So I figured that I would give you all an update to my trip.
I left on Friday 5-22-15 out of my marina. We had ideal conditions with the winds out of the Northwest 10-15 knots the whole day with gusts to 20 at times. I did 29 miles and anchored up in a place called Price's Cove.
On 5-23-15 I left out of Price's Cove and went a few miles to Smith Creek. There I was rafted up with a Catalina 30, Catalina 34, Hunter 356, and a Pacific Seacraft 37 for the night. Drinks and good times were had by all.
Yesterday I sailed out of Smith Creek and rounded point lookout. Winds were out of the South at 10-15 with some higher gusts. I was under my full jib and main. It wasn't bad and a ways after Point No Point the wind started to really lighten up. I decided that I was tired of doing 2.5 knots against the current so I decided to pop the spinnaker. I got it up and sailed with it for over an hour. The winds started to stiffen up and come out of the South. Pretty soon I was sailing downwind in 15 knots of wind with the spinnaker up. I decided to take it down and it was a good thing. I blanketed it behind the main, turned on the tiller pilot, and pulled the spinnaker in. This was really good timing because the wind built up to 20 knots. As we were coming into the Pax River the wind was a stiff 20 knots behind me and the waves were HUGE. There was a large swell going against the current and there is a shoal in the area of the Pax River. The end result was some crazy waves that were steep and almost breaking. A few seemed to be level with the top of the stern rail. I made it though that in about 30 minutes and I went into the Pax River where I was greeted by Memorial Day boat traffic just as the wind died. I motored the last 1/4 mile into Solomons Island.
All of the crew work stuff is fun. In high winds it is pretty wild when you are single handed. The autopilot is a huge help. The nice thing is that I am traveling with another boat, a Catalina 34 owned by my Uncle. They do call and check on me and I will usually let them know if I am going forward in rough weather.
Today we are holding fast in Solomons Island. The winds are forecasted to stay out of the South for most of the week. This would be favorable for going up the Chesapeake bay but I am feeling like staying in the Middle Bay. I am not sure where I am going to go from here but with this forecast of the winds staying south 10-15 I want to hang around the Middle Bay.
What has worked:
1. The solar system is amazing. It is keeping everything maintained.
2. Bedding. I have a egg crate mattress and then king size fitted sheet, then a regular sheet, a blanket, and a comforter. In the mornings I Roll the bedding up and forward to the front of the V berth. All I undo are the corners of the fitted sheet. Once it is rolled I have access to the porta potty and I put my bike in the V berth during the day. This is very good and it is helping a lot.
3. Dry Bags! These are awesome. I have 2 medium size and 1 large size dry bags. I have my clothes packed into the bags and the bags fit under the starboard settee. This way I don't have to move a clothes bag around. If I do get water in there, which I haven't despite getting pounded a few times by rough weather, the clothes will stay dry in the dry bags. This works perfectly.
I am actually quite pleased with everything so far. I really like the new deck pipe also. Now that I have upgraded to a 22lb lewmar claw with 30' of 1/4" chain I get MONSTER sets. I have to get the outboard to break the anchor free. I will see if I can post a few pictures in a bit.
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/HeaveToo/slideshow/May%202015%20Cruise?sort=3
That should be a slide show of the current cruise so far. I have a bit more time so I will see where I end up!
Thanks for the trip update, especially the "what has worked" and the slideshow. This type of posting is great fun to read and helpful. Brings back memories.. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!
Ugh.....Still holed up in Solomons Island. I will be here tomorrow as well. I won't get back into the Potomac until Thursday. Even then it is lighter winds out of the south. Then the wind stays out of the south for the rest of that weekend and it is still 10-15. No gusts to 20 though so that is okay. I will probably make my way back up the Potomac Towards home.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Solomons. That is for a day, or two. This long stay is getting old. Tomorrow is going to be painfully boring as there isn't that much to do here. At least there is a place to get to land and there are places to bike, etc. I am so glad that I brought my bike on this trip!
i remember being holed up in a storm for 4 days.
an anchor set from the bow and stern, and port and starboard lines tied to the mangroves in a cut no wider than the boats length.
i read bram stoker's dracula while there. a some what "dry" read.
when the storm finally subsided, there was debris on the deck and small blue crabs in the cockpit!
at least you can leave the boat, and...your out sailing while most of us are working!
looking forward to more updates, CC
I just wanted to say I enjoyed reading this. I also am following on the charts as best as I can. If you ever want to throw some coordinates about, that would be great. It took me a while just to determine your were in the Chesapeake Bay.
Thanks
Tom
So, Here I am today, stuck in Solomons Once again. For anyone who cruises here there is a nice public library just up from the $2 a day dingy dock. It is clean and has nice bathrooms (plumbing is such a welcome thing when staying on a small boat).
I spent yesterday wandering around Solomons Island, again, and checking the internet. These weather reports are truly different than any I have seen before. The lower bay has had great weather with 10-15 every day out of the south. This area and the Potomac River is getting slammed by gusts over 20 knots with steady winds around 15 knots. If the wind was from any other direction this would awesome, but being I want to go south this isn't fun. I don't feel like pounding into 3' seas.
I regret not going South on the second day when I still had North Winds. If I had been able to see an accurate forecast that far in advance I would have gone to an area called Fleets Bay. From there I could have gone across the bay to Onancock. It would have all been favorable sails and down wind.
To get back into the Potomac River I have to sail due South. Once around Point Lookout I sail North West. The trick is to get around Point Lookout and I will follow the winds home.
My original intention was to go up to the Choptank River. There I would have explored Cainbridge, Oxford, and St. Michaels. Since the winds were holding south for the entire week and not reducing it would have been a bad idea to go that far north. Right now I will only spend one day getting nailed by wind and waves instead of the Two I would have had if I had gone further North. It would have been nice to hang out in the middle bay, but hind sight is 20/20.
Sorry, this update is via iPhone.
I motored 37 nautical miles to the Yecomico River. It is off of the Potomac River.
I just weathered a minor storm at anchor. Dinner was good as I has left over chicken and black bean fajitas that I grilled two days ago.
It is really hot here. I am thankful for my 12v fan(Camafro). I am slowly heading towards home. I really don't want to go back but the forecast isn't. Good and it looks rough next week.
I burnt 6 gallons motoring 37 nautical miles. I didn't want to motor this much but conditions dictated this. I guess that I am paying the piper for the good sailing I had earlier in the trip and last trip.
Tomorrow I may make it back to Colonial Beach. Part of me doesn't want to because I finally got unstuck from Solomon's Island.
Darn this forecast.
I wi try to post some more pictures later on this week.
Today the wind was dead, again. I decided to get home before the weather came up. The next week doesn't look so hot.
I motored back to Colonial Beach today. It was about 25 miles. I think that I burnt 4 gallons of gas and averaged just over 5 knots, according to my chart plotter.
I will try to get some more pictures up later on.
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/HeaveToo/slideshow/May%202015%20Cruise?sort=3
Several pictures were added to the slide show.
Nice photos! In one, you are standing up between your bimini and a a small forward bimini. Can you share info about the small one?
Also, regarding the bedding; is the egg crate mattress put down over cushions, or does it replace cushions. My cushions are not that comfy, and I currently have camping thermarest to use to help, but it's not really working. Looking for something inexpensive to help.
I hope to get out for some mini-cruises soon. Spring is great, but I had several other things to do that kept me from sailing in May. More free now, if weather cooperates.
The egg crate mattress sits over my cabin cushions. The cushions help, but the egg crate mattress helps with the gaps in the mattress and softens it some.
The small forward bimini is actually a dodger. It came on the boat. You may be able to order it from Compac.
Thanks for the scoop. Do you use the dodger much? My plan is currently to get a bimini on a track and slide it aft for sailing, forward at anchor. I'd like to know more about what the dodger brings to the table on the CP 23.
My boat has a bimini and a dodger. Also, there is a connector that connects the bimini to the dodger. I use the dodger when it is rough and I am going into the wind, if it is raining, or to avoid getting wet in any way.
I really like having this combo of canvas. My bimini sits as far as back as possible and I can cover most of the cockpit with canvas. The dodger is awesome to have if you have a rain storm at anchor because you can leave the companionway open. You still have ventilation, which is nice.
I also have canvas to cover the front hatch when I am at anchor. I have made it adjustable so that I can actually put it high and funnel wind when it is nice outside. If it is heavy rain I can adjust it lower so that the hatch stays open in the heaviest of rain. I can't begin to tell you how nice this is on a warm humid rainy day to have the ventilation still open in the boat. Another advantage is that this canvas casts a shadow on the deck and it helps to keep the boat cooler.
Having a dodger fabricated would be somewhat expensive. Still, if I was going from scratch I would have an experienced canvas person fabricate one. Having a window that opens in the dodger in the middle is nice and I would pay the money for stainless steel frames. I would make it higher and go back a little further than the one I have and also have a bit wider profile in the back so the connector covers more because I do, sometimes, get a little dripping from heavy rain that I have to watch.
Good info; I have put all this bimini stuff off. I'd sure like one though.
My boat didn't come with much, but it did come with one of those nylon wind bringers for the front hatch. Came in handy! When anchored in the rain, my son and I rigged up a boom tent, and that whateveryacall it up front.
I'd like to get one of those little display tents they have at REI. The stores say to contact the tent companies.
Check with Compac, you may be able to get canvas for a Compac 23 from them and the price will probably be okay since it is prefab.
In my region I couldn't live without a bimini. I can't imagine someone south of me without one. On my last trip it was getting into the 90s before the end of the trip and the bimini made it bearable. The worst situation is motoring dead down wind with about 5 knots of breeze behind you. It is hot, humid, and no breeze or apparent wind. BRUTAL!!!!