Cape May

Tuesday July 31
38 57.595 N
74 52.015 W

Big day today, 64 nautical miles, and our arrival was a bit difficult, but there are no scratches (that we can see!). Off to bed now, early start in the morning to Atlantic City.

11 MPH! (bottom right corner)

The trick today was to judge the tides so we could run with the current down the Delaware, which will be as much as 2 knots. If we messed up we would probably not make the distance in daylight and have to find an anchorage - and there are no good ones in the Delaware. We studied the time tables yesterday - finding them very confusing - and made our best plan. We started against the current and finished against the current, but got a good 4 plus hours where it counted in the river. Tide Hiker made it up to 11 MPH - which is akin to warp speed - and I have the photo to prove it.

Bridges over the C & D canal

The remaining 12 miles east on the canal were uneventful and quite picturesque. That all changed when we arrived in the river - lots of traffic, lots of civilization, including a nuclear power station.

The Nordhaven

As we turned and headed downstream we noticed a Nordhavn 35' ahead of us and so called them on the radio to compare notes. Turns out Jim and Sheila are also headed to New York and we will probably buddy up with them the rest of the way. Because Tide Hiker is a bigger boat we will have to sacrifice some speed, but I will appreciate "safety in numbers" as we head out into the Atlantic for the next two days.

The weather had been OK but turned a bit windy and choppy as the day progressed. By the time we got into the Cape May canal (that cuts off the tip of the cape) it was quite windy and the current was running against us. We crossed under a couple of narrow bridges and I had to use full throttle and the bow thruster to keep our head up.

We had chosen a marina close to the entrance to the Atlantic. To take our dock we had to make a u turn back into the current in a narrow channel, so I took it as wide as I thought I could, but Tide Hiker did not want to turn against the current and into the wind - and then we ran into the bottom. The rudders jammed, the current heeled the boat and we were stuck! The props were churning up the bottom and we were going nowhere.

Well, to make a long story short, I was able to get the boat off and we made the dock. I was a bit pissed with the marina because I was following the approach they recommended, and we had not been warned about the shallow water and it was certainly not marked. Added to that, Tide Hiker is a bit windy and turning into the current and the wind is difficult.

As for damage, I was a bit concerned about the rudder, but all went well on our run to Atlantic City, so I assume all is OK. We will get her hauled in Solomons on the return to check.That afternoon I checked and cleaned all the strainers.

Chesapeake City

Monday July 30, 2012
39 31.635 N
75 48.669 W

Its nice when a good plan works well. We are safely tied up at the FREE Municipal Dock in Chesapeake City! When we arrived the space was being "wasted" with a couple of little boats scattered along the dock (They should be banned!!). So we called the Dock Master on the phone (had the number ready for just this situation) and asked him if he would consolidate the other boats, and after a 10 minute delay he made us a space, and we squeezed in. The dock is free, but they offer 50amp/220V power for $15, so we are plugged in and will have AC for sleeping. (Plus Deidre will wash the sheets.) NICE!

The 22 mile run here this morning was uneventful, even if a bit slow (we were running against the current). We wanted to arrive at Chesapeake City pool about 1PM when we estimated the free dock (or a space in the small anchorage) would most likely be available. We had the breakfast dishes washed, the engines running and the anchor up by XX.X and arrived right on time.

This was a good one!

Recovering the anchor was the usual messy business. Almost all of our anchorages are in mud and the chain just loves to bring the mud back on board. We have a salt water pump and hose on the bow and it can be a 30 minute job cleaning the chain as it arrives. The for-deck always ends up a mess and takes another 10 minutes to clean up.

The canal links the "top" of Chesapeake with the Delaware River, about 1/2 way between the Atlantic (at Cape May) and Philadelphia. Ships can arrive from Europe at Philadelphia, then "cut across" to the Chesapeake and Baltimore. The canal is about 40' deep, but quite narrow. So we were a bit surprised when this enormous ship passed behind us as we were eating dinner.

Holy smokes - look at this!

The pilot boat running alongside

Gone

Sasafras River

July 29th, 2012
39 22.015 N
76 01.334 W

The Magothy anchorage is a good spot but the bottom is muddy. It took us extra time to get the anchor up this morning and the deck was a real mess when we were done. But the temperature appeared to drop about 10 degrees compared to yesterday, and there is a nice breeze.

Bryce said we could go halves!

Today we made it about 35 miles north to new water, north of Baltimore. We are now anchored for the night in the Sassafras River, which is on the east side of the bay. The bay is narrowing down, we could see both shores as we motored north. Saw an amazing sun set tonight - I took a great photo but erased it by accident!. The radar shows thunder storms all around, but they all seem to be missing us.

Tomorrow we plan to enter the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal and stay the night at Chesapeake City - where there is a free dock for up to 3 boats and a small anchorage. If we cannot fit, we may make a run for the Delaware, or go back 10 miles to the Chesapeake, and try the next day. Apparently the tidal currents in the canal are difficult.

Back in Magathy

Saturday July 28, 2012
39 05.024
76 27.266

We are outa there! Now we start the "long trek north" to the Delaware-Chesapeake canal, the Delaware River and New York. This is the third time we have covered this water so its all a bit ho hum. The distance to the Magothy anchorage is about 50 miles, so its a full day in a busy stretch of the Bay.

It was a hot day - Deidre vacated the bridge early afternoon and we fired up a generator and the AC for her. Overall we ran the AC from mid afternoon until 9AM Sunday - about 18 hours. She was able to get the satellite TV to work so was able to enjoy some Olympics.

We anchored about 5PM. The space behind Dobbins Island was jammed with boats and party goers - and police - and so we just dropped the anchor in mid bay. The air was totally hot, humid and dead although there was threat of thunder storms. I put out 150' feet of chain and attached the snubber in about 10' of water - so thought "bring it on". We saw a bit of wind and a few spots of rain but no more.

We were able to find the Olympics on "free to air" so had a full evening of TV, including the Aussie girls winning the 4 by 100 relay!

Nautical clock and "comfort meter"

My birthday gift, my retirement gift and our boat-warming gift arrived on Thursday. There were a couple of spaces left on our eyebrow in the Pilot House, just made for these instruments. And they look great! (Even though we had to order and pay for them ourselves!)

Solomons

Washburn's Boat Yard
38 19.959 N
76 27.530W

We are trying to figure out how to "manage the tide" so after vast research we decided to time our trip back to Solomons so as the ride the ebb tide down the St Marys/Potomac Rivers and then catch the flood back "up" the Chesapeake to the Solomons. So we were up early and under way by at least 9AM. We are docked at Washburns now. I have no clue what happened to the tide thing.

Monday July 23, 2012

We got off to a good start. Eric (seems like he is the boatyard boss) was on board by about 8AM to plan our visit. He had called us last week and suggested we arrived a few days later because they were running a few days behind, but it seemed things had worked out OK and so the work could start.

We were assigned a mechanic - Rick. He would work on the windlass and the engine issues and service. Rick seemed like a nice guy but had trouble speaking as his jaw had been wired shut for the last six weeks as the result of a punch. Eric would be our electrician and work on the #2 Gen issues, the #2 charger issues. XXX would be the toilet guy (I felt bad for him) but he was home sick (good decision)! It was understood that I was to be the under-study so that I would be able to deal with simular issues in the future. 


Rick as able to point me to a computer guy. My pilot house computer had crashed and I suspected the worst. The computer guy turned up and confirmed the worst - the hard drive had crashed - and took it away. Oh well. 

NOT "Tide Hiker"

We are docked next to the "travel-lift" so we get to see boats pulled out of the water. By dark Monday the boat was a mess - but things were moving forward. Deidre grilled some salmon for dinner but after a couple of bites we decided it was off. 


Tuesday July 24th, 2012


The TV antenna man came. The Olympics start Friday! We are frustrated by our current TV access - we have ZERO channels currently. So we signed up to install a satellite dish. Its expensive, but we will run out of books soon.


Work on the boat continued. parts have been ordered for the Windlass. Parts have been ordered for the toilet. The #2 Gen is OK and both chargers are working, the base problem is that the AC units (there are three) are old and pulling too much electricity. Today I participated in changing the impeller in a generator, "rodding" the heat exchanger (to get the remains of the impeller out), changing the primary and secondary fuel filters on the main engines and bleeding the fuel pump. Not a bad day.


Tuesday night we went out for dinner with the people we met at St. Mary's last week.


Wednesday July 25th, 2012


More of the same today. I was able to get into "town" and buy some replacement software for my computer, and spent much of the afternoon loading programs and recovering data. So far so good, but I have lost a lot of data.

Cleaning the bow (you can see the stain)

The highlight was Deidre getting into the dinghy and cleaning the bow. She did a great job, but ran into a hitch when I forgot to check on her for 30 minutes and got stuck between the boat and the pier. Tacos for dinner.


Thursday July 26th, 2012


Big day today, the satellite TV arrives! And "Bruce" the TV man was right on time. We also asked Bruce to sort out the surround sound on the TV. Which he has done. Deidre and I watched TV until the wee hours - we were suffering "Law and Order" withdrawal! But we are organized for the Opening Ceremony tomorrow. Also, parts for the toilet and windlass arrived today, so the aim was to get all the jobs wrapped up today and Friday, so we can get on the road. Boboli for dinner. 


Friday July 27th, 2012


All the work was wrapped up by lunch, and we got the bill - it was as expected - five boat units (plus 3 boat units for the satellite). We celebrated by washing the decks and generally cleaning up.

Summary of work:


1. WINDLASS: The top half of the windlass needed an overhaul. It had become difficult to manage. I had tried to dismantle and lubricate it without success.

* The mechanic had some trouble, but the difference was that he knew what he was doing. Both clutch surfaces were worn down to the rivets, and the shaft was corroded and abraded. The clutch surfaces were replaced and the shaft cleaned up. It works well now.

2. SALT WATER TOILET: The salt water supply pump had stopped working. We could use the toilet with a bucket of water.

* The pump was obsolete. So a new pump was installed remotely and it works fine.

3. SANITATION TANK SMELL: We can process sewerage with the Electro San or store sewerage in the "black tank", but that choice caused a smell. Some places we are not allowed to discharge even processed sewerage over the side.

* It was determined that our vent hose was blocked and leaking,and it was replaced.

4. SECOND CHARGER DID NOT WORK: We have two battery chargers for the house bank, but the battery monitor suggested that the second one did not work. That made charging the batteries with the generator seem very inefficient.

* It was determined that I was looking at the wrong gauge.

5. SMALL 7.5 kVA Generator issues: 
     a. The small gen destroyed its impeller a week ago. I had a replacement but I was concerned about where all the bits were.

* The mechanic "rodded" the head exchanger.

     b. The small gen will barely run one AC unit. The gauges suggest the voltage is not balanced.

The small gen checked out OK - but the three a/c pumps are "at the end of thier useful life", and are pullong too much current, and need to be replaced. We are getting a quote.

6. OUTBOARD MOTOR
     a. The starter motor is loose, the bendix gear and the ring gear are getting chewed up.

* There are two bolts - to get to the second one the mechanic had to take the bloody thing apart. But it starts well now.

     b. The throttle/transmission linkage is broken.

* I had the parts but thought I would let the mechanic do it :). He also serviced the foot.

7. WATERMAKER LEAKING

When I tried to flush the element each week, it leaked water all over the place.

* A hose clamp was defective and was replaced.

8. INSTALL SPARE FAN BELT ON STB ENGINE

There was a spare fan belt in place on the port engine when we took possession of the boat. I used it when the belt failed in Florida. To put a spare in place.you have to remove the Stabilizer PTO and I wanted to be shown how.

* Spare is now in place and "maybe" I could do it.

St. Mary's City

Thursday July 19, 2012
38 11.519 N
76 26.041 W

St Mary's City was the site of the forth European settlement in North America, circa 1620. Thursday morning we made our way out of the XX River, across the Potomac and about 10 miles up the St. Mary's River to Horseshoe Bay. What a prefect anchorage, protected all around, about 15' - 20' deep and big enough for 100 boats. Only negative was poor phone, TV and internet access - no clue why.

Deidre can spot an Aussie flag at 100 miles in a storm!

Within 10 minutes we watched a 50 Hunter cruise in and drop anchor, displaying an Aussie maritime flag just like ours. We dropped our dinghy and made our way across and met up with Kieth and Jennifer from Sydney. What fun. A few minutes later a 48 Katey Krogan arrived, and since  we were still in the dinghy we popped over there too, and met Brian and Jackie. Later on that afternoon, Brian called and asked us over for drinks. I decided I liked this place.

Friday July 20, 2012

Quaint

The original St. Mary's settlement faded away a long time ago. The site is now occupied by the St Mary's College, established about 1846. Friday morning we took the dinghy and tide up at the St Mary's sailing club and had a wander around. Several of the "original" buildings have been recreated, and there is a "pioneer village" that operates for the tourists in the summer. We found a coffee shop so we bought a newspaper and had a couple of lattes.  Our primary objective was to spec out the "free concert" that happened for 9 Fridays in the summer. Good fun, back to the boat for a quiet afternoon.

We loaded the dinghy with 4 chairs and picked up Kieth and Jennifer. It was a short walk to the "amphitheater" - a bit like a temporary "Myer Music Bowl" (Australian reference) or "Blossom" (Cleveland reference) or Wolf Trap (East coast reference). We had heard the orchestra rehearsing all afternoon, music drifting in the wind over the water. The weather was a bit threatening, but there was maybe 500 people on deck chairs and rugs. It was a full orchestra (the "Chesapeake Orchestra") plus a guest pianist. I am certainly not an orchestral music aficionado, but the concert was magnificent. It was amazing, one of the best experiences of my life. Certainly not some hokey concert in the country.

It may have helped that Kieth had brought a lovely bottle of Australian port.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Saturday dawned overcast and wet. (That is what it was like at about 9AM, honestly not sure what it was like at dawn.). The forecast for Chesapeake was more of the same plus a bit of wind. This was the first cool weather we had seen for weeks. I needed socks and shoes. We felt like curling up in front of the fire with a good book, so that was what we did, sans the fire.

Olverson's Marina, Lodge Creek

Monday July 16, 2012
37 59.745 N,
76 32.469 W

We dragged our collective feet Monday morning and so did not up anchor and travel the mile or so to Spring Cove Marina till about Noon. We needed to pick up some parts for the outboard, plus we needed to load some water, so I decided to make use of the stop to take on a couple of hundred gallons of diesel. This all being achieved we were on our way south by early afternoon.

We had met the owner of "Olverson's Marina" at the MTOA Rendezvous, and he had offered us "stay two nights, pay for one"  which seemed like a good deal. It was still very hot and the idea of plugging the boat into 50 amps and blasting all 3 ac units was very appealing.

"Follow me!"

It was an easy run and we arrived at the entrance to the xxx River about 4PM. Shortly before then we needed to maneuver to give way to a large and fancy motor yacht that had approached fast from the North. (I had commented to Deidre at the time: "We had better give way to this fat cat from DC or risk being audited!") Not much later, after we had forgotten all about the boat, we were hailed by name from the very same boat. "Are you going into the Yeocomico River?" "How much do you draw?" "Would you mind if we follow you in?" I told them that we had never made the entrance before, and were just following the charts, but the other captain he was not concerned by that, and followed us in part of the way.

The Yeocomico turned out to be very rural - farm houses and corn and cows down to the water line. Rather quaint and quite attractive. Our destination was 3 or 4 miles up river and also rather quaint. They had welcomed our reservation, but as we sighted our designated slip it seemed to me that they really did not have the space for us. I managed to shoe horn Tide Hiker in (no scratches) but our stern was left hanging 8 or 9 feet into the fairway. Plus the place did look a bit "home made" and "rustic".

Tide Hikers arse hanging out

But all that was forgotten as we signed in - first night was FREE and the rest of our stay was $1.50 a foot, less 10% Boats US discount, less 5% for cash, and including electricity! All up, $62.40 per day, and so just $124.80 for three days. We plugged into the electrical service and found it to be excellent, one of the best we have experienced. We were able to run all 3 air conditioners, battery chargers, washer and dryer without any breakers flipping. Plus the walkways were all covered - which gave a nice break from the sun.


Tuesday July 17, 2012

Liars Club

The marina also provided a courtesy car! So we borrowed the car Tuesday morning and took it into town for a shopping spree. It seems strange driving thru such a rural area so close to DC. But the little town had a Food Lion and an Ace Hardware, so we were happy. The afternoon we spent at the pool. Each evening a group of boaters congregate at the "liars club" for a drink and a chat. We met some new arrivals (Tom and Doris") and the four of us ended up borrowing the courtesy car and going out for dinner at the local golf club. It had been a good day.


Happy toilet, Happy ship.

Wednesday July 18, 2012

Adding salt pellets

Some time around breakfast we noticed a red light flashing on the dash. It was the dreaded sanitation system - enough to make a strong heart quiver. But fortunately we quickly discovered it was just a "low chlorine" issue and this was quickly resolved by adding salt to the salt reservior. The system uses the chlorine in the salt to provided chlorine. We carry about 150 lbs of water softener salt on board at all times - maybe a month's supply?

Solomons, anchored

Sunday July 15, 2012
38 20.161N
76 26.138W

Sorting out the deck

We were underway by about 10AM Sunday. It was another warm sweaty day, so finding a bit of a sea breeze was good. We were headed 35 miles "back south" and planned to anchor near the Solomons because on Monday we want to pick up the spare parts for the outboard motor.

To be avoided - just like a sailing boat

It was an uneventful ride, other than dodging a few very large ships. As we arrived in the Solomons we also had to dodge our way thru a large sailing event,  there must have been a hundred 40' to 50' sailing boats racing all over the place and blocking the mail channel. They really behave like they own the water, "right of way" and all that stuff. There were also a lot of thunder storms showing on the radar, but they seemed to pass us left and right, we obviously lead a charmed life.

We are in a great anchorage. (If Bryce would stop working so hard and sent me the image I would include it here.) Immediately after dropping anchor we both grabbed one of our "new" books and a drink and sat out on the aft deck enjoying the breeze. We have just had dinner and all is well.

Cambridge

Friday July 13, 2012
38 34.326N
76 04.450W

We fiddled around this morning, not sure of our plans. Anchoring out is easy (so long as the works) and the anchorages are usually pretty. But it gets a bit "lonely" after a while and I think we pine for a bit of humanity. We have decided that our favorite anchorages are where we can launch the dinghy and visit a town. So late in the AM we decided to head for Cambridge, on the eastern peninsula. It was about 35 miles away and there was the possibility of a free bulkhead to tie to.

Free bulkhead, Cambridge

The trip was uneventful and we nosed into the inner harbor by about 3:30PM. To our delight the free bulkhead was open and there was a spot for us in the shade of a couple of trees. Docking our boat without any help from shore is a bit hard for us - we are a bit long in the tooth to put a 1" line in our teeth and leap to shore. But it was very calm and I was able to edge the boat in close and Deidre lassoed a cleat. It is a steel and concrete bulkhead, but it does not have any nasty bits sticking out, so with the help of a few fenders we were soon comfortable.

We tidied up (I cleaned a bit of stainless) and headed out for dinner and a walk. There is a waterfront restaurant 100 yards away, you can see it in the photo. (Most people want to sit outside and look at the water, these days Deidre and I head for the AC! After dinner we walked around town - its about 12,000 people and quite neat. We discovered that Saturday is the "Taste of Cambridge" - which in this part of the world really amounts to 101 ways to eat crab. They are expecting about 5,000 to pack down town, so we should get a long lasting dose of "human contact".


Saturday July 14, 2012


We had a late night last night. We found a local PBS TV station that aired "Morse", "Mid-Summer Murders" and "Prime Suspect" in a row - we were not in bed till well after midnight. I woke up to good news this morning - no so good for Deidre. Collingwood thrashed Geelong.

Crab something

Sometime about mid day we headed off looking for a supermarket. Nothing "down town". We had read about a bus, but everyone we asked - including some cops - had never heard of it. So we found a taxi company and bought a ride to the local Food Lion. All that worked fine and we were soon home with another week or so's grub.

The local city library was just a block away and they had great air conditioning! While we cooled off in the library we discovered they were having their annual sale. We bought 8 great books for $2.00.

Can you see Deidre?

Coincidentally, Saturday night was the annual Cambridge crab bake off, and it was all going to happen 2 blocks from Tide Hiker. So we dressed up in out best shorts and boat shes and fronted up. For $25 each we were allowed to taste the crabby wares of the10 local  restaurants. The falling rain did not dampen our enthusiasm as we like crab, and since we spend a large part of our day dodging crab floats, we felt we were entitled. We had cream of crab soup, Maryland crab soup (tomato based), crab dip, crab salad, crab cakes, crab spring rolls and crab ice cream. I felt a bit crabby in the morning.

Rhode River

Thursday July 12, 2012
38 52.968N
76 32.005W


We went south again today. Just a few miles to this delightful spot for the night. Just about 10 miles from Annapolis.We arrived about 2pm and we were maybe the second or third boat. Since then 1/2 dozen other gypsies have rolled in. Its very quiet and pretty. Just a place to spend the night.

This time our ball in Annapolis Harbor was a bit further north adjacent to the Navel Academy. We were so close to the acadamy that the air conditioners on one of the buildings bothered both of us a bit last night - I kept on thinking it was some wayward pump and I was up twice during the night looking for the source. And this morning we were woken up early by the sounds of the plebes being marched around, and their chants. Poor buggers. But otherwise it was a good night.

Today we decided to go back to the Solomons for some service work on Tide Hiker. My theory is that the cost of working on a boat increases consistently as you go North, and we are heading for New York! There is a yard in Solomons that has worked on Tide Hiker before and we have plenty of time before we meet Adam and Kathy and the kids in NYC, so we decided to get it done sooner rather than later. We have an appointment on July 21, which gives us 10 days to explore the Potomac and Washington.

For those who are interested, this is my list:

1. Salt water toilet - the flushing pump has stopped working. (We have been using buckets of sea water)
2. The water maker is leaking
3. The outboard on the dinghy - the throttle linkage is broken, the starter motor needs alignment, the whole unit needs to be steam cleaned.
4. I need help changing a Racor filter and installing a spare fan belt behind the stabilizer PTO. I could probably do it, but I do not want to mess up.
5. The windlass needs to be serviced - we are struggling with it each time we anchor
6. I am not happy with the output of the Northern Lights generator
7. The second battery charger does not seem to work

The list will probably grow.

Annapolis

Wednesday July 12
38 58.559N
76 29.009W

We were a little slow out of the Magothy this morning but we only had a short run to Annapolis. We wanted to arrive just after Noon, which is the "check out" time for the moorings. It is a busy place and it felt good to know our way in and out, and the procedure for the balls. There were two open balls and we picked one up in good style (there is a skill and teamwork involved).

We tidied up the boat and called the water taxi for a ride to town. Minutes later we were on shore headed for the USPS. The USPS has a bit of a reputation for poor service, but I have usually enjoyed a decent experience. Not this time. Our mail was not waiting for us, and what is more, the clerk ("Brenda") was unsympathetic and plain rude. I was annoyed and refused to be intimidated and slowly obtained some reluctant - but ineffective - cooperation. So we do not have our mail. Bummer

Deidre shouted me a strawberry milk shake as compensation, and then we decided to take a cab to the nearest boating store as a "treat". We needed charts for the New York area plus a few other bits and pieces. We ended up spending $250 plus the $20 in cab fares. We were back on the boat by 3PM and relaxed, soaking up the Annapolis nautical atmosphere.

View from our ball

It really is a fun harbor with lots going on. - several commercial tour and dinner boats coming and going, a couple of pirate boats for the kids, lots and lots of "looky-loo" boats, kyaks and sail boats leaving or returning from races in the bay, plus the water taxis darting around. Its just a constant procession, so we tended to sit out on the aft deck with a glass and watch. .

Magothy River

Tuesday July 10, 2012
39 04.855N
76 27.696W

We left the Inner Harbor at about 1PM and we were back in the Magothy River by 5PM. Once again we had some equipment problems with the windlass that were a bit frustrating. I am sure there must be a maintenance issue that I am missing.

We seem to be surrounded by thunder storms, but at the moment look like they will all miss us. We will "close up the boat" before we go to bed, just to be on the safe side. We plan to head for Annapolis first thing in the morning.


We "met" another one of those big boats on the way. I have included some "time lapse" photos.

Baltimore Inner Harbor

Sunday July 8, 2012
38 58.537 N
76 29.034 W

We have taken a slip for two nights right in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Its a little bit on the expensive side, but worth it just to be right down town. The area reminds me of Darling Harbor, or maybe how Docklands wants to be after it is more established. Last night (Sunday) we strolled into town for dinner at "Bubba Gumps Shrimp" and enjoyed some serious air-conditioning. It was another hot night. The boat AC could barely cope, but at least we were running in shore power and the Genset could have a rest.

Monday July 9, 2012

The long awaited cool change arrived Sunday night after midnight, so we have woken up to very mellow weather. We spent the early hours of the day sitting on the aft deck enjoying our coffee and taking turns in the shower. Deidre is now getting industrial and has several loads of washing under way. I wanted to spend some time hosing down and cleaning the boat. We also need to do some grocery and boat shopping (12V light bulbs, stainless steel cleaner and etc) and banking.

Bruce and Bob "shopping"

Little Italy Baltimore

We strolled into town at about 10AM. I headed off looking for a bank, the girls wanted to do some shopping, and we all wanted to look around. I must say I am impressed with Baltimore. I had visited the area several times over the last 30 years on steel business, but probably in the industrial areas, and I had a negative expectation.But this visit has changed all that. Downtown is delightful, and as "Melbourne-esque" as I have experienced in the USA. Seems very prosperous, clean, and with some interesting neighborhoods. We wandered into Little Italy and were delighted with what we found. had a great lunch and did some shopping. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the aft deck, enjoying the mild weather and watching boats. 


Late in the afternoon we were invited to visit a neighbor boat "Steadfast" for a glass of wine and tips about NYC. It was a Katy-Krogan "Whaleback" trawler with husband and wife crew. The husband suffers from a crippling and progressive disease that had put him in a wheelchair, but they continued to cruise. Great company, and quite an amazing feat.

Sunset

We returned to Tide Hiker for dinner and desert on the aft deck. It was a beautiful evening and a spectacular sunset. We played cards till midnight.

Tuesday July 10, 2012

Sue and Bruce were picked up by their daughter at about 10AM. Deidre has a several loads of wash to do and I needed to wash down the boat before departing. We have just had a light lunch. We plan to leave by about 1PM and head south back towards Annapolis for our mail!

Having Sue and Bruce on board was great fun. We are sad to see them leave.






a

Annapolis, Md

Friday July 6, 2012
38 58.539M
76 29.040W

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

We were up at a decent hour and headed to Annapolis. There are lots of mooring balls available in the inner harbor, but only 5 that are suitable for a boat our size - so we needed to be early. There were two balls available when we arrived and we snared one - in the perfect spot to watch all the comings and goings. It was very hot. We launched the dinghy and headed into town.

First stop was the Post Office - only to discover that the one we had selected was inside the Navel Academy and would not accept mail for "General Delivery"! This is the second time we have messed up this same delivery. The USPS staff were "not particularly" helpfull, but we hope we have arranged to get our envelope transferred over to another location, and we will come back Monday and collect it. Oh well ...... 

Plebes marching into lunch

Annapolis is a cool town, very nautical but very touristy, and wandering around in the 100 degree weather was not very appealing. I was running the generator and ac on the boat almost 100% of the time and it was barely keeping up. Saturday we decided to take a guided tour of the Navel Acadamy, and that turned out to be very interesting. Each summer the acadamy accepts about 1,500 new students ("plebs") and they arrive in June when the more senior students are spending the summer on ships. They spend about 8 weeks learning the basics before the seniors return and give them hell. We watched them assemble and march in for lunch. (It sounds like they virtually have to assemble and march for everything.) Any way, it was fun and they looked young.

Magothy River, Dobbins Island

Thursday July 5, 2012
39 04.883 N
76 27.722 W

We were up at a reasonable hour and took the dinghy into town to get to the bank and do some last minute shopping. Sue and Bruce had walked into town and met us at the dinghy dock. It was another super hot day with temps near 100 and high humidity.

Then back to the marina and under way by 11AM. For reasons I do not understand I had some difficulty getting away cleanly. There was a bit of a breeze pushing me onto the dock that I needed to push into, but my approach was just not working, and the boat ended up hitting the end of the dock as we slid past. There was a fender right there, and it took the impact, with no damage done, but I was quite frustrated. I need to know what works and what does not, and feel a bit nervous about next time.

We headed generally north in Eastern Bay, planning to transfer into the Chester River through the Kent Narrows. Sue and Bruce had boated in this area in earlier days and had all sorts of war stories about the bridge, currents and the narrow winding channels. We got through OK, but it was quite "interesting" - quite narrow channels, some tight turns, a tight bridge, lots of boats and an amazingly uncooperative bridge tender.

Then we cruised west across the Chesapeake to the Magothy River. Sue and Bruce were taking us to a favorite anchorage from "the old days". When we got there the anchorage was quite crowded but we squeaked in OK, under the glare of lots of eyes.  It was a great spot. We were between two islands, one with an impressive house - with its own lighthouse!

The water was a little murky, but clear of "nettles" (jellyfish) and a perfect temperature, so we all went for a swim. About 8PM a thunder storm rolled in and blew the boat around for 30 minutes or so. We were only in about 10' of water and had 150' of chain out with the snubber, so I felt secure, more concerned about the boats around us.

It was still very hot so we fired up a generator and the AC. I hate the noise, but the end result is appreciated.

St. Michaels

July 3rd, 2012
38 47.998 N
76 13.119W

We were on our way to St. Michael's, and were planning to anchor out, but I managed to pump all our fresh water overboard, so we decided to find a marina. St. Michael's is like the Chagrin Falls of Maryland. The marina is about a mile out of town so we plan to launch the dinghy and take it into town for dinner.

Big ship

Bruce and Sue had us out of bed AT DAWN so our day was a bit longer, and we were tied up at the marina by about 1:30PM, in time for a swim at the pool. The run was about 40 miles, the weather was hot and calm, all quite relaxing. We saw a couple of large ships, one of which we had to "dodge".

After our swim we launched the dinghy and took a run into town, about a mile away. We specked out a place we could land in the AM. Sue and Bruce shouted us dinner at the marina "club house". Very nice.


Wednesday July 4th, 2012

Typical House

Another hot day. We took the dinghy into town to look around, and had breakfast on the main street. The whole town was very quaint and decorated for July 4th. There was even a parade down Main St. Bruce and I did a bit of grocery shopping while the girls window shopped. Eventually I bought a paper and found a soft chair on a cool veranda.

We were back at the marina for light lunch and then back to the pool for the afternoon.

Bliss

Bruce and Sue had visited St. Michael's by boat 25 years ago and were keen to "re-live" some of the pleasures they remembered. One such memory was eating "deep fried crabs" at a specific casual waterfront cafe. So tonight we took the dinghy back to town and tied up at the restaurant. It was a cool place, and the crabs were still on the menu - so a round of the "deep fried crabs" and some beers were ordered, and settled in for a feast. 


I can only speak for Deidre and I when I say the meals were "OK", with the proviso that I have returned to the boat and taken my Lipitore.

I feel sorry for the crab!

Visitors, Hudson Creek

Monday July 2, 2012
38 32.443N
76 14.689W


After a year of talking about the "trip", we (Sue and Bruce) are finally on the boat.

Once on board, Deidre served us all lunch in the "wheel house" and then the guys were off to a hardware store for parts to fix the motor for the dingy. We were to spend our first night at the Spring Cove Marina which was just across the inlet from the marina where Bob and Deidre had spent the two previous nights. Thus our first outing was not even a mile but with all of the maneuvering to hoist the dingy on board, disconnect the electric and water, flip a bunch of switches, cast off, locate the new slip, tie up the lines, position the bumpers, reconnect to power and water and reflip the switches, it probably took over an hour.
Deidre and Bob had met a couple, Bonnie and Jon, in Florida who were staying at this same marina. Jon was on his way back from Iowa but we met Bonnie at the pool for a very refreshing swim and adult beverages at the pool side bar - a great way to begin our trip.

Tide Hiker at Spring Cove Marina

Back at the boat, Bob made some Tequila Sunrises and Deidre prepared a dinner of burgers and beans topped off with a delicious fruit compote over ice cream - better eats than we prepare at home. We spent much of the evening with charts, both paper and computer, planning our trip for the next day. Solomons is on the western shore of the Chesapeake bay and our first big goal is to get to Saint Michaels on the eastern shore. It will take a day or two to get there. We chose two anchorages for the next night as possibilities, both in the Little Choptank River. The final decision would not be made until we arrived and checked out our first choice. We watched a bit of the Olympic Trials and then went to bed. With the air conditioner running and a couple of strong drinks in me, sleep came easily.

Morning of day two, Deidre fixed French toast with raisin bread - she's going to spoil us and make us put on some unwanted pounds. Before heading off to the the Little Choptank we had a number of tasks to accomplish. We wanted to check with the boat yard adjacent to the marina to see if they had a proper replacement part for the dingy, get Bob and Deidre's mail that had been forwarded to them for pick up at the marina office, properly discard 4 gallons of used oil, and say good bye to Jon and Bonnie. Some tasks were totally successful others not so much. Bob had checked the delivery status of their mail a day or so prior and it had shown up as delivered but the marina had not received it. It wasn't until we needed the confirmation number to check into the situation that Bob went back to the website and found that the status had been updated to "Delivery not accepted" and "Returned to Florida." The boat yard did not have the necessary part, but their mechanic inspected the repair the guys did and said it would be sufficient until the part could be ordered as long as they did shift into reverse. The guys were able to discard the oil at the Boat Yard, and we were able to say good bye to their friends. This included a tour of their beautiful boat.

180,000 gross weight dry bulk carrier

It was lunch time by the time we got away. Bob did a great job maneuvering us out of the marina. He and Deidre, with Bruce and I looking on, navigated up the Chesapeake. It was a very smooth journey. Although it was 95 degrees, the breeze made it very comfortable. At times the breeze would die and it would be warm. At one such time, I discarded my wig and have since not felt the need to put it back on - at least not until Deidre asked this morning if it was ok to take a picture. The lunch yesterday was asparagus sandwiches - a new one on me. Just a slice of buttered bread with crust removed, several stalks of cold canned asparagus, rolled up and held together with a toothpick. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 5. It's evidently a mainstay in Australia.

Haircut time

Once we got to our first mooring choice which was in Hudson Creek off the Little Choptank River, Deidre took over at the wheel and Bob and Bruce worked the anchor. On the second try they got a secure hold. We downloaded an app called Drag Queen which will sound an alarm if the GPS of your boat strays more than a set number of feet from the originally set GPS. Sure wish we had that back in our boating days. Actually, it would have been nice to have all the charting capabilities that you can do on the iPad.
We sat on the aft deck with a glass of wine to celebrate the day while my Jack-of-All-Trades husband gave Deidre a haircut. At some point, I mentioned a pool of water on the starboard walk way, thinking it was run off from Bruce swabbing the deck. Bob took a look it and immediately knew that it was water being pumped out of the fresh water tank - evidently one those switches that was supposed to be switched did not get switched so we had been pumping out our fresh water since leaving Spring Cove. 45 minutes to fill. 5 hours of pumping out. How much could be left? The gauge is not readable so we will be conserving until it runs out. Yesterday morning, I had brushed my teeth before realizing that a water switch had not been switched and I had no water to rinse with. Hot off the presses. We are officially out of water. So today, we have 2 objectives. Go to a marina and get water, and then find anchorage somewhere near St. Michaels. But back to yesterday. Dinner was tilapia on the grill, corn on the cob, salad, and stewed peaches over ice cream.

Sunset Hudson Creek

After dinner, we sat on the bow of the boat watching the sunset then marveling at the full moon. We had anticipated a swim but the bloom (a new word to me thanks to Deidre) of jellyfish in the area nixed that. Just before bed time, Bob ran the generator to charge the batteries, mainly to keep the full size refrigerator running through the night. In hind site, he should have also run the air conditioner to cool off the sleeping quarters. That will be added to the plan for future moorings. Since it had been so pleasant sitting outside none of us realized how warm it was in the lower area of the boat. I'm working on about 2 hours of sleep. Between the temperature, some snoring (no names mentioned but it would be more than one), and my blisters, sleep was just not to be had. I finally got up about 3, got an ice pack for my hands and tried to get to sleep on the sofa in the salon. Who knew the crab boats would be headed out about that same time and has no one ever told them how noise travels on the water? They were blaring their marine radio conversations with zero consideration.

That about brings us up to today. We watched the sunrise. It was glorious. I gather that Deidre and Bob do not make it up that early very often. In fact Bob mentioned it was the first time he had to turn on a light in the morning. The breeze was lovely so we had breakfast on the aft deck. Bob went to take a shower and that's when the lack of water pressure lead him to believe we are out of water. The engines are now running in preparation of today's journey. I'm still on the aft deck. The sound of the engines is pulsating and reminds me of sounds from a science fiction movie, maybe Contact or Close Encounters. I'm off to dress for the day and brush my teeth with sparkling strawberry water. Deidre appears to be cleaning or making beds. Bruce is polishing chrome, and Bob is manning the wheel. I'm sure it will be another glorious da