Month: October 2013

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Visiting s/v Sanuk in Crisfield

During warmer days in Vero Beach- Nov 2010

During warmer days in Vero Beach- Nov 2010

Once you meet a boat and her owners you tend to refer to them by the boat name. Even though s/v Sanuk herself (a Baba 30) spent the long winter in Marathon, FL and may eventually be replaced, Chris and Tracy will always be “Sanuk” to us. First though, a few words about Crisfield, who bills itself the “Crab Capital of the World”.

Originally called Annemessex, a Native American word meaning “bountiful waters”, Crisfield was a fishing village when Benjamin Somers was granted 300 acres in 1663 on what later became Somers Cove. Much like other towns nearby, Crisfield exploded in the mid-1800s when, thanks to John Woodland Crisfield, the railroad arrived. Oyster shipments ramped up and residents prospered. In 1866 the town was renamed Crisfield in honor of the man who was largely responsible for the flourishing economy.

By 1872 Crisfield was one of the biggest seafood producers in the U.S. and would fill 18 boxcars with oysters in a day!  Imagine all those mountains of discarded oyster shells. The town fathers believed in recycling and had the marshes filled with the shells, creating much of today’s waterfront in Crisfield. A town of many seafood festivals and producing at least one Maryland governor, Crisfield is very sleepy in the off-season. Oysters no longer rule, crabs do and they are heavily promoted.  Street and shop signs, the town’s water tower; all illustrate “crab capital.”

Somers Cove Marina had plenty of room for us.. and many others!

Somers Cove Marina had plenty of room for us.. and many others!

All that being said, we came to see Chris and Tracy who we hadn’t seen since spring 2011 as we both were headed north. This summer was their second as owners of Crisfield Boat Rentals (CBR), offering pontoons, kayaks, paddle boards, skiffs and a HobieCat to eager area visitors. Tour boats take you to Tangier and Smith islands, fishing charter boats bring you to fish and Crisfield Boat Rental fills the gap with providing the up close and personal on-water experience. Somers Cove Marina fills much of the basin, with the Coast Guard, tour boats and CBR occupying the rest. Off-season the marina looks nearly abandoned, too big for the need you start to think. But then in season with all the fests, fishing and fun, the marina fills up and boats anchor in the middle of the basin too.

Crisfield Boat Rental occupies space near the basin's entrance- can't miss 'em

Crisfield Boat Rentals occupies space near the basin’s entrance- can’t miss ’em

We dined, drank and met many of our friend’s friends. With a population of less than 2,000, knowing more than your immediate neighbor is easy. Plus, own a business and you get to know a ton of people.

One of the only (sit-down) restaurants open year-round is Waterman’s. Co-owner Brian, a “when he has time” sailor, stopped by to chat. He’s familiar with our home waters; a fact that should stop surprising us. Many people we meet have a connection to, have visited or cruised the waters of eastern LIS and the CT to MA shoreline- including all those well-known destination islands.

The weather placed a layer of gloominess over our short visit, but Chris and Tracy know how to have a good time and that we did. Our pontoon harbor tour was our first time in a flat, boxy multihull with more pep than you’d think. Very comfy with plenty of drink holders, room to lounge, oodles of storage and you can have a sun cover and a porta-potty to help extend your cruising range. When we eventually settle somewhere and become CLODs (cruisers living on dirt) a pontoon boat will be high on my list.  We see them everywhere along the ICW, filled with smiling faces who always wave. 🙂

Our tour boat arrives; a great way to enjoy happy hour

Our tour boat arrives; a great way to enjoy happy hour

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Stealth Again

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Early risers gather before going out for today’s catch

Wanting better protection for the night and positioning for heading south down the Bay in NW winds, we left Oxford bound for Balls Creek off Broad Creek (one of many Broad Creeks around). During the night the wind would shift from S to NW, picking up to 20kts with higher gusts.

We had a new (secondary) anchor watch app for the iPhone5 called Anchor! and thought this was a good opportunity to try it out. Ideally you mark where you drop your anchor (as in be out with the app going at the bow and touch the anchor symbol) then create a comfort zone circle around yourself. The app will notify you with an email, sound an alarm and your phone will flash if you move outside your safety circle. If you are off the boat and get the email, you can use the “Find My Phone” feature to see on the map just where the boat has moved to. Another app we tested out had the option for the on-board phone to call your other phone so you’d know asap if you might be dragging. We contacted the creator of Anchor! to suggest he add the calling option to his app (we liked Anchor! better than the other) and heard back quickly that he would if he could make it work with his application.

The good news is that we didn’t drag, the bad news was I got the worst night’s sleep of the trip. The wind was noisy and so was the base of the mast and some furl line squeaked on and off all night. Ugh.

As we left our creek for Broad Creek which would lead to the Choptank and on in to the Bay, so many oystermen were gathered- twice as many as I could photograph- ready to begin their day which for us was starting earlier than usual. My Salada tea tag read, “Wind is air in a hurry.” How apropos for today. The wind was still honkin’ for the first few hours but after 10am we shook out the reef and let the jib out full. The wind continued to diminish and soon we were motor-sailing, then the last couple hours were a pure motor.

Heard s/v Harmony II calling another vessel; closing in on them!  This cool dude was heading north along the western shore. Our friends at Wikipedia say she’s M80 Stiletto, a prototype naval ship with a pentamaran hull design. Launched in 2006 she appears to be an “only.” A healthy cruising speed of 40kts with a top speed of 50kts, she was crawling at 30kts when we saw her (AIS).  Carbon fiber construction with a 2 1/2 ft draft for her large 90’x40’ body; she could visit the Bahamas easily with such a shallow draft. 🙂

Naval stealth boat M80 Stiletto- barely skims the waves

Naval stealth boat M80 Stiletto– barely skims the waves

Further down the bay several miles north of our turn east through Kedges Strait a Navy vessel hailed a southbound catamaran- but it wasn’t us. Hadn’t seen many sailing vessels today, so was curious to see another cat probably headed for Crisfield too.  We subsequently spoke to Navy Moose and learned that target practice was occurring just south of our turn east and we just needed to keep a healthy two miles away. So that explains the AIS vessel near the dotted “bombing” circle on the chart.

We arrived at Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield at 4pm, a 62nm, eight and ½ hour-day. Wind more hurried today than usual. A great sail while it lasted.