You might want to get a drink or pee or something before starting this.
So, you’re wondering about my weekend. Well, get comfy, and I’ll tell you all about it.
Friday, Jan 16, I loaded the cat and all his stuff into the Beetle, along with my stuff. We were on the road before 5AM, headed to Baltimore. For whatever reason, His Felineness decided he wanted to make the trip under my feet. Well, not directly under, but he was lying at the base of the driver’s seat most of the day. When I’d have to stop for fuel or a potty break, I’d have to pull him up and put him in his carrier. Didn’t want to take any chances on him bolting somewhere along the road.
All went apace until I crossed into Maryland and made my turn on to Rt. 234 south. I got stuck behind a semi. There are lots of ups and downs along that road. He didn’t exceed the limit on the downs, and he got down to about 30 MPH on some of the longer ups. I was finally able to get around him in Leonardtown. I called FairyChatDad and asked him to go directly to the post office and get a PO Box, since I didn’t think I’d make it in time.
He just barely got there – and we’ve got a mailing address now. Yay. Then we went to the marina. We transferred the stuff from my car to his, locked up the Beetle, and drove to Baltimore. I think the poor kitty was happy to finally be home.
The weather continued to be a concern. Part of the reason I drove up on Friday instead of Thursday was that Sunday looked to be the better day for boat moving. But by the time I got there, Saturday was looking better. However, we had things that had to get done and there wasn’t enough time to get ready for a Saturday trip by Friday evening. So it was pretty much decided by default.
Sat AM, we drove up to my mom’s to get our sails and some of FCD’s warm clothing that we’d stored there. While at Mom’s, I talked to my youngest sister about helping us move FCD’s car to Solomons. Then we said a hasty goodbye, promised to spend more time visiting when I come back in February, and we headed back into town. Along the way, we decided that my sister would follow me while FCD prepped the engine and the boat for the trip. I had a list of things I had to buy, too, so it turned out to be a good plan.
My sister met us at the marina just after noon. We left FCD to do whatever he needed to do on the boat, and she followed me to Solomons. It’s a 2-hour drive, and by the time we got there, I was starving. We left the car at the marina, and she drove us to the restaurant where I was buying lunch (part of the bribe for her services. A tankful of gas was the other) After a nice meal, we stopped at West Marine and got some damage control plugs – just in case – then headed back to Baltimore. We stopped for some groceries and water, and she dropped me off just before 5.
FCD had the boat all ready to go and we discussed the plans for the next day. High tide was at 2:34 AM, and we wanted to ride the tide out, so we planned to get up at 3 and get underway as soon as we could. Oh yeah – it snowed Saturday evening…
Well, we went to bed early, and I woke up about 2. I hate when that happens. When the alarm went off at 3, we dragged ourselves out of the warm bed and pulled on some clothes. He started the engine and turned on the computer. We have GPS and a program that puts our boat on the chart within a few yards of its actual location. If we had an autopilot, we could used it to steer the boat, too. But we don’t. The steering is manual.
After FCD unplugged our power and pulled in the dock lines, we were underway – approximately 3:40 AM. We putt-putted through the harbor, past Fort McHenry, and turned toward the Key Bridge. Enroute, we passed a tug guiding a Wallenius Line car-carrying ship towards its berth. Tugs turn on every light they have when they’re working, so it was really easy to see.
Once we passed under the Key Bridge, it got very dark very fast. It also got rougher as we approached the mouth of the river. There in the dark as we crashed through the building waves, we heard a couple of “thunks” on the hull. That’s a scary sound in the best of times, and it really freaked us that morning. I was on the helm and FCD checked below, but everything seemed to be fine. A little later, I figured out that the thunking was the two fenders that were hanging over the port side. FCD had forgotten to pull them in, and I threatened him so he wouldn’t try to do it there in the dark.
We both knew at this point that if it hadn’t been for our software, we wouldn’t have been making the trip at that time in that weather. Looking back, we probably should have thought twice about it anyway… But we forged ahead, and soon turned south, headed for the Bay Bridge. We saw another tug ahead, pushing a barge toward the Patapsco, and then it was dark again.
Channel markers were hard to spot. The bay was rough – waves were crashing against the bow and spraying over the deck. Thankfully, neither of us is susceptible to motion sickness. Visibility was poor – I think we only made out one of the lighthouses along the route. We were fairly close to the Bay Bridge before we could see the lights of cars crossing it. We were south of the bridge before it began to get light.
Just south of Annapolis, there were three ships at anchor. We didn’t realize they were at anchor till we got fairly close – in fact, I steered a course to the stern of one, just in case it was moving slowly. But FCD saw their anchor chain, so that was good. I’m assuming the three were waiting for pilots and tugs to get them into Baltimore.
A wee bit south of Annapolis, when we were just east of Thomas Point Light, we got a radio call from a ship that was northbound in the bay. He was well east of us and we were headed due south. He asked if we had him on radar and we informed he we didn’t have radar. Then he got all snotty with us for that. I was proud of FCD – he didn’t go off on the guy. Fact is, radar is not required. And we weren’t a danger to this guy – especially since he had us on his radar. GRRRRRR – I’m still pissed at him for his attitude. Give a man command of a ship and he thinks he’s something.
By this time, it was as light as it was going to be. Visibility was under a mile. It was raining. The wind was from the south, so it was helping waves build and it added to the rough ride. And we putt-putted along, following our little boat on the electronic chart, trying hard not to consider what would happen if the computer crashed. Dead reckoning isn’t bad when you can pick out landmarks, but it’s a booger when you’re blind.
About that time, we noticed that the port fuel tank was down to under ¼ full, but the starboard tank was almost completely full. It was apparent that the starboard fuel line was not supplying anything. FCD explained the fuel system to me. The fuel system is configured so that both tanks feed to a “T” and from there, the fuel pump sucks the go juice and sends it to the engine. There was a blockage in one line. We had no way of getting fuel from the starboard tank to the port tank.
FCD thought the problem was a plugged fuel filter. I asked if there was a way to bypass it. He thought a bit, then lifted the floor panels. Our engine room is under the pilothouse. We couldn’t risk turning off the engine, so he went down there with the clackety-clackety racket, studying the fuel plumbing. He figured out that he could bypass the first filter and send the fuel directly to the second filter. Meanwhile, I’m driving the boat, straining to see anything outside, hoping we didn’t have to rely on our sail, because the wind was starting to die. Just a little stress.
As we continued south, we were hailed by a tug with a tow that was to the west of us heading south. He wanted to let us know he was overtaking us. We eventually saw him about a half a mile away or so – not much more than a shadow in the fog. I backed the engine to idle, and FCD engineered the bypass, being careful not to let any air into the fuel line. Losing prime on a marine diesel is not good. Not good at all.
I powered back up, and after a few minutes, he turned off the fuel from the port tank. We held our breath, but the engine continued to propel us along. Whew.
May I say right here that this is yet another reason why I love sailing with FCD. I can’t tell you how many times he’s helped us avert a bad situation by knowing what to do and doing it. I might have been able to figure out the fuel thing myself eventually, if I took the time to study the system, but he just knew what he needed to do and how to do it. He can’t navigate for beans, but he keeps the boat going. I keep it going in the right direction. We’re a good team.
Shortly thereafter, another northbound ship called and said we were headed right at each other. So we turned to the west a bit, then turned to follow the track of the tug. Apparently the first captain, the asshole, told every other captain about the sailboat out there without radar. When they hailed us, they called us by name – the only idiot sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay in the fog on a Sunday in January.
About that time, we saw the CNG platform off Calvert Cliffs. I knew what they were and I didn’t think much about it till FCD mentioned Homeland Security. Apparently, there is a ¾ mile no-enter zone around that platform. I think we were within the zone. But we were obviously not moving fast, nor were we headed toward the platform. I told FCD to keep an eye out for gunboats, and we kept going south.
This brought us to the home stretch. We were in familiar waters, even if we couldn’t see. We used to keep Wandering Star in Solomons when we lived in Virginia. We were coming home. Since we’d gotten a bit off our original track, FCD worked out a new course for me, gave me my new heading, then donned his raincoat and went on deck to prepare the dock lines. As soon as we rounded Drum Point, I was able to relax. We were out of the bay and in the Patuxent River. We were headed for Back Creek and Beacon Marina. We were close enough to land to be able to navigate that way.
It had been 4 years since I’d been on the water there, but I remembered things that FCD had forgot, keeping us from running aground once. He took the wheel and I donned the raincoat. By this time, it was raining steadily, but the wind was dead calm. The water in the creek was like glass. We ghosted toward the marina and I saw our cars in the parking lot – which made it easy to pick out our dock and our slip.
I went to the bow. FCD maneuvered us so that we could back into our slip. I secured the bowlines and a starboard spring line. He hopped off and tied the stern lines, then we added a port spring. He plugged in our power cord and I turned off the engine and the instruments. We were home. It was a little past 2 – we made the 67-mile trip in 10.5 hours.
That evening, the wind kicked up something fierce. The temperature dropped and it was bitterly cold. Looking back, we probably would have been better off going on Saturday instead of Sunday, but it doesn’t matter, does it? We got there safely, lack of radar notwithstanding. We lay down to take a nap, but all of a sudden we weren’t tired. So we went out for dinner.
I spent Monday doing errands while FCD was at work. Part of the day was spent in a Laundromat. I can’t remember the last time I had to do my laundry in public. I also got some groceries, did the dishes, and filled the water tank (I ran out as I was doing the dishes.)
Tuesday morning, I left by 4:30AM, and I got back to Jax by 5PM. FCD and the cat are getting into their new routine. He’s looking into DirecTV and wireless internet on the boat. I had ordered a phone line, but that got messed up, and we may not bother with it after all. He’s got his cell and when he gets back on line, he’ll have IM again.
It was a good weekend. I’m going back on Feb 12, dragging a trailer load of stuff. He’ll get a storage unit by then. And in April, if all goes well, we’ll start working on the new house. Now, all I need is a job at Pax.
When we go boating together, we lean toward our strengths. It works well.