Desert Island Explored – August 9–11, 2013

Quinn said let's explore an island! So we did!

Friday night traffic was a bear, delaying Chris and his boys, Quinn and Jarrett, from arriving as early as they'd hoped. As soon as gear and provisions were stowed aboard, we climbed into the trusty Portland Pudgy dinghy for the brief water ride to Eastport. Dinner at the Boatyard was excellent and the pudgy saw to the safe return of all four of us.

Chris and I had not seen each other in several years so we had some catching up to do. That abbreviated our sleep as we talked into the wee hours and were underway before 10am. Kelly IV wasn't much of a stretch.

Murph provisioning, by Chris Button

Jarrett had driven the entire trip from Philly to Annapolis, so taking the helm of of Kelly IV wasn't much of a stretch. 

Jarrett drives Kelly IV

In fact, he proved to be an excellent helmsman as he steered us into the wind for raising the mainsail, then motorsailed out of the Severn River, into the Chesapeake Bay, and under the expanse of the Bay Bridge.

Chris has a real talent capturing great visuals with his photographs and he created some wonderful examples using the bridge. Be sure to click these photos for the larger version.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge by Chris Button

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Spans by Chris Button

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Curves by Chris Button

Quinn was not to be outdone by his big brother as he took the helm and guided Kelly IV safely out of the main channel past the shoals at the Sandy Point Lighthouse and into the channel entering the Magothy River.

Quinn takes the helm, by Chris Button

Dobbins Island marks the southern edge of Sillery Bay and was already collecting a few boats in the anchorage. The island is a long sliver of mud and sand that stands about thirty feet high at the cliffs forming its southern edge and collapses to a small sandy beach along its northern shore.

Dobbins Island Cliff by Chris Button

The eastern and western points are just that, points where the northern and southern shores meet. The island is barely 100 feet at its widest point. The island is not a desert as it is covered in trees, but it is deserted in the sense that no one is living there.

Immediately upon the dinghy's arrival, Quinn was off exploring and Jarrett was using his track skills to catch up. Despite the island's small size, the young men disappeared for an hour searching out the various trails, shores, cliffs, trees, birds, waves and beach. I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration, although vicariously, when they reported their findings on the dinghy ride back to Kelly IV.

Sillery Bay Sunset by Chris Button

Sunset Colors by Chris Button

Jarrett and Quin by Chris Button

The sail on Sunday actually included some nice sailing as the very light northeasterly was the perfect direction as Kelly IV sailed a beam reach back towards the bridge. The breeze gradually dissipated into nothing and we wrapped up the fun weekend at the marina with an hour in the pool.

Below are more great pics taken by Chris.

Flight over Sillery Bay by Chris Button

Kelly IV's Ensign at Sunset by Chris Button

Sandy Point Lighthouse by Chris Button

Quinn by Chris Button

Jarrett by Chris Button

Kelly IV in her slip by Chris Button

by Chris Button

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.