The attached word doc has the same content as below so
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Synopsis of the Chesapeake Bay Cruise for 2006
Saturday all 8 boats arrived and we all had a good
kick off diner at a local restarurant with really
friendly watresses. 3 of us slept in the boats on
land the rest in the water.
Sunday a nice down wind run with nice winds, cloudy
skies, a sprinkle or two but a nice enjoyable day.
This was the first chance to see how the SunCat 16
fared against the Montomeries. What a good show!!
That gaff rigged cat boat pulled away from the M15s on
the downwind runs and pressed the M17s all the way to
the bridge.
Went through the draw bridge and into a nice little
anchorage. Some of the friendly locals motored out
and shared the local histoy and had a gam.
We had an 8 boat raft up and as Al realated it became
a 5 boat raft up as the 1, 11 lb Bruce couldnt hold
the 8 boats in the strong winds of the thunderstorm.
Had to have a cold supper that night.
Monday on again off again rain. After the showers
went through we moseyed over in light winds to Queens
creek. The last 3 through the bridge sailed downwind
through the drawbridge opening. We split into two
groups for the night and didnt really raft up. The
shore line was close enough for the very friendly
locals to chat. They offered rides to the store,
showers and whatever else we needed. Nice.
Tuesday Al and Stan split off to head back up the
Piankatank river while the other 6 boats headed into
the bay in the teeth of a 15 to 20 kt northerly. A
tought slog for me in my M15 with a storm jib and
reefed main into the 2 3 ft waves ( 4 6 trough to
peak). Rick and I cut the corner on the turn up the
Rapahanock river and had a rough ride through the
shallows. Then it was a wild sleigh ride at hull
speed on a broad to beam reach down the center of the
Rapahanock.
We were all ready to for a rest after a long tough
day of sailing and had a very pleasant raft up in
Irvington. Much to our surprise there was not a
restaurant to be had except for the Tides Inn Marina
at a forecast price of $60 - 70 per person for dinner.
Needless to say we ate on the boats. John had gone
in for ice and discovered the lack of facilities, but
a friendly local offered a ride to the store about 8
miles away so it worked out ok.
That darn gaff rigged SunCat out pointed the M15s and
pressed the M17s hard even up wind. What a great
little cruising boat. May be it was just the superior
sailing skills of Frank Durant that made it look so
easy.
Wednesday sailed up the Corrotoman creek and stopped
at the only Marina for ice, and trash deposit. Ice
was cheap, dumping the trash was free and the people
were real friendly. Continued up the river looking
for a beach to swim from as it had gotten hot and the
wind was gusting in hammer blows a steady 10 kt with
gust to 25 kts smack! Smack! Smack! Very unstable
air. We did not raft up for fear of thunderstorms.
Thursday no winds in the AM. Took 6 people in the
M15 for a motor tour up the east branch of the
Corrotoman. 6 people are not recommended in the M15
it was top heavy and squirrly.
Winds came up about 11 but were light and we had a
long way to go. With the light winds the group became
pretty scattered. I stopped for swim during one of
the many flat calm periods to dive under the M15 to
free up the centerboard. That darn gunk sure gets in
the hole of my centerboard.
The sun came out strong and made for some strong
thunderstorms and we all got caught out to various
degrees. I probably fared the worst boat heeled to
starboard at about 60 70 degrees with the jib
halyared loose, the jib flogging like hell, the
mainsail out of the sail track with the halyard loose,
the boom popped off of the mast, the mainsail flying
like a spinnaker, while the boom sawed back and forth
on the lee shroud, torrential down pour so I couldnt
see more than two boat lengths, but saw some pilings
going by at 3 kts. well I lived and those near
death experiences sure make you fell alive!
We all made it to Deltaville but Tod was too late for
dinner. The Marina manager was a very friendly lady
who made a fine recommendation for diner. By the time
we had finished the dinner and 5 bottles of wine she
showed up at the bar and was very very friendly. A
good time was had by all.
Friday almost no wind so we motored from Deltaville
back up the Piankatank and rafted up in secluded Cobb
Creek. The real friendly locals came out and offered
their homes for showers, cars for runs to the grocery
store what ever we needed.
Saturday winds kicked up during the night and was
blowing 15 20 from the Northwest. Of course we
were heading NW. Most of us motor and those that
sailed finally gave up when the winds were gusting
into the 25 kt range.
We all made it back to the launching ramp by 2 pm,
packed up and said the sad farewells to end another
superb cruise.
Thanks
Doug Kelch
"Seas the Day"
M15 #310
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