July 7-9, 2014  Days 71-73  North End of the Chesapeake Bay!

North East River Yacht Club
North East River, MD

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

North East River Yacht Club
- our home for two weeks

We departed Annapolis early Monday morning to head to our destination of the North East River Yacht Club in North East, MD.  An hour later we were passing under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, a bridge we have driven across, motored under, and once even walked across as part of an annual Bay Bridge Walk! We had a steady wind behind us and we saw relatively little boat traffic!

Sailing Camp!

Carried Away on the end of the transient dock

C & D Canal Museum

We arrived at the Yacht Club at 3:00 and this “steady wind” at 20 mph is now on our starboard side. This was one of our most difficult docking experiences, but thanks to Bill’s skills, and the good help of a yacht club member, we were able to get tied up on their transient face dock.  The Yacht Club runs a weekly summer sailing camp for kids 7-18 and we have enjoyed watching them each day in their small sailboats. The youngest are in boats called “Optimus”.

On Tuesday, we arranged to have Enterprise bring us a rental car which we will keep for the two weeks we are here.  We made a big provisioning trip to Walmart that afternoon! Tuesday evening brought a strong windstorm that seemed to appear out of nowhere.  Weather reports that the wind was gusting to 50 mph.  It was coming directly at our stern and caused the upper window at the stern of the flybridge to become unsnapped and unzipped!  At the end of the storm we found two people standing at our dock looking further up river for their sailboat. It had been on a mooring ball across the river but the storm had other ideas for it. We do not know where they found it or the condition it was in.

Steam engine

On Wednesday we drove into Chesapeake City and took a tour of the small but well done C & D Canal 

 

C& D Canal Museum

Museum. It features the history of the old



Chesapeake and Delaware narrow canal, the locks and the progress to the current wide canal.  It was very interesting and we had the whole place to ourselves.  Next we treated ourselves to a nice lunch at the Chesapeake Inn which faces the C & D Canal. We walked through a few of the small shops in Chesapeake City, and yes stopped for ice cream.  We drove around the town of Elkton before heading back to the boat. An hour after we returned, another storm approached. We were much luckier this time with rain and wind. We are sure some people had it worse that we did. The forecast was wide spread and included 60 mph winds with hail.  We had dinner on board and discussed plans for the remainder of our stay here.

We will continue to update the blog every few days during our two week stay here.



Sunset on Wednesday



June 30 - July 6, 2014  Days 64-70  Chesapeake Bay!

Annapolis Harbor on Mooring Ball
Annapolis, MD



A view of  the docks from our mooring

We spent seven days in Annapolis on a mooring ball in the middle of a busy harbor during the Fourth of July.  The mooring balls were full with occupants going to shore by either water taxi or by their dinghy. Tour boats of many types and sizes passed us frequently, and many boaters were just cruising around, some coming into dock in Ego Alley. It was a “happening place” and we enjoyed being there in the midst of all the excitement.  We were glad we arrived on Monday because the mooring balls cannot be reserved in advance and there are only 12 of the size that our boat requires.

There were two Looper boats there also – Why Knot (Darrell and Lisa) and Sunny Days (Terry and Lola).  We got together for lunch with Darrell and Lisa on Wednesday and also did some provisioning. They had moved to a marina by then and had a courtesy car.

On Wednesday afternoon we finally decided that the eight house batteries had outlived their usefulness.  Bill found a local company who would deliver them to the dinghy dock after the store closed at 7:30. He laboriously disconnected the old ones and carried them out of the engine room and got them loaded in the dinghy.  When he returned, he brought the sales person with him, who offered to load them onto the boat and install them for an extra fee.  Sold! It was after 10 pm when they were finished but it was an important decision to make.



Lola

Terry

Darrell and Lisa

Spectacular view of the fireworks

We had both Looper couples over on the Fourth of July for dinner and fireworks. We had a fun evening and a perfect view of the fireworks launched from a barge on the river.



The new Plebes at the Naval Academy

On Saturday we took a guided tour of the Naval Academy.  The tour was fascinating and we were in awe of the architecture and the history. The plebes had just begun earlier in the week and we could hear them each morning as they were put through morning drills.

We took a dinghy ride on Thursday up the beautiful Spa Creek and on Sunday we took a longer ride up the scenic Severn River. We took the dinghy to the dinghy dock on most days to walk around the historic area which is full of shops and restaurants. 


Spa Creek

We finally said goodbye to Annapolis, leaving early Monday morning for a 55 mile trip to the North East River Yacht Club in North East, MD.  After seven days we needed water and were ready to be hooked up to power. But, we know we will go back some day!

One of the many yard patrol boats at the Naval Academy

 

June 29, 2014  Day 63  Chesapeake Bay!

Herrington Harbor North Marina
Tracey’s Landing, MD

On Thursday, we were ready to cast off our lines and leave Point Lookout Marina, only to discover that our port engine would not start. After several failed attempts, we got Jake, yesterday’s mechanic, to come back and diagnose the problem.  Fortunately it was a frayed wire that was sending a false signal to the engine that the gear was not in neutral. Wire fixed, and we were soon on our way across the creek to the Corinthian Yacht Club. He is our hero!

We spent the afternoon doing laundry and relaxing.  One of the local residents stopped by and took Joyce to a nearby store to do some provisioning.  That was very nice of her to offer!

On Friday morning we left and headed north and then east across the bay to enter the Little Choptank River.  We joined at least 12 other boats who were anchored in Hudson Creek.  It is a beautiful anchorage.  We were intrigued by the number of watermen in their deadrises and other work boats who were crabbing. They were not pulling up crab pots, but had weighted lines with bait and they were using a net to get the crabs off of the lines.  We like this spot so much that we decided to spend two nights here.  Joyce cleaned and polished the stainless railing on the starboard side of the boat during the morning before it got too hot.

We left the anchorage this morning (Sunday) and traveled to the west shore of the bay again and docked at Herrington Harbor North Marina, in Tracey’s Landing, MD. It is by far one of the nicest marinas we have stayed at in our two years of boating.  It is a large marina with pool, clubhouse, fitness center, playground, park/garden like settings, a West Marine on site, etc.  We got some chores done and had pizza for dinner.  We will head to Annapolis in the morning!

June 25, 2014  Day 59  Chesapeake Bay!

Point Lookout Marina
Ridge, MD

On Monday, we left our anchorage on the Great Wicomico River and went back into the bay and headed north.  We passed Smith Point Lighthouse at 0925.  

We then entered the Potomac River and then broke off into the St. Mary’s River.  We anchored in Horseshoe Bend across from St. Mary’s College. This is a large picturesque anchorage and is popular with sailboats. We stayed two nights and enjoyed being there.

We left there early Wednesday morning and headed to the Corinthian Yacht Club in Smith Creek. We were having issues with AC power and we needed to get connected.  Unfortunately this did not solve our problems, so we went to Point Lookout Marina, directly across the creek, since they have a maintenance staff.

We spent a long day without any power, but by the end of the day the problem was identified and resolved.  Bill found a connector wire to the inverter had been “fried”. We suspect the lightning strikes we felt at Doziers several days ago was the cause. The electrician replaced the wires and we now have power!

We also spent a delightful evening onboard Gail and Jeff’s boat, YOLO.  Gail prepared a delicious German dinner. They are here for a lengthier stay with an engine problem. We are sorry this has happened just at the beginning of their Loop.

Tomorrow we will go back across the creek to the Yacht Club and spend one night.

June 22, 2014  Day 56  Chesapeake Bay!

At Anchor, Wicomico River

Near Reedville, VA

Before we left Doziers, Bill got the new impeller for the generator at a nearby boatyard, installed it, changed the generator oil and fuel filters.  This allowed us to leave Saturday.

We cruised up the Rappahannock River to the Corrotoman River to a calm, peaceful anchorage.  Four sailboats joined us by the end of the day.  There is no end of places to anchor on the bay and we enjoy discovering them!

On Sunday, we cruised back out into the bay and headed north to the Great Wicomico River. As soon as we entered the river, we passed by the town of Reedville, which we have also toured by car. Reedville is known for harvesting menhaden, and we could smell the fish as the wind was out of the north! The bay itself was very choppy and we were happy to be in the river by mid-afternoon and enjoyed another calm anchorage by Rogue Point.  We had this anchorage to ourselves.

We plan to take a trip to St. Mary’s tomorrow, a small detour, but it is a delightful historical town on the St. Mary’s River at the mouth of the Potomac. That will put us in Maryland!

 

June 19, 2014  Day 53  Chesapeake Bay!

Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina
Deltaville, VA 

We enjoyed anchoring on the Piankatank so much that we spent three nights there! We took a leisurely dinghy ride on Monday going further up the river. We only saw three boats and one jet ski – hooray for Mondays!  Tuesday was very hot and we stayed on board and relaxed.  Unfortunately our generator quit working that night and we knew we had to head to a marina the next morning.

We arrived at Dozier’s before noon on Wednesday and got quickly tied up on a long face dock and connected to power.  We were facing 97 degrees and needed to run our air conditioner! After we got settled, we borrowed one of the courtesy cars to go to West Marine and to a grocery store.

We also saw Mike and Lois on Inch-n Along (we met them at Ortega Landing).  They invited us for docktails and dinner on their boat along with Loopers, Gerry and Julie on R Island. We had a wonderful evening sharing boating stories.  We hope to see them again as they will also spend their summer on the bay.

Today (Thursday), Bill worked on trouble shooting generator issues, and removed a broken impeller.  Joyce went back to the grocery store and to a farmers market, and then did laundry in the afternoon.  We had a series of very strong storms this afternoon and early evening complete with high winds, hail, rain, and lightning.

We will stay here one more day and hopefully get the impeller for the generator. We cannot anchor out without it!

 

June 15, 2014  Day 49  Chesapeake Bay!

At Anchor
Piankatank River, VA

Our month long stay in Poquoson was filled with many get-togethers with family and friends, several medical appointments, getting the dinghy motor repaired, cleaning the boat, and spending a week long road trip to Illinois to visit Joyce’s family.  It went by quickly and we enjoyed every day! We even hosted a birthday party for Bill’s brother Bob on June 7 and had 24 people on the boat and the dock. 

Sailing school for the little ones

We have officially begun our summer on the Chesapeake Bay.  We departed Whitehouse Cove Marina in Poquoson, VA at 10:15 this morning and headed north up the Bay to a peaceful anchorage on the beautiful Piankatank River.  We followed the river a few miles, winding back and forth to stay in the narrow channel. We crossed under the bridge (which we have driven over many times!) and anchored near a small island at 4:10pm.  Our ride today was sunny and pleasant with only a light chop on the bay. We enjoyed seeing a “fleet” of tiny sailboats, each sailed by a child probably 7 or 8 years old.  They were in a sailing class and it was fun to see them.



Our anchorage on the Piankatank

Today is Father’s Day and Bill enjoyed having waffles for breakfast. Bill’s gift was a new waffle iron (the 3^rd one in 44 years – and the first one that has worked perfectly with no sticking!!).  We declared that a success!

We cooked dinner on the grill, talked to our kids, and had a quiet evening.  We are not sure where (or if) we will go tomorrow!