Click on the image of the page below to read John`s report of the

Sailing Kiltie from North East Maryland to Cedar Creek New Jersey
Crew: John Bailey, Dario Panfili, Alex Rotov and Corry Lakin.
Boat: Kiltie, a 1966 Tartan 27 Yawl (somewhat rare rig for this boat)
Saturday July 12, 2014 Late afternoon
The crew provisioned boat and shoved off for the first leg, Hances Pt. Yacht Club to a
staging area along the Elk Neck River.
A bright moon helped us navigate around the unlit buoys going down the west side Elk
neck and around Turkey Point.
The rule of thumb knowledge for the trip through the C&D canal is as follows:
“To get the best push with the current through the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal going
east and down the Delaware Bay is to leave Chesapeake City two hours before low
tide.”
(Sailing the Delaware Bay is not taken lightly. It has a reputation for some bad
conditions, relentless wave chop, a 6 ft plus tide with strong current and few safe
harbors along the route. And those few harbors known for their bitting flies and shifting
sand bars.)
Since we were sailing at night and seeing some commercial traffic, we thought best to
stay at the quiet cove “Cabin John” which is just a few miles southwest of Chesapeake
City. At the crack of dawn we would check the forecast for Delaware Bay and the ocean
along the Jersey coast and make the decision to go.
Sunday July 13th 2014 5AM
At dawn the weather forecast was not promising. Southerly winds 15 to 20 knots and
gusting to 25 and contrary to the current on the Delaware Bay is the perfect setup for
the bad reputation of that body of water. Also a 6 ft. swell on the ocean for the ocean
with easterly 20 knot winds the next day. So our plans were changed to a short side trip
down to Annapolis.
We found a stow-a-way that morning at Cabin John. How a tree frog boarded the boat is
anybodyʼs guess. We tried to keep tabs on him, but think he jumped ship.
Kiltie took it on the nose most of the way south, but she is sea kindly and we were
comfortable and dry. We arrived at Annapolis sailing in with the schooner Woodwind
and Jack Sherwood in his Sailmaster 26. (Woodwind is a very fast schooner I
experienced first hand racing against her aboard the schooner Martha White many
times in the Great Chesapeake Schooner Race. Jack is a long to contributer to
Soundings Magazine.)
Mears Marina in Eastport was delightful as always. Dinner at the Boatyard Bar and Grill
delicious as well.
Monday July 14th 2014
After breakfast in downtown Annapolis at Chickies and Ruthʼs, the forecast was starting
to look much better in the next few days for the Delaware Bay and ocean. Moderate
north west winds for both the Bay and ocean. So the planned walk to Baconʼs Marine
was canceled and we set sail back up the bay.
That afternoon near Aberdeen, dark clouds were on the horizon. We checked the
weather and a cold front was passing over the region bringing with it lightening, a
severe storm alert and for some nearby areas, a tornado alert!.
We battened down the hatches, donned the foul weather gear and watched the light
show. A few close hits and then zero visibility with increasing winds was exciting. Some
fantastic clouds and beautiful sunset as we neared Turkey point.
We headed back to Hances Pt. as Corey had prior obligations and we were saddened
not to have him see the voyage through.
Tuesday July 15th 2014
We spent the morning at HPYC cleaning up and doing a little re-provisioning.
Midday we made the run down the neck again. That afternoon more rain and lightning
all around again. Cabin John was again a safe refuge for us that night.
Wednesday July 16th 2014 “Crack of Dawn”
The weather forecast held and we raised anchor for Cape May some 80 miles distant.
As predicted, the current was against us for a few hours, but then came the push.
At one point the GPS was saying 8.3 knots! We encountered only light shipping, but
kept a sharp lookout at all times.
The ride through the C&D and down the Bay was pleasant and Kiltie sailed most of the
way. Otto, the new auto tiller, did a fine job keeping us on track.
We arrived at the Cape May Canal at about 7 PM encountering a very low tide.
We avoided what looked like a steel girder sticking up in the middle of the channel!
We next tried to reach the Corinthian Yacht Clubʼs dock and quickly ran aground.
Luckily Kiltie only draws 3ʼ2” with the board up and is light enough for the three of us to
rock her off. Sad not getting to the Corinthian as the last time I was there in 2005 was
after an 8 day voyage returning back from Bermuda. They were very gracious at that
time even though I was not a member of a “Yacht Club”.
rather than running aground again, we just dropped the hook outside the channel. A bit
of the grog, pasta, a magnificent sunset and the the crew settled in for a good nightʼs
rest.
Thursday July 17th 2014
The forecast for the run up to Atlantic City was perfect.
Westerly at 10 knots with seas 3 to 4 ft.
Another great sailing day with Kiltie and Otto doing the work.
Alex brought along the fixings for subs with his special seasoning. This is the perfect
sailing food. Prepared for just about any meal, wrapped in cellophane, they can be
eaten in any weather with one hand for the sub and one hand for the ship.
Another highlight was the dragonflies landing on the boat. Not just your ordinary
dragonfly, but very large. They seemed to be coming from the South East?
(I did a bit of research and little is know about dragon fly migration, but much has been
discovered recently. It is now believed that certain dragonflies migrate as far as 7,000
miles across oceans. Further than the monarch butterfly! )
As we entered Absecon inlet and worked our way into the marshland we were
welcomed to New Jersey by the green headed fly. Luckily it was near sunset and the
bloodsuckers turn in early.
Friday July 18th 2014
The last section of the trip will be to Barnegat Bay. One can either do the inland route or
the ocean route navigating Barnegat Inlet.
Even though we have all been through Barnegat Inlet many times, we chose the safer
inland marsh route. Depending on the current, and even with favorable winds, the chop
at that inlet can be dangerous.
Navigating the marshlands of New Jersey has itʼs own hazards (an old friend that lived
in the mashes once told me that “if youʼve seen one blade of grass, youʼve seen them
all”). It is also hard to hold a course when little green monsters are dive bombing you.
Kiltie has three fly swatters and all were used.
But, as the west wind clocked around to the NNE, the flies soon were a bad memory.
We motored the majority of the way to Barnegat Bay taking the wind on the nose.
We were glad to have passed many sailing schools and sailboat racing. Optimists,
Sunfish, Lasers and even 420”s. A very active sailing day.
We tied up at my old marina “Up the Creek” on Cedar Creek, Bayville New Jersey that
afternoon.
This was to longest trip in the boat so far. The Tartan 27 is of classic design and is living
up to itʼs reputation as a comfortable and fairy fast little ship The yawl rig preforms
wonderfully allowing us to use just the jib and mizzen when the wind pipes up. With this
configuration the helm remains lightly to weather.
To sum up, good friends, a little adventure, and a voyage completed in a good old boat!
Why was Kiltie relocated?
The trip to New Jersey is the first leg of the Route to the New York State waterways.
I want to take the boat up the Hudson River to Lake Champlain, the Erie Canal to
Cayuga Lake and perhaps the Thousand Islands. Of course this will be done in small
stages over a few years. Kiltieʼs little Universal Diesel putts along nicely and efficiently
thanks to the great re-powering job and many other improvements by former owner Bill
Shaw. Over the last two years I have made some upgrades. Here are a few:
-Repainting of the topsides and hull
-Replacement of the centerboard
-Replacement of the port lights
-Replacement of the prop and cutlass bearing
-Replacement of the furling headsail
-Head revisions
-New stove
-New cabin lighting and alternator
-Install of lazy jacks
John Bailey
PS I hope to send updates as the voyage continues.