Belvedere Yacht Club. 56 Years on the Chesapeake

One of the best things about summers in Maryland is getting together with friends for a crab feast and there's no better place to spread the brown paper and steaming hot crabs than atop a table right beside the water.

Invited by friends who are members of the Belvedere Yacht Club, we made the short trip down the Magothy River from our slip at Ferry Point Marina for an overnight and the club's Annual Crab Feast. The club, founded in 1952, is small and members keep things well organized. As well as a great feast, we thoroughly enjoyed the company and the wonderful hospitality.

Safe at Ferry Point. Hanna has gone and Ike is heading to the Gulf

The plot above shows Hanna from the Thomas Point Light. The tidal surge was not great and the storm passed us by without incident. Lots of rain.

Deciding to keep Bristol Rose at Ferry Point proved to be a good move. Very little wind was experianced at the marina and the staff are very helpful.

Bristol Rose will return to the water this week.

Annual Routine Maintenance - Late Summer Haul-Out Special

We've owned Bristol Rose for eight months and this is the first time we've hauled her out for below the waterline annual maintenance.  She was well maintained when we purchased her.  In Canada and North America's northern states boats may be hauled out each winter. At the very least, winter maintenance means winterising the tanks with antifreeze.  A boat may be left in her slip and a bubbler left in the water so it doesn't freeze around the boat.  

We hauled out now to service all the thru hulls, apply new antifoul/bottom paint, etc.  It's an annual, mostly male, bonding ritual that takes place in every boatyard. If you can't be sailing you can be doing boat jobs. This year we took advantage of the (out of season) summer special the folks at Ferry Point Marina offered for haul-out and bottom paint. We use Interlux Micron CSC for our antifoul. The image above shows how well it is working after 12 months in the water.

The size of Bristol Rose presented a challenge for the yard crew and established the limit to what size boats they can haul. To get her out of the water the rigger removed the mizzen topping lift and port side mizzen shroud.




















Before and after shot of Max Prop following replacing the zincs and preparation for application of Propspeed. Propspeed is a relatively new product that protects the propeller from marine growth. A power boat, with propspeed applied, was hauled while I was working on Bristol Rose. After 18 months in the water the propellers were clean.

During this haul out I've cleaned and greased all 12 Spartan seacocks. We were very surprised to find this marine ecosystem in one of the seacocks.



Trish calls this the "whale end" of Britol Rose. Lookin' good after 2 days of wax and polish. We gave the Island Girl products a try. The products are expensive and the written instructions are not that great, although the finished result is impressive. To be fair they provide a video guide.

Almost ready to return to her slip.

Margate YC Raft Up on the Rhode River, Maryland

You should have been there! Perfect weather - just a little hot, 93 degrees F.  Randy and Pat from Homeward Bound declared "son, you sure look hot in those cool shades!". Ok, so that's not exactly the way it went. According to Randy and Pat it was perfect, “hot in the sun, cool in the shade”. Daisie Dog was there, looking cool in her best bandanna. The wind blew directly on the nose all the way down the bay, just like it always does when you're going someplace.

On the weekend, the Margate Yacht Club, not to be confused with the less selective Maryland Yacht Club, held the 2008 season annual raft up on the Rhode River, MD.

As soon as we set the anchor we were quick to join the rest of the gang in the water. Daisie was reluctant to get in at first, then after jumping from dinghy to dinghy, whimpering and barking, she threw caution to the wind and leapt on top of Michele, trying to walk on water to get to me.

A perfect Saturday evening, time for pot luck dinner under an almost full moon. Kate brought venison, marinated and cooked to perfection on the grill, Pat's Steak Salad was a hit and Michele's key lime pie was according to Trish "to die for", not a crumb left! Thanks Tim and Michele for hosting aboard Wayward Sun.

Sunday morning and we need to get moving to get back to work Monday. But first we need to take Bristol Rose to her new home at Ferry Point Marina.

We enjoyed sailing back home, Homeward Bound leading the way, Bristol Rose and Wayward Son sailing together until we started running with the wind and Wayward Sun flew her Spinnaker, pulling away from us. It's these moments I think we too need a brightly colored spinnaker. Still dreaming.

Our new marina is about 5 miles up the Magothy River on the entrance to Mill Creek. With assistance from Al, Paul, John and Elliot we got Bristol Rose into her new slip. Big boat in a small mill creek with shoals on each bank can get interesting when it comes to docking. With plenty of assistance, no problem.

We are still experimenting with our Blog, trying ideas. Let us know what you think.
Capt. Robert

Getting cold, time to curl up with a good book and a boat tour.

January 26 is Australia Day and today is the end of a cold week in Baltimore. I went down to the harbor to check on Bristol Rose. A thin layer of ice is on the water but none around Bristol Rose. One of the great features of Bristol Rose is the Espar diesel heater. It's so convenient and cosy in winter meaning we can still spend time aboard in comfort.


One place I always like to visit when at the marina is the laundry because at the Anchorage Marina fellow cruisers leave books and DVDs they want to swap. Trish calls it the Laundry Library. We get a great kick out of leaving a book we've enjoyed and then seeing that it has moved on to who knows where. We have found some real treasures left by others.

What are you reading?

On our blog you'll see we have set up a link to our Laundry Library page where friends can share recommendations for books, music, videos and blogs. Send us an email (click on Contact Us) if you'd like to recommend or share a book review of your own. 


Transit is an interesting wooden boat, built in England. She is one of our neighbours and it was a real treat to have a tour with owner, Jason. She is absolutely gorgeous below decks and has a wonderful history including a visit by Princess Margaret!

Baltimore's Inner Harbor on our new sailboat, Bristol Rose.

Now that Bristol Rose is ours, we will move her to the Anchorage Marina at Canton in Baltimore.

The Anchorage Marina, Canton MD

This year I returned the sails to the maker, Kappa Sails to have them cleaned, checked for repairs and sunbrella UV covers added to the Yankee and Genoa ready for the summer. Typically boats seem to fill in the available time with jobs to do. Bristol Rose is no different. I have a short list of projects we want to attend to over the next year. These include:

• Engine Service. Previous owners put 2000 hours on motoring up and down the Intracoastal Waterway
• Brightwork 
• New TV
• Laptop computer, navigation & photography software
• Repace the Dinghy, we now have 2, a Trinka 10 and an Avon and a Honda 2hp outboard. I am thinking of getting a Walker Bay RIB
• New life raft and replace flairs
• Ham radio licence
• Windvane, still looking but like Cape Horn and Monitor
• Lots or organization, downsizing and packing stuff away

We will stay over some weekends and holidays. We can't wait to explore the Inner Harbor, Fells Point and Canton and enjoy the inner city location.

White Rocks Marina, Pasadena to Crisfield, Home of Crabs. Two Weeks on the Chesapeake Bay

S/V Sandpiper, 30ft S2

We purchased our first sailboat, Sandpiper, a 30ft S2 9.2, in 2005. Our collective sailing experience prior to Sandpiper was gained aboard OPB's (other people's boats) and on Hobie Cats rented on stormy afternoons (how to test sailing skills!) at Balmoral Beach in Sydney. During July of 2005, we spent two great weeks exploring the Chesapeake Bay with our son, Elliot and Daisie Dog. 

Although we'd spent the past 3 months putting our mark on Sandpiper with a few coats of varnish on the brightwork, re-caulking of the toerails and chainplates, installing a new hatch and new head, removing the microwave and re-installing the original Origo fuel-burning stove, and a general spit and polish above and below decks, we learned a thing or two during that 2 weeks about prudent and thorough boat maintenance. Quick attention to the stuffing box and a new forestay were both on the agenda during that trip. Luckily there are many services on the Chesapeake and we had no worries getting things in order and back underway quickly.

St Michaels Museum

We sailed out of White Rocks Marina on Rock Creek, Pasedena Maryland on the 4th of July weekend, heading to St. Michaels. From there we criss-crossed the Bay all the way to Crisfield (the Home of Crabs) in the first week, then turned around and headed back towards Baltimore during the second. Anyone who sails the Chesapeake Bay will tell you that July is not the best time to sail. Despite the heat and light winds resulting in running the engine when we'd rather be sailing, we count those 2 weeks as two of the best weeks we've spent on vacation.
Crisfield, old and new.

On the final day, we sailed back into White Rocks with a storm chasing us up from Annapolis and another closing around us out of Baltimore. A spectacular moment at the very end of our journey; the skies pitch dark all around, a small craft advisory over the radio, power boats tearing across the water for shelter, sailboats docked, and one bright shaft of skylight breaking through the clouds directly above the entrance to Rock Creek. Like a light in the window welcoming us home, it was as if someone had turned on the light waiting for our return; an incredible sight and the perfect ending to a special vacation.

These are the things that make sailing so special.  We ask ourselves why we waited so long to buy a sailboat.