Annapolis to Home 2021

     As mentioned in my last posting, we pushed on our last day to get to Annapolis and had about 4hrs of uncomfortable seas (out of 12hrs). The next day, our first at Annapolis, was fairly breezy and the wind was from a poor direction. Had we not pushed the day before we would have had 7hrs or so of rough conditions not the 4hrs we actually had. An okay trade-off, I guess. We picked up a city mooring in Back Creek, Eastport, a part of Annapolis, and then got fuel our first day there. Each day we were visited (harrassed) by geese. They climbed all over the boat, leaving 'presents' and making noise. They also decided our dinghy was a good spot to lay an egg. No, it's not.

      

     The person who measured us for a new sailcover last fall came out again to measure for corrections. We were unhappy with the results and the company promised to make it right. Re-make it right. We won't get the new cover until after we are home. 

     We made some minor repairs, changed engine fluids and got some shopping, restocking and dining out done. The weather was nice, cold, windy, nice, cold, warm, sunny, cloudy, warm, windy, and cold. Springtime. 

     We stayed a bit more than a week hoping to time the weather and winds the rest of the way up the east coast and to maybe get warmer weather. Maybe not. 

     When we left Annapolis on a Saturday it was not quite as freezing as last year. Cold, very cold, but not freezing. The wind was fairly light out of the west and later faded to near zero. Minor ripples on the Bay. It became a nice day so, even though the current was not in our favor, we decided the planned short passage to Worton Creek could be extended to Chesapeake City on the C&D Canal. There is a free dock there but on the weekends local powerboaters tie up there for an afternoon. Sure enough, one tied up in the middle of a space for two just as we arrived. And only stayed an hour. This meant we had to anchor and our trouble with our windlass continues. We could have gone to the dock when the daytrippers left but we were concerned with low water when we would want leave on Tuesday. This looked like the day when wind direction and direction of the current would combine to make the best possible passage down the Delaware Bay/River. This meant a 3 night stay and only 24hrs is allowed at the dock. It's nice to walk around on land but we are used to staying on the boat without touching land for many days in a row. There are no re-stocking options in Chesapeake City so nothing was missed by not going ashore. Okay, there is a nice ice cream shop. 

     We could have made it an only two night stay by going to Worton Creek previously but we took advantage of the benign conditions to get more miles under our keels. We are always making choices like this based on weather forecasts and other variables. Sometimes the guesses work. Sometimes........

     After 3 nights at anchor we headed out early. Very early. We often leave in the dark because the C&D Canal is well lit but because we're here much later in the Spring than in past years we had plenty of predawn light. Of course it took 40 minutes to raise the anchor due to the failed windlass. I got the method down pat using a halyard winch to help but it is slow. The current in the canal was in our favor so it we were quick but once in the Delaware River we were slowed down for the middle part of the passage. We had 1-2 ft. of chop for a while but it wasn't all that bad overall. The current improved a little in our favor and then the passage around Cape May was okay. Not great. Not as awful as past trips through the area. Just okay. We took the near-shore route very close to the beach which shortened our passage around the Cape.  

     We then continued up the east coast of New Jersey. Seas started out as 1-2 ft. on our stern quarter so it was a little rolly but not uncomfortable. After sunset the wind and waves eased to near calm but there was an occasional large swell. No problem. Going through New York City was very quick as we had great current (up to 13kts SOG) and we went all the way to Port Jefferson, L.I.  where we borrowed one of the few moorings that were in. 33+hrs from start to finish makes for a long day. Not a bad day. Just long. Getting old. Sigh. 

     Our last day on the road was rainy but calm. It was the first passage this cycle that had rain. We generally stay put in adverse conditions but this was not adverse, just wet. We completed our cruise in the rain because the next day was forecast to be gale conditions. Not good. That we avoid at all (or nearly all) cost. 

   

 So we are back in Old Lyme. We're at a dock as our mooring is not in yet. We'll move to it within a week or so. Now it's time for Carol's second vaccine injection, a trip to Long Island to get our car and see Cobbe. Oh, and our daughter and her husband, too. We will also start our usual round of medical visits. Routine. Well, we hope they will be routine. One never know do one? 

     Everyone, enjoy the summer! Come see me at Mystic Seaport Museum where I'll be a docent again, usually on the weekends. 

Miami to Annapolis

We finally left Miami after 5 nights and a medical visit. Saturday, our last day and night there, was amazing. And not in a good way. PWC and powerboat wakes constantly roiling the water with no concern for other boats. Floridiots. We did go for another walk but not to the park as on previous days. We crossed the island to the beach (south) side and walked a couple of miles. Very nice. And not too crowded. Got an arepa at one of the food trucks. Delish. As evening approached the music started up. Many, many raft-ups with each blasting sound at at least 100db. This went to 0200. We were surprised, ok, not really, that there was no enforcement of speeds in the harbor and the marine police were all gone by evening. Ear plugs and a pillow over the head did not quite keep out the sound. Amazing. When we left Miami, we went all the way to Lake Worth Inlet via the ocean. Palm Beach. Seas were about 1 1/2 feet but eased during the day. Ran into Marathon neighbors in the anchorage. Our trip to Fort Pierce, also via the ocean route, was flat calm. Barely any ripples. We stayed two nights and did extensive food restocking and other errands. Also got to see some friends for the first time in quite some time. Our passage to St. Augustine was not so uneventful. The first day and night was fine, the second not so much. Someone missed a floating buoy after Crescent Beach and put us aground. Backing and filling didn't get us free but a passing powerboat wake helped. Backing and filling is using forward and reverse at higher power repeatedly to try to swing the boat to get us free when stuck in the mud. It puts a strain on everything but with the help of the wakes we got free without calling for a tow. Maybe we should have. One engine was sputtering with a clogged Racor fuel filter, the other threw a serpentine belt and and broke its coolant water pump. Or maybe the pump broke first throwing the belt off the pulleys. Who knows? We limped into St. Augustine where things got worse. After we got to the Municipal mooring field it started to get very rough. The wind was NE and the waves were more than two feet. Seasickness meds were needed while moored. I don't think that ever happened before. The second full day (out of three) had a brief respite from the wind and waves so we went ashore for showers, laundry, bill paying and a visit with shore-based friends. We got soaked returning to the boat and never got off of it again. On Monday we also managed to make arrangements for our replacement pump and a mechanic to meet us in Thunderbolt, GA.

After four nights we got underway on one engine only and went to the Sisters Creek free dock outside of Jacksonville, FL. Nice to return there. Chatted with some boaters we'd seen before along the road. Then we went offshore to Cumberland Island, GA. It's longer than the ICW route but avoids shoal areas and traffic. We then went to two new anchorages (to us). One was barely a wide spot in the road, the other was up a small creek similar to several in the area we used before. We chose these spots so we'd get to Saturday's anchoring spot in time to watch a UCONN Sweet 16 WWB game at noon.

We got to the Herb River in Thunderbolt, GA in time to watch the basketball game on our phones and stayed two nights. Then it was two nights at Thunderbolt Marina although we only needed one. Our engine pump and mechanic arrived on the scheduled day (a miracle) so our second day let us get to a grocery store via a loaner car. Then we went to another marina for two nights. We got hit by a impressive thunderstorm there and then a day of strong winds. Carol's planned Covid vaccine was cancelled, unfortunately. We then moved on to an anchorage a little south of Charleston. Our passage after that was very long. We hit the Wapoo Creek Bridge near its scheduled opening time but there is no way to get to the Ben Sawyer Bridge opening after that without a 45 minute wait. Grrr. Hate those. The passage would have been very pleasant (okay, it was) without the delays. A nice day and we got to the shallow areas near high tide. We anchored in Winyah Bay

and then went up the Waccamaw River to Osprey Marina. Another night at a marina! Scandalous! It was okay as we got fuel for the boat and a Covid shot for Carol. Finally. We then had a short day as we only went to Calabash Creek right on the SC/NC border. This let us stage future passage timing and do some minor boat work. After that, another #@&&$%# adventure. We went by Shallotte Inlet with no trouble even though it was near low tide and it was supposed to be an issue. Lockwoods Folly Inlet was supposed to be straight-forward and we went aground in the middle of the marked channel. Two hours. About 45 minutes was with Tow/BoatUS who did not want to tow us in the direction we wanted to go. Insisted on a sideways pull and trying to wash away the sand. When I said I wanted to be pulled forward he wanted to record me stating my desires. Then he did what I wanted. And it worked. Of course. His 30 years of experience did not overcome physics and sailboat keel dynamics. Go figure. The delay got us to Carolina Beach an hour later than planned but we still managed a visit to a hardware and grocery store. A walk on the beach, too. Our passage to Mile Hammock went fine. We even saw a M80 Scorpion assault vessel. This is a new stealth catamaran that carries smaller attack boats inside. I could tell you more but then I'd have to kill you. Or I'd get investigated. Or something. Or you could Google it. Our passages to Cedar Creek and then up the Pungo River were fine. The Neuse and Pamlico were quite pleasant for a change. The Alligator River and Albemarle Sound were, too. Of course, our windlass failed after that and now I am pulling up the anchor and chain by hand. Not so fine. Extremely difficult, in fact. Painful. A couple of days of manually pulling up the chain and anchor let me work out the best way of doing this. Still not fun but less yelling. We also had our usual stop at the Great Bridge free dock so no anchoring needed. Then we went to a pay marina in Hampton, VA. We often stop here with a free night certificate but we get the coupon at a boat show in the fall. No boat shows last year. Sigh. That marina was fully booked anyway, so we went to a nearby, high-end marina. High priced. Low value. Got a 'free' 5 gallon bucket at great cost. We did laundry, showered, and topped off our water as we often do in Hampton. Ready to push home. Next it's into the Chesapeake Bay. An easy first day brought us to Reedville, VA. We stopped at a new-to-us marina instead of anchoring. It was cheap but had no services. It did have a restaurant that was supposedly very good and inexpensive. It closed 5 minutes after we arrived. Sigh. The next day we continued up the Bay. It was near calm with forecast Small Craft Advisories. Carol laughed at the conditions and decided we should go all the way to Annapolis to avoid the predicted conditions the next day. This made for a more than 12 hour day. Of course, the wind did pick up making rough conditions the last 4 hours of the day. 8 hours very good, 4 hours not so good. Sigh. So we got to Annapolis. Time for a re-measure of our sail cover, oil changes, shopping, dining and a wait for the weather to warm up. We hope. Sigh. We took an Annapolis City mooring in Back Creek, Eastport. We'll get back to back-breaking anchoring soon enough.