So after a year of learning to sail, I finally planned my first little destination trip. My wife and I along with another couple (of which the husband is the guy i usually sail with). Left Saturday morning from Rock Creek over to Rock Hall. We took off bright and early with winds out of the south around 8 knts and had a lazy sail across the bay, we sailed nicely past Rock hall getting south of the Swan Point shoal and then headed up and into the harbor. I had booked a slip at the Sailing Emporium which I highly recommend, it is a beautiful facility. Plus I docked like a boss with several tight turns and had witnesses (so it can happen, who knew!). We had booked a B and B called the Bay Breeze Inn and there is a trolley that runs folks into town for a dollar a person. However, there was a wedding in town and they were very busy, a 2 hour wait. But a nice local fellow overheard the conversation and told us to hop into the bed of his pick up and he'd run us up there, how nice! We checked in relaxed, and then had Dinner at the 4 Sirens which I also recommend, then after dinner Rock Hall has a very small concert hall so we went and saw Jeff Mulduar who is an early folkie from the 60's Greenwich village scene, dinner and a show in little Rock Hall - ok!. We really couldn't have asked for a nicer day.
Day two the return: Wow what a difference a day makes. We wake up and meet at a coffee shop, My buddy and I are drinking coffee on a patio in a really stiff breeze looking at the "new" marine forecast and we have a steady 25 knots out of the North with 4 foot seas. We set out a with a bit of trepidation, navigate out of the harbor with the bow getting pushed around pretty good, outside of the harbor we head south to get past the shoal and this is the first time i am in pretty big following seas, an interesting sensation. Once we get south enough we turn up and can really feel that wind and its blowing hard! My buddy points her in, and I raise the main and that goes ok, now the Jib, as that goes up she start to fill but one of the sheets gets tangled on the spinnaker ring on the Mast, this essentially makes her sheeted in way too tight and over we go to 45 degrees and maybe more, we get back around into the wind and released the pressure so I got it untangled in less than a minute (seemed alot longer hanging onto that mast). and then we sail - fast! close hauled , not a single tack straight up from rock hall into rock creek, almost to my home slip.
great fun, always learning but it did scare my wife a bit more than I would have liked.
