Photos by Don Besom, Morry Kapitan, Jake Millar, & Ken Murphy
Mini-reports from various cruise participants

John Zohlen - Lets do it again!          Someone once said it isn’t a Spring Cruise until it rained...  and something broke.   Based on that theory, the Twenty-Fourth Annual Chesapeake Bay Spring Cruise was a total success.  We did have rain, but unlike other years, no high winds.   Just gentle spring rain and plenty of it!   And, a few boats had gear problems.   My twelve-year old Evinrude acted like the original water pump impeller needs replacing.     Enjoying/enduring (take your pick) the spring rains were (see group picture below, participants are ordered as they appear from left to right) :

Kay Besom from MD in her Bay Hen ... husband, Don was the photographer Morry Kapitan from PA in his Peep Hen, Peep Hen Jake Millar from NJ in his Dovekie, Shore Bird Alice and Harry Mote from NJ in their Shearwater, Ardea, Harry is kneeling Ken Murphy from MD in his Bay Hen, Sanity Mary Slaughter & Dean Meledones of MD in their Shearwater, Blue Heron Sandy Lomen and Leo Smith from NY in their Dovekie, Waterbed Dana Gunnison from MD in his Seaward Fox, Therapy, Dana is kneeling Phil Sampson from VA in his Dovekie, Dovekie, between Sandy and Leo Bill Zeitler from DE in his Bay Hen, Amenity, Bill is kneeling John and Patty Gerty from MA in their, Martha Jane, Zephyr John Zohlen from MD in his Dovekie, Zephyrus

Waterbed and Ardea on the Miles River near St. Michaels, Maryland

There are some interesting statistics about this year’s cruise.  The total sailing time was probably less than five hours.  There were only four Dovekies in the fleet of twelve boats, the lowest number in the nineteen cruises in which I have participated.  There were two boats without masts: Bill Zeitler’s poor man’s trawler (a Bay Hen) and the Meledones’ Shearwater (mast undergoing extensive repairs).  Chili can be eaten three meals a day.  More on that later.  Two boats had launched earlier in the week in the upper bay: Bill on the Northeast River and the Motes on the Chester River.  The cruise was one week earlier than previous years because of facility availability at the Miles River Yacht Club.          We did not cover much ground this year.  Sailing was more like running before the rain fell.  Nine boats were launched at the MRYC after a delay clearing bulkhead materials from the ramp.   The ramp was shallow and across a sandy beach.  We abandoned our original sail plan early and did not try to go above the Miles River Bridge.   Instead, we sailed in a gentle SE wind to Hunting Creek and nested in a sheltered cove in anticipation of the predicted afternoon thunderstorm. A tradition was established many cruises ago where Norm Wolfe would always brought curry and Sandy made the rice.  This year I received a post card from Norm and Tiiu the week of the cruise.  It was posted in Warsaw, Poland.   No curry this year.  Instead of curry, Sandy brought venison Texas chili and rice... for seven persons!   Leo, Phil and I did our very best to finish it.   Just could not do it!   We would see the chili again at the Saturday afternoon raft up.  Patty and John joined us just before supper.  Several boats were in communications with Mary, Dean and Dana.   Dana’s Fox had trouble launching and was stuck on the ramp.  They elected to spend the night in Long Haul Creek, site of the MRYC.          The Friday afternoon thunderstorm never materialized.  Instead, it began to rain gently after supper.  We broke up the nests and anchored for the night.  It rained off and on all night.  By morning it stopped.  Many boats rafted for breakfast and a second cup of coffee trying to gauge the day’s weather and plan the next anchorage.   About 11:00 o’clock someone (it must have been Norm) suggested we sail back up river and spend the night in Leeds Creek, across from the MRYC.  The planned anchorage is undeveloped and well protected.  I have spent many nights there previously.            We all got underway and left the security of Hunting Creek.  Just as we came out on the Mile River it began to rain.   Norm must have been laughing.  And it rained harder and harder... and the wind died.  I shipped the oars and rowed the last half-mile to the anchorage.

Sailing toward Leeds Creek , Dovekie gets wet

By the time we anchored in a nest the rain stopped.   We spent the rest of the afternoon eating chili and chips and whatever was in the larder.   Sandy said they had  rice for breakfast.  The Meledones joined the nest.   Eleven boats on my 5kg Bruce anchor.   Not a record (15), but not too bad.   We broke the nest up at dusk.   There was a gentle rain off and on all night.

 
The Nest Almost Complete ... Time to Dry Off and Relax

By the time we anchored in a nest the rain stopped.   We spent the rest of the afternoon eating chili and chips and whatever was in the larder.   Sandy said they had  rice for breakfast.  The Meledones joined the nest.   Eleven boats on my 5kg Bruce anchor.   Not a record (15), but not too bad.   We broke the nest up at dusk.   There was a gentle rain off and on all night.          Sunday morning was cool and crisp with a gusty NW wind.   Several boats left Leeds Creek early to do some more sailing on the Miles River.  They indicated a building fetch coming up the river and gusty winds.  Most of us put in a reef as we got underway.  As I entered the Miles River I put the weatherboard down, the leeboard up and pulled the sheet in tight for a slough to windward.   Thirty minutes later I was grabbed by welcoming hands as I beached the boat next to the MRYC ramp.  The next two hours were spent recovering boats from the shallow ramp.  The Meledones elected to go to the St. Michael’s municipal ramp, about two miles up river.  After securing the boats for the road we all assembled in the MRYC Trophy Room for lunch.  The waitress came into the room and said everything in the room was for us...  She meant the soup, ice tea, coffee and chocolate chip cookies, of course.   After she said that, six folks stood up and pointed to one of the beautiful silver trophies in the cases along the wall and said they want “that one”!   We all laughed.   Good-byes were said in the parking lot and once more I will not see some very special folks in my life for another year.  Thanks for coming, all.  And have a good sailing season. PS: I would like to propose holding the 25th Annual Spring Cruise from April 30 to May 2, 2004.  I will see if the MRYC has that date open and the ramp is on their list of water front improvements.

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