Cape May to Atlantic City (and July 4th in Canfield) June 25th to July 5th, 2013

After a bit of indecision between Tour de Loop and us whether to head out into the Atlantic Ocean or not, we concluded the seas would be sufficiently favorable for the trip to Atlantic City, NJ.  A side bar—Hurricane Sandy did such devastation last year that the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway is still littered with cars, boats, parts of houses and various other sorts of debris making passage on the “inside” route still questionable.  Other “Loopers” have made the trip but not without incident.  Additionally, the sediment deposited by the storm has made very shallow routes that are impassible during anything but high tide, thus our decision to make our way north via the Ocean route.

Gardner's Basin, the Boardwalk and view of the Golden Nugget from our boat

An early morning departure took us out the Cape May inlet at 6:55 AM and our first experience with off shore passage.  The skies were clear, winds were southwest at 5-10 driving 1-2 foot seas mostly on our stern (a comfortable ride).  We set the autopilot to several points along our northeast route and traveled about 2-3 miles offshore for the entire trip.  We passed along many popular seaside resort communities like Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Sea Isle City and Ocean City giving us a much different perspective of beach revelers.  The clear skies made visibility up the coast seem nearly endless so we watched the skyline of the Atlantic City Boardwalk with its many casinos for hours before making our way into that inlet 6 ½ hours later.  We chose to moor Some R Lovin’ at Gardner’s Basin just inside the inlet at the city docks in the shadow of the City Aquarium and dozens of quaint shops and restaurants.  We were early enough to take a pass through a few casinos contributing to the economy of Atlantic City (we lost our shirts—no not really).  After dinner we started planning for our next leg to Manasquan, NJ about 40 miles up the coast.  Unfortunately, the weather turned ugly predicting 4-7 foot seas for the next 4-5 days.  So, our plans changed (a regular event in our boating life) and we decided to leave the boat in Atlantic City, rent a car and head home to Canfield for the 4^th holiday.

Breakfast at Neff and the Canfield Parade

The Reay's, Ruth, Sammy and Joey x 2

Traditions are important so Sandy’s pre-parade breakfast went on as usual except all our friends brought various dishes making it much easier on us to “host” the event.  Appetites sated, we all headed to Canfield’s Green to enjoy another hometown parade complete with bands, fire trucks, politicians, twirlers and the ever-present Shriners.  We left with bags full of candy that our grandkids collected and headed to BBQ #1 in Grove City to meet Dan’s Mother, Brother, Sister and their families.  After eating our fill of burgers and dogs and catching up on recent family news we headed back to Canfield to celebrate with the Thomas side of the family.  More burgers and dogs, but this time with fireworks to continue the 4^th’s celebration.  It seems every Mike, Joe and Chris buy more and bigger ways to make loud noises and illuminate the night sky.  What great fun!!  Sadly, our fun had to come to an end, as we needed to depart early on the 5^th to head back to Atlantic City to continue our trip north.  Just outside AC we re-provisioned, turned in our rental car and prepared for a second day on the ocean.  At the dock we were met by our Looper friends Tony and Shirley, on Headquarters, who had just made it into Atlantic City earlier that day. Our plan now included Headquarters and us on the ocean heading north.  It’s always comforting to travel with another boat when on “big water.”

Baltimore, MD to Cape May NJ June 22-25, 2013

Shane at the helm

Having guests onboard who like boating causes problems of who commands the helm.  We were off the City Dock in Baltimore at 7:55 AM with south winds at 5-10 knots and waves less than 1 foot, a delightful 7-hour run to Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace, one of the two final cities considered for our nation’s capital.  Unfortunately, we had an unfavorable tide so only averaged 5 knots most of the day.  Heather and Shane took turns on the wheel while I navigated the upper Chesapeake.  We took a turn up the Susquehanna River for the 6-mile trip to Havre de Grace, an interesting departure from big water and the Bay.  Something unusual was taking place up river as Heather counted 49 dead fish floating by our boat in only 30 minutes. It’s still a mystery.  Despite this unexplained fishcapade we were anxious to visit the quaint village at the end of the Susquehanna and were not disappointed after arriving.  We walked along the historic section of town and found an excellent hometown restaurant followed by a visit to a local ice cream shop.  We planned to wait for Sandy’s return from Cape May there but decided instead to cruise one more day.  (Sandy and I needed to get closer to Delaware City in order to position ourselves for our Delaware Bay crossing), so off we went to Chesapeake City.

A portion of a container ship on the C&D 

The C&D Canal connects the Chesapeake Bay to the west and Delaware Bay to the east allowing a much shorter passage to Philadelphia and Baltimore for ocean going barge and ship traffic. 

Lunch at Chesapeake City Restaurant

We’ve transited probably hundreds of miles of canals but nothing like the C&D.  With tidal currents that can be several knots and flow both east and west, it’s 450’ wide and 35’ deep to the sides.  It’s wise to plan the 12-mile transit to go with the current.  It took only 3 hours to make the trip across the Chesapeake and into the first three miles of the canal arriving at Chesapeake City Marina and Restaurant during a busy Sunday.  We docked, washed the boat, had a bite to eat and waited for Sandy to meet us.  She made it just in time to grill on the boat and even brought dinner – famous Cape May scallops and shrimp.  What a treat!  We enjoyed live music from the marina-front restaurant for most of the evening and watched the almost continuous boat traffic in and out of the marina of Sunday boaters.  After a restful night we said good-bye to Heather and Shane and made our way east to Delaware City only 10 miles away.

June Super Moon over Chesapeake City

Dockmaster Tim met us at the Delaware City Marina and proved to be one of the most knowledgeable mariners we’ve met along the trip.  At 5:15 PM he offered a weather briefing for those of us planning a Delaware Bay crossing.  The Delaware Bay is a dangerous body of water and can turn ugly in a hurry with no safe havens to duck into.  As it turned out, his predictions were “spot on.”  He suggested leaving Tuesday morning at 5:00 AM to catch the Delaware River outbound tide and assured us favorable winds; tide and current that would allow a safe and comfortable trip into Cape May.  For the first 3 ½ hours our speed never dropped below 10 knots.  Considering we cruise at 6 to 6 ½ knots, 12 mph was amazing!!!!  

Sunrise on the Delaware River

Tour de Loop challenges a barge

Nuclear Power Plant 8 miles into our trip on the Delaware Bay

The 50 mile trip lasted just about 6 ½  hours and we arrived at  Utsch’s Marina (along with our crossing buddies "Tour de Loop") hoping for fair winds and seas for the first day of our Atlantic crossing along the New Jersey coast on Wednesday.  We enjoyed dinner at the Lucky Bones next to Lobster House in Cape May, where Mark and Natalie held their rehearsal dinner prior to their wedding nearly three years ago.  Memories…

Bill, Kathy (Tour de Loop), Sandy and Dan

Soloman’s Island to Baltimore June 15-22, 2013

Dan, Sandy, Marsha and Allen (and Tiki God)

Our trip north and west from Tangier to Soloman’s Island took 6 1/2 hours but proved to be the best yet as far a Chesapeake cruising – sunny skies and less than one foot seas.  Our navigation in open water has improved and our confidence in the boat’s ability to handle more than we could increased as well.  We were anxious to get to Calvert Marina, a couple miles up the Patuxent River, and reunite with Marsha and Al for a couple days.  We had heard about the world famous Tiki Bar at Solomon's IS. during our stay in Oriental, NC and decided that it would be among our stops while in Soloman’s.  The bar proved to be a cross between a tropical Tiki bar and biker bar. Very interesting!

The famous Tiki Bar

After an enjoyable drink, we found a nice restaurant for another seafood dinner.  We bid Marsha and Al good-bye Sunday afternoon (Father’s Day) and joined our cruising friends Tony and Shirley aboard Headquarters to watch the final round of the Master’s.

Annapolis Harbor

Monday we left early on our way to Annapolis, MD.  The Chesapeake turned slightly bumpy with opposing tide and wind for the first half of our run and the final hour was a little wet as we skirted the edge of a passing thundershower.  Up the Severn River to Spa Creek we found the Annapolis Basin where we picked up mooring ball 17.

On the way, Dan remembered that a former Air Force colleague lived in town and managed to track Chuck and Lou down.  That evening they met us at McGarvey’s Pub for dinner where we spent several hours catching up on our lives.  

Maryland State Capital sunset

We also called Sheila, our Sister-In-Law who lives in Silver Springs, MD.  She came for a visit on Tuesday and again on Wednesday (mostly to bring the collection of Downton Abbey and a couple books for us to read).  She also helped us re-provision and do a little sight seeing while in town (Having friends with a car is particularly helpful).  Annapolis is such an interesting city!

Before Crab Dinner...

After Crab Dinner

At this point in our journey we had expected to be further along than we were and hoped to meet Mark, Natalie and Claire in Cape May, NJ.  We also wanted to be somewhere so Shane and Heather could cruise with us for their few days off.  Connecting those dots proved nearly impossible.  However, our next stop was Baltimore, MD where Shane and Heather were gracious enough to offer Sandy their car to drive to Cape May while the three of us moved the boat closer to Delaware Bay. 

Claire at play in Cape May

Natalie, Sandy, Claire and Mark

While in Baltimore inner harbor we were entertained by live bands all weekend (it was the first day of summer).  Baltimore also reminded us of the amazing history we have been experiencing along our trip.  The USS Constellation was moored a few hundred yards from us and we passed Ft McHenry and the bridge named for the composer of our National Anthem during the inbound and outbound trip on the Patapsco River.

Francis Scott Key Bridge
"Oh say can you see..."

Ft McHenry
"By the dawn's early light..."

USS Constellation

Captain Dan's mates Shane and Heather en route to Havre de Grace

Tangier Island (in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay) June 11-13, 2013

Historical Marker

Our visit to Tangier while not a full week deserves its own post.  Captain John Smith stopped here during his 1608 exploration of the Chesapeake and about 80 years later John Crockett settled the island. The Crockett name still exists on the island along with only 53 other surnames, which occur among the approximately 700+ residents.  Five seniors graduated from the only school on the island in a graduation celebration while we were there (the two girls are going to college while the three boys are taking up their father’s trade – fishing or crabbing more specifically).

When entering the channel, that currently divides the one by three mile island, you will see small white crab shanties where crabs are managed until they molt becoming “soft shelled crabs” at which time they are packaged and taken to the “main land” for distribution far and wide.

Crab shanties under a stormy sky

Sandy learning more about soft-shell crabs

The island boasts several gift shops, a few restaurants (Lorraine’s and Matilda Crockett’s Chesapeake House), a couple ice cream parlors and the charm only a community sheltered from much of the “outside” world could offer.  The Tangier History Museum offers a glimpse into the early days of the island, resident culture and a waterman’s way of life.  We walked the streets and dodged golf carts and motor scooters (the preferred mode of transportation for locals) while enjoying the sights food and endless discussions from Tangiermen who still speak in a form of language thought to be directly associated to the original Elizabethan settlers.

Sandy's gift shop

quaint narrow streets and golf carts ready for an Island tour

While we intended only a single overnight, sufficient to take in most of what Tangier has to offer, once again Mother Nature had a different idea.  We stayed two additional days to wait out one of the most severe thunderstorms and the unsettled Bay that followed we had ever seen.  In fact, a sailboat docked next to us clocked winds in excess of 50 mph at the height of the storm.  Mr. Parks, owner of the marina and long-time crabber told us later that one of his friends clocked a gust nearly 70mph. 

Mother Nature about to unleash her wrath

Needless to say, as the stormed howled, we slept uncomfortably, surging into the dock and awaking a couple times through the night to snug lines and reposition fenders.  Fortunately, we were able to chock the experience up to a lesson of watching the weather without damage to the boat or injury to either of us.

watching the storm roll over our neighbor sailboat

After a pleasant three-day visit we were on our way to Solomon’s Island for a reunion with Marsha and Allen.

Sandy and Mr. Milton Parks (82 yrs young with 60 years as a crabber and owner of the  Parks Marina)

Week 5 -- Deltaville, VA June 5 to 12, 2013

Not the destination vacation spot we expected but for advice on cruising and one of the best boatyards on the lower Chesapeake we couldn’t have found a better place to spend time.

For any cruiser the name Dozier is a familiar one.  Jack Dozier and his wife not only run the Regatta Marina in Deltaville but also are the owners and publishers of the Dozier Waterway Guides, which we use extensively.  

The Dozier's

Sandy and Dan at Dozier's

We arrived on Saturday after an uneventful run from Norfolk. We had called earlier in the morning to ask Jack for assistance with helping us diagnose and repair, if necessary, the leaking dripless shaft seal.  Unfortunately, the first we could have anyone look at the seal was Monday so we decided to make the best of the weekend at Dozier’s.  Sunday came with a hosted breakfast, the proceeds of which go to the Maritime Museum reconstruction fund (the Museum burned last year).  We also used the marina courtesy car to go “to town” to re-provision, washed and tidied up the boat and did laundry. 

Pedro and Dan

We also contacted old and dear friends, Pedro and Syamy who live only about an hour from Deltaville in Gloucester, VA.  They accepted our invitation to visit us on the boat and planned on joining us for lunch on Monday.  Monday was also the day we met Chuck from Deltaville Boatyard who arrived early to assess our problem.  He delivered the bad news advising we’d have to have the boat hauled in order to fix our leak.  Later that morning Pedro and Syamy arrived for a delightful reunion.  Hearing our bad news, Pedro invited us back to Gloucester and gave us his Toyota P/U truck to use for however long we needed it (an exceedingly kind gesture and one that proved invaluable).  

We also ate a late lunch at Bangkok Noi, outstanding Thai food.  Using Pedro’s truck we visited thelocal quant and historic communities of Kilmarnock and Urbanna and the shoppingGloucester for needed visits to Wal-Mart and Home Depot .

Dinner at Bangkok Noi (twice)

Sandy and Syamy

Some R Lovin' in the sling

We were finally hauled out on Wednesday, had the majority of the work completed on Thursday only to learn that Tropical Storm Andrea was headed our way.  In addition to excellent work provided by Deltaville Boatyard, the yard manager, Chuck also invited us to stay “on the hard” to wait out the storm rather than go back into the water in unsafe conditions.  We gladly accepted even though we were tiring of climbing the ladder to the swim platform and on up to the boat.  Confounding our living experience, we had only enough power to run essential systems like the refrigerator and lights and we couldn’t use water onboard as all grey water would have pumped into the yard below (bad form). 

Our home "on the hard"

Making the best of a bad situation, when the weather cleared, we put another coat of paint on the bottom of the boat and waxed her from top to bottom.  Not light work by any stretch but good use of spare time.  We also visited the Maritime Museum and ate in nearly every restaurant available in Deltaville.  

Hurd's has it all -- REALLY

The town boasts a ratio of three boats to every resident so as one would expect, a sizable West Marine was only a short distance away (which we visited daily and didn’t even buy anything on at least two occasions).  Hurds True Value was another frequent stop where their motto is “if we don’t have it, you probably don’t need it. Not your normal True Value whose motto is incredibly accurate.

Owned and operated by friends of Randy and Sue (small world)

Good food, questionable entertainment...

Best grocery store in town (the only grocery store in town)

We met up with Pedro and Syamy a couple more times during our Deltaville stay for dinner and to return the truck.  On Monday Some R Lovin’ went back into the water but we had to wait 24 hours before conducting a sea trial on Tuesday, yet another delay but finally after a successful sea trial, transmission fluid change, shaft alignment and various final checks we were able to get underway early Wednesday enroute to Tangier Island.  We had stayed so long in Deltaville, Sandy had to buy a shirt – it was long enough to be considered a vacation destination J.

Departing Deltaville under the watchful eye of a nesting Osprey
 

Week 4 Oriental, NC to Deltaville, VA May 28 to June 5, 2013

Sunset at Belhaven, NC

A sad day indeed after leaving Heather but we got back into our routine quickly.  We continued along the Nuese River through the Pamlico Sound allowing the autopilot to do most of the steering using waypoints along our route.  The size of the river still amazed us but by midday we rejoined the more typical Intracoastal Waterway north of Pamlico and into the Pungo River.  That night despite howling winds we decided to anchor in an anchorage near Belhaven, NC.  Probably not the brightest decision, as we had to endure SE winds that blew rollers through a long fetch of the Pungo River under our keel well into the night.  After several days of gourmet cooking with Heather, we decided that PB&J sandwiches were about all we could muster.  While our anchor held strong, the evening aboard was not very comfortable and made for a restless night.  By morning the winds had subsided and we were off toward Alligator River Marina to position for crossing the Albemarle Sound.  We were the only boat in the marina until late in the evening so the dock hands and even Miss Wanda, the long-time owner spent time telling us all about the area and issues concerning entry into the Sound and our crossing.

 

A wave before departing Alligator River Marina

We had been anxious about crossing the Albemarle Sound after listening to dozens of hair-raising stories.  Fortunately, morning brought favorable weather with a south wind about 5-10 mph.  The 15-mile open water cruise was completely uneventful.  We had great anticipation for the rest of the day as our route north included the Great Dismal Swamp.  We entered the Pasquotank River into Elizabeth City, NC, where a construction barge had to be moved just to let us pass through the downtown drawbridge.  Quite an effort and we were too concerned negotiating around the barge and bridge to think about grabbing the camera.  Another missed opportunity!

The Pasquotank River was as beautiful as the Waccamaw but even more narrow.  We twisted and turned our way to the first lock that led into the Dismal Swamp Canal.  William Byrd II originally surveyed the area in 1728 that provided its name.  Later George Washington in 1763 founded the Dismal Swamp Co. intended to create a settlement but instead timbered the area from its lush forests.  By 1790 the canal through the Swamp was started and dedicated in 1805.  It played a major role as part of the Underground Railroad and supply line for Confederate troops during the Civil War.  These notes of history are among the many enjoyable things we are learning along our trip north.  Not only can we read about the significant areas of our past but also touch, feel and experience what our ancestors did.  God bless our forefathers (and mothers) who persevered.

The Pasquotank River in the Great Dismal Swamp
(of all the wildlife we could see, a water moccasin was the first)

At the halfway point along the canal we found the Visitor Center (now the Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge) that services both land and waterway travelers. We rafted against the wall with a half dozen other boaters arriving at cocktail time to toast another successful day on the water.  Cheers!!!!

Rafted to the wall of the Visitor Center

A peaceful morning on the canal entering the 5th state of our journey north

Sandy manning the bow line in Dismal Swamp Lock
Note the happy face, this is lock #2

A little diversion… Sandy and I find that we tend to have a few anxious disagreements twice a day, getting off the dock or anchorage and once again docking or anchoring.  Fortunately, both these tense moments only add up to about a half hour a day and we consider ourselves fortunate to continue our loving relationship the other 23 ½ hours.  Heading into the first lock at the Dismal Swamp added a third half hour that day as Sandy nearly decompensated as we prepared to “lock through” for the first time by ourselves.  We didn’t hurt ourselves or break anything so the experience proved useful.  Needless to say, the second lock was a cinch—what a trooper she is.

Lock Master's hut, various "swamp" pics and a sign post at Deep Creek Lock

                                      

Day two of the Swamp concluded with our entry into one of the largest marine industrial areas along the Eastern United States – Norfolk, VA.  The contrast between the Swamp and Naval Warships, Cruise liners and ocean going barges is nearly unimaginable.  We dodged tugs and ships as we made our way to Statute Mile Zero of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  Our departure from Vero Beach, FL occurred at SM 948.5.  Adding mileage from the trip where we purchased Some R Lovin’ in Dunedin, FL (near Tampa) we have logged a total of 1,271 miles on the water getting to Norfolk.  Not bad for a couple of novice sailors from Canfield, OH. We enjoyed a walk to town in Norfolk but most of our time was spent in Lens Crafters.  Sandy broke her glasses during our trip through the Dismal Swamp beyond repair.  Can’t have a navigator who can’t read a chart onboard so new glasses were absolutely necessary.  Only took 5 hours, ugh! 

Ships, barges and a peaceful sunset at Waterside Marina, Norfolk,  VA                                                                                    

Our View from Some R Lovin' of
Waterside Marina, Norfolk, VA and Norfolk Naval Shipyard

New specs firmly affixed, we headed out of Norfolk bright and early away from this incredibly large and busy port into the new cruising ground of the Chesapeake Bay.  On our way out of the channel we encountered Warship 55 heading from the ocean back to homeport.  Not the typical cruising boat we have grown accustomed to seeing and certainly not something we wanted to be too close to.  A simple call on the VHF alerted the Captain to our intentions of staying clear.  A starboard to starboard pass crossing over the Norfolk tunnel and we were headed to a series of light houses marking our way north in the Chesapeake.  Only this time our channel markers were VERY far apart again requiring us to depend on waypoints and autopilot to keep us on course.  On the way to Deltaville, Dan discovered a small leak from the shaft seal that would eventually lead to days “on the hard” allowing for repairs.

Warship 71 under repair and Warship 55 entering my channel

Haul out in Deltaville Boatyard, VA