Our first day underway was beautiful and nasty. Beautiful if you were on land, warm, sunny and dry. Nasty if you were on Long Island Sound bashing straight into the wind and 3+ft. seas. Nothing major broke. Several minor things did not fare as well. Some fresh blueberries flew out the fridge and decorated the galley. Think blue puree all over the floor. Several dinghy tie down lines chafed through but that was nothing new. Sigh. 
Throgs Neck and Long Island Sound behind us on day 3.
Our start on our 2nd day was delayed because of very strong winds but we eventually left Port Jefferson in late morning when the wind eased. A little. The angle of the wind and seas made for an okay passage even with the heavier winds and we ended up on a free mooring in Port Washington, NY. Then we got underway very early the next day to go through New York City with the current. Hell Gate can be lots of fun (not) if you have an opposing current. The forecast was good so, even though we wanted to hopscotch down the NJ coast with day only trips, we decided we would do another overnight passage offshore to take advantage of a two day weather window. The seas were not quite calm, there were ripples on a gentle, small swell. We'll take it. Not our calmest overnight passage but close to it. The Cape May rounding was easy as we followed our previously established route on our GPS. We call it 'following the breadcrumbs'. You put your vessel icon on the recorded previous course track on the GPS screen and steer your boat so your icon stays on the track. It's still a bit scary to rely on your GPS and go very close (maybe 100 meters or less) to the beach to make the rounding. In the dark. Flat calm seas and a half moon overhead made it as close to easy as is possible. A few hours later we heard a sailboat that was behind us went aground in the Cape May Channel. We use that route if it is safer (due to wind and waves) than the beach route. We do not know if they screwed up or the channel had shifted from bad weather recently.
Going up the Delaware River was slow but calm. Nice boring sunny weather and seas about zero inches is nice (for a change) but when the current is against you, it's a slow passage. Boring, but boring can be nice. Beats having an adventure. Hate those. Last year this section was so rough our stern plants died from salt water spraying over the entire boat. We ended the day (two straight days that is) anchored in Chesapeake City. Very warm and dry. We planned to wander around the upper Chesapeake Bay until it was time to go to Pasadena, MD to get hauled.
After two nights we went down to the Sassafras River. We've anchored near the mouth but this time we went about 90 minutes up the river to Georgetown/Fredricktown. We went just because we never had before. Pretty, but not really worth it. We stayed at a Sailing Associates Marina fixed dock for the price of a mooring and got showers and a swim in the marina pool. By not really worth it, I mean not worth the time it takes to go up the river and the time it takes to get back to the Chesapeake Bay main channel. 90 minutes each way. Like I said, a beautiful area but there are areas just as nice that are not as far off the road. After getting back to the Bay it was only another 90 minutes to be anchored in Worton Creek, one of my favorite spots. We sat out several storms here in the past but our run of great weather continued. We did not sight any of the eagles we could hear in the nearby trees.
When we left Worton the next day we, in fact, did see a bald eagle on a daymark right outside the creek. Impressive. The passage down the Bay was nearly flat calm and we went into the Magothy River and Sillery Bay to anchor for a few days before heading to our haulout facility. One of Carol's favorite spots, it is very beautiful, landlocked, quiet and protected. Our great run of weather was going to come to an end while there and it's not a bad spot to do nothing.
We didn't quite do nothing but fairly close. In Chesapeake City I did battery maintenance which I forgot to do monthly over the summer. This could have been bad and almost was. In our little cove in northern Sillery Bay I did engine oil changes before the serious weather change hit us. Other than that, it was mostly nothing. A little writing about our experiences and a lot of reading. Oh, and some observations of the sights around us. Just watching the day go by. The horses grazing on land, the birds swirling about overhead, fish tails snapping at the surface of the water, the nettles pulsing by below, the clouds drifting by above. Like I said, a total waste of time.
When we picked up the anchor after three nights and one serious storm the anchor was a bit difficult to pick up. Dug in well. That's good but makes for some work. A trade-off. We also saw one of the eagles we'd been hearing around us. I may be wrong but we seem to be seeing more and more bald eagles in the upper Chesapeake. Nice. We won't see them in our next stop. Too suburban. That stop was Bodkin Creek where we anchored to await our scheduled haul-out.
We got hauled out at Pleasure Cove Marina for the first time in 5 or 6 years. It went well and was only a little more expensive than Essex Boat Works in Conn. Carol likes it better here because it is cooler than it is in Conn. in August. Duh. Boat looks pretty but the new depth sounder we installed does not match our GPS. Very upset with the GPS Store where we bought it. It cannot be replaced without hauling the boat as it would leave a large hole in the bottom of the boat. Not good.
We left the marina after 4 nights and headed to Annapolis. A bit lumpy along the way but the 2-3 foot seas were mostly behind us (as was the 15+kt. breeze) so it wasn't too uncomfortable. It was fast anyway, even against the current. A clean, smooth boat bottom surely helps.
We got 94 gallons of diesel when we got to Annapolis and then looked for an open City mooring. None available. We anchored well up Spa Creek and hope we will hold on as a gale, the remnants of hurricane Ian, will hit us our first night. Not likely to be fun. It is supposed to rain most of every day we are here but we already stocked up on groceries in Pasadena courtesy of a ride from a semi-local boating friend, Gwyn. We just need to get some pre-ordered prescriptions and flu and Covid boosters.
We are not going to the Annapolis Boat Show for only the second time in 35 or 40 years. It is too late this year and we would be late to my medical appointments in Miami in November. Sigh. We will miss going to the show. IMHO, they made an error with the scheduling.
We plan to be in Annapolis 4 or 5 days, weather dependent. Of course surviving the first night is weather dependent, too. I hate "I" hurricanes.
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