Cruising

We participate in several regattas and sponsor one or two a year.  The cruises are usually overnight - we may have hors d'oeuvres on one boat, dinner at a marina restaurant, and Sunday morning pancakes on another boat. We also have a week-long cruise up the Chesapeake Bay. The purpose of the club is to promote sailing.....
and we know that you'll enjoy the camaraderie.

2005 Cruise D' Chessie

Many us of steal time in our busy lives to catch a few minutes of sailing. Often times it only consists of racing around the cans during the weekly afternoon races, or just going out for an afternoon to get away. We live in such a rush about world today that people don’t make time to do things just to relax. That’s what sailing is all about, getting away from life and doing something that we enjoy. To be able to get under way, only be responsible to your crew and your only boss is the weather and when you have to be back. It’s something that most of the people that you know can’t say that they can do.

Even though I crew on Wednesday nights, and love doing it, if just to be on the water and to tune some of my sail handling skills, my first love is to cruise. Now cruising doesn’t have to mean taking off for some destination far away it’s more of a state of mind for sailing. It’s when you put up your sails with a destination in mind and if the wind changes so be it. You adjust your sails making it a longer or a shorter sail that day. Change your destination. Then toss the cell phone down into the cabin and turn up the favorite song that just came on the radio and enjoy the sail.

 That is pretty much how the Cruise D’ Chesapeake went this year. After finding out that we had a leaking fuel tank on the Wednesday before we where suppose to leave. Kathy and I were wondering if we were going to be able to get the leaking tank out and another tank in, by the time to get under way by Saturday morning.  Then Saturday morning receiving a call that the slips we had reserved wouldn’t be available just seemed to top things off. But while I was finishing up on the fuel tank Kathy started calling around and found slips that could be had for everyone that wanted them. She even took all the phone calls that started coming in. (Thanks Hun!!)  Not a great start for a cruise I must admit. But things only get better from there! When we get under way guess what? It started to rain. Not a little shower but a good summer time thunderstorm soaker that came in early and lasted until we made it to South Hall Landing Marina across from the Salt Ponds Marina. Soaked tired and a little frustrated about not having dockage space across the way, I took a shower and decided that we where on vacation and to not let it get to me and curled up with a good book. This was a good thing because the next day turned out to be a textbook sailing day!

            Waking up to the cell phone ringing was the first thing about Sunday that I remember. It was Jay Wright and family on Arial wondering what slip we were at made me fully awake. After some coffee, and a chance for us to talk while waiting for the wind to die down a little on the bay we headed out for Mobjack Bay.

What a great sail! Blue skies and steady winds, never under 8 knots all the way up. Even the crab pot lines were out of the way! We went to the anchorage in the Ware River that Kathy and I have been to several times. We did a much-deserved swim call until it was almost dark, a late supper and then we all turned in for the night. Many of us have to have all creature comforts when we go out. But sometimes when you leave the party docks and fancy restaurants behind you find unexpected pleasures abound. The kids love to jump off the boat to swim almost as much as they love the fancy dock side pool. If there is a great breeze, like we had that night, it’s cooler than sweating dockside.

            Waking up early to watch the sunrise and to make some coffee before the rest of my crew woke up. I was surprised to find out that I had company already up. It was Jay’s son, Sean, poking his head out of their cabin and letting me know that we needed to be quiet because his Mom was still asleep but he was going to go fishing with his Dad. If you haven’t seen a young boy fishing in a while you need to. Combine the enthusiasm of being young with doing something with your Dad and you have a Hallmark moment that you can watch all day. And the best part, he was catching fish!

 After fishing we got under way for Deltaville. The day looked promising with winds like the day before but by lunchtime had died to almost zero. So we ended up motor sailing the last part of the day.  Tying up at Deltaville Marine, doing swim calls and going out to dinner kept the day relaxed. That night the Wright family was wondering if they would have time to make it up Tangier Island or see any of the Eastern Shore before they had to be home Wednesday. So being in the cruiser mode we adjusted our sails and suggested Onancock. That way they could get a taste of the Eastern Shore and still make it home in time. The next day we had another great day of sailing. And an unexpected phone call from Jim Van Dyke who was about a day behind us and was wondering where we where planning on being Wednesday.  So after walking around town, eating, and going to the fireman’s carnival we walked back to the boats and said our goodbyes, to Jay and his crew. And Crusader and crew where going to be heading back over to meet up with Jim at Deltaville in the morning. But promised that next time they would love to do it again and see Tangier.

             Kathy and I awoke before the kids so we did a little walk around town stopping at the bakery picking up fresh donuts for the crew and stopping at the Hardware store just to look around. Now this is not your box hardware store but a true small town one that you may find almost anything in and usury will if you look long enough.  And we did when we where told that in another hour or so the lady at the counter was expecting fresh corn on the cob and tomatoes to be coming in. That was enough to keep us in town for a while longer. It made for quite a sight seeing Kathy and Mariah coming down the street shucking corn and putting it all into a bag, no one is taking any notice what so ever. Underway the wind started to pick up and we really wished that we didn’t have such a long motor to get out of the river from Onancock. But once out we had sails up a good breeze took us most of the way back to Deltaville. A swim call so that the heat wasn’t so bad, before Jim and Crew got there.

Thursday started with all of us watching the weather reports. And all of them where calling for the weather to turn rainy. Thursday afternoon. So rather than sitting in the rain for a day or so in Tangier then heading home we changed our plans and decided to head home early and then if the weather let us we’d head back out after the rain ended.  Jim did the same thing just they headed to Sara’s Creek so that they could be closer in case the rain didn’t let up. We just had one problem no wind! And we didn’t have a lot of promise for the wind to come around like it was suppose to do according to the weather reports. So we motored home, all the way home. But we had a break that made it all worth it.

Dolphins were off Mobjack Bay, not one or two but 12 to 14 all playing around the boat and checking us out. It was about an hour before we moved out of the area that they where in as we started the engine again and went on back to our slip in Hampton.

            The only bad part about it that the rain never came and we didn’t make it to Tangier like planned but we did enjoy ourselves with out having to stick to a set schedule. And after sleeping at home for a night we decided to just day sail for the weekend. Any sailing is enjoyable but sailing without feeling like you have to be somewhere no matter what and changing with the wind and weather recharged our batteries and made the week all the more enjoyable.

Mike Barber and crew of SV Crusader