Friday, May 20, 2011   Solomons, MD to Haven Harbour Marina, Rock Hall, MD

We awake to get an early start for the final leg of the long trip home from Marathon, FL.  First thing, we check the weather forecast on the internet.  The forecast from NOAA Marine Weather, is W winds  of 5 knots, waves less than a foot.  What a wonderful forecast for the final 60 mile trip to Rock Hall.

We pass Cove Point and the LNG gas platform and head up the bay.  The wind starts to pick up and the waves are close to two feet.  Perhaps a little post sunrise breeze.  An hour later the winds are a steady 20 mph and the waves are a good two to three feet.  The CG comes on Ch. 16 and says for the current forecast  to switch to Ch. 22.  I’m thinking, they’re going to give us an up to date forecast.  Well, they give us the same 5 kts. From the W.  I then make a comment on Ch 16…”Perhaps the weather service should take a look out the window”.   I know that’s not proper  VHF etiquette, but what the heck, the winds are now blowing over 20 mph, the waves are two to three, with an occasional four feet on the port side beam quarter.  Thank God for the stabilizers.

We decide that this is not just a temporary thing with the wind and decide to bail out.  The option is to head up the Choptank River entrance, go through Knapps Narrows, up Eastern Bay, up the Miles River and through the Kent Narrows, out the Chester River, and up the Bay to Rock  Hall.

This route not only provided us with some protection from the N to NW  winds and waves, but also means we will not be going against the two knot current down the Bay past Kent Island, but only against a .2 knot current coming down Eastern Bay. That is a huge difference for our planned 7.5 mph cruising speed.

We make such  good time up Eastern Bay, that once past Parsons Island, we have to slow down to five MPH, to time the Kent Narrows Bridge.

We get to the bridge with a few minutes to spare, but have a difficult time raising the bridge tender on Ch 13.  There is a state dump truck on the bridge as we are standing bye.  Finally, some hillbilly bridge tender responds to our calls, and informs us the bridge will open on schedule at 2:00 PM, which puts us right on time for our predicted TOA  in Rock Hall of 3:30 PM.

The bridge opens on time.  Just as we are passing through we get a cell phone call from our friend Bernie from the boat “Hi Gale”.  He’s  in a car going across the bridge, on the way with another friend,  Jerry from the boat “Cutting Class”, to Anchor Bay East, to bring Jerry’s boat back to Rock Hall.  Since they travel at over 20 mph in their high powered Viking,  it will be a race to see who gets to Rock Hall first.

As we are off Rock Hall and the covered sheds of North Point Marina, we get a call on the VHF from Big Mike, the dockmaster from Haven Harbour, inquiring about our TOA.  We inform him, that we should be arriving around 3:30 PM.

All of a sudden our cell phones start ringing and getting text messages.  Seems like all the kids and Laura Delaney are following us on SPOT, and see the ”Goose” is getting very close to the barn. 

We arrive at Haven Harbour at 3:33 PM, three minutes late.  We get tied up, hooked up,  and start cocktail hour a little early.  “Cutting Class” arrives about an hour later and the party continues.

Tomorrow is Opening Day for the The Haven Yacht Club, which Trina’s niece Beth is the Commodore this season.  We’re very glad to be back home in Rock Hall for the summer.