Our position is: 38:44.722N 76:16.178W
There seemed to be a bit more wind the next morning so we took down
the sunshade and even contemplated the cruising chute. However the Chesapeake is
nothing if not deceiving and as we rounded the headland to go South the wind was
from a completely different direction, shortly dying away as we negotiated the
shallow bits of Poplar Island Narrows and prepared to enter Knapps Narrows.
There had been much debate on the radio as to the anticipated depths and several
boats drawing less than us elected to go the long way round Black Walnut Point.
As it was low water, we entered the approach channel with some trepidation, but
Joe with the local knowledge was confident and we never saw less than 0.4m under
the keel. The pilot book claimed that the restoration project on Poplar Island
(rebuilding the island using dredged material supported by what we would call
stone revetting and the Americans call rip-rap) was reducing the silting in the
area and this may be the case. Joe was more concerned about whether his
tax-payers dollars were providing value for money! We had a short wait for the
bascule bridge in the middle of the narrows to open, as they were experiencing
some problems, and their radio conversation during the opening made me wonder if
it would fall down on top of us, but we passed under uneventfully and motored
the short distance across to Broad Creek and Baby Owl Cove.
There was no sign of Monty and Susan on Scandia, our rafting
partners for that night’s event – “dinner with a stranger” – so we dropped our
own anchor and waited for them. Ted and Joe started preparing our dinghy for the
evening’s other activity – the Windscoop regatta, where rubber dinghies were
transformed into sailing vessels with wind scoops and whatever means were
available to support them. Some people were swimming off their boats, but jelly
fish had been sighted and one person reported being stung, so this made it less
attractive. Apparently jelly fish are commonly sighted in the Chesapeake later
in the year and nobody swims then, other than in a net enclosure supported by an
inflatable ring to protect them. It was felt that they had arrived much earlier
than normal this year.
The Windscoop regatta (like so much of the sailing during the week)
was hampered by light winds so permission was given for the oars intended
as rudders to be available for sculling. This gave the Brits (especially Team
Moorglade) an advantage as it appeared Americans never learn to scull. The first
Americans home were our raft partners Monty and Susan in third place. 2 of the
Selene crew (a charter boat of Brits from North Devon) were second, powered by
an umbrella as well as their windscoop and scull and Ted and Joe led the fleet
home triumphantly, breaking out the Union Flag at the finish.
After this it was over to Scandia for Ted (Joe was dining with
different strangers on the boat being used as the race committee boat) and
memories of the Caribbean with Dark and Stormys all round with some wonderful
shrimps, followed by buffalo steaks cooked on the rail mounted barbecue (or
grill as it is referred to out here)
Bridge opening
in Knapps
Narrows
Sailing skipjack - the dinghy is for pushing as they have no engine
preparing for
the windscoop
regatta
but a tow needed to get to the start line
supplementing
the
windscoop
and across the start line victorious
Back to buffalo steaks on
Scandia
