Chesapeake Bay Part 1
04 October 2006 | Chesapeake Bay
Jim Lea
USS Constellation in Baltimore
September 28, 2006
Today was a big day. I finished the SSB radio installation! The final connection was to connect up the antenna (I will use the backstay as an antenna. I had two insulators cut in last winter), which required me being hoisted up the backstay as the lower insulator was about two feet above my reach. Then the big test... would it work?? After some fiddling, it appeared to, but the manual was so poorly written that it was very difficult to tell. But in the evening I had more time, and so far, it seems to be working. Now the next job is to learn how to use it. I have three uses planned; voice communication using the allocated marine frequencies, on-board email, and weatherfax reception. But that's tomorrow's job. Today's is to repair the starboard running light which stopped working when we were offshore of New Jersey. It turns out a wire chaffed off, so an easy fix. The weather forecast is for strong north-west winds coming up tonight as a cold front passes through, so we decided to seek more protection than we have here. We sailed down to the next river, the Sassafras, and worked our way in to Turner Creek, which has excellent protection from all sides, Luckily we were able to watch another boat head in just ahead of us, as the entrance is very narrow and has some serious turns requiring us to motor along the shore about 30 feet off. But we were safely in and anchored just as a tremendous squall came through. The lightning stayed a few miles away, but the wind and rain were unbelievable. We stood in the companionway and watched in amazment at the ferocity of it, barely able to make out the dinghy tied off the stern. But it quickly passed, the wind swung to the north-west, the temperature dropped, and we had a quiet night.
September 29, 2006
Today we're heading to Havre de Grace to meet Fraser, Jeannie's brother, who will be sailing with us for a week. The entry is via a five mile channel that winds along the edge of a military installation. Too narrow for sailing in a headwind, we motored up, and took a berth at the municipal marina. It is a nice well run marina, and everyone is very friendly. For the afternoon we took the bikes and went to explore the town. We went to the library in hopes of being able to get on-line, but no wireless, so we were unable to post this. Internet access continues to be a real headache. We then bought a few supplies and headed back to clean up the boat while waiting for Fraser. He arrived about 7 pm, and we had dinner and were off to bed.
September 30, 2006
Today we left Havre de Grace after using Fraser's truck for a grocery shopping expedition. With a following breeze, we were able to sail down the channel, and returned up the Sassafras but went further upstream to Woodland Creek where we spent the night.