their sunny happy hour. Meanwhile, we had rain on and off all night.
Isabel had engine trouble and had to sail home in the storm. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to sail in that terrible downpour with lightning and thunder. We were all worried and waiting to hear of their return to safety. Later that night Steve emailed me to let us know that they made it back and tied to their mooring but had to wade into shore.
Day Two Sunday June 21
The sun was out and TideChaser, The Great Esc, Afternoon Delight and Luna headed to Annapolis harbor to pick up a ball. Halcyon and crew docked at Annapolis Maryland Capital Yacht Club and Saranac had to head back. On the way The Great Esc had an issue with his alternator belt. Captain Dave threw up his sails to maintain steerage and go below to check things out. He found a loose belt so we sailed for awhile until we had to resort to our engines. We were sticking with him and even though he was babying his engine he was faster than us. Later in the day we all masked up and headed into Annapolis for apps at Middleton Tavern, one of the places that had set up outside tables on the street. We split into two goups as six per table is the limit. Afternoon Delight enjoyed a Father’s Day visit from daughter Laura and her boyfriend Chance who drove in to hang out with them for the evening.
Day Three Monday June 22
And then there were four as Halcyon had to head back home. The race was on and the rest of us had a fabulous sail all the way to Hartge on the West River. It’s always nice when the winds cooperate and allow you to sail to your destination. However, it’s not so nice when those same winds scream down the marina fairways making our boats feel like pinball balls at a marina where you are pretty much on your own. But we all finally got in and got tied off.
We had happy hour and dinner delivered from the West River Pit BBQ at the lovely waterfront picnic area. However, we had to gobble down dinner as fast as we could as a storm was fast approaching. We all huddled below on our boats and after the rain ended around 8:00 PM we had dock cocktails to plan for the next few days. While at Hartge Luna was having electric/AC issues which were resolved with the help of the fleet and especially from Dave of Great Esc.
Day Four Tuesday June 23
Before casting off at Hartge Dave Wisel gave us some line throwing lessons. He demonstrated how to lasso a piling from several feet away. We all gave it a try and to our surprise most of us were successful. It’s a helpful trick to have up your sleeve when docking away from your home marina.
After the lasso lessons we were off to Tilghman Creek and as always, the race was on. TideChaser tried to slow down Afternoon Delight by dropping a sailing glove in the water and asking them to retrieve it. No way, I’m thinking. They are a few hundred yards back and will not even be able to see a navy blue glove in the water. Unbelievably, they not only found it but with Karen at the helm and Bryant with a boat hook they rescued it!
The Great Esc, who injured his back, still managed to pass us like we were standing still. We were able to eventually catch up and pass him medical supplies under sail. We provided an ace bandage so he could ice his back. Afternoon Delight provided some drugs to ease the pain until Dave could get to St. Michael’s and visit an Urgent Care facility.
Endeavor was heading back from his ICW adventure with Abraxas and planned to meet us in Tilghman Creek. Sadly, Abraxas had to head home.
The winds were strong all night in Tilghman Creek which kept it a little cooler. We all anchored and went boat hopping by dinghy.
Day Five Wednesday June 24
TideChaser, Afternoon Delight, The Great Esc, Luna and Endeavor headed for St. Michael’s. We had another great day of sailing, mostly on the jib, for us at least. We all got slips at Higgins Yacht Yard. We found out later that the young dock hand who helped us dock was the owner, Jon Clarke who if you look on their website has a very impressive boating resume. I also found out that Higgins has been in existence and boat building since the late 1700s.
Just to keep things exciting, Luna lost power and steering outside of St. Michael’s harbor. After a few unsuccessful attempts to get her started, Endeavor to the rescue. Endeavor got close and they tied on a tow line to bring them in. Marina owner Jon moved a boat or two so that they could dock on the center t-dock. Crew from TideChaser and Afternoon Delight were there to help Luna dock and tie off.
After everyone settled down a bit it was off to the grocery store to re-provision for some and to Urgent Care for Dave. Later, most of us headed to the Crab Claw to sit on their dock for drinks and apps.
Day Six Thursday June 25
Afternoon Delight, TideChaser and The Great Esc headed to Lankford Bay Marina on Davis Creek. After the Higgins mechanic topped off Luna’s transmission fluid, they seemed to be OK but they decided to stay at Higgins another day to be sure or maybe just because St. Michael’s is a great place to hang out. Endeavor headed to Swan Creek. Winds were light sailing up the Chester so we sailed for awhile but eventually we resorted to motor power. We arrived around 3:00. We were less than thrilled to see the staff take our credit cards without wearing masks: Hartge and Annapolis were most careful with that. The rains came around 4:00. The skies cleared around 6:00 and we had happy hour on the hill by the pool. Chris managed to spill an entire glass of wine all over Karen. But of course, TideChaser goes nowhere without a supply of Wine Out. So, Chris soaked her with Wine Out which worked. Lucky for us Karen is a very good sport. More rain at 9:00 broke up the party.
Day Seven June 25
After the usual morning puttering about the three boats departed for a final destination of Swan Creek. Once again, the sailing gods (not the flying spaghetti monster gods) were with us and we had a great sail down the Chester. At this point The Great Esc headed home to nurse his still aching back. Endeavor, who anchored in Swan overnight also headed home from his very long journey down the ICW and then with us. As of this writing, Luna was still out there sailing around. Afternoon Delight and TideChaser were joined in Swan Creek by Tally Ho and Angel K. TideChaser and Angel K dinked around so we could all visit.
