No Hard Feelings Cruise Day 6- To La Trappe Creek, Choptank River

Moorglade's Voyage
Ted Wilson
Sun 24 Jun 2012 12:27
 

Our position is: 38:37.930N 76:07.078W

Saturday dawned with a light breeze and the possibility of the postponed race actually being able to get under way. Joe was pessimistic but we arrived at the start line to be greeted by the 10 minute gun. The entire course was downwind and the club rules precluded coloured sails and any poling out of the jib so there were several hours of frustrating holding out of our heavy sails manually while the locals with their light boats and lighter sailcloth, unencumbered by the weight of cruising equipment moved ahead. Later, when we had managed to break free from the cover of Aquavit behind us, some wind filled in and I had hopes that the slower boats would benefit, but when the committee boat hove into view at the mark before the finish, flying a shorten course flag, we knew all hope was gone. Never mind – our boys and girls can whip the Americans at the Olympics instead! We immediately broke out more beer and sailed into the creek to await Don and Betty on Aleteo, our raft partners for the night and on their traditional, bowspritted boat even heavier and slower than us. Moonlight Sail had left early as they were going home to fulfil an engagement on Saturday night in Washington so they missed both the race and the festivities of the evening.

The creek was lovely but the sand spit enclosing it was proving very popular with the owners of small motor boats. A party had been planned on the beach, where Ted and Joe were hoping to lead everyone in a tot, but there was no sand spare and the tide was rising so instead we all dinghied up the creek and formed a large raft, sharing drinks and nibbles. We are very impressed with the lengths this club will go to to have a party. The North Devon chaps sailing selene arrived a little late to the dinghy raft party. It must have taken them a little extra time to don the Royal family face masks and perfect their royal wave tecnique. It was well worth the effort, the effect as they did a circuit of the rafted boats was most amusing.

Bob organised the prize giving and 3 boats had managed to get all the answers to the trivia quiz. One of them was Moorglade (so all the time spent on passage scouring Theodore Roosevelt’s Naval History of 1812 on the Kindle weren’t completely wasted!) and our name came out of the hat to win the bottle of Pussers rum. This was put to good use later when a tot was held for a select few (all we could accommodate) – Don and Betty, Bob and Joy and the Windquest crew (one of the other correct set of answers) - Glenn and Jane and their guests Keith and Nicky – on board Moorglade.

The week was rounded off by Betty cooking a delicious sausage casserole for which I provided rice out of the quantity that was put on board in Tenerife in 2010! The evening passed quickly with reminiscences – it was midnight before we knew it and the cruise was over.

The next morning we entertained Don and Betty to breakfast before we parted company. They were going to provision for the second week of their cruise and we retraced our steps back through Knapps Narrows (still without running aground) and across the bay to Crab Creek and Marshall and Susan’s dock.

Our cruise with the Sailing Club of the Chesapeake was over. We had had a great time with these friendly well organised sailors. The bay has a lot to offer, seemingly endless rivers creeks and coves of sheltered water. We had had a good snapshot of cruising the bay but there is enough here to keep you going for a lifetime.

During the day a phone call had extended an invitation to a party being thrown by Phil and Mary Sue (Encore) at their home to eat and see a slide show of their recent trip to Israel, under the aegis of a Jewish tour operator. Joe had to go home but we scraped together enough clean clothes and headed off with Marshall and Susan.

Mary Sue had done well in preparing a feast of eastern Mediterranean food including some delicious lemon pastries purchased at an Amish market. Phil led on the slides of the trip. He had gone to a lot of trouble to put together a show which explained a lot of the recent history of the area together with the geography and what he had seen and heard had obviously made a deep impression on him. There were some other friends of his present who had been to Israel on a trip organised by Christian Palestinians and their view point was somewhat at odds with Phil’s but no actual fighting broke out (unlike in the country in question!)

 

                

The start of the hotly contested race                                                                                       Moorglade and Aleteo

                                                                                              

         

Don and Betty's outboard didn't work                                                                                 The raft party was graced by royal visitors

 

      

Food and drink abounding

     

It was all too much for Oliver                                                                                          Bob announcing the prize winners

 

    

Philip and Kate (aka Don and Betty)                                                                           The tot group gathers on Moorglade

    

Readings from this day in history                                                                              The sand spit after everyone had gone (although there wasn't much sand left either)