THINKING BACK ON THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
MARYLAND MY MARYLAND
THINKING BACK ON THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
By Mike Descheemaeker, captain aboard the goodship SV WHIRLWIND
I moved to Washington State over 20 years ago and when people ask, "is their anything you miss about back east?" I have one simple answer: the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay was formed by the southern extent of the polar ice cap depressing the ground. The mighty Susquehanna River and the lesser rivers dredged the rest over a long time. The Bay has been home to diverse and abundance of flora and fauna and the setting for so many stories in the founding of the United States of America. I grew up motorboating and sailing on the Bay from the age of nine until I graduated high school. Most of my mucking about was on the Elk River in the northern Bay but a few times a year we would cruise to Baltimore or Annapolis with stops along the way at Worton Creek or Fairlee Creek. At least once we went all the way down to Crisfield and really got to experience the magic of the Eastern Shore and the Bay.
The Eastern Shore is a place where time seems to stand still and older traditions are still alive. If you come in by water, especially if you come in by water...the magic is can be found. Stop and talk with a waterman and try to understand his mix of old English and southern draw combined; their dialect sounds old; it is very unique and difficult to understand if you speak modern day English. If you are lucky, maybe you can see the last of a working sailing fleet, like a Skipjack, the Maryland State Boat, dredging for oysters. In the 1800's Chesapeake Bay oysters were considered a white gold and people flocked to the bay to make their riches on this resource. As with many a gold rush, there was a fever mixed with greed, hard work, and turmoil. A range of harvesting techniques was followed by substantial depletion and attempts at regulation to preserve the stocks in the Bay. Maryland made it a law back in the 1900's that oysters could be harvested by dredge under sail or hand tongs. On a recent trip back to see my dad we stopped at Harris Crab House at the Kent Narrows for crab cakes and hush puppies. We asked the young waiter about the Skipjack fleet and he looked at me like I was speaking about a ghost he'd never seen. Fortunately, the old watermen unloading crabs at the dock knew. They said there was only one or two still working from Kent Island but the upkeep cost and lack of crew was making it difficult to operate. It’s not surprising and really amazing that these old sailing oyster dredges are still at it.

Another piece of bay magic: the Drake Tail work boat. This narrow, long, open motor boat has a small cuddy cabin and wheel house forward. These boats also date to the early 1900s and were used for going out to the oyster grounds. One or two guys with long tongs would lean out over the edge of the boat to work the bottom, usually 5-10 feet below, and tong up oysters. This was back breaking work. In the summer months lacking the letter 'r' oysters are not in season these same boats were used to run trot lines for the Blue Crab, also a local delicacy. Even today, looking around the docks up a backwater you can see an old classic workboat tied to the dock or better yet out working an oyster bar or running a trot line. Trot lines are long lines between two buoys with eel bait tied in with a clove hitch every 4-6 feet. When the trot line was loaded you dip the crabs with a wire net on a long handle. When it’s happening it’s happening fast and can be a dangerous thrill. The danger is in the jellyfish, which come up with the net and inevitably get flung about with the dip netting. When I was a kid, my neighbors ran a trot line and we got to go with them sometimes. They did not use a classic workboat to run their lines but a 16’ Jon boat trailered down to the middle eastern shore from our elk river home waters. The most memorable day for me was a great day when the crabs were coming fast. Well, when the crab are coming in fast the jelly fish are getting flung all over the place. In a quick moment amidst the bumper harvest, my friend, Billy, actually had a jelly fling right into his open mouth! Billy's day, Bill, ran the boat and always had a cooler of Busch beer and Mountain Dew to fuel the crew. In this instance, we kids had already drank all the Mountain Dew so Billy got to drink Busch beer for the rest of the day. Needless to say we were jealous but glad not to have chewed on a jelly.

Eventually crabbers moved up to crab pots which called for a bigger boat which gave rise to the now more common dead rise workboat. These workboats typically have a large cover over the open cockpit. The narrow beam was widened eventually a lot and the elegant drake tail was flattened out the beam carried aft. These boats were first built in wood and some of these are still around. Time marches on, designs and materials for fabrication have changed. In the case of old wooden crab boats: many have been replaced with fiberglass and single screws have been doubled which is handy for turning a boat into the slip. This video offers a glimpse at the history of workboats in the Chesapeake Bay: https://www.soundingsonline.com/news/chesapeake-working-girls
There are lots of fun traditions that live on and commemorate the ways of water life for those that live on the Chesapeake Bay. For example, the docking competition at Crisfield and Pocomoke city. If you feel like you are timid coming along side a dock check out a docking competition where captain and a crew member are judged and timed coming in hot turning and backing down into the slip. The timer stops when four lines are on the pilings. This is a place where paint and piling really get to know one another. Annual docking competitions happen in Pocomoke City in the end of August or in Crisfield in the beginning of September. A lot of boats, watermen, and water women come together to compete so this a great time to check out different styles of bay boats prideful water people.
A visit to the bottom of the eastern shore of Maryland in the end of summer or the beginning of fall is a great time to explore the tidal tributaries that make the bay so unique. The Pocomoke River is one of the most northern places where cypress trees grow in the United States. The Pokomoke River Canoe Company rents boats and provides a shuttle service. The River can be paddled from its headwaters all the way to the mouth at the bay. The Pokomoke River Canoe Company rents boats and provides a shuttle service for and small boat adventure meandering through a cypress forest lined creek. Because of it's long life of living in swamps, Cypress is extremely rot resistant and therefore ab important wood for boat and ship builders. The tannins from the trees dye the river waters a dark ice tea hue giving the water a mysterious and haunting look. This is prime wood duck habitat and their whistles can be heard often before they disappear bending and twisting in flight to screen themselves with the trees. Again, in my youth, I remember paddling along the lower Pocomoke one spring morning. I pulled into a wooded inlet and slipped quietly under some over hanging limbs on a point. Two river otters were playing on the bank a short distance up in the woods. When they saw me they bolted for the water. They shot down the bank right at me to dive into the water beside my canoe. The first one did this in style. The second one ran right into a tree needing a moment to shake off the daze before escaping in the tea colored waters. As one paddles out of the thick cypress forests the creek slowly widens and shifts from a meandering creek to a tidal river. The forest gets broken by sections of marsh grasses and reeds. A low bridge marks the town of Pokomoke City where you may have rented your craft.
Tidal tributaries are what make the Chesapeake Bay so unique. Rivers that are navigable ,especially with shoal draft vessels, have their starts in beautiful northern hardwood forests. Sassafras, beech, walnut, oaks, and white pines are some of the trees you might see on these wild waters. The Sassafras, Bohemia, Chester and other rivers on the bay give you an opportunity to see some truly spectacular landscapes slowly changing from forest to marsh. While draft and bridges will limit river exploration with the big boat, there are many dinghy adventures that can be taken once anchored in a sheltered cove.
Speaking of draft: the Chesapeake has lots of places to experience soft groundings as the Bay is known for it's mud bottom and shallow depths. It is always best to explore on a rising tide so the tide can assist with refloating. There are definitely some hard sandbars and oyster bars but a lot more mud shoals and shallows. Growing up on the Elk River gives me a different perspective of shallow. We used to go into some secret spots by running on plane in the Jon boat with the motor set to kick up and skid across mud flats and then drop into deep water on the other side motoring on. I wouldn’t try that in the big boat!
Mariners who love history will find much to explore. On the head of Elk in the Scotland Marsh Trojan Yachts were built not far from Fort Defiance. Fort Defiance is where there was a small gun emplacement visited by George Washington as he escaped from the British and headed south. The Chesapeake has been used by others to escape as it was a main artery of the Underground Railroad, it’s marshes and wooded tributaries excellent for escaping to the north. Both the Elk River and the Susquehanna flow from the hills of Pennsylvania the Susquehanna actually coming from New York.. This of course was a major route for indigenous communities to move from the north and south trading frequently occurring between the northern woodland tribes and the tidal tribes of the Chesapeake.
As a mariner, an outdoor adventurer, and history enthusiast, the Chesapeake Bay stole my heart at a young age. I look forward to getting back there someday. Hopefully, the magic lives on!
SV GARGOYLE TRANSITS THE CORINTH CANAL IN GREECE
SV GARGOYLE TRANSITS THE CORINTH CANAL IN GREECE

This week SV Gargoyle shares their final stages of their cruising season in Greece with the Ocean Posse:
Gargoyle and her crew are enjoying the last few weeks of the season cruising with family in Greece. This week we've made the transition west from the Saronic Gulf to the Ionian Sea via the incredible Corinth canal. To make things perfect, our daughter and son-in-law have joined us for a ten day stay before we head towards our winter home, Malta's Manoel Island Yacht Marina. Cheers from warm and sunny Greece!


The Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, making the peninsula an island. The canal was dug through the Isthmus at sea level and has no locks. It is 6.4 kilometres (4 miles) in length and only 24.6 metres (80.7 feet) wide at sea level
SV GARGOYLE 🇨🇦 Kevin & Carla - Beneteau 50'
KEKADA II SAILS INTO NEW ZEALAND FOR THE SUMMER
SV KEKADA II CLEARS INTO NEW ZEALAND 
FOR THE SUMMER
Recently, SV KEKADA II and her crew just finished their third Pacific Crossing and cleared into New Zealand. I asked Don and Anja if they would share a bit of their experience as there are many members of the Ocean Posse that do not have three Pacific Crossings under their keel...and just might some day. So what's it take? Read on to find out.

Don shared:
We cleared into New Zealand at Opua. Very quick. Had done the notice of arrival and inward passenger cards online prior. Customs entailed answering a few basic questions while they completed the TIE (Temporary Import Entry) (very handy for GST free boat stuff). They also gave me a biosecurity master's declaration form which I could have also finished prior to arrival but simply forgot to. Two minute inspection and all finished. We can work, stay as long as we like, no visas, etc. Biosecurity was a few minutes later and I had time to finish the declaration. He checked the fridge but we really did not have anything left. We showed him some shell necklaces we had been given, all good. Basically, he accepted our word for everything else. Our last stop had been Norfolk Island (Australia) which probably helped.
This is our third Pacific crossing so after French Polynesia we did the Samoa, Wallis, Fiji, New Caledonia route for a change. Previously, we have done the Rarotonga, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia route. The boat will spend summer in New Zealand. We will have some home time in Adelaide.
(Preparing for our passages) I check as many sources as I can re: weather but do my own passage planning. Since French Polynesia the coffee machine has not had to be moved from the bench top. (There were) a couple of days where it came close but basically a milk run. If this is your first time then I suggest Tonga, Minerva Reef, New Zealand even if you backtrack to Tonga from Fiji. The passages are shorter to one has a better chance of accurate weather predictions than Fiji to New Zealand.
Best advice: Be patient and wait for weather windows. NO SCHEDULES
SV KEKADA II Don & Anja – Leopard 53’
SAILING NOTES FROM THE SOUTH PACIFIC FOR OCEAN VOYAGERS
Sailing Notes from the South Pacific for Ocean Voyagers










SY WHIRLWIND 🇺🇸 Maurisa, Mike, Russell & Josea – Alajuela 48’
EXPANDING POSSE PERKS: YACHT PORT CARTAGENA, SPAIN💰 Save real money at Marinas with discounts
ANNOUNCING: NEW MARINAS SIGNING ON WITH THE OCEAN POSSE
EXPANDING POSSE PERK:💰 Save real money at Marinas with discounts


SV QUESO GRANDE II and Captain Dietmar kicked off the first Ocean Posse event in Yacht Port Cartagena, Spain!
Dietmar says: Thank you Sherri for all the event support and promotion to the international cruisers who came! AND THANK YOU LANCE FOR SOME SUCCULENT RIBS !!!
Sherri from SV QUESO GRANDE II says: Great fun, great cruisers, and great grilled meat by my darling husband Lance.

Currently, the Ocean Posse has ????some number of marinas in ????some number of countries bla bla bla. This represents great savings bla bla bla
TRIP REPORT: COLUMBIA INLAND
TRIP REPORT: COLUMBIA INLAND
WITH MV NEXT CHAPTER
MV NEXT CHAPTER sailed from Shelter Bay Marina in August to Cartagena, Colombia. They explored the city and then travelled inland off the boat. Their photos and enthusiastic report of their time so far in Colombia follows:

Colombia exceeded our expectations in every way! We weren’t 100% sure what to expect but what we found was incredible people, safe walkable cities, delicious food and affordable prices for work and goods.




We stayed at Club de Pesca (they are a posse sponsor and a great marina) if you message their WhatsApp, Maricela Speaks great English and can help with your reservations) book very early as their marina is small and space fills up quickly.
Also at Club de Pesca is phenomenal workers! We had our bright work completely redone, some small fiberglass repairs, a wash and wax. Javier and his team were the best we have ever worked with! If you are stopping there and want his contact info I would be happy to pass it along
We also took side trips (it’s super affordable to fly within Colombia) to Medellín and Bogota. Both cities were incredible, rich culture so much to see and do!
Checking into the city/country was also pretty easy- Jose our agent was $300 and handled all of our paperwork and brought the officials to our boat, applied for our cruising permit and TIP. You have to check into and out of every major port in Colombia but it’s pretty quick and easy.




Hope this helps other boaters feel comfortable stopping into Colombia! It’s in my opinion and must see country.

MY NEXT CHAPTER 🇺🇸 Chris & Shawna & crew - Selene 59′


Fair winds MV NEXT CHAPTER, thank you for sharing your inland adventures!
SHARING YOUR ADVENTURES
is the heart and soul of the Ocean Posse
Please share pictures of your adventures, your award entries, your breathtaking sunsets, and picturesque anchorages on our group communications platform for others to enjoy in real time and/or email Maurisa at editor@oceanposse.com to share in the upcoming newsletter. Maurisa is a sailor among us. She is part of the Ocean Posse crew and enjoys writing fun and helpful updates to the Ocean Posse.
OVERSEAS AND ONLINE: PASSPORT RENEWAL & VOTING
OVERSEAS AND ONLINE: USA PASSPORT RENEWAL & VOTING
As a US citizen, passports and voting rights are very important. Both can be kept up to date from afar...here's how:
After a two month beta trial, The United States Department of State has recently announced that Americans can now renew their passports online. This is new and additional staff has been hired to process the online system. The two caveats are for using this service: You must be located in the United States and your passport may not be expired by over 5 years. As of now, it is unclear if this new avenue of renewal will speed up the process overall or not. We will have to wait and see.
Americans have elections coming up locally and nationally. Are you registered to vote? Do you know that US Citizens living abroad can register to vote from overseas?
There are several online resource to help US citizens understand how to register to vote and vote from wherever they are when the time comes. Some useful sites include:
- https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/welcome-overseas-vote-from-abroad
- here you can learn all about overseas voting, what it means and terminology.
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/smarter-living/american-vote-from-abroad.html
- here you can learn how to register and vote overseas
- https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter
- here you can register to vote from overseas and directly link to your state site with your registration and state specific options
- https://www.votefromabroad.org/
- Here you can also register or see a very clear state by state graphic of state voting acceptance procedure.

POSSE PERK: 🗺️3 DAYS OF LEARNING SEMINARS
POSSE PERK: 🗺️3 DAYS OF LEARNING SEMINARS
INCLUDED WITH OCEAN POSSE SIGN UPS
coming up in Safe Harbor, San Diego
October 23-25, 2024 @ Safe Harbor South Bay, San Diego
https://oceanposse.com/events/san-diego-seminar-series/
Sneak a Peak at the Seminars and Schedule...
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 23rd, 2024 ● SEMINARS
$ 45 per person x day or FREE
FOR OCEAN ° PANAMA ° SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE PARTICIPANTS
09:00
Cruising down Pacific Mexico

10:00
Water Makers + Plumbing in Paradise

11:30
Diesel Engines & Generators and preventative Maintenance

12:30 LUNCH
Open CPN – installation and integration (PC + MAC )
14:00
Rigging 101 Standing and Running
15:30
Weather Weather Weather – planning – routing – underway

16:30
Crew the good the bad and the ugly

17:00
Destination Costa Rica and Nicaragua

THURSDAY OCTOBER 24th, 2024 ● SEMINARS
09:00
South Pacific – French Polynesia – Cook Islands – Tonga & Fiji

10:00
Safety Security and Emergencies outside the US and what to expect

11:00
Electrical Systems – Batteries, Chargers, Alternators, Solar Panels
12:30 LUNCH
Cruising in Panama + the Panama Canal

14:00
Where and how to repair boats outside the US
15:30
The tropics – Refrigeration, AC, Shading, Airflow + other ways to stay cool

17:00
Destination Colombia, Jamaica & Bay of Islands Honduras

FRIDAY OCTOBER 25th, 2024 ● SEMINARS + PARTY
09:00
Destination Belize & Rio Dulce Guatemala

10:00
Communications onboard, underway and on shore

11:30
The fundamentals of wires, connectors and fuses

12:30 LUNCH
Open CPN – Satellite Charts – Use Cases and Satellite Chart creation

14:00
Chart Accuracy, Navigation Trips and Tricks & Tracking

15:30
Provisioning, Propane and Fuel – where to replenish

17:00 – 21:00 PPPPARTY

UPCOMING PREDICTWIND SEMINARS
UPCOMING PREDICTWIND SEMINARS
PredictWind began sponsoring the Panama Posse in 2021. As of Season 8 PredictWind is extending their sponsorship to the entire Ocean Posse and is offering four seminars over the next 6 months.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE UPCOMING SEMINARS
The upcoming seminar dates are as follows:
- WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 23rd, 2024 @ 15:30 US PACIFIC TIME
- THURSDAY DECEMBER 5, 2024 @ 14:30 US PACIFIC TIME
- MONDAY FEB 2, 2025 @ 14:30 US PACIFIC TIME
- MONDAY MARCH 17 2025 @ 14:30 US PACIFC TIME
PredictWind supports the Ocean Posse with free tracking and a 20 % Discount off our pro packages – to claim your discount please login and email support@predictwind.com asking for your Ocean Posse discount. Please include your vessel name and email address. The discount will be credited back.
MUST SEE: 🇵🇫 Taputapuātea on Ra’iātea Island, French Polynesia
MUST SEE: 🇵🇫 Taputapuātea on Ra’iātea Island, French Polynesia
in 2017 UNESCO named Taputapuātea on Ra’iātea Island, French Polynesia a world heritage site for its outstanding universal value, exceptional testimony to 1,000 years of pre-colonial mā'ohi civilization, and central location in the 'Polynesian Triangle'. The 'points' on the Polynesian triangle are New Zealand, Hawaii, and Rapa Nui. Taputapuātea is in the very center of this triangle of oceanic islands. Both the cultural landscape and seascape on Ra’iātea make this a unique and remarkable place one must see. Taputapuātea is an area that goes from the mountains through forested valleys spanning across a portion of lagoon and coral reef and a strip of open ocean. In the center is the Marae of Taputapuātea.

The Marae of Taputapuātea is considered to be the most sacred pre-colonial Polynesian archeological sites in French Polynesia. UNESCO describes this site as:
"dedicated to the god ‘Oro and the place where the world of the living (Te Ao) intersects the world of the ancestors and gods (Te Po). It also expresses political power and relationships. The rise in the importance of Taputapuātea among the marae on Raiatea and in the wider region is linked to the line of Tamatoa ari’i (chiefs) and the expansion of their power. Taputapuātea was the centre of a political alliance that brought together two widespread regions encompassing most of Polynesia. The alliance was maintained by regular gatherings of chiefs, warriors and priests who came from the other islands to meet at Taputapuātea. The building of outrigger canoes and ocean navigation were key skills in maintaining this network.
A traditional landscape surrounds both sides of the Taputapuātea marae complex. The marae complex looks out to Te Ava Mo'a, a sacred pass in the reef that bounds the lagoon. Atāra motu is an islet in the reef and a habitat for seabirds. Ocean-going arrivals waited here before being led through the sacred pass and formally welcomed at Taputapuātea. On the landward side, ’Ōpo’a and Hotopu’u are forested valleys ringed by ridges and the sacred mountain of Tea’etapu. The upland portions of the valleys feature older marae, such as marae Vaeāra’i and marae Taumariari, agricultural terraces, archaeological traces of habitations and named features related to traditions of gods and ancestors. Vegetation in the valleys is a mix of species, some endemic to Raiatea, some common to other Polynesian islands and some imported food species brought by ancient Polynesians for cultivation. Together, the attributes of the property form an outstanding relict and associative cultural landscape and seascape."
Throughout Polynesia the Marae are communal or sacred sites in village life. In order to build a marae in another location, it is said that one must start with a stone from Taputapuātea. The marae are places with different functions. They are places where the world of the living intersected with the world of village ancestors and Polynesian gods. They are places where people gather for ceremony, dance, connecting with the past and with community.

This video is a product of the cumulative effort of cultural and historical groups presenting the significance of Taputapuātea in the past, the present, and for the future.
https://youtu.be/wXbJXHR8-3g?t=391




