Mid-Bay Living Aboard, June 4 – 9, 2014

Having heard, per local knowledge, that there were free moorings available in Weems Creek and elsewhere around Annapolis, I decided to check it out. Previously, I had driven my car to one of the streets that ends on Weems Creek. By Annapolis City Statue, all streets that end at the water are declared free dinghy docks. And one exists on Weems Creek, just a hundred yards from the nearest free mooring.

June 4 trip to Weems Creek

It was a short trip with no breeze, so Kelly IV motored the entire trip as we passed the main campus of the U.S. Naval Academy and one of their sail training vessels, a “Navy 44.” I went slowly by one of the USNA moorings and read that it was the “Property of the USNA, No Trespassing.” Even so, several local sailors had told me the same info, independently, that these moorings were free with the understanding that they must be vacated if required by a USNA vessel, usually only for a hurricane. A few hours later, the Annapolis Harbormaster motored by. Since Kelly IV is already registered with Annapolis, I assume she confirmed my information then moved on. I take that as confirmation of the local knowledge.

Weems Creek, Harness Creek, Back Creek then across the Bay to the Wye River

For an early weekend, Kelly IV sailed Friday morning to Harness Creek, off the South River, just upstream from our anchorage in Duvall Creek. The sail began with a fun wing-and-wing, using Kelly IV's whisker pole to keep the genoa full. The breeze began to dwindle until we were motoring for the final leg of the trip. Although there were a handful of other boats getting an early start on the weekend, we had the evening to ourselves as the sun set and a cool, calm evening settled over the anchorage. It is a beautiful place with a few waterfront homes on the western shore and Quiet Waters Park on the entire eastern shore. The park has numerous hiking trails with lots of wildlife. I saw a snake and some deer while exploring.

Snake in the grass

Deer in Quiet Waters Park

On Saturday I joined a few friends, after a short walk through the park, at a local restaurant to celebrate Chuck's birthday. Chuck has been installing and repairing boat systems, including refrigeration and air conditioning for some decades. He was one of my first friends at Annapolis Landing Marina two years ago when he taught me how to repair Kelly IV's A/C (instead of doing it himself and charging me). Truly a great guy.

The return trip to Annapolis was without wind and we dropped anchor in Back Creek for the night. Next day I sailed a return trip to the Wye River to try out a different anchorage in my quest to take Kelly IV to gunkholes we've never visited. It proved to be a great little spot tucked behind a small peninsula with fish jumping all around Kelly IV. As Wye Island is a park, it is entirely rural, the closest homes are almost 1/2 mile away on the other side of the river making the anchorage feel extremely private and secluded.

Given the protection and security of the USNA moorings, Kelly IV and I returned to Weems Creek on the 9^th. The forecast was for 10-15 knots (gusts to 20k) from the south with 3 foot waves, so I had high hopes for a blustery sail, especially as we'd be running and reaching to the north on the Miles River and the open Chesapeake Bay. The reality was barely 10 knots from the South which petered out to about 5 knots, still from the south. This meant a calm sail north up the Miles River but then we had to motor the entire length of Eastern Bay and Chesapeake Bay.

A couple dolphins played nearby Kelly IV, as we motored up the Severn River toward Weems Creek. Although the breeze began to build a bit, it wasn't worth raising sail for the last minutes into Weems Creek. Of course, as I went to pick up my USNA mooring the wind became blustery and I had to drop my boat hook into the creek as I didn't have enough way on to hold the mooring and slip my line through it. Kelly IV and I came back for a second try after retrieving the first boat hook using my other boat hook. This time all looked good until Kelly IV kept pushing past the mooring until I finally had to drop the second boat hook into the drink. It turns out I forgot to place the transmission in neutral so she kept motoring past the mooring. I soon recovered the second boat hook and made a last effort to pick up the mooring. This time I had enough way to reach the mooring and also left the tranny in neutral so the boat stopped once I got the line strung through the mooring.

Kelly IV and I have now visited 6 new anchorages this past month and are currently settled into Weems Creek. Enough sun peeks between the raindrops so the batteries remain full, I've been doing small projects aboard, watching some DVDs, reading “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,” by Mark Twain, and all is well.