Boats

We see all shapes and sizes of boats along our way.  And lots of funny, stupid, crazy boat names too.
A big sail boat we saw today was called "'Spill the wine".

We saw our first derelict boat and we'll see a lot more as we get further south.  Boats that are just abandoned and left for a municipality to deal with.

Then there were these carnies taking their show with them to ply the winter markets.

We saw this Nordhaven tug in the Chesapeake-Abelmarle lock.  32 feet.  Costs $260,000.  A Rosie-wanna-be.

This one was in Norfolk.  60 metres long (260 ft)  I talked to a crew member.  She said the boat is registered in Cayman Islands but never stops traveling the world.

I also like these two old classic boats.

And then, of course, there was Norfolk, home of the US Navy Atlantic fleet and the biggest military base in the world.  This is where the money goes.  Meanwhile the wharfs in Norfolk are sinking while the sea levels rise and no one cares about climate change.  Meanwhile teenagers in Russia with a $200 computer can bring our system of government to its knees.Sigh.

So we're waitig for weather.  Coast Guard says 50-60 kt winds but I think that's offshore.  Radar shows a very brightly colored wall headed our way.  We, and 5 other boats are hunkered down in Pungo Ferry Virginia.

Norfolk to Pungo Ferry

Wednesday we had a long day getting to Norfolk from Deltaville.  Good tail wind but still 9.5 hours.
Our cruising speed uis 6 6 knots in calm water with no wind or tide assistance and 2200 rpms.
Here's a shot of Thursday morning in Norfolk at the Waterside Marina.
Norfolk morning
And here's a shot of Pungo Ferry in the evening.
:ungo Ferry

There's a blow coming later today.  Gale force winds.  So we're haning here for the day, tied up to some old piling.

Sleepy Sunday

Homemade (as in Rosie) soup, quiche and bread.  Nap time.

Deltaville, still

We're still in Deltaville, fixing stuff.  I broke a tooth.  Our outboard won't start and we've ordered parts.  Installed a new washdown pump, Changed all the fluids.  Restocked the larders.  Showers, laundry, shopping.  Hope to head to Norfolk on Wednesday if the outboard is running.

Tonight I was sitting on the bow with a beer looking out at the greater bay/ocean and, enter stage right, a Lord Nelson Victory Tug.  It heads around the corner out of sight.  I try unsuccessfully to hail it on the radio.  But three LNVT's within a half mile is more than I can handle.  So I jump in the motorless dinghy and row around the corner to find the tug.

It's Le Papa!  From Charlotte.  Andy Deeds boat now owned by Hal Findlay.  What a hoot!  Great to talk tugs with him  He's headed to Florida so we will be seeing him off and on down the ditch.  Le Papa still has a BMW engine so we encouraged each other and Hal shared a bit of Nick Cowles apple brandy which made the row back a joy!

Sitting for a week in one spot slows life down. 

We start each day with a long to do list but are happy to complete a quarter of it.

Deltaville, Virginia

It was not easy leaving Pat, Barb, Margie and Bernie at Solomon Island.  Such a good time.  We'll definitely stop on the way back.  But south we must go.  So with a north wind blowing on Monday we were off at 0745 with the tide.  A dozen boats left Solomons Island with us.  With the wind behind us and a fair tide we decided to make it all the way to Deltaville, about 50 nautical miles.  Tuesday wind would be on our nose.
So Kathleen had time to do some Lacy lovin'.

Anchored at Deltaville Marina, a great place.  We ordered some parts to be delivered here.  Rain gutter for salon windows and a "pump gard" for the new washdown pump.  Mud in the south really stinks so when you pull up the anchor it's important to leave that stink in the water.  Also oil changing time, coolant change, fuel pump change, etc.

Once the anchor was down we looked in at the docks and were shocked by what we saw.  Can you see it?

Yeah, it's us!  We're LNVT hull number 21.  This is hull number 20.  Needs as much work as Rosie.

This is a real boater haven.  Great facilities including a shop that can do everything and a courtesy car (GMC Yukon with 250,000 miles on it) to get into the one grocery store, one hardware store, a couple of gas stations and a West Marine.
There are some great boats here like this steel hulled beauty.

The weather is, as I had feared, unpredictable and extreme, which is the new normal.  Pair that with stupid errors on my part and we have had daily challenges.  There are times when we wonder what the hell we're doing but then the wind backs down and the sun comes out.
We're 32 miles north of Norfolk where we enter the "ditch".  No more open water for quite a while.  Rosie will like that.
Still fretting the BMW engine and the outboard is going into the shop tomorrow.  So dependent on the internal combustion thing now.  Sailboats and hard dinghies look good sometimes.
Not sure what's going on in Vermont but today was 75 degrees and sunny.  We sat in the pilot house for a sundowner.

All is well with us but we do miss our friends and family.  Feel free to call or comment on the blog.  We'll check ban in from Norfolk.

We're in Deltaville, Virginia.  Will post tomorrow. But I changed a setting to make it easier to comment.

Solomons Island, Maryland

We roared down here yesterday with wind and tide, hitting 8 knots surfing some waves.  Nephew Pat and wife Barb have a house here and a dock!  Barb's parents live here too.  Such great hosts!  So we're tied up and cozy for a few days.  Rain coming.  Went to West Marine so there's toys and tools to install. 

Walked around the island today.  Very nice place with a ton of boats.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fGrDsyBVu55dizjG7

And a cute church.

Here' Rosie snug as a bug in a rug.

Storm

Our day in St Michaels was sunny and mid-70's.  Gorgeous.  But the forecast was not so pretty.  Big winds.  Gale warnings.  Supposed to start Wednesday night.  So we decided to run to the western shore and tuck up under some highlands at Herring Bay.  There we could put out a lot of rode and let Mr Rocna do his stuff as opposed to a busy basin with lots of other boats.

Headed out early, wind and tide helping, until we got to the open bay.  A S wind 15-18 knots with fetch all the way to the Carribbean sent 3 and 4 ft waves right into Rosie's beam.  She doesn't like that.  So despite a rolly last hour and a half we put the anchor down at noon.

The wind shifted to the west as predicted but the waves kept coming from the Caribbean which was not comfortable.  Eventually they surrendered to the wind and we had a good, though noisy, night.
100 ft of chain with a 3 strand snubber attached to a Rocna 44 is a really good nights sleep.  See if you can find out anchor buoy.

The storm raged all day Thursday all up the east coast and I read reports of flooding in Vermont.  Is everyone ok?  Here we didn't have to worry about falling trees, power outages, flooding.  Just wind.

I don't like listening to howling wind but then I thought of the Bahamians who listened to 185 knot winds for 3 days and stopped my whining.

It backed of Thursday morning and evening so I could get Lacy ashore but with the longest poop run ever, naturally the outboard wouldn't start.  This is the distance I rowed because I love our little dog and, well, she didn't ask to come on this trip.

Can you see Rosie?

We also had torrential rain and Wednesday and here's Rosie's butt from the dinghy while I bail.

Tomorrow we head down to Solomon Island to visit with nephew Pat and wife Barb.  We'll also pick up some engine parts that were shipped there from Germany.  We'll do some repair work at Deltaville, Virginia because they have great mechanics if I need them.

Anxious to get south and warm. 

St Michaels

Twas a foggy morning in Chestertown on Monday so we delayed our departure an hour rather than have ti sound a fog horn every cuple of minutes.

In Chestertown some people make their own tugs!

Even an hour late we were able to ride the tide to the mouth of the Chester River where we went through the Kent Narrows and I mean narrow!  By the time we got through the tide was rising and it gave us a lift into St Michaels, a very old colnial town that we will explore today.

We think we might be a bit crazy doing this trip at our ages.  As we discussed our sanity with Dick and Paula they said "Don't let the old man in."  Didn't know what they meant until they sent me this.
song.  Seems Toby Keith was playing golf with Clint Eastwood.  Clint says he's starting a new film, at age 88.  How do you do ut asked toby.  Clint replied, "I don't let the old man in."
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiWupu0pZ7lAhVM1VkKHbmRDgQQuAIwC3oECAYQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dyc5AWImplfE&usg=AOvVaw27HfN9X0QRNjCkHzy0aDzl

Chestertown Maryland

We came up the Chester River to Chestertown.  25 miles by water, Half that by land.  We'll spend three days here visiting our old friend Dick Owen who, for 40 years, piloted ships up and down the Chesapeake Bay from Cape Henry to Baltimore, a 200 mile trip.  I once was lucky enough to go down and back with him once.  Pilot comes on board and ships captain goes to their quarters.  Dick the boss.  I met him when I was a Hopkins in the early 60's and he and his wife Paula have been terrific hosts, driving us around for groceries and supplies.

There is a storm named Melissa way out in the Atlantic that is throwing amazing storm surge at the mid-Atlantic.  200 miles up the Chesapeake and 25 miles up the Chester River, there is flooding.

There are docks under water at those pilings.

Today we went over to Rock Hall (by car) for their Fall Festival.  Lots of oysters and great music.  Good ol' authentic music.

And a kazoo band.  And a high school steel drum bands.  And lots of oysters.
So we'll head back down the Chester river when the tide turns.  But I have to wonder if a river is a river if it flows both ways.  Isn't that an estuary?  Like the Hudson up to Troy.  Is that a river if it can flow backward?

Rock Hall and old friends

A day of rest in Chesapeake City.  Slept in. Everyone who had raced up the Delaware Bay with us left in the morning.  Finally seeing the "Quebec Navy" and hearing them on the VHF.
Here we are in the C&D hurrying to get our anchor down before dark set in on Monday night.  We didn't make it.

Yesterday morning, Wednesday, we caught the tide just right, enjoyed a following wind and scooted down to Rock Hall where we tied up to the public wharf.  Dear friend Capt. Richard Owen, Chesapeake Bay Pilot ret'd, came and treated us to dinner.

Today we'll head up to Chestertown and do a bunch of maintenance jobs and spend more time with Dick and Paula Owen.  Rosie's To Do list will always be long and we left Vermont expecting to do a lot of the work during our travels.  Endless repairs and upfits.  She used to need 50 amp service with electric range, microwave and AC refrigeration.  But with propane, DC refrigeration and solar panels, we downsized the service to 30 amp.

A few nights ago, as we enjoyed sundowners (cocktails) in the salon Kathleen commented that Rosie's space is about right and she could envision living in a "tiny house".  I agree.  But in the middle of the Delaware Bay all I could think of was the old Breton prayer with the line "O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small."

Maryland

This is the 8th.  And the last post ended with "We're going to shorten our days"  Hah!

From AC we stopped at Shelter Haven (nice name) in Stone Harbor, figuring we'd make the 50 miles to Cape May in 2 days, like we said.  Very nice little cove surrounded with nice shops and bars!  Thought we'd spend another day.  BUT..
 The next day forecast was southerly winds and sunny.  For the next 5 days it was cloudy, cool with stiff north winds.
From Cape May to the C&D canal (into the Chesapeake) is northerly and long.  So the crew was up and off on the 7th before daylight.  Made the 10 miles to Cape May and just kept going, right past the US Coast Guard training station.

Delaware Bay is one big body of water.  I don't know where George Washington crossed it but we were out of sight of land for half the day, heading north toward Philadelphia.  The crew was patient but wary.

The rising tide didn't give us much push until well up into the river and out of the bay but the engine ran strong and we kept going, staying just outside the shipping channel.

Finally made the C&D canal as the sun was going down.  Another 11 miles to Chesapeake City.
We reached the small harbor that is Chesapeake City in the dark and the anchorage was very full.  But we finally planted the Rocna and got Lacy some relief after a 13 hour sail.
And now we say, "We're going to shorten our days".  Whatever happened to naps?

More New Jersey

From Manasquan we had to take the ICW south.  We're not at Atlantic City and Cape May is our destination. The Jersey waterway is very shallow.  Boats drawing more than 4.5 feet can't do it.  We changed the alarm on our depth  gauge from 5' to 4' to stop the incessant beeping!

New Jersey does have beautiful beaches though.

This is Seaside Park where we had to spend two nights riding out 25 knot winds with gusts to 30.  We love our Rocna anchor.

From there we planned a 50 mile trip so we would have the wind to our backs and could ride the tide.  I worked perfectly for the first 40.  As we approached AC the shoaling was horrific and the waterway curved and ambled through low marsh and shoals.  We made a mistake that we will learn from (again).  We took what GPS said was the channel instead of what the buoys indicated.  Chart data is old.  The Coast Guard moves the buoys to reflect the shoaling.  So we scraped Rosie's bottom.  That's not running aground BTW!

We could see Atlantic City from 20 miles out but it took for ever to get here.

So along day.  8 hours of stressing over depths.  We're tied up at a marina in AC and we're going to shorten our days from now on.

Highlight of the day?  Face-timing with Cyrus, Diana and the kids!

New Jersey

We're not in

P

Kansas anymore.   We left Manhattan for Atlantic Highlands.
Kathleen says "I made it here . I can make it anywhere.

So we "med moored at AH...

Headed out of Atlantic Highlands accompanied by dolphins. Greeted at Manasquan by a whale!