Stardate: 06232011.1600
It was our second time out on the new Midnight Breeze. Once again we were headed to Cantlers for an overnight stay. The weather was in the mid eighties, clear with 5-10 knot winds. We made it through the narrows without incident and the closer I got to the anchorage the more relax I was getting. We had just entered the no-wake zone of 6 knots or less when I asked Mary to go up front and get ready to drop the anchor when I give the signal. All of the sudden the boat lurched forward! You know that sick feeling you get, deep down in the darkest pit of your stomach when that happens. Yes, we had grounded her in the mud. Mary gave me that "you trying to throw me overboard" look and all I could do was crawl into the deepest and darkest hole I can find in my mind and hide out. As soon as I realized we had grounded I looked at the depth gauge and saw 6.1 feet. We have a 5.5 ft. keel. I should have 6 inches to go! Oh well. It took three tries but I was able to back her off into deeper water before calling Sea-Tow. Other than that little incident, the weekend went off without a hitch. I even backed the boat into the slip without hitting the dock this time. And to top the night off we had the Chesapeake's finest, Blue Crabs! This past weekend we just stayed on the boat since it was a short weekend and I had to go to DC on Tuesday for work. My daughter Angela brought the grandkids to the new boat for the first time for Fathers Day. My grandaughter Sam and my grandson Ethan had a great time just as I did. It was great seeing them. My son could not make it because he was studying for his final for flight school. So we went out on Monday after he took his solo flight. He's still flying high today! No, dad did not go a watch. This coming week will also be a short week since Mary has to work on Tuesday. Our boating days are Sunday-Tuesday. Mary has off the same days as I do so that works out just fine most of the time. We'll be getting ready for our anniversary cruise this weekend. We both took 12 days off and decided to point Midnight Breeze south and just go. We'll stop off in St. Michaels for the Fourth of July weekend and then head further south to Solomons Island for a couple of days before reversing our course and heading home.
Until next time stay safe!
Dave