Naples to Tampa Bay

Tonight we are anchored next to the mooring field at the south Apollo Beach Basin in Tampa Bay; about 200 yards from our soon to be permanent dock for Sea Breeze. Last night anchored on "the hook". Our trip is over. Mixed emotions. Happy to be home and sad to be ending our adventure. We have talked long and late into the evenings about what to do next. No decisions yet, but lots of ideas and plenty of options to explore. The trip home from the Keys was a few days shorter than we planned due to the possible arrival of TS or hurricane Ida and the strong northerly winds produced by the squeeze beteeen her low pressure zone off Nicaragua to the west and the high over the southeast US. We felt we needed to beat any potential hurricane home. That's an ironic twist.......no storms at all during our travels down the east coast during prime hurricane season then a possible hurricane threat this late in the season now that we are home. The water between the Keys and Sarasota is so clear - emerald green to blue in deeper water, white in shallow. In some of our anchorages it seemed like we were anchored on emerald glass. Its easy to read the water depth in the inlets and channels by looking at water color. We could see star fish and spounges in the sand bottom in 10+ feet of water in the Keys; sharks, turtles and tarpon in 15'+ in the Gulf; turtles (not babies but big guys 3' diameter shells with grapefruit size heads). Flying fish and shrimp skipping along like flat rocks skipped on a calm pond. It isn't as clear as the water in the Bahamas or other Carib islands but it's a treat to us after the cloudy water north of Miami on the east coast. We loved the east coast, especially NC and the Chesapeake, but the water clarity of the FL Keys and west coast gets your attention. Sea Breeze is covered with salt today as we anchored in Apollo Beach. The past two days have produced strong northery winds that kicked up short and steep waves in Tampa Bay that we had to drive in to. We were often stopped dead in our tracks by waves that put Sea Breeze's nose pointing skyward then drove her into the next wave trough. Lots of spray. When we anchored tonight Sea Breeze, Diane and I looked like we were covered in talcum powder; actually it was salt. These past two days were probably our roughest weather of the trip but only because we had to head into the wind/waves. We experienced wind and waves this rough in NC and MD but there we had the option of just turing around and going down wind for a comfortable day long sail. Twenty to twenty five knots of wind and 3-4 foot short steep waves feel a whole lot different when you are going down wind instead of up wind. I guess the weather gods were telling us we should have turned around and returned to the Keys. Later. When I look back on the trip, no doubt the visiting of small out of the way towns and remote anchorages was the highlight of the trip. Of equal importance were the new friends we made along the way. Latest MAP.

Photo 1 - a little dark but this was our dockside neighbor in Venice

Photo 2 - our neighbor at anchor next so Sanibel Is.

The Keys and the African Queen

Sitting in the cockpit at sundown in the Keys is one of the most relaxing experiences. The air feels like silk on skin. I watched a ketch sail across our horizon a couple of miles to our SW. As it crossed the sun's decending path I couldn't get the song "Wooden Ships" by CS & N out of my head. An old and somewhat depressing lyrics but a nice melody. We are certainly not depressed. How could anyone be other than joyous at this view........and I forgot to take a photo. We've been getting lazy lately and not taking many pictures. We'll have to do better. It took the ketch the better part of an hour to pass through an arc of about 20 degrees on the horizon before it vanished behind one of the smaller unnamed keys. Three nights were not enough of the Keys so we will be coming back again soon for a longer visit. Two nights ago we anchored in the Little Shark River. It's part of the Everglades and a very remote and wild place. Lots of animal life all around us as we sailed to an anchorage an hour before sunset. It was feeding time in the jungle. At sunset the animal life changed from birds, fish and turtles to no-see-ums. Diane and I quickly dove into the boat and put in all the screens. We felt like Charles and Rosie in the movie African Queen. We promised ourselves air conditioning next night so we made a long and fast dash to Naples. We've decided to stay a second night and enjoy the wonderous invention of Willis Carrier a little longer. We are sort of on the home stretch. The waters north of us are familiar to us and we've sailed them from time to time over the years. We plan to linger a little in some spots we have visited in the past but were never able to stay long enough because of work committments. I'll close this with a link to the MAP. We are going to walk to the Naples pier and watch the sunset from shore; something we've done many times in the past with our children when they were small and with my parents when dad was alive and mom was in better health. It will be a moment of very mixed emotions.

Jensen Bch to Miami

We've been slowly hopping down the ICW this past week gawking at the huge houses and yachts along the South Florida waterfront. We've spent nights at anchor or in marinas and met Canadian and American boats on their way to the Keys or Bahamas for the winter. One boat we shared an anchorage with on two different occasions is from Holland. Tonight will be our second night in this Biscayne Bay anchorage. To our north a couple of miles is the beautiful Miami skyline. We are sitting here waiting for a tropical wave to meet a weak cold front moving down from North FL. The collision is bringing lots of clouds, some rain and thankfully light and variable winds. This weather train wreck should clear out tomorrow, so we will be off to the Keys. We are thinking of spending 2-4 nights at anchor at various spots in the Keys before making the turn north toward Tampa. We may be out of cell phone and internet coverage for a few days beginning about mid-week since the area between the Keys and Marco Island (s. of Naples) is either Gulf water or the Everglades. Not many cell phone towers there. This week will mark the 4,000 nautical mile mark for our travels. We will probably pour some white wine (small amount) over the bow of Sea Breeze to celebrate the occasion. In looking at theMAP you can see how close the Bahamas are to us today. With a few little enhancements to Sea Breeze, we hope to be back here in Biscayne Bay sometime within the next 12 months waiting for a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream for a visit there.

Photo 1 - entering Port of Miami with the city in the background

Photo 2 - Ft. Lauderdale from the ICW

Photo 3 - Miami Beach from offshore

Jacksonville to Jensen Beach

After leaving Jacksonville if felt like we sailed (motored actually) into a sauna. Early October seemed more like early August. We broke from our usual routine of anchoring out each night. We motored through windless molasses with our electrical umbilical cord reaching out for the next marina so we could plug in and dive below into the comfort of a cabin being cooled and dehumidified by our new best friend – the air conditioner. All of Sea Breeze’s electrical needs are provided by battery power except the AC, so when the crew wants to sleep in cool comfort, we head for marinas……preferably marinas with swimming pools attached. St. Augustine provided an interesting one night stop. Long ago it was our frequent weekend destination when we were young and living in Fernandina Beach. We remembered bicycling through deserted streets one Christmas day when we woke to discover our early morning flights to visit family up north had been cancelled. Next day after St. Augustine we discovered a little gem of a hotel built in the 1880’s. Located in New Smyrna Beach, it met all our requirements – shore power for the boat and its AC unit, a pool, and 5 short blocks from the beach. The Riverview Hotel and Marina could accommodate one boat (us). It is a beautiful pink hotel with white trim, 3 stories, and a big wrap around front porch with rocking chairs. All this peeking out from under a huge ancient live oak tree. Hidden in back a walled subtropical garden was our main reason for stopping here………the pool. We giggled as we swam in this secret place that few seemed to know existed. The beach was a short 5 blocks away with shops lining both sides of the street. The shops were mostly tourist traps – tee shirt shops, shell shops, a couple of beach funky bars selling cheap domestic’s – 5 for $10. And yes, count’em – 3 ice cream shops! We’ve also spent nights in the Melbourne area, meeting friends for dinner out, and in north Ft. Pierce. Last night we anchored at Jensen Beach and waited for the approaching cold front to wash over us. This morning we woke to temps in the 70’s. Glorious. A break from the record setting heat. Somehow I can just feel the sympathy from those of you who are experiencing frost or even snow right now. We are going to stay at anchor here for a day or two and take advantage of the cooler weather to do some much needed cosmetic maintenance. First on the list is to clean the “mustache” from the hull. Most of the ICW waterway from Norfolk to Ft. Pierce contains some level of tea colored water which leaves a stain along the water line. Now that we are back in clear water again it’s time to get out the cleaning tools. We should be in the Miami area in 3-4 days and the Keys by next weekend. Then we turn the corner and start north toward home. Our internet service is not the greatest or fastest here in Jensen Beach so I’m not going to try to download any photos today. I did update the MAP so you can see where we are and where we’ve been lately.

Jacksonville

We spent the past week at a beautiful marina on the Ortega River and visited Mark, Christi and grandson Owen. A nice break from the boat and a chance to catch up on some boat maintenance (oil change, fuel filter change, etc). Now it's on to St. Augustine, Daytona and points south. The map traces our progress since leaving NC.

Photo 1 - Diane and Owen fishing on Sea Breeze

Photo 2 - Mark, Christi & Owen out day sailing on the St. Johns River

Beaufort, SC to Jacksonville, FL

After leaving Beaufort, SC we spent 3 lovely nights at anchorages in the New River (behind Hilton Head Is.), Rosebird Cr. (south of Savannah), and the North River before spending a suprisingly great night at Brunswick, GA's town marina. We found an absolutely wonderful restaurant called the 4th of May Cafe - I had tomato pie, butter beans and pot roast with melt-in-your-mouth Vidallia Onions. I haven't had butter beans since the 70's. A good cook can make them taste wonderful, a bad cook can make them taste like glue. This was a very good cook. Tomato Pie is cooked chopped fresh tomatos and onions with Parmesan Cheese baked with a topping of bread crumbs. Oh man, the tomatos were grown in heaven. Diane's fresh caught grouper was melt in your mouth great. This is quite a change from my emails from Georgia last year. In 2008 I was talking about the great salt marshes with isolated anchorages and now I'm talking about Tomato Pie. After leaving Brunswick we spent two nights at anchor off Cumberland Island GA. This is my favorite place without question. Again we were the only two people on the 20 mile beach. Diane found her usual treasures - shells and starfish. No sharks teeth or sand dollars this time. We did see a ghost crab (photo) and lots of holes where they hide during the day. I don't think we have ever seen a live one before this. Lots of gulls and plovers on the beach. Shrimp boats offshore. Robin egg blue sky. Sounds of surf breaking on the beach. We continue to meet such interesting people along our way. This week we have met two boats from California. One of them captained by a guy who brought his trawler alone from the Panama Canal to Cumberland Island. His wife left him in Panama after making the trip from California to the PC. That's a whole lot of miles alone at sea, day and night on autopilot. A very lucky guy - not because is wife left him, but because he didn't hit anything in the dark. We also met a couple - he from Australia, she from China with a 3 year old daughter who were visiting the US by yacht. Nice yacht - 50+' with every toy you could imagine. Need to take a nap, no problem, set the autopilot and radar ship proximity alarm and get some zzzzzzz's. Now we are in Jacksonville, FL at a very nice condo/marina that was once a very nice boat yard. Gone is the travel lift, engine shop, paint shop. Now it's the 5 story condo with swimming pool. Much nicer to swim in the pool but I miss the boat yard atmosphere sometimes. I walked the docks tonight and found about 1/3 of the boats here hail from ports north of New York. Not a bad life - winter here in FL on the boat and spend summer at home in New England. We will spend the next few days here in the Ortega River doing boat maintenance, playing car shuffle, and spoiling our grandson while enjoying the hospitality of Mark & Christi and visiting BJ my fraternity brother from (Gawd forbid) the 60's. Here's the map of our latest travels.

Photos

1 - Grayfield Inn Cumberland Island

2 - Ghost Crab Cumberland Island

3 - Sailing under a rainbow - really

4 - Our tax dollars at work - nucular sub at Kings Bay GA

5 - North shore of Cumberland Island view from Jekyll Inlet

Georgetown, SC - Charleston, SC - Beaufort, SC

After leaving Georgetown, we travelled down the ICW surrounded by marsh grass (cordgrass I'm told is the correct name) to find a bridge stuck in the closed position just north of Charleston. So we could not go to the Charleston marina where we planned to meet our family for the weekend. Bummer. Plan B quickly surfaced and we found a nice marina in suburban Charleston on our side of the broken bridge where we could stay Friday through Sunday morning. We spent the weekend visiting "the kids"; to us that means Dana & Steve; Mark, Christi and Owen. Photo above. They had to drive a little further to our "new" marina, but it was closer to the beach so some benefits could be claimed. Steve found great restaurants. After 2 days of eating at places he recommended for lunch, dinner & breakfast, Diane and I had celery and crackers for dinner Sunday night. We still have distended stomachs. To much good food but a good job by Steve as tour guide. After leaving Isle of Palms we crossed Charleston Harbor in a strong easterly against an ebb tide that threw up a sea of white caps sparkling in the afternoon sun. After an exciting transit of Elliot Cut where we only made 2.0 knots headway against a 3.5 knot current Diane found a great anchorage for the night. The past 2 days have been a motoring trip through creeks, rivers and land cuts as we proceed southward. Since leaving Charleston, we have travelled up the Stono River, through a land cut then down the North River, up the Dawho River, through North Creek and the Watts Cut into the South Edisto River upstream to the Fenwick Cut into the Ashepoo River upstream then through the Ashepoo-Coosaw Cut into the Coosaw River upstream to Brickyard Creek downstream into the Beaufort River to..........where else....Beaufort. Actually Port Royal Marina just next door to Beaufort. Each of these creeks, rivers and cuts has a scenic personality of its own; much like the personality and techniques of commercial fishermen we see along the way. Some fish for crab with trot lines, others with wire baskets (crab pots) on lines with floats to mark their location. Some shrimp boats are 80' long vessels with large crews fishing the rivers as they go ocean bound, others are converted 18' runabouts with crews of one that fish the creeks and sloughs. We saw two bald eagles yesterday. Last night we were anchored in one of the most beautiful spots of our whole trip. Photo above. Can you just imagine sitting in one of those two white lawn chairs overlooking the marsh, live oak trees, water and sunset? We saw our first live oak trees with spanish moss just below Charleston. Gone are the tall pines and cypress for now. Tonight in Beaufort we borrowed a marina pick up truck and ran to the grocery store to restock with fresh veggies for the next few days. It feels like we are close to home even though we still have over 700 miles to go. The trip home is rushing by too fast. We plan to slow down once we get to FL. We've kind of rushed the trip home so far due to concern about being caught on the coast with a tropical depression or hurricane approaching. Our new most favorite phrase is from the NOAA weather reports and National Hurricane Center saying "tropical storm development is not likely in the next 48 hours". We have been very lucky so far this summer and hope we continue the same good fortune for the remaining few weeks of hurricane season. We hope to be in Jacksonville in about a week. Then it's time for car shuffle, errands, boat maintenance and a chance to spend some time with Mark, Christi & Owen....maybe even catch a football game on TV and visit with their friends (that we consider our friends too). Isn't it nice to be friends with you childrens' friends? Then, after we've caught our breath, it will be off toward Miami, the Keys and up the Gulf coast. The map link shows our progress since leaving the Outer Banks of NC.

Spooners Cr. to Georgetown, SC

This section of the ICW is the most varied. We passed through part of Camp LaJune and waited for the marines to stop shooting at targets along the waterway. From the condition of the targets we say, our guys need more practice. At Myrtle Beach we stayed in a very nice resort marina that had on site restaurants and a shuttle to the beach so Diane could collect more shark's teeth and shells. The past two nights have been spent at anchor in secluded creeks along the Waccamaw River. If you look at the map you will notice some of the creeks we explored on the 14th and 15th. In the evenings the only sounds came from birds and other wildlife. Not a human sound. At night we sat on deck trying to identify stars and planets. We have seen lots of birds along this section of the ICW; another eagle (either immature bald or golden, not sure which), gators, turtles plus the usual pelicans and gulls. Also a flock of wood storks. Three of the four photos are of the shoreline at our Waccamaw anchorages. In the forth, Diane is scouting for birds and alligators.

Washington, NC to Spooners Creek, NC

After a 2 month break, Diane and I are back on Sea Breeze this time headed for home. NC served up another wonderful little back water town this week. Oriental is a town we almost bypassed last year. We did spend a couple of days at a marina near town last July but only to avoid a tropical depression off the NC coast. You might remember this was the marina where a total stranger loaned us her car so we could grocery shop. Last week we docked in the town, right downtown.....in the middle of all 4 blocks of downtown. We visited a little art shop and talked with a lady that was co-owner of the shop. After a few minutes we noticed she looked familiar. Yep, it was the lady that loaned us her car last year. We sat on her shop porch overlooking the harbor and chatted it up about where we had been since we last saw her. She and her husband plan to sail to South America this winter and promised to stop somewhere on the FL east coast so we can meet again. She and her husband were so kind to us last year and again this year. This little town only has about 800 residents and is a mix of northern retirees, artsy types, yachties and commercial fishermen. It makes for a lively little town. Across the street from the town dock is a little coffee shop. Old geezers sit on the second story porch and critique the boat handling abilities of each boat that docks at the marina or town dock. Our friend said some days they hold up score signs like the olympic judges as each boat comes to rest. They didn't do this the days we were there but I know we would have rated a 10. We looked very smooth under their watchful eye. Eventually they all come by the cruising boats to check us out and find out where we've been and were we are going. They all want to tell us their story of how they got to Oriental. We met no strangers. I promised to not give weather reports when I update this blog, so no details....but the sailing has been spectacular. Strong northerly winds, lots of clouds, some rain and mild temps. Today (8th) marked a change of character in our crusing environment. I mentioned this last year. As we exited Adams Creek near Beaufort, NC we left the wide open sounds and rivers of the waterways protected by the Outer Banks. Looking back north into the mouth of the Neuse River, there is nothing but water for the 80+ miles back to Hatteras and Manteo on the Outer Banks. Open water wider than the offshore run from Miami to Bimini or Key West to Cuba. With all this open water we have been able to choose our daily destination based on best wind conditions. You can see this by the zig zag track we have taken since entering this area from Norfolk back in June. Today we entered the ditch as the ICW is often called. For the next 1000 miles we will be in a waterway made up of canals, creeks, winding rivers and sounds or inlets. You will see this as you check my maps. So off we go. Sea Breeze has a new coat of varnish, fresh bottom paint and clean hull. All shined up and ready to go. We are keeping a close ear on the weather reports and will find safe harbor if a tropical storm threatens to cross our path. A note on crab-woman. Lately we have found ourselves surrounded by shrimp. At our last anchorage they jumped and splashed all around us. Shrimp boats are everywhere. A shrimp net may be on our shopping list soon. Can't you just see live shrimp jumping all over the deck if Diane actually caught something?

Photo 1 - shrimp boats at town dock in Oriental at night

Photo 2 - Sea Breeze at town dock in Oriental

A long weekend with Mark

I was lucky enough to get my son Mark to spend 4 days with me on Sea Breeze while in the Pamlico River. We travelled much of the same territory as Diane & I did with Dana a year ago. Although the anchorage locations on the map don't look like we went very far, we actually covered about 120 nautical miles in 3 1/2 days of sailing. Wind conditions were perfect - 10 to 20 knots from the south which gave us calm seas in the east-west running river. We returned to my favorite spot, Bath, NC for lunch and ice cream and got knocked flat by a thunderstorm. Not much lightning but plenty of wind and rain. We all needed a shower anyway; especially Sea Breeze.

Outer Banks lighthouses

Sometimes good things result from a little adversity or inconvenience. By coming to the marina at Washington a couple of days early to clean up the rain water mess, we stumbled into a Friday night street fair with some very good local bands. One Friday each month, downtown Washington sponsors bands that are positioned on the sidewalk one per block over the 6 or 7 block downtown Main Street. Some of these bands were a little below average in ability, but two groups were very good. One was a group of perhaps 7 to 12 (it depended on who was around at the time) featured traditional NC hill country music. Along with the usual guitar and banjo were dulcimer and mandolin. Plus spoons. In the next block was a 5 man band that tonight was just a trio (two couldn't make the trip) that played R & B. The lead singer was well into his 70's and had all the energy and showmanship of Mick Jagger. Lead guitar guy was easily 60's. The youngster of the group looked 40-ish. Their energy drew a nonstop crowd. We also got to spend a day on the Outer Banks, driving from Kill Devil Hills to Hatteras and spending some time walking the beaches.

Photos:

Hatteras Lighthouse (2)

Bodie Lighthouse

Wright Bros. first flight memorial

Norfolk, VA to Washington, NC

The MAP link shows our progress during the past week. As you can see, we are not meandering back and forth across the Chesapeake anymore. Our progress is now more or less south. If you zoom in on the map you can see we have had a combination of canals, rivers and open sounds to travel lately. We have had some marvelous sailing days. The specials ones were from the North River to Manteo, then Manteo to the Alligator River anchorage and a wild downwind sail from Pungo Creek to Bath on the Pamlico River in strong wind on our stern and steep waves rolling up behind us who's crests we often looked at from eye level. These 3 days were bracketed by a day under power in a river/canal from Norfolk to Coinjock and another day under power from the bottom of the Alligator River to Pungo Creek. This last day was about 5 hours in a steady drizzle. We saw a bald eagle, but were too slow on the trigger to get a photo, so we are sending a photo of a crane instead. Bad joke, but it was that kind of day. Very dreary; one of those days that make you want to stretch out on the couch with a good book and fire in the fireplace. Yesterday, after the downwind ride from Pungo Creek we spent a relaxing evening at the little town of Bath. We stayed here last year and it was worth a repeat visit. Main Street is 2 blocks long and you can walk down the middle of the street at any time of day and the only risk you run to being injured would be if you tripped over the sleeping dog. We saw the same dog in the same spot when we were here 11 months ago. Today was a bit of a bummer. It started great with a walk down Main Street, a relaxing read in the cockpit and lunch at the little sandwich shop a block from the dock. Like an idiot, I did not close the deck hatches when we left the boat and while waiting on lunch the sky opened up and it poured. Not only did everything get soaked, the cabin sole actually had standing water; about 1/4 inch in some spots. We hustled up and motored to McCotter's Marina in Washington. Fortunately we had a car waiting for us there. So we checked into a hotel and spent the afternoon and evening washing everything made of cloth from the boat - cushion covers, bed linens, the towels we used to mop up the mess...plus our normal weeks worth of dirty laundry. Fortunately we had a small window AC unit in the trunk of the car, so we put that in the main hatch hoping it will dehumidify the boat interior and the foam cushions. No smiling faces this afternoon. What a mess. I can't imagine how we would have dried out the boat if we had been at anchor or someplace far away from a hotel, car and laundry. Tomorrow we try to put everything back together and make sure we get everything dry inside. We have worked very hard to keep mildew out of the boat so this little incident will create a challenge for us. We plan to spend about a week here doing some maintenance and sight seeing. We plan a day trip by car to the Outer Banks. We've never visited there and seeing the huge sand dunes from our slip in Manteo got our interest. In September, we plan to take the boat to town of Ocracoke on the banks for a couple of days, so we will get to see the northern banks by car and the southern banks by boat. This will probably be my last post until we return to the boat in late August. We will restock the boat and continue south after our visit to Ocracoke. Oh, before I forget, Maneto is on Roanoke Island near the site of the first English settlement. Remember the "Lost Colony" from American History class? Manteo is very remote but well worth the visit.

Photos:

1. The crane. Sorry we missed the eagle.

2. The captain planning the next day's itenerary.

More in August. Thanks for reading my blog.

Diane scores some crabs

At our anchorage at Ft. Monroe near Norfolk, the battle between the iron clads Monitor and Virginia occured. It took a week for the news to travel from Norfolk to Charleston; a distance of 500 miles. Today, at anchor at near the mouth of North River at the interection with Albemarle Sound, (60 miles south of Norfolk) Diane caught 10 crabs which made a tasty dinner. Within 30 seconds of the catch of crab number 10, our son 600 miles away and daughter 400 miles away knew about the catch via text message....and send a congratulatory reply.

Photo 1 - some uninvited guests for dinner

Photo 2 - what else, 10 crabs waiting to be put in the pot

Goodbye Chesapeake Bay

Well, it's goodbye to the bay. Tonight we are anchored in Hampton Roads near Norfolk. Two months is not enough time to spend here. In looking at the chart of places we visited last fall and this spring, it's clear we only touched the edges of the bay. Sounds like a reason to come back, but probably in another boat so we can take advantage of lower bridge clearances and faster speed. There are so many places to visit and explore. I think it would take a couple of years to see it all. We bypassed so many places. It was hard to choose, but we had to make choices and are satisfied with the ones we made. I hope to return some day to visit the upper reaches of the Potomac, Rappahannock, Pocomoke, Nanticoke, Wicomoco, James....the list of rivers and creeks seems endless.

Today as we entered Hampton Roads we saw an aircraft carrier leaving port and a guided missle cruiser arriving followed by 3 inbound commercial ocean going container ships. A busy place after spending so much time recently in the company of only a few cruising boats or no one at all. The navy vessels reminded me of the battle of the Monitor and Virginia during the Civil War. First battle between two "iron clad" ships. The battle happened about a mile from our anchorage.

Today's departure from the Chesapeake was nothing like our arrival last fall. Today started with zero wind and a smooth as glass York River. A sport fishermen headed north on the glass threw a wake that in the morning sunlight looked like a silver ribbon fluttering from his stern. We did catch a light southerly that allowed us to sail for an hour or so before cranking up the "iron jib" to take us to our anchorage.

I know I've sent several pictures in the past month or so. Here are a few of my favorites not yet posted.

The First Mate (she lets me think I'm the Captain)

The USS Constellation (which I identified in error as the Constitution earlier)

A 'crabber' working his trout line off our stern near Oxford, MD

A neighbor in a snug anchorage on Dividing Creek off the Wye River.

The MAP shows where we have been the last few days (not far). Next stop Manteo on Roanoke Island home of the "Lost Colony" and a grocery store.

Williamsburg

We took a break from the boat today and visited the reconstruction of the colonial village of Williamsburg. As you history fans know, Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia prior to the move to Richmond. As home to the Virginia colony government during pre-revolutionary war days, it saw many historical events and personalities that played a role in the formation of the United States. I visited here as a kid probably about 50 years ago (no kidding, 50 years!). Amazingly I remembered a few things from that visit.

The photos are:

The capital building where the king's representatives and colonial representatives met.

The maze; a hedge of about 7' tall that can entertain kids (and some adults) for a very long time.

The front of the governor's mansion. Governor appointed by the king.

The back door to the mansion.

Tomorrow it's off again for a sail south; our last day on the Chesapeake. We should be in Norfolk tomorrow night (Wed). Then through the Great Bridge lock and Virginia Cut canal to Albemarle Sound North Carolina. AND...crab cakes and home made potato chips at Coinjock, NC. So special we decided they are worth a second visit. I'll post a map and some Chesapeake photos in a couple of days.

Solomons, MD to Deltaville, VA

We left Spring Cove on the afternoon of May 30^th.  In some respects it felt like leaving home.  We enjoyed the hospitality and friendliness of the marina staff and the friends we made.  We will miss them.  A couple of days ago we visited the site of the first English settlement in what was to become Maryland.  The town of St. Mary’s is now an 800 acre outdoor museum with recreations of many of the buildings on their original sites.  There is also a recreation of one of the ships the 140 settlers travelled in from England. The town is sited on a high bluff overlooking the St. Mary’s River and is without doubt one of the most spectacular views of any anchorage we have visited.  The bluff is also the location of a church, cemetery and small college (St. Mary’s College; what else).  All this is located in St. Mary’s County.  One of the most unforgettable parts of the museum is the St. John’s Site Archaeology Museum.  It is a completely enclosed and air conditioned building covering a 1700’s house under excavation.  It is truly a fascinating and informative display.  I can’t think of a better anchorage than St. Mary’s, but I also can’t think of any “bad” anchorages we have had.  The really good ones are always the quiet ones with only a few farm houses or no houses at all.  Just trees and maybe a cultivated field.  Lots of birds.  Some anchorages, like Annapolis, are entertaining because there is so much going on.   Tonight we are in Deltaville, VA at anchor in Jackson Creek.  We took a dinghy ride to the town dock so we could find someone to check Diane’s blood pressure.  She is just fine, but we were concerned about her being a little light headed the other day.  Turns out, it was dehydration.  The local volunteer emergency response station was only a mile walk, so that’s where we went.  I was concerned about not being locals and taking up valuable time for a non emergency.  Well, the 4 people manning the station were so professional and so inquisitive about us, that I think we could have stayed there all afternoon and provided for their entertainment.  We were able to escape after about 45 minutes.  Not one call came into the station while we were there.  They must have been so bored.  According to one of our guide books, Deltaville has 800 residents and probably 4 times as many boats.  There are 20 marinas listed in the guide.  Diane had no luck crabbing while in Maryland.  One day after a couple of hours of unsuccessful crabbing we went for a dinghy ride and noticed this nice fat crab hanging on to our rudder.  I guess all the crabs were hiding under the boat that day.  Well, better luck in Virginia.  Tomorrow we are heading south toward Yorktown.  We will play “car shuffle” and also visit Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown the site of the first English settlement in Virginia.  Check the MAP for our travels this week.

Photo 1 - One of the 2 ships that brought the first settlers from England to St. Mary's. 

Photo 2 - Sunset at St. Mary's (just after we had been hit with the nastiest thunderstorm we've experienced on our trip)

Map of last week's travels

Since my post of last night, not much new to report.  We are at Spring Cove Marina tonight.  This afternoon we did our chores - laundry, grocery shopping, etc.  Tomorrow it's off to the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake in search of crab dinners.  With luck we will  get to visit some historic sights on the Virginia western shore.  Click on the MAP to see where we have been lately.

Back at Solomons

We are anchored in Mill Creek near Solomons, MD tonight.  Tomorrow we will spend the day back at Spring Cove Marina where our car has been faithfully waiting our return.  It's now time to restock the boat and admit we are turning the corner and starting to bring Sea Breeze home.  Although from this point forward we are retracing our track toward home, we plan to visit new places; places we bypassed on our way north last summer.  Hopefully it will still feel like a new adventure, but it is sad in a way to be retracing our steps.  I'm sure exciting new challanges will face us each day.... Today for example.  We crossed the Chesapeake from Broad Creek to Solomons.  It's a 30 mile (more or less) trip across the bay on a course running from roughly NE to SW.  It was a windless day, so we made the trip under power.  Leaving at about 8:30 AM we encountered light fog with visability of about 1 mile.  Two hours later the visibility had reduced to 0.2 mile.  We know this because we used the range feature on our GPS to mark the distance to bouys that would appear out of the fog.  In the shipping lanes, freighters travel at about 20 knots.  We figured, it we encountered a freighter we would have less than 1 minute to take evasive action after seeing one come out of the fog.  Spooky feeling.  We did encounter a southbound sailboat emerging from the fog on a course parallel to ours.  By the time we saw him he was perhaps 500 yards away to port.  We decided to travel together assuming we would make a bigger target on any ship's radar if we were together vs being alone.  We were fortunate to not encounter any shipping.  Our anchorage tonight is quiet and well protected.  There are modest homes along the bluffs of both sides of the creek.  We have anchored in many places with no homes on the shoreline.  These are the anchorages I love.  In the evening we only hear the sound of the birds and the lapping of the wavelets on the side of the hull.  At night there is no sound at all when the wind is calm.  It is so peaceful to lay in our bunk and hear nothing but the sound of our own breathing.  Now, "you know who" would say the sound of me snoring.  Crabbing has been a bust so far.  The rivers we have travelled so far this spring have been mostly fresh to lightly brackish; not healthy for crabs.  As we travel south, the crabbing opportunities will improve as the water gets more salty so expect stories and photos in the near future about the exploits of crab-woman.  My internet connection is running a little slow tonight so I will post some photos and a map tomorrow when we get a little closer to civilization.

More photos

We left Baltimore on Saturday afternoon.  I’ll add a blog post with map of our route when we get settled in at Solomons this coming weekend.  Last year I promised to not send weather reports, so suffice it to say the cruising this week has been under eclectic weather conditions.  Everything from sunny 70’s with perfect winds to cold damp fog to strong gusty wind with rain.  We have taken advantage of the good days and stayed cuddled in our snug cabin on the yucky days.  It’s all good.  We are beginning to feel the need to start south.  We have decided to leave the boat somewhere in NC for a couple of months (July & August) since it gets way too hot to be living on the boat without AC.  We will return to her in September and continue south.  Right now we are thinking we will leave her somewhere in the sounds of North Carolina; Washington perhaps.   I want to send some more photos of our visit to Baltimore.  Attached are photos of:

A buy boat.  These guys were the middlemen between the fishermen and the fish houses.  It was time consuming for the fishermen to bring their catch back to a dock to sell it then return to the fishing grounds.  Thus created an opportunity for the buy boat captain to earn a living and provide a service.  The buy boat would meet the fishermen on the fishing grounds, buy his catch and allow him to keep on fishing.  The buy boat took the catch of several fishermen to market.  A Chesapeake Schooner.  These were the commercial freight haulers in the days before steam.  They carried manufactured goods to the plantations and took agricultural products to the towns and sea ports before roads were established.  A Skipjack.  These boats are still in use today.  They are used to dredge oysters from the bay.   They are sail only; no engine.  The other photo is of an egg.  Description is also in a photo.  This sucker is about the size of an orange.  This was taken at a wonderful museum called the Walters Art Museum.  It was once the private collection of a Maryland millionaire.  The museum includes oil paintings from several European countries from the 1500’s to 1800’s and some American paintings from the 1800’s.  Also some artifacts – sculpture, glassware, jewelry.  A bunch of stuff.  

Spring time on the Chesapeake

The picture says it all.

Annapolis to Baltimore

We left Annapolis under clear skies 10 days ago.  We've only travelled about 100 miles since then but the trip has been enjoyable and oh so relaxing.  Day one started with clear skies, but fog decended on us before we arrived at the bay bridge.  The photo will explain what it was like.  It was very strange to see fog decend to water level.  The bridge gradually disappeared from the top down.  At it's worst I think our visibility at times was less then 1/4 mile.  We spent 3 days in the Corsica River (a tributary of the Chester River).  Beautiful setting.  The photo of the farm house is typical of the shoreline on the Chester and Corsica.  Most shoreline is trees with gaps that show the occasional house or cultivated field.  We saw deer on the shoreline and heard turkeys occasionally.  Geese and ducks were always around along with ospreys.  We continued up the Chester River to Chestertown after the rain stopped.  We met a cruising couple from Ottawa, Ontario at the Chestertown Marina.  More about them later.  Chestertown is a faithfully restored town that dates from the 1700's.  We met my aunt Doris and cousin Susan for an afternoon walk through town and a "float" on the river.  No wind, so I can't say we really sailed.  That evening, after saying goodby to Doris and Susan, we anchored next to the Canadian couple's Bristol 38 Sea Skimmer just south of the marina.  Cocktails and story telling in the cockpit. In the morning they found themselves aground so we formed the Parish Towing and Salvage Company.  It only took a few minutes to pull them off the shoal so we motored in tandem down the river to the Corsica.  The 20th was a fantastic sailing day.  We sailed from the Chester River across the bay and up the Patapsco River to Rock Creek with a 12 knot southerly on our beam.  Best day yet.  

I'm attaching a MAP so you can see where we've been the past few days.  Also some photos.