"Get Out Of Jail Free Card"

     Yesterday was another first for the crew of Big Run.  After spending another night on San Domingo Creek south of  St. Michael, MD, Sharon and I decided to head over to Cambridge, MD.  About 2 hours into the cruise I looked over to the port side and noticed a United States Coast Guard Vessel 30 feet off of our port beam with its blue lights flashing. It was one of those small 24' RIB with a crew enclosure, enough room to shelter four coasties.  After a nod of the my head to acknowledge them I returned to my duties of piloting the boat knowing very well what their intentions were.  Later I looked over and one the crew was hanging on the side trying to contact us.  I grabbed the microphone of our VHF radio and indicated that they should contact us by radio.  The following is a brief history of the VHF radio transmissions:

       Coast Guard:  Big Run, Big Run this is the United States Coast Guard 22589 on channel 16

       Big Run:  Coast Guard 22589, this is Big Run

       Coast Guard : Big Run, please switch to 22 Alpha

       Big Run:  Coast Guard, this is Big Run, shifting to 22 Alpha

       Big Run:  Coast Guard, this is Big Run on 22 Alpha

       Coast Guard:  Big Run, when was the last time you were boarded?

       Big Run: uh, Never!

      Within 5 minutes, 2 young Coast Guard serviceman were on board Big Run without us having to stop or slow down.  For the next 15 minutes we were given a safety inspection and had our documentation checked.  Needless to say we passed with flying colors.  We were given a "certificate" to show we were boarded and passed our inspection.  We were also informed that the certificate was valid for 6 months to 1 year, just in case we were stopped for another inspection within that time frame, we could use that certificate as a "get out of jail free card".

A Good Night's Sleep

      beep.....beep.....beep.....beep.....beep.... what was that, I didn't set an alarm clock.  I look at the clock.  It's 5:15 a.m.  I lay in bed for another 15 seconds before I decide to get up and investigate.  As I enter the pilothouse I immediately see why there was an alarm this morning.  The raft-up of four sailboats off of our starboard bow has dragged their anchor.   Well, only one boat dragged their anchor, the other three that were tied to that boat came along for the ride.  Now this floating mass  is 150 feet away, and all hands are on deck scurring about like it's a fire drill.  Engines are firing up, lines are being cast off.  Everybody (sailboats) is abandoning the anchor boat so that they don't go aground on the nearby shoreline.  While all the other sailboats make a clean getaway and anchor elsewhere in the cove, the anchor boat of the raft-up stays where he's at. Why not?  The anchor is already out.  But wait.....beep.....beep.....beep.....beep.....beep....there goes the anchor alarm again.  The same boat is dragging the anchor again.  The sailboat's first mate emerges from down below to look around, but where is the captain?  Finally, after what seemed like 5 minutes the "captain" shows his face at the helm, looks around and disappears below again, with the first mate in tow.  As I sit in the pilothouse of our boat prepared to take evasive action, the first mate appears a few minutes later and checks the chartplotter.  Did the alarm sound again? I don't know.  What I do know is that the "captain" of this sailboat (Andiamo of Annapolis, MD) never checked the integrity of the anchor set after having dragged twice.  Never did he start his engines and put the transmission in reverse and pull on his ground tackle to verify the hook was set.  And you call yourself a "captain"! (Note - Andiamo is Italian for "Let's Go" - how appropriate)

     I have always wondered why boats with minimal tackle for the size of the boat believe that they can attach another 2, 3, 4, or more boats in a raft up situation and expect their tackle to hold when the winds kick up.  This is especially true of some  sailboats.  They try to keep their weight to a minimum, especially on the bow while sacrificing one of the most important pieces of equipment on a boat - the anchor and rode.  Power boats are guilty of undersized anchors too, but we don't know what their excuse is for such a small anchors, maybe it's just plain ignorance. The anchor on Big Run is a 66lb. Bruce anchor with 1/2" chain.  I did not set up this arrangement, but I am sure glad we have ground tackle for a 50-60 foot boat on a 42 foot boat.  Next time someone wants to raft up with you, ask yourself  "Do I have the right anchor and rode for a raft up should the winds pick up?"  After all, we all want a good night's sleep.

Update - it's now 6:50 a.m. and the anchor alarm has sounded again - hey Captain, do the right thing!

Chill Out

     There are 2 reasons we have returned to the "north" aka Maryland.  First, because the insurance company requires us to be north of Cape Hatteras by June 1st, the start of hurricane season.  Secondly, we expect to find cooler temps than, let's say, Florida during the summer months.  Last week we experienced a severe heat wave, 3 days in the upper 90's, and we are expecting another heat wave to start today.  Let me be the first to say that the weather gods must be asleep at the helm, enough is enough - chill out.

How Sweet It Is

     When we left the marina on Monday we went to one of our favorite gunkholes, Millstone Point on the west fork of Langford Creek.  Being that it was a holiday weekend, there were 3 boats still on the hook in the area of Millstone Point, but our hole was available - thank you kindly.  One boat, Metagene was there, and it's crewed by our friends Rick and Pam.  It's always a pleasure to see them again.  They hung around for the afternoon and then went south for one last night on the hook at another anchorage before returning home the following day, Tuesday.  By 5 o'clock the other 2 boats had left, and we had the anchorage to ourselves.  Monday was very hot.  Across the bay at Baltimore they had a temperature reading of 99 degrees.  Sharon said the swimming was not very refreshing because the water had to be in the 80's.

       Tuesday we moved the boat to another favorite anchorage that we use when we need to catch a breeze to cool off the boat - Comegys Bight on the Chester River.  Another very hot day and once again Sharon went swimming in waters that were a little cooler than the waters of Langford Creek.  I on the other hand took extra showers to cool off because of a case of bronchitis.  

       Wednesday was our day of truth.  Time to test the new water maker.  We had decided to wait until the Chester River to draw water for the watermaker because Chester has less sediment floating in it. We started the watermaker and ran it to purge the storage chemicals from in the unit.  After 20 minutes we tapped our first glass of "RO" (reverse osmosis) water.  I must admit that first glass was very good.  We ran the watermaker for 4 hours and made about 36 gallons of water - how sweet it is.

Our first glass of home brewed water!