Dana Gunnison - A View From The Beach           St. Michael’s is one of the more enjoyable towns along the Chesapeake Bay.   It boasts expensive bed and breakfasts as well as a Lord Ashley conference center and an amazing number of trinket shops.  There are a few nicely priced restaurants as well as the wonderful Maritime Museum (however don’t expect them to be open after 9 p.m. even on a Friday night).   I’ve enjoyed most of these attractions.  But, until this year’s cruise, I’d never visited the Miles River Yacht Club or sampled the delights of its shower room and laundry.   Don’t get me wrong; any place that could produce such a pretty and well-behaved Senior Prom must have something going for it, because it sure wasn’t the launch ramp facilities.          I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that I’ve been thoroughly spoiled by my Seapearl 21 and its tilt trailer.  For 10 years, I’ve successfully launched the Pearl in any number of situations, including beach launching.  Obviously, I’m having a miserable time adapting to the much more intolerant demands of a very low slung trailer and a boat with a keel.   My mind seems to block out certain essential items and blithely assumes that one trailer able boat launches the same as any other trailer able boat.   Au contraire!  One simply cannot launch a Seaward Fox using a shallow ramp consisting of cement railroad ties, sand and at low tide.  One simply cannot retrieve a low-slung trailer off such a combination of hazards by using the vehicle one brought with him.  One simply cannot release the boat from the trailer unless wind and tide are with him.   And so, my interaction with the fleet during most of the weekend consisted of a short, somewhat garbled radio transmission.          I actually did make it out late Friday evening, in the dark, for an over night anchorage.   Coming back Saturday morning early to sort out the trailer mess (I had to leave it jammed on a cement tie and covered with water) I watched from the water as a construction employee used a Bobcat front loader to lift the trailer up off the ties and out.  After tying up at the sea wall and being smashed around, I decided that successfully recovering the boat and trailer was now a priority.  Wind and tide along with my new trailer tongue extension worked this time, because I didn’t have to back so far off the end of the ramp to get enough water to float the boat onto the bunker boards.          With little wind and more rain in the forecast, I camped out in a muddy parking field, dried clothes and hung out at the bar rather than attempt another debacle and get stuck even worse than the first go around.  Thanks to the club manager and two employees, the experience was less painful than it certainly could have been.

Pat & John and Dean & Mary at the Sunday luncheon

Sunday was glorious (and I remember other Sundays that were the best day of weather for the weekend - why is that?) and the SWS fleet came whipping up the river in no time.  It was great seeing everyone again, and although the club refrained from serving crab cakes, lunch was enjoyable and all too short.   Let’s hope the weather for up coming events proves better and we can coax other SWS folks into their boats and out on the water.   By the way, Debbie, Paul and Bob, I now come equipped with a washtub bass for impromptu music and song sessions.  See ya!