After a very hectic couple of weeks wrapping up things in Lexington, KY, I arrived in Gibson Island, MD, and moved aboard. It took much longer than I expected to move my possesions aboard and even longer to find a place to store everything. I brought one small, but very full, pickup truck load of things with me. A 38 foot long boat is pretty big but it was still very difficult to find storage spots for all my possesions. It took me close to a week to get most items stored and get to the point where I could start working on the items that needed to be fixed.

Aug. 9, 2005

I made my first shopping trip for boat updating supplies. I opened a Yacht Commissioning Program account at Fawcett Boat Supplies. They are great people to work with, very knowledgeable and helpful. I started with the surveyor's list of repairs and buying the supplies needed to correct them. Also, there was still a lot of general sailing stuff I needed like foul weather gear, charts, etc. that I needed to buy. And then there was the provisioning. It seemed like I was carrying load after load into the boat. Somehow I found a place for everthing and even have a few empty cubbyholes left.

Aug. 18, 2005

I am far from having everthing working but it is time for Bella Vita's maiden voyage. The most critical items, the autopilot (necessary to allow safe singlehanded sailing) and the propane locker vent (necessary to prevent blowing up the boat) were fixed. I planned on getting up early and leaving by about 9:00. I did get up early but there is a LOT to do to get a boat under way. I pulled aboard the last dock line at 12:00 and slooooowly motored away from Vogel Marine. I'll admit to being very apprehensive about going out by myself for the first time. I had never sailed a boat larger than a Laser by myself. I motored out through the Magothy Narrows into Sillery Bay and the Magothy River. All went well until I noticed a dock line trailing over the side of the boat. I left them laying on the deck when I left even though I know better. A good friend once had this problem on a charter in St Maarten and it got wrapped in the propeller causing major damage to the charter boat he had. I was luckier and the line was just hanging over the edge but not in the water. Pulling it back on deck I quickly checked the others while I said a little pray of thanks.

Once in the Magothy River, I needed to calibrate the fluxgate compass on the autpilot. This requires going around in very slow circles until it figures out where north is. No problems on board but it must of looked a bit stange to any onlookers.

Out through the mouth of the Magothy River I and was in the Chesapeake Bay! The winds were in the 5-10 knot range. Perfect for an inexperienced sailor to check out a new boat. Still under power, I raised the main and then the 150% Genoa and we were sailing! I put it off until I crossed the shipping channel to Baltimore, but then had a brief christening ceremony with Champange supplied by another good friend. Well, yes, I got most of the bubbly.

About this time I went below and found that the fuel return line was leaking fuel into the bilge. Not much I could do about it right then except stop the engine and be thankful that it is a diesel engine. Not a big problem since I was already under sail and it was a nice day for an easy sail. Since the autopilot was working well I went below and fixed the fuel leak. I cleaned it up after anchoring for the night and had close to two gallons of diesel fuel in the bilge. Not a pleasant first night at anchor.

We had a great sail across the Chesapeake and hit a top speed of about 5 knots. This is not very fast for a 38 footer but not bad for a heavy displacement ketch in light winds.

I sailed until close to dark heading for the CD Canal (Chesapeake-Delaware Canal) and pulled over and anchored off Worton Point. Anchoring was no problem but she wanted to sit broadside to the wind. The anchor rode went back under the boat! I raised the mizzen to act as a riding sail but even with it up, we were still broadside to the wind. I finally realized that there was enough current that it controlled the boat position even though I was about a mile from the main channel. I spent about two hours cleaning up the fuel spill and managed to get it done with none going into the water. This is the first boat I have ever sailed that has a dry bilge. There is NO water in the bilge. I had read that steel boats were drier that glass and it seems to be true. Just seems strange to see dust in the bilge.

Aug. 19, 2005

I did manage to get up and away by about 8:30 this morning and headed north to the CD Canal. Sailing in the canal is not allowed so I dropped sails when I got close the the canal entrance. The canal is pretty narrow for most of it's 15 or so miles. It got my heart going well when I looked up the canal and saw a barge heading toward me. Once I realized that two barges have to be able to pass in the canal, and that Bella Vita required a lot less space than a barge, I was able to relax and enjoy the trip. Except for the cold rain that I had for a couple of hours, the canal trip was pleasant. There was little traffic although I did meet the prettiest little boat. It was a bright yellow, junk rigged cat boat, I'd guess a Phil Bolger design and 25 to 29 feet long. The young lady at the helm was sitting in the cockpit holding an umbrella to keep dry.

I went about half way through the canal to Summit North Marina where I stopped to buy some diesel. Now pulling into a marina and stopping at the fuel dock for the first time as a single handed sailor was a bit scary. Trying to judge when the bow was close enough to the dock to turn, when to reverse and take advantage of the prop walk, etc. It turned out to be no problem but it was time for another little prayer when I was settled at the fuel dock. I went back and forth for quite some time as to whether I should go on to the Delaware Bay or return to the Chesapeake. There are very few places to anchor in the CD although the Summit North did offer a slip for only $2 a foot per night. It was going to be close to dark by the time I reached either end and not knowing what was at the Delaware Bay end and not having charts for the Delaware Bay, I decided to go back to the Chesapeake Bay end. I anchored at the first reasonable spot I found but it was still dark for the last couple of miles. Sailing after dark in a narrow channel was another new experience. Turns out the information they put on the charts really is sufficient to follow the nav. lights.

Aug. 20, 2005

I slept late today and since there was very little wind and I had no place I had to be, I decided to stay where I was for the day. When I took my coffee up to the cockpit, I noticed the little yellow cat boat anchored between me and the shore. They were preparing to leave so I was treated to a lesson on how to get a junk rigged boat underway. I really like the simplicity of the boat and the ease of sailing but it would just be too big a life style change for me to move to a under 30 foot boat. Where would I keep my welder?

Aug. 21, 2005

Winds were light again today but I got underway about 11:00. At times the GPS showed a speed of 0. I was going fast enough to have steering control but the current was going against me so I was basically sailing in place. I sailed for a few hours and pulled over and anchored for the night back at Worton Point where I had stopped on the way north.

Aug. 22, 2005

Underway under sail by 10:00 under light winds. I practiced tacking a couple of times. I had removed the inner forestay so tacking was no problem. After a couple of hours, the wind got up to about 15 knots. Bella Vita is very stiff and really came alive in the higher winds. I hit 7.5 Knots for a while. This is above hull speed so there was some help from the current. Still a great sail.

I dropped sails near the Baltimore light and motored into the Magothy River heading back to Gibson Island. I let the autopilot steer while I got dock lines ready, secured the sails, etc. On the way through Magothy Narrows I went aground twice but was able to back off with no problems. Should be called the Magothy Shallows. It was about 5:30 so the guys from the boat yard would be gone and I was on my own to get back to the dock. The slip required stern-to docking between pilings. Getting in was another new experience and it took me three tries but I finally made it. It wasn't pretty but I got in OK. Good thing the slip next to me was empty though. The boat was secure at about 6:00.