Lets see, where did we leave off? Ah, yes;
“We’re going to Die! We’re going to Die! We’re going to Die!”
Fuel Filters & Amazing Service
While not as bad as out in the bay, the entry channel was not exactly well protected, especially not with an onshore wind like we were experiencing, so we were doing a nice tied-to-the-dock dance as I began my investigation to find the engine killing culprit. This was definitely a fuel issue, so I started at the engine end of the fuel system and started working back towards the fuel tank. First, I replaced the fuel filter, figuring it might be clogged… bled the fuel system, turned the key and… vrooom! yes! Chugga, chugga, chugga, cough, cough, no!
Next on the list was the fuel/water seperator… no fun! I had to empty half the starboard lazarette to get to the hatch that gave me access to the fuel tank. I shut off the fuel at the tank, emptied the fuel/water separator and replaced the fuel filter… put the mess back together again, opened the fuel valve and bled the fuel system, turned the key and… vrooom! yes! Chugga, cough, cough, no! What the heck?
This was not looking good. Ok, both filters have been replaced so that leaves the fuel pump as the next, although highly unlikely, candidate. I had already bled the system twice and “knew” the pump was working, so I reluctantly pulled the fuel hose off the fuel filter and proceeded to manually pump… nothing! Not a single squirt of fuel!
Time to call in the cavalry… It’s Sunday, but what the heck, I might as well try; I call Rob at Dependable Marine and leave a message… I get a call back within the hour. Wow, talk about service!
I walk him through what I’ve done and he tells me that it’s most likely my fuel/water seperator – seems this particular brand/model is known for developing air leaks which in turn, kills the vacuum needed by the fuel pump to draw the fuel from the tank and deliver it to the engine. We proceed to test the theory by disconnecting the fuel hose from the fuel/water seperator and dropping it into a jug of diesel fuel… sure enough, I’m able to once again bleed the system, the engine starts right up and continues to run!
Monday afternoon Dependable Marine is on site and within an hour or so has removed the offending device and installed a brand spanking new Racor Fuel/Water separator. We fire her up, shift into neutral and run her up to cruising RPM – Perfect! We’re secured to the dock, so I decide to test her under load just in case… I throttle back to idle, slip her into gear and start throttling up to 2,800 RPM… Nice!
As luck would have it, the weather turns nasty and we lose another couple of days to more thunderstorms, but in the end, we finally slip our lines and pull away from the dock with our sights set on Rock Hall, Maryland.
Sailing North
The wind is on our nose and at this point, we just want to get to Swan Creek before the holiday weekend gets underway, so we make the decision to motor yet again. It doesn’t matter, we’re finally on our way!
We work our way out into the Chesapeake and set our course for Annapolis – we’re expecting thunderstorms in the late afternoon, and Annapolis is our fallback plan. If things get funky, we’ll grab a mooring in Annapolis harbor and hang out there for the weekend.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge
We’re making good time and before long, we find ourselves sailing under the Bay Bridge and turning for Swan Creek. Swan Creek is supposedly shallow, so we want to get there pretty close to high tide and we’re a bit too early, but not too far off – we decide to risk it.
Keeping a sharp eye on our depth sounder, we start winding our way up the creek; 22’ 17’ 15’ 10’ 9’ 8’ 10’ – it looks like luck was with us this time, and the previous days thunderstorms and associated winds had blown the water into the creek. We had plenty of water under our keel as we continued to make our way up Swan Creek.
Swan Creek Marina
On our previous leg, Nick & Carolyn had pointed us towards San Domingo Creek, which turned out to be awesome, so we were once again relying on a referral from another of our new Maryland sailing friends; Ray & Jimmy who had told us about Swan Creek Marina. They had been staying here for years over the 4th of July weekend and couldn’t say enough nice things about this great family run marina.
We spotted the mooring field just as we came around a bend in the creek and headed for our assigned mooring ball, #4. I wish I could say we grabbed it on our first try, but truth be told, I botched the approach and while Maria did manage to snag the mooring line with our boat hook, I was moving just a bit too fast and we lost it, but the 2nd approach was much better and I slowed Rocinante just enough such that the building breeze brought us to a stop dead on the mooring ball. Maria hooked the line and slipped it over our starboard cleat like a pro – we were home!
The Marina owner’s son Chris popped by on his runabout to welcome us and I must say, he was very professional, courteous and above all genuinely welcoming! I told him that we would be staying for a few days, perhaps longer. He told us that there was no rush and to stop by the marina office in the next day or so to arrange for payment – these folks understand and embrace customer service!
We settled in for the night enjoying yet another great sunset!
Swan Creek Marina Sunset
The next morning I got the dink ready and we started to row ashore – Chris spotted us and shot out in his runabout thinking our outboard was out of commission and offered to tow is in… he seemed confused when I thanked him but told him that I preferred to row – Apparently not too many folks row these days!
We met Walter that morning manning the desk in the marina office – great guy and incredibly helpful! He told us about the facilities, pointed out the available bicycles and mentioned that the town (Rock Hall) had a tram service that would pick us up and drop us off where ever we wanted for $1 each way… talk about a bargain! Walter & I chatted for a bit just about every morning and afternoon… I’m convinced we all could use a bit more of good ol’ fasion social interaction!
Anyway, it was about 3 miles or so roundtrip into town and back, so as per our usual approach, we decided to walk today and explore. The trip into town along Rock Hall Ave. was a straight run and not exactly scenic, but pleasant enough. Everyone driving along the road gave us a wide berth and waved hello… nice! We made it into town and hit a few of the little shops, checked out the supermarket & laundromat then continued down Main Street checking out the shops along the way. Among them was a very nice, old fashioned, Soda Shoppe / Deli (Durding’s Store) and we made a note to return at some point for some ice cream!
We walked a bit further and then decided to start heading back via the beach route and grab lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants. We opted for the Harbor Shack; I had a local beer (Fat Tire) & a burger and while nothing to write home about, it was not bad… Maria’s Chicken sandwich was actually quite good, so we’d probably be back to try them again. BTW, they definitely have a great view of the “harbor” which certainly adds to the experience.
The walk back along tree lined streets was a bit longer and less direct, but much more pleasant and we decided this would become our default route for coming into town and heading back.
Over the next few days we walked into town a couple of times and re-provisioned at the local supermarket; good produce, good fried chicken, not exactly thrilled with their meats, but managed to find a couple of good steaks and their clams were awesome! BTW, they too will pick you up & drive you back to the marina… very cool!
We also made it back to that Durding’s Store (soda shoppe) – Maria had ice cream & I had a strawberry shake – yummy! Highly recommend them!
In the end, we stayed at Swan Creek Marina for 3 weeks waiting for a 4 day weather window to head down the Delaware bay and up the Jersey coast. During that time we experienced several major thunderstorms, one of which was the one that caused massive damage in Ellicott City, MD along with the one death – our condolences to the family of Sgt. Eddison A. Hermond, 39, a National Guard member and U.S. Air Force veteran.
I’ve got mixed feelings here; while Rock Hall itself didn’t really do much for us, they had great services for cruisers; basically free tram service, a good supermarket that also provided pickup/dropoff service, a couple of good stores & restaurants & a good laundromat… after listing all that, I’m still not sure what’s not to like! Bottom line, we really enjoyed just spending time on the mooring watching the world go by and we’ll definitely be back on our way south in the fall.
Till next time,
Carlos & Maria
SV Rocinante…_/)
Photos – Swan Creek – Rock Hall, Maryland
Swan Creek Marina – Rock Hall, Maryland
Sunset at Swan Creek Marina – Rock Hall, Maryland
Rock Hall Visitor’s Center
Swan Creek Bloody Mary