Worked Our Way to Long Island Sound

 We have worked our way up to Long Island Sound with a combination of sailing and motoring. We spent the Fourth of July in Annapolis taking in the parade and later the fireworks.  We had one mishap, we had a storm come through and the signal flags got caught in the wind generator.  Once everything had calmed down I got the bosuns chair out and Cori hoisted me up the mizzen mast to unwrap it.  No damage done, luckily.  We pulled anchor on the 6th and continued our trip.

We headed up the Chesapeake with a light wind behind which gave us a nice ride flying the spinnaker.  We stopped for the night and the next day with no wind we motored to the Sassafras River.  There was a tropical storm working it's way up the cost and we were forecast to be on the edge of it.  Using local knowledge from our friends on SV Minx we anchored in a nice scenic and protected spot.  We were next to Mt Harmon Plantation which is a historical site built in 1788.  We took the opportunity to tour the site and also get a better cell signal to make some calls.  The storm didn't amount to much since we were on the outer edge.  After several days we pulled anchor and moved up to the Bohamia River Where SV Minx is moored.  First thing on our agenda was a trip to the marina for ice cream.  It is HOT!  Ice cream doesn't keep in our freezer so it is always a treat on a hot day.  The next day after a quick visit with Jay on Minx, some maintenance on the engine and watermaker we decided to pull anchor and continue.  By waiting we were able to catch a favorable current through the Chesapeake/Delaware Canal.  Once in the Delaware River we started our way down river until evening when we anchored for the night.  The next morning we continued on to Cape May where we were going to anchored for several days waiting for favorable winds to continue.

The next morning the forecasts were showing that we wouldn't get a favorable wind until the end of the week and since the winds were calm we decided to head out and motor to Atlantic City and spend the night. We always say that we do not buddy boat well.  Buddy boating is when you join up with another or several other boats and travel together.  As long as everyone agrees.  Our problem is that we will change plans at any time.  We decided that it was too early to stop for the day and we wouldn't have wind the next day so we decided to continue on overnight to Atlantic Highlands.  The trip continued without a problem until the fog moved in.  We were already using our radar to monitor boat traffic around us during the night and once we approached the harbor entrance we were able to use it to monitor the boats and the buoys leading us in.  As we approached the anchorage we decided to drop anchor early and wait for the fog to lift before moving into the anchorage.  After lunch the fog cleared enough to move and we dropped anchor next to the mooring field.  The next morning it was dead calm and the boats at anchor were drifting aimlessly on their anchors.  We heard a strange noise and found that we and the boat next to us had drifted close enough that their dinghy was bumping us.  We fended them off and decided to re-anchor a little further away.  Once the anchor was up we decided to move to the fuel dock and take on fuel and water rather then wait for later.  Once anchored again we launched the dinghy and went to shore to make a grocery run.  Friday morning is when they have their farmers market.  About five years ago when we were here we hit the market and bought some pickles from one of the venders.  Once we left and I tried the pickles I was disappointed that I didn't buy more.  The pickle vendor was here and after sampling several we left with five quarts and I still wanted to buy more.  Saturday was the annual Craft Fair and we made it to that also.  We were getting some quick rain showers each day and Sunday we took the opportunity to do a little more maintenance.  Cori got in the water and worked her way around the boat cleaning the waterline and I changed the oil and filter.  I try to change it every 150 hours and it was overdue with all of the motoring we were doing.  The next day we pulled anchor and moved across the Lower Bay and into New York Harbor.  We motored up the Hudson River past the Statue of Liberty and dropped anchor next to Ellis Island for the night with a view of lower Manhattan.  The anchorage had a bit of a roll with the wind and currents changing and the wakes from the many ferry's and other boats going by.  In the evening it calmed down a lot for a quiet night.  In the morning the city was blanketed with smoke from the Canadian forest fires.

Our next move was to go up the East River to Long Island Sound.  There is a narrow area where the Harlem River joins the East River called Hell Gate that is a problem.  The current can run over four knots and if you are in a sailboat going five knots it is a slow and very rough ride.  It is important to time your transit so that the current is with you.  We hung out for the morning and after lunch we made our move going up the East River.  The trip starts by going past the Battery and the Financial District, under the Brooklyn Bridge, going past the UN Building and the watching the city skyline.  We caught about a three knot current at Hell Gate and were swiftly moved up the river to Long Island Sound.  Our destination was Port Washington.  Port Washington is what we call a "cruiser friendly town".  They have most of the services we need, offer free moorings for your first night, a water taxi to take you to shore, and several docks to tie up to when you bring your dinghy in.  We have stayed here before.  One of our plans was to take the train from here into the city for some sightseeing.  The more we talked about it we decided to forgo the trip until later, either on the return trip or next season.  We have made several trip into town for groceries, the farmers market, hardware store and to take care of some banking.

We plan to stay for a couple more days then start visiting locations along the Sound.  We have modified our plans to not go farther than Martha's Vineyard and possibly Nantucket before turning around and working our way back.

Annapolis for the Fourth of July

We are in Annapolis MD waiting for the fireworks on the Fourth of July. How did we get here you may be asking?

We left Clubfoot Creek with plans to motor/sail to Belhaven NC for the night.  We moved along rapidly and we chose to motor through the Alligator-Pungo Canal and anchor at the other end by sundown.  The next day we continued on in the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) passing through Coinjock and picking a deep spot off the Waterway to anchor for the night.  At first light the next morning we pulled anchor and continued motoring to Norfolk.  By starting early and continuing late we were able to cut a day off the trip.  We arrived in Norfolk and anchored at Hospital Pont.  We were very surprised to find that our friends on Heavy Metal were in Hampton and were coming down to Norfolk.  We had last seen them in St Lucia three years ago.  It was really good to get together with them again.  We stayed in Norfolk for a few days and then moved up to Hampton to get ready to start up the Chesapeake Bay.  The next morning we started up the Bay stopping for the night in a little bay with a beach.  In the morning we dinghied ashore to check out the beach since it was part of a nature preserve.  Not finding much for shells, etc. we moved on up to Reedville.  Reedville is a small community that was the center for menhaden fishing.  Menhaden are a fish that are processed for its oil and the remaining product is used for fertilizer and feed.  If you are using fish oil for anything it is a good chance that it is menhaden oil.  At it's heyday there were eighteen processing plans but are now down to one.  We toured a very good museum explaining the history of area and the fishing.  From there we moved up the Great Wicomico River to visit with Tom and Sandy on Ananya.  They have a house here and a dock that will hold both of our boats.  We have a single-sideband radio and report in on several nets.  Tom and Sandy also check in regularly and invited us up when we got to the area.  We had a nice visit and look foreword to running into them as we both continue our travels.  From here we moved up to the Solomon's, and anchored up one of the creeks away from the marinas.  On the way up we were having a great spinnaker run and overtook Heavy Metal who were also going to the Solomon's.  We were surprised to get a call from our old friend Francie from Release and then Both Sides Now, letting us know she was in the area.  We have not seen her since before our last trip to the Bahamas. We were able to get together for breakfast and a visit while she was in town.  

From the Solomon's we jumped across the Bay and motored up the Choptank River to St Michaels.  We had toured the east side of the Bay one other time but did not come up as far as St Michaels.  We anchored in a small creek on the backside of town avoiding the congestion of the main harbor.  Upon our arrival we were greeted by Ron and Dee from Ursa Minor, another boat we are familiar with on the ssb radio nets.  We spent several days here where I toured the extensive museum, Cori checked out the shops and farmers market and we found many places for lunch and beverages, not to mention ice cream.  Cori wanted to stop at Tilghman Island since someone she follows on Instagram is there and would be at the farmers market Sunday morning.  Saturday morning we moved to the island anchored in a cove a couple of miles away and dinghied in Sunday morning.  Cori was able to visit, buy some fresh vegetables and then we walked over to a very nice restaurant for lunch.  On the way back we stopped at the harbor so see some of the last skipjacks (a sailboat used to harvest oysters) that are still  actively harvesting oysters in the Bay.  The local museum was open so we stopped and got a guided tour learning about the area.

The next morning we motored down to go through the bridge at Knapp Narrows to eliminate having to go out around the island.  We use two sets of electronic charts when navigating and it was good that we do since my chartplotter showed a very different bottom then what we found once we got back into the Bay.  From there we had another good spinnaker run up to Annapolis.  We came into the harbor and passed through the drawbridge and anchored up Spa Creek.  Our neighbor, Stanley, stopped by to make sure we were familiar with the rules and where things are.  We are next too a park and checked out the hiking trail.  We dinghied down to see if Charlie and Anina from Prism were home, we had seen them last year when we were here and visited for a bit.  From there we decided to dinghy down to the main harbor and stop in for an ice cream.  They have a part of the waterfront called "Ego Alley" where people motor down and back showing their boats off to the people in the harbor area and the people dining and drinking at the outdoor bars.  I decided to use the dinghy dock at the end of ego alley since it was close to the ice cream shop and of course I wanted to show off my fancy dinghy.  All was going well until I ran out of gas in front of the biggest bar.  We got applause from the patrons.  I quickly refueled and went on to the ice cream shop.  We returned to the boat with no further incidents.  

Since we will be sitting here through the fourth Cori got out our signal flags and we "dressed ship" stringing the flags from bow to the top of the mast and then to the stern.  We have received many compliments from the people that paddle, row and motor by.

This morning Cori made a grocery run and I worked on the generator so we could give the batteries a good charging.  After the fourth we will continue up the Bay to the Chesapeake-Delaware canal continuing sown the river to Cape May.  From there we will continue on depending what the weather allows us to do.