We left Annapolis for our push home (northern home) after a week. We did a few things while moored in Back Creek, Eastport. Oil changes. Bought and installed new batteries. Reinstalled our light and windex at the top of our mast (finally, should have done it in Great Bridge). Got groceries and baked goods. Went downtown a couple of times. Had breakfast out one morning and lunch another day. Chick and Ruth's Delly (correct spelling) is a tradition. It is almost as good as it was before Teddy retired and sold it. It went downhill a bit for a while but is now pretty good again. We had to go back for a repeat on the apple fritters. Their pies are made in house, too. Breakfast is good, very good but not quite as outstanding as it used to be.
Speaking of the batteries, we had decided to replace ours after 6 1/2 years of full-time use. They were still okay but performance had slipped a bit and changing them was a good, but expensive idea. More than $1400 expensive. We have 8, 6 volt deep discharge lead acid house batteries. They weigh around 62 pounds each and had to be carried into the dinghy, lifted from the dink onto the deck, carried into the cabin, wrestled into place and, oh by the way, the old ones had to be removed by the reverse procedure and carried to land. I cannot add up how many times I had to lift and carry the 62lbs. Back spasms and bruises are the reminders. I can remember when I could carry a battery with one hand. Without getting a sore back. Sigh.
We also went to US Naval Academy to view the noon formation, something we do every chance we get, although not every year. We also caught the silent drill team performance. We visited the USNA chapel and stopped by to see the John Paul Jones crypt again. We were assured by a chapel docent he was still in the crypt below the chapel.
We also went to Potato Valley Cafe, a baked potato restaurant for lunch. Yes, that's all they serve. Quite good.
View of us from the hill in the adjacent Ellen Moyers Park.
Our last day, before the rain and cold front, we went to Wild Country Seafood. It isn't much more than a glorified shack with no indoor seating but they catch their own seafood during the week and open on the weekends. The food is good and reasonably priced (for Annapolis). The oysters were huge.
As I mentioned, we stayed in Eastport a week but still had one more paid day left on our mooring when we departed. Nothing else was planned and this let us take two easy days up to Chesapeake City instead of one long day. Comfort is not our first priority but it's up pretty high on the list. It was a little lumpy heading up the Bay but not bad, 1 to 2ft on the beam. We had good current so the passage to Worton Creek was quick. We could have gone all the way to Chesapeake City but there was no rush because there was no advantage weather-wise in going offshore New Jersey before the Tuesday and Wednesday we had planned. A disadvantage was it was the weekend and locals tie up the docks there and make noise. We like Worton. Quiet and protected. Beautiful, too.
We got underway the next day around 0730 again because of another short day. We had a fast passage to Chesapeake City due to great current. Unfortunately we could not get to the free dock because of shoaling. Too bad. Might have spent money in town. We anchored in the basin instead and got up very early the next day (to make up for late starts the previous few days) because it would be a very long day on Delaware Bay and the ocean off New Jersey. It would also be against the strong current in the C&D Canal. Slow. It started off very cold and almost calm. No ice on deck as there was a couple of years ago but cold cold cold. The adverse current in the canal wasn't too bad and we had great current on Delaware Bay for about 3/4 of the passage, over 10kts SOG. Wow! Rounding Cape May Point was easy near high tide with the breeze behind us. Going up the east coast of New Jersey was a bit lumpy but not terrible. We stopped in Atlantic City for the night.
Getting up early in the cold again was not fun but it lets us arrive in the NYC area at a nearly reasonable time. Our start was almost flat calm with a slow, gentle swell from the east. About noon (halfway to NYC) ripples on the swell became waves on the swell. Only about 2ft but when a wave matches the timing with the swell it can make for an interesting wave. Not huge. Interesting. So the last 6hrs was not great but not too terrible. Not scary just a bit uncomfortable. The lurching meant being below was something to avoid. Steering the boat was fine. We anchored around Sandy Hook at Atlantic Highlands, NJ after a 12hr passage.
We waited until about 10am to get underway because of the current of New York Harbor through Hell Gate. It is very strong and can almost stop you if you go into it. Better to get the timing right. At times we got over 10kts SOG. The NYC passage went well with just a few spits of raindrops. Sky looked dark but not much precipitation. Cold, however. After much discussion of our options we decided to skip Port Washington and go to Oyster Bay. This meant (with another long day) we could get home before the bad weekend (and beyond) weather forecast. We borrowed someone's mooring in Oyster Bay, arriving about 1730.
Manhattan
We got an early start (again) from Oyster Bay. It was nice in Oyster Bay but as soon as we got to the Sound it was not so nice. Not terrible to start but it got worse within a couple of hours. Mostly 2ft seas (with some bigger) but right on the nose. Banging into waves slows us down a lot. We had the current with us until noon but you would not have known it by our SOG. The wind in our face slows us way down. As we got further east and north, closer to the Connecticut shore, the wind and seas eased a bit. No longer rough, just a little uncomfortable. Of course by that time the current turned against us. Sigh. Oh well. It was a slow, cold, miserable 10hr day but we are home, on a mooring at Old Lyme Marina, our northern home. Maybe we should have travelled overnight to home and not stopped at Oyster Bay. Would have been interesting anyway. And maybe smoother. Maybe.
Now we have to deal with the weather the next few days, get our car, visit the kids, check our mail and start our medical visits. What fun! At least I start at the Museum in a week or so.
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