Welcome to Steve and Rudi’s excellent adventure with sailing vessel “Moor Fun,” a 34′ sloop-rigged catamaran manufactured by Performance Cruising, Inc., in Annapolis, MD. Yep, no kidding. Something is actually made in the good old USA.
We purchased our new Gemini 105Mc in June, 2008, while she was still under construction, following a tour of the factory. They bring in barrels of slurpy stuff and bolts of fabric in one end of the building, and about a week later, a new sailboat pops out of the other end of the building. Very cool.
We opted for only a couple of minor modifications from Tony Smith’s outstanding concept — only one coat (vs. the standard 3) of teak oil (more info here), and addition of some DC and AC outlets. We took delivery of “Moor Fun” on 10 July, and then turned her over in situ to Peter Kennedy to install an inverter, a windlass, a DC outlet in the head and some cockpit lights.
This blog serves as an online log of our adventures (and misadventures) with “Moor Fun.” We sincerely hope you enjoy the ride.
A note — I updated the blog on 7/25/2010, and modified the “published on” dates of the posts in order to make it a little more coherent. In the future, it is my intent to publish posts shortly after the event in order to ensure chronological consistency.
/s/Capt Hotdog
July 19th, 2008
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HotDog |
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Having a four-legged crewmember brings certain logistical requirements. Specifically, they need to walk around and smell things on dry land once in a while. They also need to take care of business there. We have found some anchorages and marinas in the northern Chesapeake that are particularly well-suited to canine crew. Here are our favorites.
Anchorages
When evaluating an anchorage, we find ourselves scanning the shoreline for public access to sandy beach or grassy areas. Places to tie up a dinghy and climb up a bank are also on our list. Anchorages that are completely surrounded by private land that is off-limits to transient canine crew just don’t suit our needs and we move on.
Turner’s Creek, Sassafras River – This anchorage is adjacent to a large county park with grassy fields to run free and long walking trails. Very beautiful, very cool, and almost unknown.
Fairlee Creek – Easy access to a marina and a public beach to run in the surf and catch fish! Wee!
Marinas
By far, the most dog-friendly marina on the Bay, and possibly in the universe, is Slaughter Creek Marina on Taylor’s Island, Eastern Shore, Maryland. The restaurant/bar is named after a now deceased family pet — Palm Beach Willie. Every item on the menu is named after a dog! When we arrived there on a particularly hot day with our friend “Blue Dog,” and her crew, they gladly let us take Amber and Penny into the pool with us. It was literally a life-saver for our canine crew. The dogs hung out with us on the dock bar, and Penny found a favorite “fishing” beach adjacent to the marina. We’ve found other marinas that have made special preparation for dogs — designated dog walk grassy areas, litter bags/cans. And we very much appreciate those amenities. Some notable canine-friendly marinas include:
July 29th, 2010
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HotDog |
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We have developed and continue to refine checklists for routine and emergency operations.
You can download our latest checklist for routine ops and maintenance as a pdf file here.
If you’d like a version of the checklist in an editable format (e.g., MS Word “.doc”), login below with your email address, leave a “Comment” requesting it and I’ll send it to you.
The checklist prints out in 5″x7″ format, so you’ll want to trim it with a paper cutter. Then bind it on the top like a flip-chart.
Any sailor worth his salt will know his boat inside and out. But, in a stressful situation your IQ goes to “0″ in a hurry. So, everybody — even astronauts — needs checklists. We modeled our checklist after those used in aviation kneeboards so the book is easy to keep close in the cockpit and easy to refer to.
We will be adding an emergency checklist to this site in the near future. This checklist will specify things like where the fire extinguishers are, where more life vests are stowed, what frequencies/channel to use for emergency calls. How to make an emergency call. How to conduct a MOB recovery. What to do when you spot another boat in trouble.
The purpose of these checklists is twofold. First, preparation of the checklists affords us an opportunity to discuss various emergency scenarios like MOB or fire. Second, it brings peace of mind for us and for visitors to know that if something happens, there is at least one place they can get help immediately — the checklist.
July 29th, 2010
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HotDog |
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Unique Challenges
The Chesapeake offers a fantastic array of cruising destinations — from the most primitive you may find anywhere (e.g., the Wye River, and Smith Island), to middle America (Annapolis, Virginia Beach), to the most urban (Baltimore Inner Harbor, access to the Potomac and Washington, DC, Norfolk). The bay is narrow in some places and wide in others, with expanses of deep water, and marshy tidal bogs and tributaries accessible by Gem.
The Bay also presents some challenges to newcomers.
Crab Pots
First, those danged crab pots. They’re everywhere. They should not be in a marked channel, but you will find them there. A crab pot is usually a wire cage on the bottom with a piece of bait (e.g., chicken) in it, and hopefully crabs. A float is attached to the pot by a line. A single crab pot can ruin your whole day because that line will find and wrap itself around your rudder, or worse — the prop on your auxiliary. It can kill your motor instantaneously, usually with a very unpleasant shudder. Gem owners need be especially attentive to crab pots when motoring. The twin hulls serve to funnel the pot into your auxiliary. Observe the pots to determine which way the current is flowing, and take that into account as you “crab” around a close one.
Pots are usually color coded to reflect their owners’ taste. So, you may stumble onto some that are black, and absolutely invisible to the naked eye from a distance of more than a few feet. Stay alert.
Don’t harvest crabs from pots that aren’t yours. That’s illegal. Pots are often found on either side of the entrance to a channel. Also, they tend to be laid out in a regular pattern — along a line, or in a grid. This is because they are dropped and serviced by working boats, so it’s just more efficient that way. You can take advantage of that by noting the pattern of the field, then looking for the shortest distance to the edge of the field.
Commercial Traffic
Another major challenge is commercial shipping. If you haven’t before seen up close and personal the behemoths that ply the Chesapeake, they can be quite scary. Because they are so large, it is sometimes difficult to judge their speed. If you’re not paying attention, they can sneak up on you. Also (speaking from experience here), at night, when you are observing traffic through binoculars, you may be deceived because the target can fill your entire field of view. What looks like two or more different boats may be one big guy. Anytime you see a large commercial vessel in the Bay, you should immediately try to discern which way it’s going — toward you or away from you. If toward you, then note your position relative to the shipping channels and make immediately for the nearest boundary. In the Bay, there are intersecting channels. Usually if you stay just outside of a channel, you’ll have plenty of water, and good margin of clearance with the shipping traffic. Just be sure to get out of the big guy’s way — Remember, he has right of way, even if you are under sail. On a 3kt day, this can be a challenge, so pay attention.
Another kind of commercial traffic is the working waterman’s skiff. These boats are a little unpredictable because they are focused on pulling crab pots. Some will race full-out to a pot, then come to a dead stop for a short time. They may turn on a dime because they’re at the end of a line, and head for another line. Remember, these are working boats. Their right of way is protected by Admiralty law. They know they have to share the waters with pleasure boaters, and they’re usually pretty good about making adjustments to accommodate sailboats. But they don’t have to. A working boat has rights. For him time is money, and he may not be happy to wait around for your boat to bob on out of his pot field. Those are hard working boats. They go out early — every day. And they bring back succulent goodies. So, give ‘em a break, as they say, and honor them a wide berth when you can.
Other Boaters
Another kind of challenge is other pleasure boaters. I’m sure it seems this way everywhere, but you’d think being near the Center of the Sailing Universe (Annapolis) would make a little difference. It doesn’t. On the Bay, you cannot make any assumption about the other guy’s knowledge of the “Rules of the Road.” And, the most important — and legally binding — rule is that you are required to do everything you can to avoid a collision. Simply maintaining your heading because you have right-of-way over some go-fast boat is not sufficient under Admiralty Law.
Fishing boats are also out in force at times. You’ll come upon a large patch of boats trolling some favorite hole. When you can, you should navigate around the entire patch. These boats may be trailing several lines of several hundred feet in length, and their tackle may be just beneath the surface. You also increase your risk of collision if you insist on plying through, since they may not be paying attention to you. If they are busy hauling in a big Rock Fish, they’re not even going to know you’re around. Because they are working boats (technically), your protection against liability is uncertain in a collision. So, steer clear.
Weather
Finally, the weather and sea states. The Chesapeake is a unique place. It’s big enough to affect regional weather patterns, and it does. You can be out on a perfectly peaceful afternoon with a few puffy clouds, and one big puff-ball off over there somewhere — usually to the west and west-northwest. You go below for a minute, come back and it’s dark outside. Winds can kick up faster than you can imagine. From 3 kts to 30 or 40 in just a couple of minutes. A good rule of thumb is — if the thought of reefing occurs to you, Just Do It! You might already be too late. In some parts of the world, a 40kt wind is considered serious. On the Chesapeake, 40kts won’t even show up on the weather forecast. An unannounced 70kt blow is possible. Sometimes with hail. Best bet, pay attention to the weather and don’t hesitate to reef.
A related issue is the famous “Chesapeake chop.” You’ll find this surprising — most of the wave action in the Chesapeake is caused by other pleasure boats. I once worked for a small radar company doing research on a marine radar product. On a typical summer afternoon, our computers tracked more than 3000 boats within our low-power radar horizon. The choppiness usually kicks up by late morning, and subsides by early evening. Occasionally, in the middle of nowhere, you’ll find a “rogue” wave. Not the big rogues that have been documented in blue water, but big enough to spill your drink or your crew — even on a Gem! The chop and rogues aren’t usually a serious safety concern — but they contribute to passenger comfort, and therefore to Admiral’s affections.
Tidal currents can also be an issue in some areas of the Bay. 3-4kt currents are not uncommon. In a 5kt boat, that can represent an interesting challenge. Currents are evident even in the middle of the Bay.
Welcome!
These topics aren’t meant to scare. We love the Chesapeake. It is a wonderful gift from Planet Earth. A little forethought and attention to these topics will enable you to have a safe and memorable experience in our home waters. Welcome! Enjoy! Let us know about your experiences!
July 28th, 2010
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HotDog |
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