Annapolis

Sunday
38 58.578 N
76 28.963 W

We woke up this morning to find that one of the trawlers had dragged - maybe 1/4 of a mile - and it was not us! We use an "app" on the iPad called "Drag Queen" to moniter our position at night and we had not heard a peep from it so I was not concerned.

Company

The bottom was not too muddy so recovering the anchor was easy and quick and we were on our way to Annapolis. The other two trawlers followed us out. We had previously arranged to meet Bon Voyage there on a ball. The balls are allocated on a "first come first served" basis so we wanted to get there as early as possible.

The forecast was a bit of a worry - there was a 'small craft advisory" for all of the northern Chesapeake. We are not exactly "small craft" but we are "nervous craft" so I was a bit anxious. All went well till about noon time when it was obvious we were in for some strong storms. The Bay was basically deserted except for Tide Hiker and the two Kateys. We could see the red cells on the radar, so we secured the flying bridge and went below.

Funnel cloud, left of pennant

In the next couple of hours we were hit by several srong storm cells. They rolled towards us over the water like a fog bank, but faster and darker. The rain was torrential, visibility went down to zero so we were navigating by chart plotter and radar. The wind came with each cell and the waves built up to 4 and 5 feet. Apart from the fact that we were concerned about entering Annapolis and grabbing a ball in these conditions, we felt secure and the boat got a good wash. At one point we believe we saw a funnel cloud forming - but there were no reports of water spouts or tornados that night

By 3 PM we were in the approaches and seemed to have an opportunity to get in between cells. We called the Harbor Master and told him our intention and he confirmed the anchorage was open. It turned out to be perfect - the rain stopped, the wind died down and Nick grabbed a mooring ball first try. We secured the boat, gave ourselves a high five, and went below for a beer.

Bon Voyage arrived by about 4:30PM. They experienced simular conditions but with more lightening. And apparently one boat had been struck and lost all their electronics. They took a ball next to us. We packed some chips and beers in a bag and called the water taxi to take us the 40' to BV. Our intention was to go into town for dinner but Bonnie cooked up a wonderful meal of fish and veggies and Jon broke out a few bottles of his best, and a good time was had by all.

We were home in bed by 10 PM. At about 2 AM I got up for a drink of water and a couple of asprin. No scratches (on the outside).