This is only our second day here. We'll stay for two weeks and we're paying for a mooring. Again. Hate that last part but the anchorages are full. I'm sure we could have squeezed in somewhere but we are pretty conservative about the space (swing room) we need to anchor. Conservative, or experienced. The city mooring, although expensive ($180/week), let's us sleep at night without worrying about dragging. The holding is barely fair and, as I said, it's crowded.
Our passages here were mixed but generally pretty good. Heading from home to Port Jeff was choppier than forecast and we were going right into it. Not big seas but right on the nose. PJ to Port Washington was flat. The free moorings are no longer free but no one came to collect any money so I guess that makes'em free still. The United Nations, being in session, was going to close the East River on Monday so we had to rush to go through the City on Sunday. Early, to catch a fair current through Hell Gate and the rest of the City, too. Stopped in Atlantic Highlands where we scrambled last year to find a doctor's office to do some unexpected pre-op tests. No such issues this year. The anchorage was crowded because a lot of snowbirds wanted to get through the City and wait out the southerly winds offshore New Jersey. Got to chat with some people we knew on the VHF Net in Marathon. Put a face to the voices we've heard.
The offshore passage off New Jersey was almost great. Merely very nice. We had North to Northwesterly breezes and behind the beam seas. We actually sailed. This turned out to be a problem because somewhere off off NJ we lost the propeller and hub assembly off of the saildrive that was not running because we were sailing. See, sailing is bad. motoring is good. At least that's what our daughter always said. Almost $2300. to get the parts shipped from Denmark. Now we have to find someone who can haul us out.
We went up the Delaware Bay against the current and on one engine but it was mostly smooth, if slow. Anchored in Chesapeake City which was semi-crowded but fine. We beat most of the people who were in Atlantic Highlands with us because they didn't go overnight or didn't want to go against the wind and current in the Delaware. My theory is 4 knots is faster than zero knots.
Once in the Chesapeake Bay we went to Worton Creek as usual, but in unexpected small craft advisories enroute, and then spent a weekend up in Sillery Bay on the Magothy River. Quiet. Relaxing. Nice swimming.
And here we are. In Eastport. Back Creek. On a mooring and doing some of our usual Annapolis things... Chick and Ruth's, Bay Shore Marine, Giant, Great Harvest Bread and more, I guess. Oil changes and some other work are coming up when Carol flies off to California. Then it's back on the road. Heading for the Keys.
