NSHSA Fall Cruise
Sept. 24 - Oct. 2, 2016

This year's cruise was affected by weather more than most of our prior cruises. We had some sun, some light/no wind, some gales, some rain, and some thick fog. Suffice it to say that we got to experience a wide variety of conditions. The fleet ranged from 4 to 6 boats at any time during the week. The crews of Silent Running, Elsie's Phantasie, Tenacity and Windrose were part of the fleet for the whole week. Windsprint, Windkist and Narsilion were able to join for a night at the begining or end. Puesta del Sol made an attempt to join during the week, but had to abort after weather forecasts for the rest of the week deteriorated.

Day 0 - Sailed to Bodkin and met Elsie. No raft.

Day 1 - Got underway at 09:00. Strong wind out of the north. Heavy seas on the bay until thebridge. Sailed with half jib only until sandy point, then full. Arrived at Rhode 1430. Rafted with Elsie and Windsprint. Second raft was Tenacity, Windkist and Windrose. Happy hour hosted on SR.

Day 2 - Got underway at 0900. Motored until clear of channel then set full sails in 14kts of wind from the north. Windsprint and Windkist headed to Annapolis. The wind died through the morning and we resorted to motor at 1300. Motored to San Domingo and set the anchor at 1530. Windrose rafted to us, Elsie and Tenacity in second raft. Went into St Michaels for dinner at Lemoncellos with the group.

Day 3 -Underway at 1030. Motored to the mouth of Tred Avon and then rolled out the jib for a leisurely sail to Trippe Creek. All four boats anchored separately in anticipation of storms overnight. Happy hour was held on Windrose at 1600.

Day 4 - Underway at 1100. There was no wind whatsoever and the Choptanks was like glass, so we motored to LaTrappe creek on flat water. Entered creek and set the anchor at 1330, and created a four boat raft with Silent Running as the anchor boat. Happy hour held on Tenacity at 1630.

Day 5 - Broke the raft and underway at 0845 due to storm coming in across the Bay. Motored slowly toward Oxford and slips. Heavy wind, heavy rain and fog for duration of the trip. Difficulty seeing outbound traffic. Silent Rinning's radar was not working and others in the fleet were calling out contacts. Pumped out and arrived at slip in Brewers Boatyard at 1045. Lunch gathering on Tenacity at 1230, to enjoy Paul's Butternut Squash Soup. We gathered at the Robert Morris Inn at 1745 for dinner during a very heavy thunderstorm. The group discussed plans for the next day and decided to revisit in the morning.

Day 6 - Captains and crews gathered on Silent Running to decide on a course. After loking at various forecast tools and seeing that the forecast for the next few days was not significantly better, those heading north decided to get underway. Windrose stayed another day in Oxford. Elsie's Phantasie, Tenacity and Silent Running moving toward Annapolis. There was a gale warning ineffect until 10:00. We encountered steady winds of 25kts from the East with gusts over 35kts. The NWS extended the gale warning as we reached the mouth of the Choptank until Friday at 0800.Motored until we hit the bay proper and deployed 50% of our jib. Sailing in heavy seas and wind at 7kts until we got near Poplar island, then attempted to reduce sail when we saw a gust of 41kts. The recovery was difficult and we decided to take the sail in completely. Silent Running decided to head to Harness ck. Tenacity decided to take a slip at Port Annaplos Marina. Elsie's Phantasie decided to head to Annapolis to take a mooring for the night. Silent running arrived at Harness Ck at 1530 to find six boats in the anchorage already. We scouted the creek and decided to drop the anchor near the boat rental dock in 13 ft of water. No issues through the night. Saw gusts of upto 16kts. Elsie's night was not quite so peacefull...

Day 7 - Hauled anchor and underway at 0930. Rain, Heavy winds and seas once we got out of the South river. Motored the entire way to Annapolis. Entered mooring field and took a ball at 1200. Dinner with Steve and Elsie at the Boatyard in Southport.

Day 8 - dropped the mooring at 0930 and loitered to see if Elsie had problems. They experienced no abnormal vibrations or issues, so we motored out of the harbor. Elsie's Phantasie headed to hoe port in RockHall. We motored to the north side of the bridge and unfurled full sails with a destination of Rock Ck, where Narsilion is anchored. Excellent sail to White Rocks and took in the sails. Rafted to Narsilion at 1430. Dinner on SR at 1730.

Day 9 - motored home at 0745 via Hart-Miller cut. Seas calm and 5kts from the north. Tied up at Cutter at 1030.

See other photos from the cruise

Link to Silent Running's SPOT Track