|
Cat TalesJune 1998 |
Sue Dennison & Joan Savage
The next CCYC Raft-up
will be held at Harness Creek, off the South River. The entrance to Harness
Creek lies 2 ½ miles from the South River marker and just short of South
River marker "10", on the north shore. After you pass the four-foot shoal on
the lower point, be sure to keep close to the starboard shore to avoid the
shoaling off Persimmon Point. The actual entrance to the creek is not marked,
so you'll just have to feel your way in, but there is plenty of deepwater and
you should have no problems. The raft will form off to port of the entrance.
Meet @ 4:00 PM and monitor channel 72 for any more information.
This is
also the weekend many of the women will sail together to share experiences and
build skills. Currently, Chantilly Lass and Scimitar will be the women-only
boats with Joan Savage and Sue Dennison, respectively, supplementing the
regular crew of Bev Davis and Karen Denholm. If you have expressed an interest
in joining in the women's event you will be contacted (by the time you receive
this newsletter) for your boat assignments. If you would still like to
participate in the women's sail, please contact Joan Savage 301-762-6752 or Sue
Dennison 301-262-4985 no later than June 8th. We have other boats and skilled
women available.
Pete and Karen Denholm, Scimitar
Are
you ready to sail? Scimitar will cut the waves leading the CCYC fleet down
south for a wonderful week of sailing. Some of the days will be long, but we
plan to rest midweek at the town of Crisfield. The trip will end with some
fireworks at the Fourth of July Raft-Up at Munger's Landing in Solomons Island.
We will monitor channel 72 each hour on the hour every evening from 3:00 to
8:00 PM. If you have trouble contacting us via VHF, then try calling our boat
phone at 703-609-7792.
Saturday. We will meet you at Dun Cove (just
North of Knapps Narrows off of Harris Creek) on Saturday . We plan to drop
anchor at about 3:00 PM.
Sunday. We will sail to Mill Creek in the
Patuxent River. As you pass the bridge and round Point Patience in the Patuxent
River, you are soon able to see the common approach shared by Mill and Cuckhold
Creeks off your port bow. A course of 344o takes you from the red "8" light at
the tip of Point Patience to the green "9" Patuxent River lighted marker, which
also indicates the south side of the approach into Mill and Cuckhold Creeks. As
you clear green "9", swing to port and follow the daymarks past Half Pone Point
into the creek mouths. As you clear the last red marker off Half Pone Point,
swing to port to enter Mill Creek. Look for us to the port near the cliffs. For
those of you already tired of cooking onboard, Clarke's Landing restaurant and
bar is available.
Monday. After enjoying Mill Creek in the Patuxent, we
will get an early start for Mill Creek in the Great Wicomico River on the
western shore. Are you ready to sail? This will be a 42-mile trip. Mill Creek,
one of the prettiest waterways in the region, shares a common approach with the
Great Wicomico. Once you pass the Great Wicomico River light, head southwest
directly toward the red "2" daymark, in the mouth of Mill Creek. Be sure to
honor the next two markers, giving green "3" a wide berth and holding fairly
close to red "4". As you pass red "4", swing sharply to starboard and you enter
Mill Creek proper. This promises to be a quiet, secluded
anchorage.
Tuesday. Today will be a short (compared to yesterday) sail
of 29 miles to the town of Crisfield on the eastern shore where a slip will be
waiting each boat at Somers Cove Marina. Reservations are recommended. Please
contact Somers Cove Marina at 800-967-3474 for slip reservations. The entrance
to Somers Cove is rather obscure, almost impossible to see until you are on top
of it. As you approach the green "11" beacon, you will see a large brick
building among a cluster of others on the east side of the river. Head for this
building and look for the small sign that points the way into the deep, narrow
channel between the packing plants and into Somers Cove.
Wednesday. No
sail day. Today, we have a few exploring options: walking around Crisfield, or
taking a ferry to Smith Island or Tangier Island. The ferry trip will cost $12
to $20 a person, depending on the cruise line you choose and its options. We
could end the day by treating ourselves to dinner ashore too. The last option
of the day will be to decide if we should stay in the slip or anchor in the
basin for Wednesday night.
Thursday. Now that we are all well rested we
will sail back to the western shore to explore the Patuxent River for a couple
of days. It is about 38 miles to the mouth of the river so we will plan for an
early start. Tonight's anchorage will be in Saint Johns Creek. Saint Johns
Creek is located past Mill Creek in Solomons Island. We will drop anchor past
green "5". There are eight Mill Creeks on the Bay. In the past couple of days
you have sailed three of them.
Friday. Let's go exploring up the
Patuxent River to Battle Creek. We don't know about you, but we would love to
check out (by dinghy) the 600-year-old bald cypress trees at the head of Battle
Creek. The entrance to this creek is marked with two buoys at a dogleg in the
channel through the shoals in its mouth. There is also a snag indicated to
starboard just prior to a 3-foot shoal opposite Prison Point. Swing well north
of the red marker in the Patuxent River to the west of Jack Bay and set a
course to head toward the east end of the sandspit inside the mouth of the
creek past Wells Cove. As the tip of Prison Point comes abeam, swing slowly to
port and feel your way in until the water depth drops to about 15 feet. From
then on, remain in the middle and you should fare well. We will drop anchor
about half way up the creek.
Saturday (Fourth of July). Max Munger is
not expecting us at his place on Mill Creek in Solomons Island until later in
the afternoon. How about we go up the Patuxent River to the swing bridge? Then
we could sail back down the river to rendezvous at Max Munger's Landing to
celebrate the Fourth of July. Festivities at Munger's Landing include grilling
ashore. We will enjoy the Solomons Island fireworks display.
Sunday.
Sail home.
This trip promises to be different and fun. Due to some of
the long distance days, plans may have to be altered slightly. If you plan to
join to us after the initial rendezvous at Dun Cove, please contact me at
703-541-3729 in the daytime or 703-313-0864 in the evenings prior to the
trip.