Chapter IV - The Chesapeake
June 15, 2003 - Norfolk, VA
On Friday I took the bus to the nearest supermarket, which was about three miles away. After I returned to the boat a large cruise ship pulled in and docked right across the harbor in front of the Naval Museum. The Coast Guard escorted the ship in as the Norfolk Police Department patrolled the area keeping other boats away. The Police Department had two sharpshooters dressed in black carrying high-powered rifles in a small black inflatable dinghy patrolling up and down the harbor near the cruise ship. They certainly take security seriously around here.
On Saturday I rowed over to the dinghy dock, which was now on the other side of the cruise ship. A City of Norfolk Police boat approached as I rowed in. I told the officer on board that I was heading to the dinghy dock and he let me pass. After I landed the dinghy I walked around the shopping mall and bought a portable LCD television from the Radio Shack store. I tried the TV in the store before I left but the reception wasn't very good. The clerk assured me that I would get much better reception outside the mall so I bought the TV knowing that I could easily return it if I wasn't satisfied.
Before returning to the boat I stopped by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, viewed the exhibits and toured the battleship Wisconsin. After returning to the boat I made dinner as I listened to The Prairie Home Companion on NPR. The cruise ship was now leaving the dock and I took some pictures as it pulled away. As it pulled away from the dock it pivoted using its bow and stern thrusters. I was amazed to see the tight circle in which it turned.
Later that evening I tried out the TV. The reception was a little better than in the store but not much. I could get a decent picture on one or two channels, but the others would fade in and out and the sound would drop out. I had planned on returning the TV on Sunday but it rained all day, so I just hung around the boat read.
June 16, 2003 - Hampton, VA
On Monday as I was cooking breakfast the cruise ship returned. After breakfast I rowed over towards dinghy dock but this time the officer in the police boat told me that I had to use the dock at the Waterside Marina next door. After returning the TV I rowed back to the boat. The cruise ship started pulling away from the dock, turning around and heading back out. This time there was no police or Coast Guard escort.After the cruise ship left I hauled up the anchor and headed out of Norfolk Harbor towards Hampton Roads, which is the main channel into Norfolk Harbor. I wanted to head over to the Hampton River and to Hampton, VA. As I neared Hampton Roads I passed the Norfolk Naval Yard to starboard where several aircraft carriers were docked along with various support ships.
As I entered Hampton Roads the wind was blowing about 15 to 20 knots and there was a steep short chop. At the time there wasn't much traffic except for a large container ship, which I spotted approaching from the east. As I neared the containership I turned to starboard to pass behind his stern and cross his wake at a 45-degree angle. As I hit the first stern wave I was surprised by its size. The wave was at least five feet high and very steep. We climbed the first wave and immediately dove and crashed into the second. Some items below shifted around but I had everything well secured so I didn't have much of a mess below afterwards. In the last few months I had seen what I had thought were large wakes from passing boats that didn't bother to slow down, but they were nothing compared to the wake from this ship.
Shortly after passing the container ship I turned into the entrance to the Hampton River and continued up to the anchorage across from the Virginia Air & Space Museum. The anchorage was very tight but I found room between two channel markers. I set two anchors so I wouldn't swing to far into the channel when the wind shifted. A few of the other boats anchored here were a little close to the channel as well, but they shouldn't be restricting traffic.
June 20, 2003 - Hampton, VA
I was enjoying my stay at Hampton even though the weather hadn't been that great. On most days the sky looked threatening in the morning, then it would rain for a while and afterwards the sun would peak out from behind the clouds. While in town I either stopped by the library to use the computers, walked into town to use the Laundromat or pickup groceries, or took the local bus into town do some shopping. I also stopped by the West Marine to return the cover that I had bought for the dinghy because it would leave blue marks on the hull of my boat whenever it rubbed up against it.
Every Wednesday and Friday evening during the summer the city of Hampton sponsors music in the park along the waterfront. On Friday they featured a very good contemporary jazz band from Smithfield, VA called 'Forte'. The music was great and the show was a lot of fun. Admission was only $3 and at the end of the show they raffled off three sets of tickets for the upcoming Hampton Jazz Festival.
June 23, 2003 - Gloucester Point, VA
On Saturday the weather cleared and it was a bright sunny beautiful day. The wind was out of the NW at about 15 knots and I hauled up my anchors to move on. I left the Hampton River, entered Hampton Roads again and then headed into the Chesapeake Bay. I headed up the western shore on a close reach under full sail, with the engine off. It was great to be able to sail again after motoring for a month on the ICW.
After about an hour or two I turned into the channel leading up the York River. After turning I was now headed directly into the wind so I had to roll in the Genoa and kicked over the engine for the rest of the trip. At around 2:30 I pulled into Sarah Creek and dropped anchor just past the Yorktown Yacht Haven Marina.
Sunday turned out cloudy again and looked as if it were about to rain at any moment and I had wanted to walk over the bridge to Yorktown on the other side of the river. At around 3:30 it cleared up so I rowed over the dock and walked up the road towards the bridge. When I got to the bridge I discovered that walking across the bridge was not permitted because there was no designated walkway in place, so I walked back to the marina and stopped at Dominos to pick up a pizza.
On Monday I rowed over to the fuel dock to get a few gallons of diesel and order some wrenches I needed to adjust my stuffing box. At the marina store I was told that they usually carry them but were out of stock but could get them the next day. I had planned to leave that morning but decided to wait for the wrenches. While I was in the store the guy from the boat anchored next to me, a Whitby 42 ketch named 'Starshine' from Annapolis, stopped in to ask about walking across the bridge to Yorktown. I told him that I had tried that yesterday with no luck, so we decided split the fare for a ride into town. He said that he, his wife Susan, and their three kids were on a four week cruise of the Chesapeake and wanted to see the historic sites of Yorktown. We decided to me at the dinghy dock at 10:15.
After getting into town the driver dropped us off at the Yorktown Victory Center. We parted company and decided to meet a around 2:00 for the ride back to the marina. I walked into town and toured the historic houses and the famous battlefield from the Washington's Siege of Yorktown the last major battle that ended the Revolutionary War. It was quite interesting and I learned (or re-learned) a lot about it from the movie that they showed in the visitor's center. At around two we met at the Visitors Center and took the shuttle bus back to the marina.
Yorktown, VA (across the York River)
June 24, 2003 - Gloucester Point, VA
In the morning Susan stopped by the boat to give me their card and a booklet on the Annapolis area since I had told them that I had planned on spending some time there. They had said to give them a call when I got there and that they would lend me a bicycle to use while I was in town. I thought that was very nice of them to offer. They were headed to Mobjack Bay and would be anchoring in the East River. I said that I intended to head there as well ad soon as my parts came in.
The marina said that the parts should be in between 11:30 and 1:00, so I did some chores on the boat while I waited. One thing that I had been meaning to do was re-rig the port-side 'lazy-jack' that had fallen out of the block which was mounted just under the spreader. It had fallen out way back in Port Mayaca on the Okeechobee Waterway. I had done with out the lazy-jack on the port side because I figured that I would need someone to hoist me up the mast to re-thread it. Whenever I had the opportunity to ask someone if they would hoist me up, I had forgotten about it. It always came to mind after they left.
I finally decided to rig a device with a loop on the end that I would insert through the block by tying it to the boat hook and oar, which were lashed together. This would enable me to reach the block. I used a piece of a plastic wire-tie in which I drilled two small holes and threaded a loop of string through. The idea was to insert the piece of wire tie through the block and then hook the loop at the end with the boat hook/oar and pull the lazy-jack line, which was attached to the other end of the wire tie, through. After a few tries it worked. I was able to hook the loop and pull the line through the block without going up the mast. I only wish that I had tried this earlier since I had been doing without the lazy-jacks for quite a while. Bye the way, incase you were wondering what 'lazy-jacks' are, they are two sets of lines rigged on either side of the boom and lead up to a point on the mast, which allow you to drop the mainsail and have it gather in the lazy-jacks instead of failing to either side of the boom as it normally will do.
After fixing the lazy-jacks I rowed into the marina to see if my parts had come in. They told me that neither of the trucks had arrived yet (they had to order the two items from two different suppliers). They a couple of porch swings outside the marina, which were in the shade (it was supposed to reach 90 deg. today) so I waited there for the trucks. When the first truck arrived I went in to the to find that they had sent the right items but the wrong size. They told me that they could re-order it and it would be here tomorrow. I told them that I couldn't wait and that I had intended to leave this morning but stayed only to wait for these parts. The second truck didn't show up until close to 2:00. It had the part I ordered and I paid for item and went back to the boat. By this time it just about too late to leave to get to the anchorage in Mobjack Bay before sunset so I would have to leave the next morning.
June 25, 2003 - Mathews, VA
I left Sarah Creek at around 8:00 a.m. and headed out of the channel towards the York River. As I approached the York River I saw a US Navy warship off my port bow heading towards the bridge, so I slowed down and waited for it to pass before I continued on. They prefer other craft to stay at least 1000 yards away from them. The other day I heard a submarine requesting that all craft stay at least 2000 yards away as he approached Cape Henry on entering the bay.
After the warship passed I headed out of the mouth of the York River towards Chesapeake Bay. At the mouth of the river I saw several schools of dolphin. I hadn't seen any dolphin since North Carolina so it was nice to see them again. I also saw some pelicans and a flock of Storm Petrel floating in the water nearby. These birds are usually only seen far offshore, but I guess these had decided to come in and visit the bay.
The wind was very light so I didn't bother to put up the sails and just motored the 20 miles or so to Mobjack Bay. As I approached the East River off Mobjack I got a call on the VHF from Bruce on 'Starshine'. I had just seen their boat and was about to call them but I couldn't remember their boat's name. They asked if I had gotten the part I was waiting for and I asked them how they liked the East River anchorage and if they found the grocery store that they needed to stop by. They said that one of the local residents had lent them his car to go into town to go shopping. Amazing! I couldn't imagine someone on Long Island lending a stranger his car to go shopping. They were leaving to head to Deltaville, VA were they hoped to find a little better facilities nearby. I told them that I had planned on heading there tomorrow.
As I headed up the East River towards the anchorage I passed a farm on the eastern bank that had once belonged to John Lennon according to and article on the Chesapeake Bay from Cruising World magazine. I anchored in Put-In Creek just off the East River then got into the dinghy and headed over to the nearby boat ramp and dock and walked into the town of Mathews about a mile and a half away. I stopped in the supermarket and picked up a few things and some steak to barbecue for dinner. On the way back I called my mail service to have them send my mail to me at the Deltaville, VA post office where I would b heading tomorrow. I then stopped in the library and used the computer for 20 minutes or so then headed back to the boat.
June 26, 2003 - Deltaville, VA
At about 9:00 a.m. l left Put-In creek and headed out the East River to Mobjack Bay then into the Chesapeake. It was about a 30-mile trip to Deltaville off of the Piankatank River. The winds were light at about 5 knots or so but I put up the main and genny (genoa) and motor-sailed the whole way.
For some reason, today I was visited by dozens of black flies. They were all over the boat down below. These were the kind that likes to bite you on the ankles. I entertained my self for a while by swatting them with a towel. By the time I got to the entrance to Jackson Creek on the Piankatank River, I had gotten just about all of them. The rest I planned to finish off after I anchored.
I anchored on the north branch of Jackson Creek just past the Deltaville Marina. I thought that I caught a glimpse of 'Starshine' anchored in the southern branch of the creek as I made the turn at the last marker. The marina allows boats that are anchored out to use their facilities for $3.50 per person. This includes an air-conditioned lounge with cable TV, showers, Laundromat, swimming pool, and bicycles. I rowed into the dinghy dock and paid for two days at the marina office then got my laundry, put it in the machine and took a shower. All of the facilities were air-conditioned, including the Laundromat and showers.
As the sun was setting a few Barn Swallows landed on the lifelines and sat there singing constantly for about 20 minutes. I've seen a many birds down here that are not commonly found on Long Island, such as Mocking Birds, Barn Swallows, and Eastern Bluebirds. I would probably be wondering what they were if I hadn't pick up the bird book back in Beaufort, NC.
June 27, 2003 - Deltaville, VA
In the morning I grabbed one of the loaner bicycles and rode into town. I stopped at the post office, the library and rode around town for a while. I rode around to the southern branch of the creek to see if 'Starshine' was there, but I didn't see them. There was a similar looking ketch anchored there, which was probably what I saw yesterday when I came in.
I was really enjoying riding for a change. Roy and Diane from 'Jellicle Cat' who I had met back in Stuart, FL had given me the phone number of a friend who sells folding bicycles for around $100. I haven't called him yet since I'm hesitant about buying a bicycle 'sight unseen'. I also had gotten an email from them on Thursday. They said that they were planning to visit Huntington, NY for the weekend and asked for some recommendations. I recommended that they pick up a mooring at Coneys and gave them directions around town.
I went back to the boat for lunch then went back in to the marina to take a shower. I then rode over to the West Marine store and the supermarket. When I got back to the boat the anchorage was packed. When I had gotten there on Thursday afternoon I was the only boat there, but by this evening there were 16 other boats anchored nearby. A few of them were rafted together sharing one anchor. A couple on a Catalina 30 was anchored a little to close to me and I was about to tell them so when the wind picked up and shifted about 45 degrees. They now realized how close they were and immediately moved to a new spot. It seems that some folks don't take into account their swing radius and the swing radius of the boats anchored near them.
June 28, 2003 - Deltaville, VA
On Saturday I rode into town and stopped at the post office to see if my package of mail had arrived. It hadn't and it wouldn't arrive until Monday morning at the earliest, so it looked like I'd be staying in Deltaville for the weekend. Later on that afternoon I rode over to the BoatUS and the West Marine, which were located less than a quarter mile from one another (surprising in a small town like this), and then on to the grocery store (only one of these in town). On the way, as I passed by 'Taylor's Restaurant' a popular place to eat in town, I saw what looked like a boxer or pit bull in hot pursuit of me on the bicycle. As he got closer I peddled as fast as I could and was able to out run him. He wasn't barking or growling but I didn't want to wait and see if he was going to bite me or not, so I got out of there. A ways down the road I saw a police officer and flagged him down and told him about the dog. All he said was 'Okay' and then drove off.
On the way back, on the other side of the street, I saw a small wiener dog, a dachshund or something similar, running across a yard a distance away. He was barking and running towards me as fast as his little legs could carry him. I didn't feel too threatened and didn't think he would be able to catch me so I didn't put much effort into trying to get away from him. In fact, I felt kind of sorry for him having run so far and not being able to catch up to me. I thought that maybe I could have let him take a nip at me as I rode by, but then I imagined him clamping unto my leg and spinning round and round as I peddled, refusing to let go.
Shortly after I passed by the wiener dog, I turn don the road towards the marina. Sitting under a tree on one side of a house I was passing was a cat staring at me; on the other side of the house near the porch was another cat. An ambush, I thought, but they just sat there looking at me as I rode by. Then, believe it or not, on the other side of the street, another dog, a young retriever it looked like. He looked at me walked a few steps down the driveway and then laid down in the shade. Good doggie!! I never realized how hazardous riding a bicycle down a country road could be.
June 29, 2003 - Deltaville, VA
On Sunday I rode into town and had lunch at Sal's Pizza. Surprisingly good pizza for a small town. I stopped in at West Marine again then rode back to the marina, took a shower and rowed back to the boat. Later on I took a shower and did another load of laundry, then filled my water tanks at the marina dock. No dog chases today. Maybe the police officer actually did talk to the owner of the dog I pointed out to him yesterday. Maybe the wiener dog felt bad about not being able to catch me and was too depressed about it to give it another try.
June 30, 2003 - Pitman's Cove, VA
On Monday I rode over to the post office again and my mail was waiting for me. I then stopped at the hardware store across the street to see if I could find a C-clip for my backup bilge pump. I had taken it apart to clean it and had lost the clip that holds the impeller onto the motor shaft. They had on that fit, unfortunately it wasn't stainless steel but it would have to do.
When I got back to the boat I installed the clip and reinstalled the pump back in the bilge. Since I was reinstalling the pump I decided to secure the removable base to the plate that the other pump and float switch were attached to. I also rewired the pump to the switch and battery with a smaller gauge wire. There was 12-gauge wire installed, but the pump only called for 16-gauge wire. The 12-gauge wire made it difficult to make a good crimp connection to the pump wires because the sizes had differed so greatly.
When I had finished installing, rewiring, testing and cleaning up, it was almost noon. I had wanted to try and make it to Crisfield, MD, but it was now too late for that so I decided to head up to Fleet Bay and anchor at Pitman's Cove off of Indian Creek.
After leaving the anchorage I motored out to the bay and raised my sails. There was a nice 10-knot breeze and I was able to sail most of the way. I got into Fleets Bay then Indian Creek at about 3:30 and anchored a short way up Pitman's Cove past a Sabre 34 that had just dropped anchor. He anchored right at the entrance to Pitman's Cove to catch a little bit of breeze. There wasn't enough room for both of us at the entrance so I had to go a little further down the creek where there was less of a breeze.
July 3, 2003, Mill Creek, VA
In the morning as I was getting ready to raise anchor and leave, I noticed that another boat had anchored in front of the Sabre 34. It was Harry on 'Feather' from way back in Beaufort, SC. He saw me and waved and I waved back. After I got my anchor up I motored by and we talked a bit. He said that he was going to wait here until he heard what was by now Tropical Depression 'Bill' was going to do. I told him that I heard that the remnants of the storm, which should only be rain at this point, wasn't due to arrive in the area until late Wednesday. I told him that I was going over to Mill Creek off of the Great Wicomico River about 15 nautical miles from here. It's supposed to be a very nice anchorage with beautiful natural scenery and lots of room. He said that he might join me there tomorrow but he was staying here today.
I head out of Fleets Bay into the Chesapeake and raise my sails. The wind was very light so I motor-sail just about the entire way. I arrived at Mill Creek at around 2:00 and dropped my anchor off of a wooded shore in about 10 feet of water. It seemed that I had the whole Creek to myself. About an hour later another sailboat arrived and anchored near the middle of the creek about 100 yards away. Then another sailboat arrived and anchored nearby. Then another arrived and also anchored nearby. Next a trawler came in and anchored down the creek in the next cove. The creek was about two miles long with plenty of places to anchor, but it seemed that the other boats wanted to share the nice spot I had picked out for myself (since I was the first to arrive I picked out the nicest spot).
During the past two days I had heard a group of sailboats conversing on VHF channel 9. This channel is supposed to be used as a non-emergency hailing channel in order to keep non-essential traffic off of channel 16 which is the international hailing and distress channel. This group was using channel 9 exclusively for all of their conversations and never bothered to switch over to a working channel as is recommended. A lot of vessels monitor both channel 16 and channel 9 so using this channel for personal conversation is inconsiderate of other boaters. Since I was monitoring channel 9 I heard all of this groups conversations. There was one gut in particular who was constantly asking everyone in the group how fast they were going and what sails they had up, etc. It was getting a little tiresome.
So guess who pulled into the anchorage next. The fleet of sailboats that were conversing on channel 9. There were 10 of them, but thankfully they anchored way down at the entrance to the creek and not by me. All 10 boats rafted together. The two largest boats, a 50' Beneteau and another 50 footer, each set an anchor then the other boats tied up to them. They actually took up a minimum amount of space by doing this, but I'm not sure how safe it would be in a heavy wind. At around 12:30 in the morning a large commercial fishing boat entered the creek and saw the 10 sailboats rafted together at the entrance and sounded his horn. The horn was quite loud. It woke me up and I was a good distance away. Most of the crew on those 10 sailboats probably jumped at the sound of it.
NOAA Weather Radio was predicting heavy rain beginning in the afternoon (the remnants of 'Bill') so I decided to hang around hear until it passed. All of the other boats decided to move on and they all had left by 9:00 a.m. It started raining around noon and continued most of the afternoon and evening. I had heard one of the fleet of 10 saying that they were heading to the Coan River, off of the Potomac. Since that trip would take about 6 hours, they probably got soaked on the way. NOAA was forecasting a 70% chance of heavy rain for most of the next day as well so I figured that I would stay yet another day and leave on Friday, which was supposed to be sunny and warm.
July 4, 2003 - Ridge, MD
Friday morning turned out sunny and warm just as forecast and I was under way by 8:15. Today's trip would take me across the Potomac River to Maryland. The winds were less than 5 knots most of the day so I had to motor-sail again, but it was a beautiful day regardless. I had the main and the genoa up as I started, but had to furl the genoa as I rounded Smith Point and headed into the Potomac. I motored with just the main for the rest of the trip.
I had been getting some strange readings on the voltmeter, which indicates the boat's battery voltage and charge. At times it would drop down to under 12 volts with hardly any load on the batteries. On Thursday I had cleaned the battery terminals on the main bank, which seemed to have solved the problem. However, as I was motoring along this morning the autopilot began to reset itself and go into standby mode. Of course the boat would veer off course when this happened. It happened again a few times and I noticed that the GPS had shut off as well. This meant that I must have been experiencing an intermittent power problem, which was causing the autopilot to reset and the GPS to turn off.
I went below and jiggled the battery bank switch and noticed that the voltmeter reading would drop when I did this. There it was, an intermittent connection in the switch. I decided that I would switch over to the 'ALL' position on the switch until I had a chance to clean the contacts on the switch. I had been using bank '1' exclusively and this was the switch position that was giving me problems. Since I still had the worn out batteries in bank '2' connected, I would have to disconnect them from the circuit if I was going to use the 'ALL' position on the switch. The 'ALL' position connects both battery banks in parallel and if I connected the 'bad' bank in parallel with the 'good' bank, the 'bad' bank would eventually bring down the 'good' to it's level.
So, I furled the genoa, headed into the wind and shut off the engine. I drifted along for a while as I disconnected the terminals on the 'bad' battery bank. The battery charger was connected to one of the batteries in this bank so I had to use the cables which lead from this bank to the '1', 'ALL', '2' switch and ground, and one terminal on each of the batteries so to keep the charger connected and yet isolate the 'bad' battery bank.
I put away my tools, buttoned everything up, and started the engine again. I switched on the autopilot and observed what happened. Everything was fine. The autopilot behaved and the GPS didn't shut off. Problem solved for now. I still need to clean the contacts on the switch when I get the chance.
I passed by the Smith Point Light, which meant that I was just about two miles from the Virginia/Maryland border. From here I turned NE up the and across the Potomac River towards Jutland Creek. As I turned a flock of pelicans glided by in perfect formation a few feet off the water. They were in a perfect straight line and perfectly spaced. I started to reach for my camera, but they were by before I got it out of the case.
I arrived at Jutland Creek around 2:00. As I rounded the last marker I noticed a few boats from the 10-sailboat fleet from back at Mill Creek, tied up at the Point Lookout Marina. The rest of the boats were anchored in the creek near the marina. I had planned to anchor further up the creek and with the rest of the fleet anchored hear there was no room near the marina anyway. So I picked a roomy spot about 200 yards up from the marina and dropped my anchor. The boat traffic in the creek wasn't too bad for a July 4 weekend, except for the jet skis that were buzzing back and forth and the few powerboats that passed by but didn't bother to slow down until they got to the 'No Wake' marker near the marina. Other than that it was a nice anchorage and a nice day. After sunset, there were a few small fireworks displays put on by the locals in the houses along the shore.
July 5, 2003 - Ridge, MD
Last night at around 7:00 p.m. I decided to row over to the marina and have dinner at one of the nearby restaurants. I started loading the stuff I always carry into the dinghy-- a bag, which contains a light, anchor and rode, lock, etc., a PFD, and my oars, which I store in one of the lockers on deck when towing the dinghy. The oars come apart into two pieces for easy storage, and as I tossed the plastic blade portions of the oars into the dinghy, one of them bounced off of the PFD, which was lying on the floor of the dinghy and went over the side. I was unconcerned at first because the blades are made of plastic and I figured that they would float, but the hollow portion of the plate, which attaches to the oar shaft, started to fill with water and began to sink. I jumped into the dinghy and tried to grab it but was too late. I watched as it sunk down to the bottom of the creek. I didn't think that I would have a good chance of finding the oar blade on the muddy bottom in the dim light of evening, so I just gave up on it and started to think of what I could use to substitute for an oar blade.
In the morning I tried attaching a plastic silverware holder to the end of the oar with plastic wire ties. This was easy to do and I had it attached in a few minutes. I got into the dinghy and started to row over to the marina. The makeshift oar blade was too flexible and the boat tended to pull to one side as I rowed. I would have to try something else. I had another idea, which I would try when I got back to the boat.
When I got to into the marina I asked directions to the grocery store in town. One of the reasons that I had selected this anchorage was because the advertisement for this marina in the cruising guide said that there was a grocery store nearby. The nearby grocery store was actually two or three miles from the marina. I really needed a lot of stuff so I started down the road towards the store. About a half mile down the road a couple stopped and offered me a ride into town. The were going to the hardware store which was next to the grocery store, and then they were going to have breakfast. I figured that I would have to walk back to the marina with my groceries, but as I was getting on line at the checkout, Mike came into the store and said that they were going to wait for me and drive me back before to the marina. I was very grateful.
On the way back to the marina I told them a little about my trip up from Florida and they said that they were hoping to make the trip themselves soon, so I told them about my web page and gave them the address. After dropping me off they headed back into town for breakfast. I rowed out to the boat, put away the groceries and started on 'plan 2' for my makeshift oar blade. I cut a plastic cutting board in half and bolted it to the end of the oar shaft and secured it further with a wood screw and some plastic wire ties. I got into the dinghy to give it a try. It actually worked pretty well, almost as well as the original blade, so I figured that this would last until I was able to order a replacement blade on Monday.
July 6, 2003 - St Mary's City, MD
On Sunday morning I left Jutland Creek and headed up the St Mary's River towards St Mary's City about 6 miles away. There is supposed to be a nice anchorage called Horseshoe Bend right off the river next to St Mary's College. I sailed most of the way up the St Mary's River until the winds died down about a mile and a half from the anchorage. I started the engine and motored the rest of the way.
After I anchored, I jumped into the river to cool off. It was about 94 with a heat index of 100. The water felt great and I decided that since I was in the water, I should probably clean the bottom of my dinghy. It was getting pretty foul after being in the water constantly for the last two months. I scraped a lot growth off of the bottom and decided to finish the job on the beach in the morning.
As the sun started going down several sailboats that had been tied to the dock at the college, came out and anchored in the bend. There were about 12 boats anchored nearby by nightfall. I found out later that the college allows boaters to tie up to their docks for up to 3 hours, but no overnight docking is allowed.
July 7, 2003 - St Mary's City, MD
In the morning all of the other boats were gone by 9:30. I wanted to go to shore to walk around town and use the library at the college. So, after breakfast I rowed in and took some pictures of St Mary's City. St Mary's City is basically just a historic area. There no stores in town, just a post office a bank, a church, the college, and a few homes. However, it's all in a beautiful setting along the river.
The college library allows you to use one of there many computers for about as long as you like. So I updated my page and then sat in the reading area for a while a browsed through a Garrison Keillor novel for a while, then walked down to the beach to finish cleaning my dinghy.
I was able to get all of the growth off of the bottom and now it's smooth and clean again. I rowed back to the boat, had lunch and finished updating the web page. Later on I plan to go back to the library for the rest of the afternoon. It's supposed to be near 90 again and that library air conditioning is going to feel good.
July 14, 2003 - Solomons, MD
A couple of notes on St Mary's College - I found out yesterday that they are ranked as the number two liberal arts college in the country, and they have the number 3 ranked sailing program. Last year they won the ICSA sailing championship in Hawaii.
I left the anchorage at 7:00 a.m. and followed the square-rigger 'Maryland Dove' down the river (see the pictures below). My next stop would be Solomons, MD on the Patuxent River, a trip of about 35 nautical miles. I had favorable winds so I was able to sail most of the way.
NOAA had forecasted winds from the SW at 5-10 knots, but out in the bay I saw winds from NW. Towards the afternoon the skies started to cloud up and the winds built to around 20- 25 knots from the N, quite different from what was forecasted. The seas started to build to a short 3-foot chop that was pretty annoying because the boat was pounding through it if I sailed straight into it. I had to sail at about 45 degrees to the seas to lessen the pounding.
After about and hour of this the winds calmed down again, the seas subsided, and I had I calm trip the rest of the way to Solomons. I dropped anchor at around 3:00 p.m. in Mill Creek, which was about a mile and a half from the main harbor in Back Creek. Back Creek was very crowded with marinas lining both shores. Several boats were anchored close to the marina docks but there wasn't very much room anywhere in the harbor. I was the only boat in Mill Creek when I arrived. I would have a one and a half mile row into town unless I could find a closer place to land the dinghy.
The next morning I took the dinghy up a small cove off of Mill Creek and tied up to what appeared to be a public dock near a road. The chart showed that this road would take me into town, but I would have to walk a ways to get there. I took me about an hour to get into town and I figured that I would take a cab back since I would be loaded down with groceries and other items. After I finished shopping I call what was the only taxi in town and was told that they were closed on Wednesdays. I stopped in Boater's World and asked the guy at sales clerk if he knew of any way of getting back to where I had left my dinghy. He told me that he was about to go on his break and would be glad to drive me there. I really lucked out this time because I had about 40 pounds of stuff to carry.
A few days ago I had called Walker Bay, the company that manufactures my dinghy, to order a replacement oar blade. They had told me that the blade would cost about $35 with shipping and would take about a week to get to me. I decided to look into a buying a new set of oars from a local boating store. I found a set for around $65, but discovered that since the new oars had a thinner shaft than my current set, I would need to buy new collars and oar locks. This would bring the price of the oars to just under $100. Since I have been considering buying an outboard engine for the dinghy, and wouldn't be rowing that much after I got the engine, the new oars didn't seem like a good investment, so I called Walker Bay back and placed an order for the replacement blade. I paid a little extra for 2-day shipping, it would still take around 5 days to get to me since weekends and the day of pickup didn't count against 2-days. I would have to stick around here for a week.After the long walk into town and having faced the prospect of walking 5 miles with a 40-pound load, I stopped by West Marine to buy a folding bicycle. The one I bought was rated as a 'Best Buy' by Practical Sailor magazine. It folds down to 12"x16"x22" and fits into the cockpit locker on the boat and into the front half of the dinghy. It also rides very well and so far I am quite happy with it.
July 16, 2003 - Lusby, MD
In April of last year, I drove down to the Maryland to look at a couple of boats. One was in Pasadena, MD, the other in Rock Hall, MD. In Pasadena I saw a Sabre 28 in excellent condition and I made an offer on the boat the next day. I left a 10% deposit with the understanding that the check would be held by the broker and returned to me if for some reason the deal didn't go through. The owner declined my initial offer and I later changed my mind about the boat, so my check was returned by the broker. I never heard anything more about the boat after that.
One morning as I was rowing to the dinghy dock I noticed a nice looking Sabre 28 tied to a private dock behind one of the homes along the shore of Mill Creek. As I got closer I noticed the name on the transom, 'C Ghost, Pasadena, MD. It was the same boat that I made and offer on last year. The new owner hadn't changed the name or the hailing port. I looked for the owner each time I passed by after that, but I never saw him. I wanted to talk to him about the boat and ask what he ended up paying for it.
My replacement oar-blade was due to arrive today sometime between 11 and 12, so I rode into town and did a load of laundry, then rode over to Zahnizers Marina to wait for the UPS truck. The truck arrived at 11:45 and I picked up my oar-blade, rode back to the dock where I had left the dinghy, folded the bike, loaded it into the dinghy and rowed back to the boat. I had wanted to head to Oxford, MD from here, but the trip would take most of the day and it by now it was past noon, so I decided to motor a few miles up the Patuxent River to St Leonard Creek.
I spent the next day here as well because it was supposed to be in the mid nineties with a heat index of over 100 and light winds. I stayed below in the shade during most of the day and just when I was about to jump into the creek to cool off in the afternoon, I noticed sea nettles floating by the boat. Sea nettles are small jelly fish that a prevalent in the area. They supposedly sting and cause a burning rash. They're more of a problem in the lower Chesapeake where the water is saltier, since they can't live in fresh water. They weren't a problem over at Mill Creek or St Mary's were I went for swimming several times. If you do get stung, meat tenderizer is supposed to relieve the burning. I'll have to pick up some just in case.
July 19, 2003 - Oxford, MD
I left St Leonard Creek at around 7:30 a.m. and headed down the Patuxent towards the bay. There are virtually no anchorages along the western Maryland shore between Solomons and Annapolis, so I decided to cross the bay over to the eastern shore and stop in Oxford, Cambridge, and St Michaels before heading over to Annapolis.
The trip from Solomons to Oxford was about 40 nm and today the wind was blowing from the north, the direction I was heading for most of the trip. I put up the main to make some use of the apparent wind and motored the whole way. The day was pleasant and sunny with low humidity and I set the autopilot and sat in the cockpit enjoying the cool breeze. I arrived at the mouth of the Choptank River on the eastern shore and turned NE and headed up to the Tred Avon River. From there Oxford was just a few miles upriver.
As I had suspected the main anchorage at Town Creek in the main harbor was small and crowded, so I continued up the Tred Avon to Trippe Creek about a mile and a half away. I drop my anchor in the roomy cove with two other sailboats. My chart shows that the creek joins a small stream called Pirates Cove, which intersects a road near its end. It's only about a 1/4 mile away, and now that I have the bike, it'll be short ride into town. I'm realizing now that having the bike gives me more options for anchoring because I can now anchor in spots that previously would have been to far from town.
At the end of pirates cove was a small drainage tunnel, which joined a narrow gravel road. I tied the dinghy to the branch of a nearby bush and climbed up to the road, lifter the bike out of the dinghy and rode into town. The road passed by several farms and after about 4 miles entered downtown Oxford. Oxford is small quaint boating community with a few boatyards, a small grocery (which was more like a convenience store), and a few restaurants. Hinckley Yachts had recently purchased one of the boatyards, Crocker Brothers.
As I rode around town I noticed an interesting display in the large front window of the Cutts & Case boatyard so I stopped in to look around. Afterwards I rode around town looking for the library so I could hopefully use their Internet connection. I asked around and got directions to a small, one room building with maybe 4-5 shelves of books and no computers, so I rode to the grocery store and bought some ice cream and stopped by the waterfront park where I sat on a bench under one of the large trees and watched some sailboats in the harbor.
Later that afternoon I rode back to where I had tied up the dinghy and rowed back to the boat. The skies started darkening in the west and I could hear thunder in the distance. It looked like a thunderstorm was going to roll through. The storm arrived at around 6:00 p.m. and the wind picked up to 25-30 knots. Suddenly, something didn't feel right. In a stiff wind the boat will usually swing back and forth within about a 90 degree angle, but I suddenly noticed that the boat had veered perpendicular to the wind and stayed that way. I suddenly realized that the anchor was dragging. I looked out the window and noticed that I was closer that I had been to the boat behind me. I scrambled on deck and immediately let out more rode hoping to get the anchor to bite again, but the wind was too strong and the anchor just skid along the bottom and I drifted further and further back.
I started the engine, put the boat in gear and headed into the wind to take some strain off of the anchor. This seemed to work and the boat stopped drifting backwards, but I was now parallel to the boat which had earlier been at least 50 yards behind me but there was plenty of room between us. The winds finally died down to about 15 knots and I eased off of the throttle a bit and was relieved that the anchor was holding.
The whole experience shook me up a bit because I had never dragged the anchor before. I had anchored almost every night on my trip up from Florida and never had a problem with the anchor holding. I had been in a couple of storms with winds at least as strong as tonight's and hadn't dragged. My confidence in my anchoring ability was suddenly knocked down a few pegs by this thunderstorm.
After the storm passed I reset the anchor back near where I had been before the storm then rowed over to the boat behind me to talk to the owner. The owner's name was Dick and he said that he had noticed me dragging during the storm. I asked if there was a problem with the holding around here. He said that he thought it was good. I was puzzled as to why I had dragged my anchor and the other two boats nearby hadn't. I did know that the holding ground was notoriously bad nearby in town creek which I had passed by yesterday. Maybe I just had picked a bad spot.
The next day I decided to move to nearby Plaindealing Creek where the author of my cruising guide had anchored previously without a problem. My anchor seemed to bite into the bottom and I powered back on the anchor as I always do to see if it was holding. Everything seemed fine. The night was calm and I had no problems.
The next morning was bright and sunny and I decided that I would sail up the Choptank River to Cambridge, which was about 7 miles away. There were lots of boats out on the water since it was Sunday. As I got close to Cambridge I noticed a lot of powerboats anchored near the entrance of Cambridge harbor. I could hear the whine of high-powered engines and could see rooster tails of water on the other side of the anchored boats and realized that there was a hydroplane race in progress. I passed by the race area and turned towards the entrance to the harbor. When I turned into the harbor I was surprised to see how small it was. There was barely room for one or two boats and the anchorage was surrounded on all sides by old docks and a cement wall. I all looked pretty ugly, so I turned around and left. I sailed back down the Choptank and anchored for the night in Island Creek, just south of Oxford.
July 23, 2003 - Dun Cove on Harris Creek, north of Tilghman Island, MD
Today's forecast was for thunderstorms in the afternoon with the possibility of some becoming severe. That's not what I wanted to hear just after having dragged my anchor a couple of nights ago. I picked a spot with good protection and plenty of room if I should happen to drag again and motored over to Dun Cove on Harris Creek. The anchorage was just north of Tilghman Island and Knapp Narrows, which is a shortcut from Eastern Bay to the Chesapeake.
There were no other boats anchored in the cove when I arrived so I picked what I thought was the best spot in about 8 feet of water. Towards evening the skies darkened and I could hear the thunder in the distance. I was a little nervous and started to plan what I would do if I started to drag again. The storm arrived and the winds picked up a bit but only to around 20 knots. The anchor held and the storm passed by quickly. The wind continued to blow at about 10 -15 knots the rest of the night. The next day NOAA issued a small craft advisory for most of the bay so I decided to stay put for a while. That afternoon I had some company when two other sailboats anchored nearby.
July 25, 2003 - St Michaels, MD
In the morning I decided to head over to San Domingo Creek, which was the back door entrance to St. Michaels. I was going to head over to the western bay again on my way to Annapolis, but wanted to stop in St Michaels since it was so close. The trip took only two hours and I anchored in the creek with 4 other sailboats and rowed up to the dock where the local fleet of working boats was docked. I tied up the dinghy out of the way and rode the bike into town, which was only a couple of blocks away. I stopped at a gourmet deli and ordered a burger and french fries, which were very good.
After lunch I rode around town looking for the library but found out that it was closed as they move down the block to a new building (the old firehouse). I stopped at the local Acme supermarket and restocked my supplies. At the dinghy dock I talked to a couple from the west coast of Florida who had come up by the same route I had taken. They were from St James City where I had anchored several times during my stay in SW Florida. It's also the spot where had I anchored during my first night on the boat (the anchorage is also know as York Island).
The next morning at around 4:00 a.m. I was awakened by the fleet of working boats leaving the upstream dock. They were crabbing in the creek nearby and a few of the boats had very load exhausts. Their wakes also rolled the boat as they passed by. Getting an early start is necessary when 'trot-lining', which is how most of the workboats crab.
Trot lining involves setting a line at the bottom of the seabed secured by and anchor and float at each end. Chicken necks are tied to the line every 6 to 10 feet. The crab boat heads out to the line in the morning and pulls up one end and loops it over a roller fixed to the side of the boat. He then moves slowly down towards the other end of the line closely watching the line for crabs that are holding on to the pieces of chicken neck that he had tied to the line. When he sees a crab, he scoops it up with a dip net. The reason that a crabber needs to get an early start is because a crab will not rise to the surface with the bait when the sun is high. It will let go of the bait if it sees bright light. Crabs don't like bright light. They like dark and shady water. The crabbers start work at 4:00 a.m. and are back at the dock by noon.
July 26, 2003 - Rhode River, MD
I left St Michaels early Saturday morning. I wanted to get out of there before the weekend crowed got there. Supposedly almost everyone in the Annapolis - Baltimore area heads over to the Eastern Bay on the weekends. I left the anchorage at San Domingo Creek just after 7:00 a.m. It was easy to get an early start since I was awaken at 4:00 a.m. again by the crab boats heading out to do a days work.
I motored the few miles to the Knapp's Narrows channel on Tilghman Island and passed the swing bridge and out into the bay. As I was traveling down the channel, I was distracted by the pretty shore side community and touched bottom just off the centerline of the channel. I just turned toward the center and I easily power through the mud after a few seconds.
As I reached the last marker and was now out on the bay, I raised my sails and had a nice sail up the bay and over to the western shore. At around 3:00 p.m. I entered the Rhode River and anchored in one of the two anchorages about a half-mile upstream. Being a Saturday afternoon, it was pretty crowded. I found out later that this anchorage is the third most popular in the entire region, as voted by readers of 'Chesapeake Bay Magazine'. I found a good spot however, and I didn't feel too cramped.
I woke at around 5:30 the next morning and heard a bubbling sound coming from just outside the boat and wondered what was causing it. I got up to take a look and saw a 30-foot power cruiser a few feet from my bow. I ran up on deck and started yelling over to the people on board trying to get them up. They had dragged their anchor when the wind picked up to around 10 knots early that morning. No one responded so I started calling the name of the boat, 'Texas Chick'. Someone finally appeared as I was fending off their boat trying to keep it away from mine. A woman came up on deck pushing their boat away from mine as her husband started the engine. We were able to keep the two boats apart mostly, but they scraped their hull slightly on my second anchor sitting on the bow roller. That was the only contact between the two boats and they were able to motor away and reset their anchor again. They chose a spot downwind of several boats off to my left and I noticed one of the owners of the boat next to me looking at them with concern.
July 27, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
After a leisurely Sunday breakfast I left the Rhode River and headed out into the bay at around 11:00 a.m. for the short sail up to Annapolis. As I got out into the bay I saw at what looked like well over a hundred sailboats. After all Annapolis is called the "The Sailing Capital of the USA". I proceeded up the Severn River past the marinas on Spa Creek and Back Creek and continued on past the first high rise bridge to Weems Creek, a bit further from town, but un-crowded.
I had intended to anchor in the creek but found it crowded with moorings placed by the nearby Naval Academy. These were 'hurricane moorings' used to moor the academy's Navy 44 sailboats during hurricane conditions, so they just sit there unused almost all of the time. I noticed that a few privately owned boats were tied up to some of these moorings, and there wasn't much room too anchor without the possibility of drifting into a mooring with a wind shift, so I decided to grab one as well. I tied up with one of my mooring pendants which I had made while I was staying in Ft Myers back in January-February. I loaded the bike into the dinghy and rowed over to the public beach a short distance away and rode into town.
I had dinner at "Chick and Ruth's Delly" (yes that's the way the spelled Deli). They had about 45 special sandwiches named after local politicians and a few celebrities who have eaten there. On the walls in the back dining room were autographed pictures of these people.
After dinner I rode around town and then headed back to the boat at around 7:30. I had been concerned about taking one of the Naval Academy moorings and thought that I might be asked to leave by one of the local authorities, but when I got back to the boat, I saw Tom and Stephany from 'Sea Amigo' whom I had met back in St Michaels. He said that they had stayed here last year for over a week and weren't bothered and that a few police boats had passed by during that time and didn't say a word to them about being on the academy mooring.
July 29, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
Last night Tom had mentioned that the Chesapeake Bay Pearson Sailing Association was having a rendezvous this coming weekend on the Magothy River, which is just north of here. Since I now own a Pearson I think this would be a great opportunity to meet and exchange information with other Pearson owners, so I am planning to attend. He said that they don't mind non-members attending and I think I will join anyway. It's only $15 per year.
While I was speaking to Tom I had mentioned my experience over at Trippe Creek in Oxford where I had dragged my anchor during the thunderstorm. He said that he had also dragged his anchor over at St Michaels during the same storm. He said that the wind was blowing about 40 knots at one point. I didn't notice the wind speed because I was too busy trying to get my anchor to bite again. I felt a little better after our conversation knowing that I was not the only one to drag that night, and Tom and his wife have been cruising continuously for 8 years, so I assume that he knows what he is doing when it comes to anchoring.
I rode into town after breakfast and stopped at the West Marine and Fawcett's Marine Supply and bought a couple of double lead blocks to add more purchase to the mainsheet traveler. I had lunch at the McDonalds next door. The food didn't taste very good. I think I might be loosing my taste for fast food. Not a bad thing to loose. Since I haven't been eating it for some time, I've lost a lot of weight. I'm down to a 34-inch waist, which I haven't seen since the late eighties.
After lunch I stopped at the Giant supermarket to restock the boat. As I was leaving the store it started to rain heavily. Rain was predicted for most of the day and it didn't look like it was going to let up soon, so I waited for the bus. When it arrived I folded up the bike and got on. The bus driver was staring at my bike as I dug in my pockets for the 75-cent fare. She said that she had never seen a folding bicycle before.
It stopped raining just before I got off of the bus and I unfolded the bike again and pedaled a couple of blocks to the dinghy. When I got back to the boat, I saw a 50-foot ketch enter the creek. He looked like he was going to anchor near our boats, which would have been much too close. I saw Tom talking to him and pointing to an empty mooring down the creek. The ketch headed down the creek and picked up one of the empty USNA moorings.
Tuesday was beautiful with lots of sun and cooler temperatures. After talking with Tom and Stephany for a while I rode into town and did some laundry and had lunch at the food court by the harbor. After lunch I rode over to Eastport which is sort of a suburb of Annapolis. I stopped at Bert Jabin's Yacht Yard and Port Annapolis, which are the two big yards in the area, to get prices for a haul out. In a few weeks, or maybe when it starts to get a little cooler, I will haul the boat to paint the bottom. I'm starting to get some growth on the bottom because the anti-fouling paint is loosing it's effectiveness. On my last boat I usually painted the bottom each spring before it was launched. I'll try use a multi-season paint so that I can get by without another bottom painting for a while. The two yards were down the road from one another on Back Creek and their prices were about the same. They charge what they call a 'round trip' price which includes hauling the boat, power washing the hull, and setting it on stands in the yard. After that it's just $10 per day for each day it's in their yard until they launch it again. The facilities at Jabin's looked a little more modern so I think I might have it hauled out over there.
August 4, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
On Thursday night the Naval Academy band gave a free concert at Market Square by the waterfront. They played jazz, since they were the academy jazz ensemble and they were pretty good. I left in the middle to get some thing to eat over at Chick and Ruth's, but got back in time to hear a few more songs before they finished for the night. They play every week during the summer months.
On Friday I rode over to the West Marine store and got $91 back on the bicycle that I just bought. West Marine put it on sale for 25 percent off just 8 days after I bought it, so I brought the receipt back to the local store and they gave me a refund for the difference.
Well, I didn't go to the Pearson Rendezvous this past weekend. Rain was forecast for most of the weekend so I thought that on Saturday I would take the bus over to the mall and spend the afternoon there after stopping at the library. As I was coming back to the boat that evening I passed Tom and Stephany in their dinghy and they shouted, "I see that you didn't go to the rendezvous." I answered, "I see that you didn't go either". They said that they had expected rain and didn't feel like leaving (I don't think I mentioned that their boat is a Pearson also). I told them that I felt the same way.
On Sunday afternoon I put on my mask and snorkel and dove down under the boat to assess how badly it was covered with marine growth. It was as bad as I expected. The whole bottom is covered with thick green growth as well as barnacles. It's definitely time to haul the boat, scrape and sand the bottom, and paint it. I've been reviewing the 'Bottom Paint Survey' from past issues of Practical Sailor. Some of the results that they have gotten for many bottom paints from year to year are not consistent. so I'm not sure which paint I am going to use. Some of the more expensive paints didn't perform as well in the tests as the inexpensive West Marine brand that I had been using on my previous boat.
On Sunday evening all of the 11 Naval Academy moorings at Weems Creek had been taken by other boats. The next morning I noticed one boat anchored at the mouth of the creek, probably because there were no more moorings left. It seems that they really don't mind if boats use these moorings. The Annapolis Harbor Master came by one afternoon but didn't seem to care about all these boats using the USNA moorings. He just waved as he passed by.
August 6, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
Today I finally filed my 2002 tax return. I had filed for an extension before the April 15 deadline and received a four month extension. I stopped at an Internet cafe in town called NetPeddlers which sells and rents bicycles as well as providing Internet services. They allowed me to connect my laptop to their network and use their high speed connection so that I could upload my tax information to file electronically. While I was talking to the owners of the store I found out that they were ex-telecom people like myself who were affected by the industry slow down, and were also cruisers who had set up a small business in Annapolis. After sending my return off, we talk for a while about the telecom industry. Before I left I bought a bike helmet which I had been meaning to buy since I bought the bike.
After leaving the internet cafe I stopped at Riordans's for their happy hour. 20 oz Buds for $2. As I sat down at the bar I noticed a Baltimore Bullets hat behind the bar and I asked if the place was owned by Mike Riordan. The bar tender said that it was. I told her that I knew Mike from my Air National Guard days when he was playing for the NY Nicks. Mike was a member of my unit at the time and although he didn't show up every month, he occasionally came down to the station in Roslyn, NY. When I got my 2 1/2 ton license to to drive the units larger trucks, Mike gave me my drivers test.
Before I left, I wrote down my name and the name of our unit in Roslyn and gave it to the bartender for Mike. She said that Mike frequently comes down to work at the bar. I'm sure that he doesn't remember me, but he surely remembers his days in the NY Air National Guard. He had joined the unit before he was drafted by the Nicks and was finishing up his 6 year obligation at the time I had met him. After I left Riordan's, I walked over to Market Square at the waterfront for the Naval Academy's summer concert. This week the academy's symphony orchestra was performing. They were very good. Next week will be the last performance of the summer.
The next morning I rode into town for the weekly cruiser's breakfast over at Chick and Ruth's. The cruisers in the area get together for breakfast every Wednesday during the summer. It was fun and I had a good time.
August 14, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
I'm still in Annapolis on one of the USNA moorings on Weems Creek. The weather hasn't been that great the last week or so. On most days it's been sunny in the morning and then it clouds up and rains late in the afternoon or early evening. I've been fortunate not to have been caught out in it. I usually get back to the boat in time, or I've been indoors when it starts. After one early evening shower, a rainbow came out and I was able to get a picture of it.
During the Cruiser's Breakfast last week, I had mentioned that I was going to have my boat hauled out here. A few people suggested that it would be a lot cheaper if I went back to Solomons, MD. Spring Cove Marina had been mentioned as a good place to have the boat hauled over there, so I looked them up on the Internet. They were more than $100 cheaper than the best price I gotten here in Annapolis, so I may be heading back there for the haul out, unless I can negotiate a better price at yard over here. It's a long trip back to Solomons, so if I can narrow down the difference in pricing enough, I'll do it hear.
Not much going on otherwise. Each morning I head down to the library and use their Internet connection. I've been riding the bike around town and the nearby suburbs just for the pleasure of it. On Sunday I rode over to the Annapolis Mall, had lunch and walked around for a while. Since I've been here in Annapolis, I've been eating out often. I think I'm starting to put back some of the weight I lost over the last few months (I've been eating a lot of burgers and fries lately).
On Tuesday evening the US Naval Academy Band gave their last performance of the summer at the Market Slip waterfront, and they drew a big crowd. I stayed for the whole show and enjoyed it, but I paid with several mosquito bites that I have been scratching at for the last couple of days.
On Wednesday morning I rode over to Chick and Ruth's for the weekly Cruiser's Breakfast. I sat with Bill, Jim, and Judy, each from different boats. Bill sails Ragtime, a 33 foot Cape Dory with his wife who couldn't make it today, and Bill and Judy single hand their own boats. Bill has a 50 ft ketch and Judy has two boats. One here in Annapolis, and another back in Chicago. I had mentioned again that I was looking for a place to have my boat hauled out to paint the bottom, and Jim and Judy said that I should try Whitehall Marina on the other side of the Severn River. They are a lot cheaper than either Jabin's or Port Annapolis from whom I had gotten price quotes. I'd be glad to be able to do the work here without having to go back to Solomons just for this.
Thursday was very hot here just as it was along most of the East Coast. In the morning I took the boat over to Back Creek to get some diesel, but mainly to fill my water tanks and charge the batteries. I got back to the mooring just before noon. I put up the cockpit Bimini cover and the shade for the forward hatch, then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning some of the barnacles off of the prop and the depth sounder transducer (mainly just to cool off) and reading. I didn't bother going into town today. It was just too hot. I turned on the radio at around 5:00 p.m. and heard about the blackout. I was sure glad to be no longer working in NYC.
August 17, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
I didn't do much over the weekend, but I did find that I need to file a correction for my 2002 tax return. I had overpaid withholding tax when a 401K from a former, defunct employer was rolled-over to an IRA last year. It came to me on Friday night, and on Saturday I went through my return and found the omission. It was a big chunk of change, so I plan to call the local tax office and take care of it first thing on Monday morning.
Other than that, I just rode over to the mall and around town. While I was over by the town dock, I saw a guy in a Walker Bay dinghy like mine, sailing from the town dinghy dock back to his boat. I asked him what he thought of the "sail kit" he had bought for the dinghy. He said that he liked it but wished he had bought the larger version of the dinghy since he is always towing it and didn't ever need to hoist it up on deck.
After talking with him for a while, he mentioned that he was from New Bedford, MA. I said that my parents had lived there before I was born. He said, "You must be Portuguese then.". I said that I was, and he then said, "I'll be that your last name is either Ferreira or Vieira". I said, "Good guess. It's Vieira". He told me that his ex-wife is Portuguese, and that he missed the place. He told me that he was upset that he wasn't able to find Linguica, a popular Portuguese sausage, anywhere since he left New Bedford.
Listening to the radio last night, I found out about another free summer concert series on Wednesday nights over at the Annapolis Harbour Center. I think I'll ride over there and check it out.
August 19, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
On Monday I stopped by the library and printed copies of the forms that I would need to file a correction to my federal and state tax returns. After lunch I rode over to the Annapolis Harbour Center and stopped in a few of the stores. I bought a pack of AAA batteries at Office Depot and a bottle of mildew stain remover, for the Bimini cover on the boat, at Boater's World. I stopped at the library again on the way back to the boat. Then picked up some steak for dinner at the grocery store down the block.
The next morning I woke to find a large trawler anchored near my boat. The had anchored between my boat and the mooring next to it. They had set two anchors to minimize their swing. I don't know why they didn't pick-up the mooring a few feet away from them. It would have been a lot easier. They must have arrived late because I didn't see them or hear them come in.
After breakfast I decided to try and clean the mildew stains that were developing on the inside of the Bimini cover with the stain remover which I bought yesterday. I took the cover completely off because it required a little scrubbing, but the stains came out and the cover looks like new again. I chose this particular cleaner because it didn't contain any bleach. Most of the other mildew stain removers sold at the marine stores are basically just detergent and bleach which they sell for about $7 for a 16 oz. bottle.
After I finished cleaning the Bimini, the owners of the trawler woke up, saw how close they were to my boat and pulled in their anchors to move. I told them they they should take the mooring in front of them but they decided to try and anchor again further up the creek. They said that they were anchored over at Spa Creek by the Naval Academy seawall and couldn't sleep because it was very rolly and came over here at about 1:30 a.m. I saw them looking for a spot over by Gil's (one of the other cruisers moored here) boat, when Gil came on deck and also told them that they should take a mooring. They decided to just leave and motored out of the creek and back down the Severn heading in the direction they came from last night.
Later, I took my computer over to the library to start doing my corrected tax return. I loaded the tax software and started going through the return again when I realized that the program actually did include the withholding tax I paid on the Rollover IRA. It was lumped into a figure on the return which was my "Total Federal Withholding Tax". So, I didn't need to file a corrected return after all.
August 20, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
I went to the Wednesday Cruiser's Breakfast of at Chick and Ruth's this morning. The crowd was a little smaller than usual this morning. Usually we have the whole back room filled, but today we only took up about 70%. After breakfast I took a ride over to Bacon's, a marine consignment store with Bill from Latitudes-Attitudes. We also stopped at Air Works, and inflatable boat dealer, Motor Works an outboard engine service and sales shop, and Sam's Club, the wholesale warehouse division of Wal-Mart.
I found a 1997 Nissan 3.5 HP Outboard for $275, a pretty good price, however they wouldn't sell it to me until their mechanic checked it out first. I told him I was interested in it and he told me to check with him next week after the mechanic had a chance to look at it. I hope that they're not going to raise the price after they find out that it runs well. At Sam's Club, Bill stocked up on provisions for his trip down south in the fall. I just bought a carton of canned Mandarin oranges at a good price, and a large loaf of my favorite bread, 'Milton's', a California bread company. It's hard to find since not many of the major grocery chains carry it. Afterwards Bill dropped me off at the dinghy landing and I put away my groceries then rode over to the mall, then stopped at the library on the way back.
August 21, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
Last night as I was rowing back to the boat, I saw Gil who told me that a mooring close to the dinghy landing had just opened up. A local boat owner had been storing a small sailboat there, and had moved it yesterday afternoon. I told Gil that I would move there if it's still free in the morning.
After breakfast the next day I started the engine and removed my mooring line from the old mooring and motored up to the new location. The new spot is not only closer to shore, but it isn't subjected to wakes from passing boats on the Severn River since it's tucked in around a small bend in the creek. There is still a nice breeze blowing there as well.
After moving the boat I gathered my laundry and headed to the laundromat on the bike. I loaded the machine then walked over and sat in the shade on one of the benches on the grounds of the Maryland State Building while I waited for my laundry. After I took my clothes out of the dryer and started folding the T-shirts, I noticed that I still had some traces of grease stain on the lower back of most of my T-shirts. I had gotten these from my bicycle as I rowed with the bike folded and placed (not too carefully sometimes) in the front of the dinghy. After I noticed the stains on my shirts, I started loading the bike more carefully into the dinghy so that I wouldn't lean into the chain as I rowed. I forgot to treat the stains before I washed them, so they were still there when I took them out of the dryer.
I know that I've had a boring day, when I need to write about my laundry to fill an entry.
August 24, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
On Saturday I decided to ride over to the Whitehall Yacht Yard to get their current rates and take a look at the place. I rode across the US Naval Academy Bridge on Route 450 and continued on a road that took me through a portion of the Naval Academy grounds. I was amazed at how big the campus actually is. It stretches over both sides of the Severn River. The section I rode through contained the academy's golf course. After following the road for about two miles, it ended inside of the academy grounds. I turned around a rode back and took a different route towards the yacht yard. I stopped at a bakery to asked directions and found out that I was headed in the right direction. I rode on for a while pedaling up an down some pretty steep hills and was starting to get tired. I still had a good ways to go, and at that point decided that maybe it might not be such a good idea to have the boat hauled here. If I should needed something while working on the boat, I might have to to ride all of the way back to Annapolis over all of those hills to get it. Now I'm thinking that I just might go back to Solomons after all, or maybe just pay the extra $100 and have the boat hauled at one of the local yards that I had checked out earlier. It might be worth the extra money since I can get anything I might needed without having to go very far.
Sunday was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low 80s, sunny skies, and low humidity. I rode over to the Baltimore & Annapolis Bike Trail on the other side of the Severn River. The trail was quite nice and goes on for a long ways. It appears to go all the way to Baltimore and joins other trails along the way that go off in other directions. It was fairly flat and there were plenty places to stop along the way to rest or eat. The local restaurants along the trail seem to get a lot of business from the weekend bikers. I stopped at a bike shop conveniently located right off the trail and bought a new gel seat for the bike. I thought that it would be more comfortable than the seat that came with the bike, but after riding with it for a while, I decided that it just didn't feel right. I rode back to the bike shop and asked them if they would adjust it since I didn't have the proper wrench with me. It felt a little better and I decided to give it some time for me to get used to it. Well, after riding with it for the rest of the day, I found that it really wasn't as comfortable as the old seat, so I'm going to return it on Monday.
September 11, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
The last week had been pretty boring. Since I didn't go anywhere or do anything too exciting, I didn't feel inspired to write about it. Tom and Stephany on Sea Amigo borrowed a minivan from a cruiser friend here in Annapolis for about two weeks whiles they were away. We all rode over to the nearest Wal-Mart store which was in Bowie, MD, then stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant on the way back. On another day we loaded our propane tanks in the back of the van and drove to the True Value hardware store to get them filled. See what I mean, not very exciting.
However, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the following week, the Southbound Cruisers Reunion was held at the Anchorage Marina in the Fells Point section of Baltimore. Tom and Stephany left Weems Creek for Baltimore on Sunday, and Gil and Nancy left on Monday. I left Monday but didn't head to Baltimore. I thought that with an expected turnout of about 200-300 cruisers, the anchorage near the marina would be too crowed for my liking. So instead, I headed north up the Severn River just about as far as I could go and anchored near an area called Indian Landing. It was a nice quite anchorage with some very nice homes along the shore. Each morning of the reunion, I would take row over to one of the community docks along the shore, tie my dinghy up to a small dock containing several canoes and rowboats, then cycle about a mile to the B&A Bike Trail and ride up to the Light Rail which would take me into Baltimore. It was a pleasant ride and the weather was great for all three days of the reunion.
The several presentations each day by authors of cruising guides, manufacturers reps, forecasters from the National Weather Service, etc. There were also raffles and giveaways of merchandise donated by manufacturers, publishers, marinas, etc. All of this was organized by a couple of cruisers and was free for anyone to attend. All they asked for was a small donation for the coffee and donuts they provided each morning for breakfast. One of the highlights of the show was a talk by Tom Neal who is an author of a couple of cruising books, a publisher of a monthly cruising magazine, and a columnist for Cruising World Magazine (although he recently gave that up to devote his time to his own publication). He gave a hilarious talk about some of his experiences in the Bahamas with Bahamian peoples' laid-back lifestyle.
September 17, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
With Hurricane Isabel bearing down on the east coast I decided to schedule my haul-out early. I was very concerned about where I would leave the boat during the storm. If I anchored it up one of the protected creeks (hurricane holes) on the Severn River, I would have worry about my anchors holding and other boats dragging into mine. On Saturday I called the Port Annapolis Marina to schedule my haul-out for Monday. Luckily they said that they could do it a 1:00 p.m.
As Monday approached, it looked more and more likely that the storm would strike close to the Chesapeake. I left for the marina about a hour early and arrived at 12 :00 p.m. They weren't very busy as I pulled up to the service slip and they hauled my boat right away. As they were setting the boat down, the yard manager came by and told his guys to put five stands on each side of the boat. A lot of yards would use three per side for a boat the size of mine. He also asked me if I was going to take down my dodger. He seemed very conscientious and concerned about the safety of the boats in his yard and that gave me a good feeling. By the way, there is sailboat in the next row which is also named Tyche. It's homeport is Washington, DC.
I stripped the boat down and removed everything from the deck that wasn't permanently fastened, removed the dorade vents and installed the covers, and lashed the boom to the deck. I had removed the sails on Sunday. The next morning the yard got very busy. They began hauling boats continuously throughout the day. With the boat secured, I now had to find a place to stay during the storm. I called a hotel and made reservations for Wednesday and Thursday, but I now have to change the dates since the storm has slowed down and won't be making landfall until tomorrow. A local Annapolis radio station announced that a storm shelter would be set up at the Annapolis High School and would open tentatively at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday.
I met Tom and Patty on Swan, a 33' Westerly from Houston who were hauled out just before me on Monday. They were also staying on their boat while doing work like me. They invited me over for drinks in the afternoon after we finished working on our boats for the day.
September 20, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
I was thinking of staying at the marina lounge during the storm. Ben, who lives on his sailboat at the marina and works at the local West Marine, said that he was also thinking of staying at the marina lounge. He later changed his mind and said he was going to stay at his sister's house. Everyone else that I spoke with was also leaving, so I decided to leave too. On Thursday morning the local news channel was saying that most of the area would probably lose power during the storm. I decided then that I was going to stay at the Annapolis High School instead of the hotel. The hotel was a Super 8 and their rates weren't cheap. They also had just raised their rates by 40% for Saturday's Navy home game. I didn't want to pay that kind of money to sit in a dark hotel room with no power.
I left for the high school at around 8:30 a.m. Tom gave me a ride over. The local radio station had said that the doors would open at 9:00 a.m. and that services were on a first come, first served basis. When we got there I walked in and found that I was the first to arrive. There were several Red Cross volunteers sitting around and one of them asked me to sign in. I said that I would come back later. Driving back to the marina, we joked about me being the only person at the shelter, with the TV crews arriving and asking as they filmed, "Why did you choose to stay at a shelter when all the other sailors were riding out the storm on their boats?" *(Actually it's foolish to stay on a boat during hurricane conditions if you have the option to get off. By the time winds reach 100 mph there is absolutely nothing you can do for your boat. You only put yourself at risk at that point.)
When we got back to the marina, Tom, Patty and I went over to Grumps for breakfast. At around 2:00 p.m. we left again and they dropped me back at the high school on the way to their friends house. Tom said that he would wait for me in case I changed my mind about staying at the school and needed a ride to a hotel. By now others had already arrived at the school, so I waved Tom and Patty on. I signed in and sat and talked with the Red Cross workers. I asked if there was anything I could do to help out. They said that there wasn't to much to do right now but would let me know if they needed help.
During the afternoon more people started to arrive. One of the Red Cross workers came over and told me that the first couple of cruisers had just arrived and I went over to talk with them. They were Bev and Arne from Kansas City, MO. I had a nice time talking with them. Another boater arrived a while later. He had come down from Washington and to check on his boat which he kept at the Eastport Yacht Club. The yacht club is right out on the bay and is very exposed to the waves and the tidal surge that would precede the storm. He left a few times during the night to check on his boat, and at 1:00 a.m. he came in and said that his boat had broken loose from its moorings and he had found it floating in a driveway next to a condo. There was nothing more he could do. So he grabbed a cot and went to sleep (his boat was pictured on the front page of the 'Neighborhoods' section of Saturday's paper).
Earlier that evening I had met Jim who had come down and volunteered to help the Red Cross at the high school. Jim and his wife own a home in the exclusive community up on the Severn River where I had anchored the week before for the cruiser reunion in Baltimore. Jim and his wife own a financial services company and are avid motorcyclists. He told me about his trips across country with his wife and friends. Jim and his wife both ride Harleys. Jim's wife was in Chicago on business so Jim decided to come down and volunteer and help out. In talking with Jim, I mentioned that I had worked for Nortel Networks. Jim then told me that he had a friend that was the head of service for Lucent Technologies. He said that I should email my resume if I was considering going back to work and he would send it to his friend.
It was now about 3:00 a.m. and I had just gotten up after a few hours sleep. The Red Cross volunteer in charge of the shelter looked very tired. He had been there since 8:00 a.m. His replacement had called in sick earlier that evening. I asked again if there was anything I could do to help out, and he told that I could hand out cots to families were now arriving. Several families had just been evacuated from their homes because of flooding. A few of these homes were in a community called Arundel on the Bay which was right on the Chesapeake Bay and very exposed.
Tom and Patty came by the next morning at around 8:30 to pick me up. Arne and Bev had also offered to give me a ride back to the marina. They had gone to check on their boat and were coming back afterwards, but hadn't gotten back when Tom and Patty arrived. The evening at the Red Cross shelter turned out to be a very rewarding experience for me and I'm glad I went. I met a lot of nice people and it felt good to help out. I think I may register as a volunteer.
When I got to the boat I was glad to see that there was no damage to my boat or any others at the marina. There was however some water damage to the electrical and cable TV system on the docks which were now completely underwater. Boat owners were standing around waiting for the water to recede so they could get to their boats. Later on, Arne and Bev stopped by. They had just come from the Apex dealer to see if their dinghy, which they had left for repair, was ready. The dealer was closed. I tried to persuade them to borrow my dinghy until they got theirs back, but they didn't take me up on the offer.
The next day I drove downtown to see the damage that the tidal surge had caused. I had overheard one of the marina residents saying that the water was so high that it came up to Alex Hailey's chin (there is a statue of Alex Hailey reading to a group of children at the park along the waterfront). I later rode over to Weems Creek to see if the Naval Academy had used the hurricane moorings. They had. There were six of the academy's Navy 44 sailboats tied to the moorings. They probably would have been more there had it not been for a few abandoned boats that their owners had left tied to these moorings.
September 30, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
I've been working on the boat at Port Annapolis Marina for the last two weeks. I sent out the propeller to be balanced and had a new propeller shaft made. I had to remove the old shaft because I am planning to install a drip-less shaft seal. I ended up having to cut the old prop shaft because it simply couldn't be removed from the coupling which attaches the shaft to the transmission. The new shaft is stainless steel which is harder and more durable that the old bronze shaft. I'm also replacing the water pump, which had begun leaking, with a spare that I had on the boat.
I will have to begin heading south in the next few weeks if that is what I intend to do. Right now I'm not firmly committed to the idea. I've been contemplating returning to work and getting a place in the area. I've sent out a few resumes, but don't have any real prospects yet. Whatever I decide to do, my decision will have to be made soon. I'll keep you posted.
October 8, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
Still working on the boat at Port Annapolis Marina, but I have decided that I am going south. I have had no job prospects from the resumes that I had sent out so I am going to head back to Florida starting in about a week or two depending on when I get the boat back in the water.
I am waiting for the new drip-less shaft seal that I ordered to arrive. I got confirmation that it had shipped on Monday so I should have it by Thursday. I have prepared the bottom of the boat for painting and was going to do that tomorrow, but the Seven Seas Cruising Association is having a get together hear at the marina tomorrow and the road leading to the parking lot goes right by my boat. That will probably mean a lot of dust flying around, so I might wait until Friday to paint. After that all I need to to do is install the new shaft seal on the new prop shaft, with the new transmission coupling and the new prop, and I'm ready to go. If all goes well I should be back in the water by Monday and heading south.
Tom and Patty from Swan left the marina on Saturday and are on their way south down the bay. A few nights before they left, Patty cooked a delicious pasta dinner and had Doug from Serendipity a Sabre 38 a couple of slips down from them, and myself over. It was probably the best meal that I've had in the last year. I hope to catch up with them on the way down with the hope that they'll have me over for dinner again. I know where they will be staying in Florida so I will be sure to pay them a visit on the way.
The boat show starts tomorrow and Annapolis is already getting crowded. On the first day of the show there is a consignment show over at the Back Yard Boathouse that is supposed to have some good bargains on used equipment. I'm going to try and get there early tomorrow before all of the good stuff is gone.
October 13, 2003 - Annapolis, MD
Well, the consignment show was on Friday, the 10th and I got there at about 8:45 a.m., 15 minutes before they opened and there were about 30 people in front of me. I first stopped at Chick and Ruth's for breakfast. On the way out I heard someone call my name, I turned and saw a group from Coneys Marine in Huntington. They were having breakfast before the boat show. I chatted a while then excused myself and headed over to the consignment show. When I got in to the show, I headed over to the anchoring equipment and saw a practically new Fortress FX-23 anchor priced at $150 ($245 at West Marine) so I picked it up since I had been considering buying one. Fortunately this anchor breaks down into 5 pieces for easy storage, so I was able to fit it into my backpack and ride back to the boat.
On Saturday the Seven Seas Cruising Association had the annual get together in the Post Annapolis Marina where I'm staying so I decided to go since it was open to non members and the admission was only $6. There were some good lectures and I won a Eileen Quinn CD in one of the raffles by dropping my boat card (which I had just printed a few days ago) in a jar. Eileen also performed to close the festivities. They opened the bar and there was free beer for the last hour, so everyone was in a good mood.
I finished painting the bottom today after they moved my stands so that I could get to the areas that had been covered by the stands. On Sunday I had installed the prop shaft, new drip-less shaft seal, propeller and coupling. The tricky part was getting the coupling on the shaft because it is a very tight fit and you can not press it on by hand. Myles, who is staying in a huge Prevost touring bus parked next to my boat, told me that to get the coupling on I needed to heat it in my oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I did as he said, and the coupling just slipped on as easy as could be.
I finally removed the old home port from the transom, which had been 'Bass Harbor, ME', and replaced it with my homeport, 'Huntington, NY'. While the prop was still shiny and uncovered with anti-fouling paint, I took a picture of the boat. I then put on a new zinc and covered the shiny bronze prop with anti-fouling paint. Later I walked over to the office and scheduled my launch for Thursday, which would give the paint plenty of time to dry and let me take care of any last minute items. From there, it's south to Florida.