Magnolia is under sail headed for the Wye River on the Eastern Bay.

Well ok, maybe only has far as the West & Rhode Rivers but at least we were able to break away from the slip! Its seems longer than it was to have Magnolia stranded on land for the winter. Finally Sunday afternoon Magnolia was ready for quick equipment checkout ride. Unfortunately upon leaving the dock we had everything but wind! Our friends Wes & Brenda decided to take a break from chores on their boat to catch some sun and let someone else do the driving for a while. Of course as soon as we decided to return to the dock the wind started to build out of the SSE which from a docking perspective is the worst direction! (Blows us into the slip and away from the dock) We managed okay (read as not exceptionally pretty) but it was our first underway of the season! 

It was a good winter in that we are chipping away on our overall Magnolia improvement list. This winter was marked primarily by safety improvements. We had an additional bilge overboard discharge installed, a fuel-water separator/filter relocated, and new anchor windlass with 275ft of 5/16 HT chain installed as primary and an upsized the Danforth on the secondary. In addition there were a number of outdated electronic instruments  that we had removed (can you say LORAN?).  Thankfully the stern of Magnolia no longer looks like a communications center that went awry! Annette did get up from her sewing machine once this winter, but she ran a BUNCH of fabric and thread through producing enough canvas covers to cover the USS Enterprise! Between LifeSling Covers, Fender Covers, Swim Platform Covers, Chaff Guards she has nearly worn her fingers to the bone!

Looking forward to seeing you on the water!

To celebrate our anniversary Annette and I planned a weekend trip to St Michaels, MD.  St Michaels is a lovely Eastern Shore town founded in the 1600’s with a history of trapping and tobacco production. During the War of 1812, towns people hoisted lanterns into the surrounding trees and the British Cannon fire landed harmlessly in the woods! In the 20th century, fishing and ship building has dominated the area. Really is a wonderful romantic get away!

Upon arriving St Michael harbor using the VHF Radio Annette requested a slip from the dock master. As luck would have it, the assigned slip was right in front of a restaurant featuring Alfresco dining. We managed, with Magnolia’s help to safely dock without any winds or currents sending us askew! Always the most embarrassing moments. As any boat owner will tell you, most days you watch the entertainment at the dock, but some days you are the entertainment! That day we were not, simply humble and thankful!

We enjoyed a lovely dinner and awoke to a spectacular view to of the harbor. With strong winds forecast it was time to cover the 25 miles and get back on our side of the bay before things got sporty.

The Admiral there looking cute in her Tilly Brimmed hat, the Captain appears to be ready to face the North Atlantic! Below red is the planned return track and the blue is the actual GPS recorded track. All cut corners were done with malice and for thought!

Ok, the Bay, but frequent readers know how much I love that phrase! We had wonderful early fall weather for a sail with two colleagues (retired Navy Captains, no pressure underway!) and their wives Leona and Betty. Bob, below left is the original Missile Monkey and has spent nearly 5 years trying to teach me missiles to some limited avail. Appreciate his dedication to the cause though. Rick like me is more Combat System person than Missile. A discussion of the difference is out of scope, “move it along Bake”.

Once we returned to Slip #66 appetizers were served in the cockpit followed by the “crew” taking us to dinner at the infamous Pirates Cove Restaurant!

What a great day, Betty, Leona, Rick and Bob thanks for joining us!

On Saturday we had the opportunity to have Annette’s brother-in-law (The sisters call all us brothers-in-law, “outlaws”) and her two nephews for an afternoon sail. Bob and the boys, Noah and Jake, seemed to thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  Aeolus (Greek Mythology God of the Winds) brought us a nice breeze so we were able to share the simple pleasure of traveling with the winds.

On Sunday we had the pleasure of Annette’s sister Trish and niece Laura and her “friend” Anthony.  Aeolus was not so kind to us on Sunday. We had “plenty-o” wind to the point where we would be stretching our experience level just a bit too much. None the less we had a nice lunch on board and Magnolia’s enclosure provided a nice respite from the elements.

Before departing for the weekend Annette did the final fitting of her dinghy cover for Blossom. After much work she declared the project complete at which time I mentioned how the binnacle cover needed some work… 🙂

The picture below was taken last evening about 2200 as winds from the west combined with a high tide nearly covers the dock. The dock was eventually covered ut I was back onboard. I wanted to make sure I could jump back up and not fall in. Did have one boat break its mooring ball and end up on the shore. A neighbor and I dropped the “dink” in the water and pulled her off before the tide went back out. Would have ended up laying on her side on shore….not good!

This picture was taken 18 hours after the previous. This is what things “should” look like. Have all the Cleckner Kids coming out for a sail this weekend. Shaping up to the a great weekend! Be Safe, all is well aboard Magnolia!

Well before the weekend began our friend Kurt was in town on business and came by to raid my Scotch Cabinet! Since this is a blog about our sailing adventures on Magnolia you may be scratching your head as to what Kurtsvisit and the below picture has to do with anything! This might come as a surprise but I am least mechanical person you are likely to meet in your lifetime. This particular attribute can best be described by the coffee cups awarded to our team (Jack, Kurt & I) after working on Jack Tennar’s 1970s Checker Cab several years ago. Mine was labeled “Beer B!$&h” Yes I managed to avoid picking up a single wrench. Fast forward to current time and I and am now Chief Mechanic aboard Magnolia responsible for multiple diesel engines along with another Four-Stroke outboard! Well as luck would have it, my latest Diesel Service Manual arrived the day of Kurts visit and he had the honor of bestowing said manual. How the world changes. I did notice all my wrenches were missing after Kurt departed. I suspect he is trying to save me from myself!

Friday afternoon and Saturday Annette and I attended the Seven Sea’s Cruising Associations yearly Annapolis GAM. It is basically two days of sailors sharing sailing information with other sailors. It also provides a convenient stop for the boats that have spent the summer in Maine and Nova Scotia before heading onto Florida, Bahamas and beyond. For us its a real motivator to get those “shekels” in the bank, our skill level up and the systems aboard Magnolia where they need to be!

All in all, a great weekend! Next weekend is Cleckner (Annette’s) Family out on Magnolia. It will be a busy weekend!

“Magnolia is underway and bound for sea”, ok the Bay but that sea thing sounds so nautical.

Greg & Marie arrived in Galesville last week after departing Colonial Beach, VA the week before. You might recall that Greg & Marie helped us (probably more accurately we helped them) get Magnolia home from Florida. They have spent the summer getting Second Sally ready to head back to sea and are making a break for waters south to stay ahead of the frost! After working on their boat all summer they still had the energy and willingness to help us with our endless questions on everything sailing. They have sailed the coast of California through the Panama Canal, The Caribbean and a couple Atlantic crossings over and into the Mediterranean.

I know these pictures are nearly identical but I can never get  a decent picture of Get so thought as I finally got a couple, better use them!

The multiple weekends we spent in Florida together getting Magnolia ready and our 2 week sail north was the absolutely, best classroom that Annette and I could have had. As I have said before, Greg & Marie have left us in good stead so if we screw it up, its not cause we were trained RIGHT! We will miss having you near but we sure look forward to coming to see you in the Bahamas this winter!!

Until we sail together again, fair winds and following seas……

The Peter Family joined us for the Labor Day weekend for a sail to the Corsica River. The event was to meet the Pentagon Sailing Club who were conducting their raft up there. Though were not planning to join the actual raft up we did plan to anchor near by and dinghy over for a visit. The sail plan, approximately 45 miles each way took us north under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, up the Chester River where it met the Corsica and then a couple miles beyond. During outbound leg of 45.2 miles we were under sail nearly 43 miles of it!

The passing of Hurricane Earl off the east coast allowed for a wonderfully cool breeze to come in from the north west providing us with the best sailing conditions of the year. We configured the main with a “double reef” (making the sail physically small, there by catching less wind, there by less power) with just a bit of  jib out (see the above picture with small amount of sail). Also take note of the sail boat shown above with a heavy heal and nearly out of control (he was sailing under full sail).

After a few pictures around the boat from our Dinghy, also known as “Blossom” (get it? Magnolia, Blossom). Note: Greg Rodgers brought us the dinghy name. We sat down to a wonderful dinner in the cool crisp air of the Eastern Bay followed by a visit to the Pentagon Sailing Club Raft up.

After a good night sleep and a breakfast made in heaven and delivered by and Angel it was time to get underway and make our way back down the Bay. Unfortunately Aeolus did not provide us with as much wind needed so we did need to motor some of the way home.

Upon arrival back to Galesville the crew conducted an appropriate passage celebration consisting of Maryland Crabs and various other gifts from the sea as well as those always hard working Hop Farmers!!!