Breezy Evening Sail, August 6, 2013

When Brian and I departed the marina, there was almost no breeze, but perception can be deceiving. A hill standing well over 50 feet above the waters of Back Creek creates the spine that separates Back Creek from the Chesapeake Bay. That ridge also prevents the southeast breeze from entering Back Creek.

Brian kept Kelly IV pointed into the building breeze as we raised our sails in the Severn River, killed the engine and sailed into the open Chesapeake Bay. By the time we cleared the last hazard mark we had a full 18 knot breeze that had me wondering if a reef in the main might have been the better decision. The jib already had a reef in it, but that was just good luck as we wanted to be able to easily see underneath the big, broad genny.

Underway on the Chesapeake Bay

Brian kept the helm and steered Kelly IV along her beam reach, getting boat speeds of greater than 6.5 knots. Although we had only an hour or so to sail before sunset, we joked about sailing to the Bay Bridge since our speed was tempting us to cover the distance in time to beat the sunset. As it was, we tacked and enjoyed another beam reach back into the mouth of the Severn River, gradually falling off the wind and finally gybed the jib to sail on a run, wing and wing. As the waves were much smaller and calmer in the river, Kelly IV kept her wings out and flew along at 6+ knots towards the dinghy racers near the Naval Academy.

Although tempted to claim that we chased the racers off the water, we suspect that the racing was done and the dark clouds and oncoming rain had more to do with the dinghys sailing back home. The jib was gybed again bringing Kelly IV onto a close haul and we tacked a few times to clear our way back to the open waters away from the marks and an anchored cruising yacht.

Tacking into the breeze was noisy and bouncy as the waves burst spray over the bow, but Brian and I just ducked behind the dodger and stayed dry. The rain was a minimal spitting and soon disappeared with a glorious sunset peeking beneath the purple grey sky.

Although brief, this was a grand sail of terrific fun.