vacation from her job as a police dispatcher for the Huber Heights Police Dept. The Alberg 30’s are
very sea worthy and strong, and this helped the
neophytes stay out of serious trouble. This is a
story/journal of the maiden voyage to bring the boat
from North Carolina where we found her, to Sandusky
on Lake Erie. Some experiences are scary, but most
are funny, especially looking back on them from 3
years experience. This is but the first trip, after
outfitting, practicing on Lake Erie and getting
married, we set out to see the East Coast and the
Bahamas, but that is another story.
Chapter 7 One long Tack up the Chesapeake Bay
May 29, Thursday
0800 We have finished breakfast and
made everything “ship shape” and were ready to “go to sea”
or more accurately out on the
Chesapeake Bay. We motored north carefully following the
chart and the channel markers. Norfolk is a very active sea
port and military base so we carefully watch for other ships
and boats. The charts warn us to not impede the progress of
larger vessels and we take that warning to heart. Anytime
we see a ship headed in our direction, we swing to Starboard
and move outside the channel markers. Our little sailboat
requires just less than 5 feet of water and there is plenty
of depth outside the markers, and that leaves the whole
channel to the ships. Have you ever stood on a 30 foot
boat, and watched an aircraft carrier swoosh by only 100
feet away? It is an awe inspiring sight.
As we neared the harbor entrance the
seas perked up as did the wind. The day is beautiful, but
windy, and the water is rough. The temperature is just
right for our foul weather jackets so the occasional spray
blowing over the bow is nothing more than a little wetting
on the face. As we clear the shipping channel I hoist the
main sail, but immediately decide to take in a double reef
when StarChild heels over to 25 degrees. With the double
reef in the mainsail and the
Genoa
full she handles easily in the breeze. Karen lies down on
the lee cushion in the cockpit and is soon asleep in the
sun. I enjoy the speed and the open water after the many
miles on the ICW. I look at the Knot Meter, and it tells me
that we are making 6+ knots, but I don’t believe it and
double check the GPS. The GPS confirms that we are in fact
running at better than 6 knots, which is the “hull speed” of
an Alberg30. Hull Speed is the theoretical maximum speed a
boat can go unless it has a hull shape that will let it
climb up “on plane”. Most sailboats will not plane so we
are going as fast as we can go.
With the sails trimmed nicely, the
autopilot steering, I have nothing to do but watch for other
boats. We are far enough off shore so there is no scenery
and I grow tired of reading so I decide that I might as well
begin to prepare for night sailing. At night and in rough
seas, we always wear our combination inflatable life
preserver and safety harness so I go below to get them out.
As I pull mine out of the locker, I accidentally pulled the
lanyard that inflates them. Now I know how they operate.
The lanyard is very easy to pull and the bright orange
flotation bladders will do a great job keeping me afloat if
I ever need it. Now I have to deflate and repack it which
proves to be rather easy, luckily I had had the forethought
to buy an extra CO2 cartridge so I was able to re-arm it. I
will buy another the next time I am in a marine supply.
We planned to make a long haul today
and run all the way to
Tanagier
Island but when we reach Wolf Trap Light we rethink our
goal. The wind has been wonderful for the course so far,
but to make Tanagire Island we will have to sail closer to
the wind. To sail any closer to the wind is impossible
unless we tack. I now know why “Gentlemen never sail to
wind”, it’s just too much work and slow going.
I study the chart looking for a snug
harbor for the night. I find
Fleet Bay close by and down wind. The bay appears to be
well protected from the wind, and on the chart it looks like
a good place to anchor for the night.
I wake Karen from her nap on the lee bench so she can help
with the course change and we head westerly toward
Fleet
Bay. We have made over 50 miles running close hauled and on
the same tack. A really good way to sail, but you can only
do it when the wind cooperates. We spy Fleet Bay as the sun
sets and pull in watching the depth sounder as the water
gets shallow. We like to anchor in about 10 feet of water.
This makes anchoring and weighing anchor easy because there
is little anchor rode in the water. At a respectable
distance from two other boats we drop our anchor and make
“ship shape” for the night. My watch reads 8:00 PM an easy
fun 12 hour day.
I finish my deck chores, light our
little lantern and rig it to the aft anchor. The dinghy is
lashed on deck so there is little worry that it will escape
during the night. As I take a last look about, I spy another
sailboat heading toward our little bay. I find it
comforting to have other boats join me at anchor. I guess
it’s a matter of having my choice confirmed by others. The
new boat motored past us and into shallower water where they
neatly dropped their anchor and settled in for the night. I
didn't think anything more of it, and went below for the
night.
Total 63.6 NM
Please click here for additional information
or if you would like to contact the
author of this article, Earl Lang, owner of the Acme
Bicycle Shop in Punta Gorda. Thank you!
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