2nd Vacation of 2020 - Part B (Fay, Jie & Tao)

Thursday, July 9th.

After Vicky finished with her meeting and had a little sleep, we returned to Rock Hall at mid-day on Thursday.  We immediately stowed the few items we brought (we're finally getting most of what we need onboard), and headed out for an afternoon sail.

Wind was nice... maybe 4 to 5 kts on our wind gauge (note... we're not certain this is reading correctly... we're frequently getting more boat speed (SOG) than wind speed, leading us to think that sometimes it reads low).  Vicky slept some more as I sailed west across the bay and back.

We heard that Fay is coming.  She's not a family member or a co-worker, but rather a tropical depression.  We knew that Friday may be iffy so on the way in, I got to Gratitude in time to catch a last minute pump out.

A  small sailboat was heading out just as we were returning.

Back at the dock, we had a small amount of chicken breast along with some fresh tomatoes from a roadside stand along with some fresh mozzarella.

Beyond a lot of rain, we were not certain what to expect with Fay Friday morning.  After dinner, I went out and filled the water tanks, double checked the dock lines and brought all the cockpit cushions inside.  The wind forecast didn't look too bad... 12 to 18 kts, but we are expecting to get 2 to 4 inches of rain.  We figured that most likely, we'll hunker down and watch some movies.  At worst case, we'll run for the car and head home.

Friday, July 10

On Friday morning, the rain started in the wee hours.  Now a tropical storm, Fay was out over the Atlantic Ocean, and in Rock Hall, it seemed like an extended gentle summer rain.  It was a little breezy... the wind gauge said it was about 12 knots.  Since it looked like the rain would abate a bit after lunch, we stayed at the dock so Vicky could get some sleep.

Later in the day, starting around Noon, the motion of Seas The Day became a bit unsettled and I have to admit that I actually got out the ginger gum and seasickness bands.  I guess it started earlier, but with the wind coming from the northeast, there was a fair bit of chop, and the length of time it lasted started getting to me.  Vicky was sleeping so she never felt it.  In the end it started getting better as the afternoon progressed and the storm moved north.

By suppertime I was able to cook.  We had salmon and stir fry vegetables.   Later, we curled up in the salon and I watched Fantasia while Vicky worked on her spreadsheets.

Saturday, July 11

Today Jie and Tao joined us for an excursion on Seas The Day.  They have been on board last fall and even sailed with me earlier last summer on our previous boat.  We started out planning to sail briefly to a place out in the bay where my brother Rob caught the fish during our earlier vacation.  (Go with what works, you know.)

I noticed that when they went forward, they sat in the right places (port and starboard) based on their shirt colors.

Our plans changed briefly once we headed out across the bay.  I was looking at AIS targets and lo and behold, there was S/V Delos!  They must have just started out from their recent repairs in Annapolis.

I confess, I altered my course slightly so we would approach closer, getting within a quarter of a mile.

From the iPhone photo (which I'm not showing) I could see a lot of orange up on the bow which didn't make sense.  I originally thought they may still have their orange edged jib flaked on the bow but it turns out that Brian was installing new orange bumpers on Maggie (their dinghy) and Karin was filming.  (That explains why they didn't answer my hail.  We did hear several other conversations before and after our passing.)

Our track for the day is on the left, Delos' AIS track during the time is on the right.  We encountered them just west of Rock Hall in the center of the upper bay.  After a quick tack back for another photo, we continued sailing southeast, letting the girls do some of the work and also folding out the cockpit day bed.

As we were approaching the fishing spot, I noticed that Tao was getting a bit "green in the gills".  She requested a paper bag which I overruled... I gave her my water supply bucket instead which would be much easier to clean.  Fortunately, it was never needed.

We had just broken out the fishing gear and Vicky seemed pleased with the new rod holders I installed for her.

So rather than give up fishing, we went back to Swan Creek to a spot to anchor where I've noticed people fishing before - just after Gratitude Marina.  We got the anchor down.  By the time I got enough scope out, we were uncomfortably close to the shallow marsh to the north, but hey it was a sunny no-wind day... what can go wrong, right?  

I decided to try the day bed and finish my sandwich.

While we were fishing, I used the portrait mode on my iPhone to get some nice photos for their dating profiles - bait of a different sort.

While looking at the portraits, I noticed that some of those gorgeous blurred backgrounds had a bit of darkness to the sky... and a glance to the west confirmed that there was a storm over Baltimore.  My radar app "future tracking" showed it fizzling out over the next 30 min or so, and staying well to the west.

Of course that wasn't the case...

We saw it moving closer... it would provide a more dramatic background for more photos.

Then I noticed a few boats racing back, which unnerved me a bit.

You can guess the rest of the story.  We were at anchor and the anchor was set well.  That being said, I was aware that I only had maybe 50 feet to react if we started dragging.  The squall came suddenly and it seemed like instantly, we swung on the anchor and started dragging across the channel.

I'm told I may have raised my voice slightly...

Vicky and the girls insisted later that it was simply a brief summer shower.  I experienced it as more like this.

(Jie took this... clearly I'm not happy, and Vicky is SHOCKED.)

I'm truly sorry for yelling, my dear.

Editors note:  During the car ride home the issue was raised that perhaps I was trying to be manly and impress our guests by yelling.  This couldn't be farther from the truth.  When I get angry, I tend to go silent.  There are many other and better ways to impress females.  If I raise my voice, in my mind, things are not well.  The best way to describe my state of mind at the moment was my inner 6-year old was overwhelmed emotionally and crying out for help.

(Not to excuse it, but my boat was drifting across the channel, one of my passengers was sick so I couldn't head out to the bay for more room,  and I couldn't enter the marina with those winds.)

Jie also captured this video that has more of the aftermath of my meltdown.  In fairness, the storm had already abated a bit by this point.

Of course as we motored in the direction of the marina, the skies cleared and Tao recorded this video of me docking under perfectly calm conditions just minutes after the most intense part of the storm.  The only way you know the storm happened is I'm soaking wet and there is so much water on the cockpit cushions that they appear glossy.

Once we docked and started drying off, I apologized repeatedly and invited my beautiful wife to enjoy a board game with her friends while I cooked a steak dinner.  Later, I tired to indoctrinate Tao and Jie into the magic of the Delos videos.

(They don't seem too thrilled...)

As sunset approached, I went out to fill the water tanks.  With three women staying on board for the night I needed the full 100 gallons!  That turned into a nice time on the foredeck watching the sunset and taking some photos.

After dinner, the competition got intense on the game.  (I think it was called Splendor.)  

Eventually we made up the bed in the aft stateroom for the first time.  

Shortly after that, I found myself in the middle of a pajama party and it was clearly time for me to head to bed.  I fell asleep to the wonderful sounds of laughter coming from the three of them in the salon.

Sunday, July 12

After waking up on Sunday morning, we had breakfast, cleaned up and then headed out.

I had the most stylish fishing crew on-board.

Vicky did manage (with lots of help) to get her new crab trap deployed.  Bait was week-old fried chicken.  

Of course we didn't catch anything.  (My entire life, I've never been fishing with someone where they caught something they could legally keep.  I swear fish can sense my presence on a boat.)

I do notice that she seems to be getting better and better at this.  Soon, I expect her luck will change.  Hopefully, I'm allowed to stay onboard to see it.  ;)