KAHOLEE, St. Mike's

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 11:02 am

Hello all,

I'm tied up to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum dock in St. Michaels, after a rather bumpy crossing from Annapolis yesterday. After Annapolis and "Ego Alley" this is way laid back. The CBMM is definitely worth a look if you ever get down here. I'm going to do the wooden boat apprentice for a day thing this weekend which looks like fun. The Museum is 18 acres so if you are into old boats, old wooden boats, you'll have a blast.

After arrival I pulled the dinghy up on the hard and used up two of those green scrubbing pads to get the stuff off of half the bottom. With a fresh pad things go well, but they load up fast and then it becomes much more of an arm strong kind of thing. The slime comes off of the hull material much easier than the rubber-like hinge material. I'm letting the other half dry to see if it is easier to remove when it's dry. It should not clog the pads as much, I'm thinking.

Ordered a dozen steamed blue crab at the Crab Claw Restaurant last night, and was wishing Tim were here to help out about half way through. I will forever associate blue crab with Maryland like I do lobster with Maine. Sometimes I wonder if cruising is more about being on a boat or eating. Note to self, eat before cleaning the boat bottom, the "aroma" of slimy sea stuff does not remove with soap, but at least it is not much different then the smell of seafood. ;)

I'll depart here on the 23rd and head for Tilghman Island for two days then off to Solomons. The temperature has gone for mid-80s to mid-70s so I'm starting to think of more southernly latitudes.

MikeD · Post by **MikeD** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:01 pm

Thanks for the updates Allen. I've been enjoying reading your logs too. Must be nice to have all of your sailing to look forward to rather than thinking about hauling for the winter...

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:24 pm

Winter does look like it is trying to sneak in the back door. I'm hoping it warms up again, but when walking down the main street here in St. Mike's I saw Halloween stuff out for sale, so my days of dallying are coming to an end.

jollyboat · Post by **jollyboat** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:10 pm

Allen,
How is the sail working out? Are you able to sail with the cockpit cover up as we hoped? Does the flattening reef do the trick in raising the boom up?
How do you like the five full battens - have you tried the reefs for practice yet? Please let me know.

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:50 am

Allen wrote:Winter does look like it is trying to sneak in the back door. I'm hoping it warms up again, but when walking down the main street here in St. Mike's I saw Halloween stuff out for sale, so my days of dallying are coming to an end.

Last year, it was 90 degrees and windless during the boat show in mid October.

You have at least till the end of November before you get a nip in the air.

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:10 am

Brian, I seem to be doing a lot of motoring since most of my moves are pint A to B with a set arrival time, not to mention the wind has, so far, been on the nose every time I try and make a move, except for this last move and then the wind and wave conditions were not conducive to going forward to the mast. KAHOLEE wants to turn to port fairly quickly with the new three bladed prop so heading up and going forward I would not have time to raise the sail before I was beam to the wind. I am currently working on getting the autopilot operational so I can do this. Funny thing was even with it blowing like stink when I came into St. Mike's, once in the Miles River I was sorely tempted to put the sail up. It was a bit rough, but the wind seemed to be good. I just didn't have time enough so I could still make my arrival at the CBMM dock.

Ceaser, I am starting to miss those warmer days. It is getting into the 50's at night. Still haven't used the heater though and not as chilly as it was in Rockland. They are predicting gale force winds so that front from Canada is upon us. Looks like Saturday or Sunday I'll be able to move to Tilghman Island. I bought a A/C fan in Baltimore, I figure that was what did the warm weather in. :)

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:23 am

When you go to Tighlman Is. will you be in Knapps Narrows?

Darn chilly this morning... the good news is the water is still warmer for a few more days. Good luck hunkering down for this low. Looks like it will be crappy through the weekend.

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:01 pm

Ceasar,

The marina I'm going to is the Tilghman Island Marina which is on the western end of Knapps Narrows so I'll just be interring the narrows.

It is a miserable day. Wind seems to have slacked a bit or maybe just clocked around a little. All is fine here, but they say I need to move on Friday because of reservations. If that's the case and the wind is still up, I will probably motor out to the anchorage and drop the hook rather than try and negotiate a slip. I can't believe anyone would subject themselves or their boat to a gale, but two boats have showed up, one a big fat catamaran (I can imagine how bouncy that ride was if the seas got abeam). They may just be hiding out for a bit though, but then they must have missed the weather broadcast, not a good recommendation either way. I should have bought that brass thermometer in Annapolis, I'm curious as to what the temperature is. I'm almost tempted to fire up the heater, but it's just not quite that cold and I'd like to save my propane. Might use it just before I hit the sack though.

Guess I should walk up to the office and find out what the prognosis is for Friday. Just not looking forward to opening the hatch and letting what little warmth I have out. ;)

Ronin120 · Post by **Ronin120** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:15 pm

Allen,

I wouldn't give up on the Bay quite yet. This weather isn't quite 'normal' for this time of year on the Chesapeake. A bit on the cool side of the average. October is generally a great month to be in this area.

I'll be down working on my boat from October 4th through October 13th. If your schedule puts you near there and you pull into the creek and are in need of supplies give me a shout and I'll get you sorted out. I've got a couple of slips you can easily fit into. There's no free town dock so it's either anchoring out or getting a slip at the marina at the end of the street.

Also, make sure you try and get to Onancock, Va. You'll enjoy it.

Best

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:55 pm

Dave,

That sounds like it might be fun. Send me a message with info on where you're at and I'll take a look at the charts.

Well I finally wimped out and turned on the heater. It's funny it lit on the first try. The wind is astern where it was on the bow in Rockland where I had to watch it until I was sure it was going. It certainly does heat things up quickly. :D

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 4:17 pm

Here you go...

jollyboat · Post by **jollyboat** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:07 am

Allen,will you be around for the annapolis boat show

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:30 am

Geez Allen, no wonder your heater fired right up. It is a mere 64 degrees! LOL.

The good news is that with the 15-20 knots you have today, you should have a good fast ride to Knapps. You'll have to motor up the Miles to Tighlman Point, but you should have a fast beam reach and then a run down the bay to Knapps. And the higher tide will make easier the naviguess that channel (although they have dredged recently).

Have fun!

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:06 am

Brian, I'm not going to make the boat show. It was tempting though.

Ceasar, the 60's with rain and high humidity is colder than 32 in a dry place like South Dakota, and the nice thing about cold in dry places, when you put on a jacket it makes a difference. ;)

I will probably motor through the Poplar Island Narrows tomorrow if the weather prediction holds. The guide books say there are current issues and you have to watch where you are in the channel. If the weather is heavier I'll probably go around Poplar Island, but with luck NOAA will get it right.

I've updated the web log and added pictures from Baltimore. I'll try and get some more added today or tonight. Unfortunately I downloaded the Havre de Grace, Still Pond Creek and Worton Creek pictures to my server at home when I was there so I'll have to wait to get that done.