Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas day aboard Ariel. Linda prepared a traditional turkey dinner finished off with apple pie and ice cream. We telephoned family and our older grandchildren (older than Camryn) Thomas, Micheal and Evelyn each talked to us on the phone. This is a departure point for the Abacos and many if not most of boats here are waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. A window opened Christmas day, so there was quite a large exodus Christmas morning. Our plan is to visit the Exumas so we will move further south before crossing. The day after Christmas we had a taxi take us and our life raft to the shop to be repacked. This gave us a chance to see a little more of the area. We used the bus system to return. The system is extensive so we should be able to get to most places.

Getting Settled For Christmas

We are now anchored in North Palm Beach. This is where we plan to spend Christmas and probably New Years. We said goodbye to our friends from Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow at a little get together on Star Shadow Wednesday night. Both Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow plan to spend Christmas at Vero Beach but we wanted to be in the Lake Worth area to have some work done. It was hard leaving but we also know we will meet up again just as we have before. As we left Melbourne Thursday morning we had a pod of dolphins swimming in our bow wave for at least 45 minutes. The water is getting clearer the further south we go so we could also watch them below the surface swimming parallel to and about 1 - 2 feet off Ariel. Our anchorage is surrounded by beautiful homes and high rise condominium complexes. While here we need to have our life raft repacked. It needs to be inflated every three years to check for damage and then repacked replacing any food or water items that have or will expire. We also need to have insulators added to one of our backstays. This is so we can make the backstay an antenna for our new SSB radio. Both businesses have shortened work weeks for the holidays so it will be January before we can have the work done.

Cocoa

We arrived in Cocoa Monday morning but just missed Ted and Alice from Windsong. The twins were born the day before and they left to fly to Seattle just before we arrived. Both Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow were in Cocoa so we anchored nearby them. Once again we have plenty of space. Our consolation prize was to watch an Atlas rocket launch later that day. It was really awesome and we were able to follow it downrange for a very long time. After dark while checking something on deck I noticed the phosphorescence in the water is very intense here. By making noise to cause the fish to dart, they would then cause bright streaks of light. The next night we had our dinghy out and it was as if we had installed lights under the hull. Tuesday we joined up with the crews from Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow to visit Cocoa Beach. It is just a 60 cent bus ride. They currently have red tide there so we did not plan to swim. Red tide is an algae bloom which is harmful to marine wildlife. No one was aware of the impact on air quality. To a person as soon as we stepped off the bus we began coughing. Needless to say we did not spend much time on the beach and took shelter inside a restaurant for lunch. We decided an afternoon at the mall was a better alternative. It was a nice day to get caught up with everyone ending with Happy Hour on Jock's Lodge. Both Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow are planning Christmas at Vero Beach so we will be separating again for awhile. We sent an email off to Ted and Alice to arrange a place to meet up again after they return.

Scrubbed Again

Each day we get a new launch date and time and each new launch is then scrubbed, repeating the process. We are not surprised, and while we would like to see the launch we will move on tomorrow. This is a very relaxing location. While there are many cruising boats, the anchorage is so large that there is no crowding. It is really nice to have plenty of space. Titusville is nice but small and doesn't have much close by. We are moving on to Cocoa where we will meet up with Ted and Alice from Windsong before they fly to Seattle for the birth of their twin grandchildren. We will probably stay in Cocoa for a week before going further south before Christmas. Cocoa is still close by Cape Canaveral. We are both reading again and getting in some walking ashore. We were not able do to these activities while travelling every day. We of course are doing boat projects, but at a leisurely pace. I am installing our SSB radio and Linda is sewing the cockpit enclosure. As long as we get both projects done by the end of December we will be happy. As I was writing this I went to the cockpit to get something for Linda and heard a deep breath. I called Linda out and we watched a manatee swim along the side and then under Ariel.

Ready For Atlantis

We left Green Cove Springs Sunday morning after saying our goodbyes to Steve and Dale Saturday night. We would not normally travel on Sunday because of all the weekend boating traffic but we wanted to allow enough time to get to Cape Canaveral for the scheduled shuttle launch of Atlantis on Thursday. Our first day was a little unusual with virtually no traffic on the St. Johns, but then heavy weekend boating traffic on the ICW, but no cruising boats. That all changed when we got to our planned anchorage and were rejoined with the pack. The next day we were back in the rhythm of travelling on the ICW, falling in line with other boats headed south. As we passed through St. Augustine we hailed Windsong to learn they had changed their plans and would move on down to Cocoa before leaving the boat for the birth of their twin grandchildren and the holidays. Ted has a cousin in Cocoa so that should make it more convenient. We also learned that Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow were also in St. Augustine and all three would travel offshore to Cape Canaveral for the launch. We made plans to meet up again once we were all there. We arrived in Daytona for our next night at anchor. This was very special for us as we have a timeshare in Ormond Beach, which is just north of Daytona Beach. We have had it since 1982 so we know the area well. We are now in Titusville anchored just south of the Titusville bridge with an unobstructed view of the launch pad. The weather looks good for the next few days so maybe the launch will go off on schedule.

Visiting Steve And Dale

We left the ICW where it crosses the St. Johns River and then headed up the St. Johns toward Paltaka, Florida to visit Linda's sister Dale and her husband Steve. It was a little strange getting away from the cruising boats migrating south. We had been in company with these boats since Long Island Sound. We pretty much had the St. Johns to ourselves other than a few fishing boats. The river goes through downtown Jacksonville. In Jacksonville we had the Main Street Lift Bridge open for us. This is a landmark in Jacksonville. We worked our way to green Cove Springs about 40 miles up the river. This was as far as we could go being limited by a 45' bridge just beyond the town. Steve and Dale live on a canal off the St. Johns about another 20 miles further up the river. We anchored out a couple nights until the wind settled a little and then moved to the town dock. The town has some floating docks at the end of their fishing pier, but they are very exposed to wind and waves. We had not seen Steve and Dale's new home, but had seen the property which they have been developing having begun with a sea wall. They have a wonderful home very much in the Florida lifestyle which takes advantage of the warmer climate.

I developed a problem with a tooth that chipped a few weeks ago. It was a challenge to find a dentist that would take me on short notice, but when I finally found one and it worked out great. They understood my situation and were able to accommodate me. They gave me a 25% discount which brought the rate right in line with what we were charged when we were insured. We are spending a little more than a week here, with plans to leave Sunday to get down to Titusville for the scheduled December 6 Space Shuttle launch.

Day Sailing On The St. Johns

A Cruisers' Thanksgiving Gathering

Iain and Jan on Jock's Lodge always had the goal to be in St. Marys for Thanksgiving. A few days before arriving at St. Marys we decided we would also spend Thanksgiving in St. Marys and Windsong decided the same as well. We radioed ahead that we would attend and arranged for our dish to pass. All of the coordination is done by radio which is the way cruisers communicate. This was our first big family holiday away and this gathering was the next best thing. We arrived to find the entire river filled with anchored boats. There were in excess of 100 boats in attendance and about 250 people. The main events were held at Seagles, a small hotel in town. The gathering has been growing rapidly each year and so it was tight quarters with every space taken over. We had Happy Hour Wednesday night, but Thanksgiving was the big event. The turkey and ham was furnished but all other dishes were provided by the boats. It was an amazing feast to see as every boat brought a dish and it had been well coordinated so that the quantities were right and included all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods. We are already planning to be back next year. Friday morning was difficult as we went on our way saying our goodbyes to Jock's Lodge and Windsong. We know we will see them again soon but it was still hard. We will keep in touch and probably meet up in late December or early January. We are now off the ICW as we are working our way up the St. Johns river.

Georgia

Between Savannah to the north and Brunswick to the south are miles of marshes, serpentine rivers, vast sounds and uninhabited barrier islands. The tidal range in Georgia is 8 to 9 feet and many areas are only safely navigable during mid to high tide. We took advantage of favorable tides with two very long days putting us just north of Jekyll Island. The tides were not favorable for the next day so we went offshore at St. Simons Sound and came back in at the St. Marys River. We turned north on the ICW after re-entering to anchor off Cumberland Island at the Cumberland Island National Seashore. We were in early and so our treat was to spend the afternoon on Cumberland Island. Access to the island is by ferry or by a dinghy dock. Once landed we paid our $4 per person fee on the honor system, and then we were free to explore the island without hindrance. The temperature was near 80 so it was a perfect day. There were hardly any other people on the island, but lots of wildlife and breathtaking beauty. Horses run free on this island. Millionaire Thomas Carnegie built a huge turreted mansion shortly after 1882. This burned in 1959 after lying idle for several years. Private ownership throughout the island's history spared it from development and now it is a national seashore.

Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island

Jab, Iain, Ted, Alice

Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island

Burned Out Mansion

Cumberland Island

Beautiful Beaufort

After a short day Friday as we waited for repairs to Windsong we made very good progress on Saturday and arrived in Beaufort, SC. This is another cruiser friendly town and another beautiful southern city. We wound up starting with some wine tasting. The shop owner noticed us trying to figure out his winery on a main downtown street and re-opened and invited us in. He does the fermentation at that location but other processes off site. Of course it paid off for him as we all bought something, in our case wine made from raspberries. We had a nice dinner at Plum's which was very friendly. Beaufort is on our list to spend a few days on the return trip.

Eagles And Dolphins

Today we moved on to a point just short of Charleston. A front passed through at about noon so the winds picked up substantially. We saw three eagles within about a five mile stretch, all very close. Tonight in our secluded anchorage in Dewees Creek we have dolphins swimming around. They can really startle you when they surface close by for air. Tomorrow we will bypass Charleston, except for Windsong which has arranged for a repair of their engine cooling water pump at the Charleston City Marina. We will wait on them just past Charleston. Yesterday it was near 80 degrees for our day in Georgetown, but now the temperatures are moving down again and it is expected to go below freezing tomorrow night.

A Day Off In Georgetown

We have been on a bit of a good luck streak. A couple hours after we passed through a shoal area around an inlet, a four masted 100' schooner drawing 9 feet ran hard aground. They brought traffic to a complete stop and had no choice but to wait for high tide later that night. They came into our anchorage in the dark and anchored just in front of us. That was scary for us having a tall ship anchoring so close. Our luck continued the next day when a swing bridge had mechanical trouble opening for us. They got it open but after our clearing it was then closed for maintenance for at least a couple hours. We have now stopped in Georgetown for a day off the waterway. We have now covered 402 statute miles on the ICW. The waterway is just fascinating. Neither one of us takes a break to do something else for fear of missing something. The experienced couple we are traveling with take turns and read or do chores or as they did the other day, preparing pizza so it would be ready when we all got settled in and they asked us over. They set the pizza dough near the heat of the engine to rise. Georgetown is very cruiser friendly and everyone stops here so the anchorage is quite crowded. The two boats we are travelling with are at the far end, well out of our line of site. Georgetown is a wonderful small city and we wish we could stay longer. We did get caught up on laundry and shopping and had a very nice dinner at the River Room Restaurant which was highly recommended in Claiborne Young's cruising guide. He was spot on and we really enjoyed it. Linda had Shrimp and Grits which they are known for. I went with a more traditional Grouper, but we shared and it was all very good. We look forward to returning to Georgetown in the spring and staying a little longer. Linda did pick up some shrimp at the fish market so we are looking forward to grilling them.

Steady Progress

We are making steady progress south. It has been cold and windy every day. We are selecting anchorage destinations that will accommodate Windsong which has almost a 6' draft so this pretty much dictates our daily distance. The changes are amazing as we work our way along. Some nights we are anchored in very remote areas dark enough to see the Milky Way very clearly, and other nights we will be anchored in residential neighborhoods. We are now seeing dolphins each day which is pretty exciting for us. As a group we are doing well together and we will probably stay together until about the Georgia - Florida border. Windsong needs to hold up in Brunswick; Jocks Lodge is destined for the St. Marys River for a cruisers Thanksgiving get together and we are going to Jacksonville. We get together every day after we get settled on our anchors, alternating between boats or going out to dinner. Windsong ran aground hard today on a falling tide. Luckily Tow Boat US responded in less than 10 minutes and we were on our way again very quickly. We heard Its About Time on the radio so we hailed them. They were anchored in Beaufort getting ready for on offshore passage down to the St. Marys river.

Beginning The ICW (The Ditch)

After the storm moved north, it turned nice very quickly. We visited Iain and Jan on Jock's Lodge to plan the next few days and agreed on a 6:00 am departure which was just before sunrise when we would have first light. Later that afternoon we visited the Virginia Air and Space Center. They have a good collection of planes and the interactive displays were quite good. We noticed that young teenagers really seemed to enjoy these. Later that evening Ted and Alice on Windsong checked in with us and decided to join our small group. Monday morning we were off a 6:00 am as planned.

Passing the Norfolk Fleet

At 9:00 am we reached ICW mile mark 0. The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a (3,000-mile) recreational and commercial waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are man-made canals. It was a very busy day on the waterway. We went through our first lock ever at Great Bridge with a batch of 13 boats in the lock.

Great Bridge Lock

It was only noon and they had already put 104 boats through. This early part of the ICW has a lot of bridges and so we were slowed waiting on openings which made for a long day before we could drop anchor. After we were all settled, we invited everyone aboard Ariel for drinks and snacks. Iain and Jan kept us entertained with stories of cruising in Cuba. They are Canadians so there is no issue with visiting Cuba. We agreed that 6:00 am worked well so we agreed on another departure at the same time. Our actual departure was at 7:15 am as we were awaken to find we were in a heavy fog. The next day we crossed Albemarle Sound which can be and was very rough. The going was slow as we were pounding into the wind and waves. Suddenly we noticed Jock's Lodge dead in the water. The rough conditions had stirred up gunk in the bottoms of the diesel fuel tank which then actually clogged the pickup tube. The day was getting late so we took them under tow while Iain worked to solve the problem. After about an hour the problem was fixed and we dropped the tow line. Bad luck struck again immediately as the tow line got caught in their propeller after Jan mistook a hand signal and powered forward before Iain had the line completely pulled in. Windsong took them under tow for the remainder of the day. The sun went down as we were approaching the mouth of the Little Alligator River so we dropped anchor there even though we were still in open water. I told Jock's Lodge I would come over after sunrise with our Hookah system to work on untangling the line. It was a very rough night as the boat bounced in the waves. Our Hookah system (a compressor on deck that provides air through a hose to the diver) worked great and actually Jan did the diving. The line was wrapped about six times but came off easily. The air temperature was in the 50's and the water was in the mid 60's. We both only had shorty wet suits but they were more than adequate for a short dive. We were on our way at 7:30 after fixing the problem and stowing the gear. The next day was uneventful and we all went out to dinner in Belhaven after getting settled on our anchors. It was Iain and Jan's treat. We all agreed to stay another day at anchor in Belhaven.

Nasty Noel

When Noel was first named earlier in the week it was predicted that it would not influence the east coast in any significant way. We took a wait and see attitude anyway and held up in Hampton. Later in the week the winds were predicted to be northwest so we expected to have some wind protection from the buildings. Yesterday we took additional steps to secure our position and since our anchors were well set we opted not to move even though the winds were northeast which is parallel with the river where we are and therefore we were getting no protection from shore side structures. During the day several boats left the anchorage to seek shelter in the marinas. At the end of the day only five boats including Ariel remained in our immediate area. Further down the river were a few more boats, two of which we stay in touch with. The night before several in their area had dragged. For us the wind peaked at around 1:00 am. I didn't check the wind speed but it was up there, but just checked that we were staying put. We have a red channel marker buoy (22) less that a boat length usually just off our stern, This makes it real easy to check our position. In the morning we found that Ted and Alice on Windsong, a Whitby 42 out of Oxford, Maryland had obviously dragged as they were now anchored closer to us, but still downwind from our position. Noel had morphed into a Nor'easter as it passed here. Luckily it was just far enough offshore to lessen the impact to our position a little. The miss was by a mere 40 miles. It was a good learning experience and is helping us to gain confidence with anchoring.

Waiting Out Noel In Hampton

We have extended our stay in Hampton to wait on weather. Once we enter the ICW we will need enough good weather days to carry us through Albemarle Sound and the Alligator River. We are really enjoying our stay here. This is a very cruiser friendly town. While out shopping for groceries we had two offers for rides back to our dinghy. It was only a 1/4 mile so we declined, but the offers were much appreciated. A few years ago while on vacation we stayed in Hampton for a couple days. This was early in our planning (dreaming) for this trip when we could only imagine ourselves anchored off the downtown area. Wow, and now we are here. Pictured are opposite views - downtown Cousteau Society from Ariel and Ariel from the Cousteau Society.

 Cousteau Society from Ariel

 Ariel from the Cousteau Society

We really needed the time to get caught up. We found a really neat area on East Queens Way with several boutique type shops and neat restaurants. We both had crab cakes one last time before leaving the area at the Taphouse. We recommend this place.

Yesterday we set out a second anchor in advance of the high winds as we are pinched between a large high pressure system moving in and Noel which is moving up the coast. Later that same evening Noel was upgraded to hurricane status and winds are now expected to gust to 60. This morning (Friday) we reduced our windage by removing our dodger and connector to the bimini. We also added a third anchor. We put out our Fortress FX37 which is our storm anchor. We should be able to get going again on Sunday.

Last Stop Before ICW

We really enjoyed our weekend in St. Marys. It is well off the path of the southbound cruisers so we had the place to ourselves. We stopped in at the college and while there bought some groceries at a small store in one of the campus buildings. We considered lunch in their cafeteria but our appetites weren't ready for the all you can eat pricing plan. The selection looked great though. The weather did not permit touring St. Marys City which is a reconstruction of the original settlement. We have put this on our list of places to return to. They held small sailboat races both weekend days with St. Marys hosting Salisbury University.

Leaving St. Marys we saw our first pelicans on the Potomac River. There were actually several and they were busy feeding. We hadn't realized that they were this far north. We stopped in Deltaville after leaving St. Marys. We are not so sure about returning. We ran aground going in which was my fault. I was desperately trying to locate the next red buoy when we came to a stop. At least it gave me time to get my bearings. We go so slow in these situations so that it was just a nudge and we were able to back off. The next morning we left at low tide and ran aground in the channel. We took a guess and moved to the left a little and proceeded out in very shallow water. Traveling to Hampton we were in company with at least 20 other sailboats and a few trawlers. We are now anchored in the downtown area in Hampton and plan to stay a few days as high winds are predicted later in the week. It is very close quarters as it is packed to capacity in the anchorage. We are using this time to do laundry and shop for groceries.

Rough Day But Great Location For The Weekend

While the forecast was for rain all day, we decided to move on to Deltaville. We pulled anchor at 7:30 and on the way out of the creek noticed the open sign at the fuel dock with a very good price posted for diesel. It was still raining but we got out the fenders and dock lines and tied up at the fuel dock. The problem was no one was around. After searching to find the attendant without success we decided to leave. Just then the attendant arrived saying he wasn't expecting any business in the rain. After pumping about 10 gallons of the 60 or so we needed they ran out. We should have known by then that the day was not going to go well. On entering the bay, the waves were really steep having been driven by two days of strong winds These waves reminded us of Lake Erie which is also shallow. This wave pattern creates a very uncomfortable ride. We continued on and after turning more southerly put out a highly reefed main sail to help stabilize the boat. The winds continued to build beyond the forecast, and the rain and sometimes fog continued as well. We had been considering a stop in St. Marys which is off the Potomac. After a few hours of being pounded by the wind, waves and rain we decided a weekend in St. Marys sounded really good. We are anchored just off St. Mary's College of Maryland. St. Mary's City is the site of the fourth permanent settlement in British North America, and was Maryland's first capital. We hope to explore both the college and the old city this weekend if the weather permits.

Heading South Again

Solomons

Linda returned home Monday. She was so happy to have been able to spend time with Pamela, Scott and Camyrn and was sad to leave but at the same time wanting to get back. After a month at the same anchorage we were extremely anxious to get going, but decided to stay another day in Annapolis to give Linda a day to get settled in again. The forecast for Wednesday through Friday was for rain and windy conditions. We decided to leave anyway and made the 9 am bridge opening. The day turned out pretty good with only a couple of brief showers. The skies were very grey and the winds were moderate, but variable. We did get in a little sailing in the afternoon. We were amazed at the number of boats on the bay with the poor conditions but noted they were all also on southerly courses. We anchored near the mouth of Back Creek in Solomons. We were expecting to leave in the morning and with the conditions did not plan to go ashore. The wind increased overnight and the morning forecast was for high winds for the next 24 hours. We decided to stay another day so we moved further up the creek to a more protected area.
We have our new laptop now and what a difference. I was just trying to push the old one beyond it's ability and it wasn't working out. Linda had quite a heavy load on the return trip. In addition to the laptop we had repair parts and other boat stuff sent to Scott and Pamela's. I learned after the fact that the Harbormaster in Annapolis provides package receipt service (free) and that they even contact you when the package arrives. Now we know.

Go Bucks

Scott and Pamela are OSU alumni and fans as you can tell, as are we.

Click to see the incomparable Script Ohio by the OSU Marching Band.

Repairs Complete - For Now

We have our chartplotter back and it is working well. It should as it was a very expensive repair. They replaced the main processor board, which I have to believe is the most expensive component. Unlike personal computers which support older technologies for quite some time, it is not the case with marine electronic equipment. Our chartplotter uses C-cards. These cards which plug into the chartplotter contain the charts and are purchased by region. Raymarine has since switched to Navionics for their chart cards which uses an entirely different format. Before investing in our chart cards last spring we considered replacing the chartplotter with a newer model, however at that time it was working fine and had never had any issues so we stayed with it. Once we invested in the chart cards we were committed to our chartplotter. We did accomplish a software upgrade during the repair and the problems we were seeing before the complete failure are gone. The timing of the failure worked out as we were without the chartplotter for three weeks, but since this coincided with our plans to remain in Annapolis it was not an issue. Our backup system which is displaying charts on our laptop which has a GPS unit attached worked extremely well. We used this to travel from the Sassafras River to Annapolis. The drawbacks to this system is that the PC draws a lot of power (comparably) and the display is difficult to see in sunlight.

As of right now everything is working on Ariel so we are good to move on after Linda returns next week.

What a beautiful baby

Grandma Helping Out

Linda is with Scott, Pamela and Camryn. I happened to call her just as she was walking into the room to see Camyrn for the first time so I could at least hear her excitement. She will be there to help out until a week from Monday. Scott was able to stay overnight at the hospital as Linda was at their home and looking after their dogs Dolly and Sophie. Meanwhile back here in Annapolis, what a change in the weather. A front came through Wednesday night with very high winds. Several boats dragged in Spa Creek but none in our immediate area. Some damage resulted and one ran aground. We pulled in the anchor off the stern as the wind was from that direction allowing us to swing around and into the wind. Last night high winds were again forecast so we all conferred here in our local area and decided we would all add second anchors off the bow. I added our Fortress FX37 at about a 45 degree angle off our primary anchor. This is our storm anchor so I knew I would sleep well with little concern about the wind. There are no boats in front of us so I didn’t have to worry about anyone dragging down on us. We now turning the heat on in the morning to take the chill off. Once the sun it up it stays comfortable all day.

Our New Granddaughter Has Arrived

She is Camryn Jayne Supelak. She was born at 2:25 on October 10. Both mother and baby are doing well. Camryn was born at 7 # 14 oz and 19 1/2 inches. Congratulations to new parents Scott and Pamela.

Doug From About Time Is Back

We had quite a surprise visit on Sunday which at first had us totally confused. We heard a knock on the hull and checking to see who was there found Doug from About Time. This did not compute since they had left Annapolis a week ago this past Thursday bound for Norfolk. He had Paul and Jane, fiends from Bayfield, Ontario with him in the dinghy from I Wanda. We invited them aboard for drinks so we could sort out the story. Doug and Sharon were in the Solomon Islands when they got the call that the granddaughter was two weeks early. They reviewed the options and decided to push on to Norfolk covering the 110 miles in one day. Sharon flew home and Doug found a marina to put the boat up for a couple weeks. He then rented a car to return to Annapolis. He is staying on I Wanda and now will ride home with Paul and Jane who were in Annapolis for the boat show. They will continue on in a couple weeks and we fully expect to see them somewhere along the ICW. Ella Sibley ..... is the newest member of their family. We are anxiously awaiting for our call from Scott.

Annette On Ariel

We had very special company on Saturday. Annette Newland, a long time family friend with her son David and his children Katie and Matt, along with Katie’s boyfriend Chris came to visit for a few hours. David and his family live in Virginia and Annette is vacationing further south on the Chesapeake. Annette had invited us to bring Ariel to their waterfront vacation property which we really wanted to do, but the timing was such with Pamela’s due date that we could not risk being away from access to the BWI airport. Not to be deterred she decided to come to us, which is very much in character for her. We called the water taxi to bring her out to Ariel as the step up from the taxi is much more manageable than from the dinghy. This was a very challenging visit for her and we cannot express how much it meant to us to have Annette and her family visit. We were happy to show off our floating home. Most of us did some dinghy touring of Spa Creek and the downtown waterfront while Annette and Linda visited. Matt took over dinghy operation for the return trip and quickly mastered handling the outboard. Annette was very interested in our new sewing machine as she is very knowledgeable about sewing and sewing machines and has done similar projects herself. We think she would have liked to jump in on our sewing project herself.

Annette and Norm’s mother Gladys have been friends for a very long time. In 1972 hurricane Agnes dislocated Norm’s mother from the home she was living in. She and Annette jointly purchased the land on which their homes are located. Their friendship has extended to a very special relationship between our families.

Friends Visit And Boat Show Time

This is the United States Sailboat Show week in Annapolis. This is the largest in-the-water sailboat show in the world. Many new models and products are introduced during the show. Don and Janet Leech, friends from Pittsburgh we know from when we lived and sailed in Ohio were here for the boat show and to spend time with us on Ariel. We were very happy to see them and to catch up. They had a great summer with an extended trip sailing on the Great Lakes traveling from their home port on Lake Erie up the east side of Michigan on Lake Huron to Mackinaw. They were away most of the summer and plan to do more next summer. They arrived on Wednesday and after spending a little time visiting on Ariel we went out to dinner. On Thursday we did a dinghy tour of Spa Creek and Annapolis Harbor and saw the boat show from the water vantage point. They picked us up Friday and we went to the show together. All of us have been to the show many times and our interest is in the vendors exhibits in the tents. We passed on inspecting the boats. The crowd seemed lighter than usual to me.


A few years ago Don bought a Sailrite sewing machine which can handle the heavy materials used in the sails and canvas items on board. He has made many items for their boat saving a lot of money by doing it himself. Inspired by Don’s success and that of some friends in Rhode Island we bought a sewing machine at the show. Our first project will be a cockpit enclosure which will more than pay for the machine in savings over the commercial price. These will be side curtains that attach to our bimini and dodger to fully enclose the cockpit from the elements. Luckily Don and Janet had their car to haul the very heavy sewing machine back to our dinghy dock. After the show they were on their way. Don is a Ham (Amateur Radio) and they were off to a Hamfest later during the weekend. Once we add a SSB radio to Ariel we hope to make contact with his rig in Pittsburgh.

Keeping It Simple

We met a couple, Helmut and Jan from Kennebunkport, Maine on Metta, a Bayfield 29. They have made the trip down the coast to either Florida or the Bahamas 16 times. They do not have refrigeration and the only navigational electronics they have are a depth sounder and a handheld GPS. They started cruising before all of the complex electronics were developed and became popular so they are quite comfortable without. They do have Sirius radio for music and news. This approach does have the advantages of a lot less stress when the systems fail and a whole lot less expense. I can attest to this as I wait for our chartplotter to be returned from servicing by Raymarine in New Hampshire. To be honest we would not give up our comforts and electronics on Ariel. It is all what you become used to. Helmet prioritized their needs as; a good shower, a great mattress, the ability to prepare good meals and then some entertainment. These were also priorities for us as we prepared Ariel.

Navy Football

It got a little exciting Friday as the front passed through. The wind picked up a little, not much but enough to cause a boat to drag anchor. The owners were not on board. One boat in its path moved. The movement was very slow so there was plenty of time to react. After awhile it threatened another boat, without anyone aboard at the time so a few of us used our dinghies to push the boat back into a safe position. It turns out that they had hardly any chain out. We added more chain and it stayed in the new position. The owners arrived back after dark and did a double take as they found their boat had moved to a new location. The Navy Marine Corp Memorial Stadium is close by and this is the second weekend we have been here with a home game. The sound is traveling well today so it is almost as if we were there in the stadium. Both last week and again this week they had a military fly over during the National Anthem and we are right on the approach path so they are extremely low as they fly over. This is a great fall weekend and so far we have had little traffic on the creek.

Exploring Annapolis

We have settled in here in Spa Creek. We moved to another location where we could put out a second anchor off the stern to keep from swinging. The traffic volume on the creek was really high on the weekend as it is popular to cruise up and down the creek. We are almost at the end of the navigable waters so they turn around just after passing us. We are also on the tour boat circuit. After the weekend, things settled down again. We have quite a collection in our little anchorage area. We have Canadian boats from Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, and boats from New Zealand and the Netherlands. We also have boats from Michigan, Maine and North Carolina. We are getting to know our neighbors and getting great tips. One that really helped was finding out about the free city bus that runs to the Navy Marine Corp Memorial Stadium. Our grocery is very near the stadium so we took advantage of this opportunity. The family on the boat nearest us is from the Georgian Bay area in Canada. Larry and Janet have their children Graham and Claire aboard. They are keeping up their studies with correspondence courses. They have been here all summer getting the boat which they purchased here ready for the Caribbean. They plan to depart soon for Bermuda. From Bermuda it is a southerly course eventually aided by the trade winds to the Caribbean. We are mixing our days with chores and exploring the city. Pictured is the William Paca house and garden, one of the most elegant landmarks in Annapolis. Constructed between 1763-1765, the five-part Georgian residence was built as a town home for William Paca, a wealthy young lawyer who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The estate is well-known for its two-acre pleasure garden featuring five terraces, a fish-shaped pond, and a wilderness garden. The one hour tour is excellent and we recommend it.

William Paca house

 

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Annapolis

We are anchored in Spa Creek in Annapolis. Annapolis is our first real destination and this will be our home base for the next few weeks. You couldn't ask for a better place for an extended stay. The city has 17 miles of shoreline between Spa Creek, Back Creek and Weems Creek. The city has provided numerous dinghy docks, so usually you can tie up very close to your destination. Annapolis has always been a favorite of ours, but until now we had always arrived by car. Arrival by boat the first time is a little intimidating. The harbor is busy and crowded with moorings and anchored boats. We called the Spa Creek Bridge on VHF 13 to request they open as scheduled on the ½ hour. We only had a six minute wait. Spa Creek beyond the bridge is also very congested. Our plan was to anchor off Truxtun Park, well up the creek. While a bit tight we did find a spot just off the shoreline of the park. In October the boat shows are held here so we know this will get much more crowded. From here Linda will be able to get a bus and then light rail to BWI airport once Scott calls with the news of the baby. The trip down here worked out to be a good shakedown cruise and this is a great place to correct any problems. We took our chart plotter into the shop for a software glitch we have been having. Get this, we just took the dinghy to the fifth street dinghy dock, walked a half block and we were at the Electronic Marine to drop off our chart plotter. After than it was on to Market Slip and the Visitors Center to get information to plan some site seeing. We had expected Doug and Sharon from About Time to anchor in the same area. They found us and stopped by in their dinghy. They had taken a mooring in the harbor for $150 per week. They also have a grandbaby due in mid October. They will leave after the week and get as far south as they can before flying back to Toronto when the baby arrives.

Eastern Shore

We are really enjoying Maryland’s eastern shore. This is very rural with quiet anchorages. The shoreline is tree lined, with areas of bluffs and others of grassy marsh leading up to water’s edge and supporting much wildlife. Just beyond the shoreline it opens into farms fields. Last evening we passed close by an osprey perched on a pole while returning to Ariel. We are now anchored in Swan Creek near Rock Hall. This is appropriately named as we passed a swan on entering the creek.

One of the hardest adjustments for us is getting accustomed to the shallow depths here on the bay. At times we only have 2 – 4 feet under the keel. This is very unsettling as the margin for error is very slim.

Learning The Bay

Our plan for Saturday was to spend a quiet day at anchor, but that was not to be, at least for the morning. After the front passed, the as typical winds picked up. We found our nice snug overnight anchorage was not so reliable after all. We slowly plowed through the mud and moved off position and closer to shore. We re-anchored two more times with no success. The 55# Delta was completely buried and even with a 10:1 scope it would very slowly plow through the mud. We did some research and found there are conditions like this on the bay. It was just our luck to find such a spot the first night. We then thought we would anchor up a small creek, but the entry was very narrow and we ran aground. It is just mud so it was not a problem and we were able to back off and be on our way. This was enough to nix the creek idea. We then selected a spot across the river from our original location and found very good holding. The afternoon and evening was much more relaxing. Our voltage regulator has been dead since Old Lyme. We have been running the generator to power the battery charger to keep up with our electrical demands until we could get a replacement. In powering off the mud bar we revved the engine higher that we normally operate and now the voltage regulator is working normally again.

The next day, Sunday, we decided to move Ariel further up the Sassafras River to be closer to Georgetown. We only went two miles but it brought Georgetown into site and made for a much shorter dinghy ride to town. We enjoyed lunch at the Harbor Café at the Sassafras Harbor Marina. The food was excellent and the portions generous. After lunch we continued on another 1 ½ miles to Gelena to buy groceries. We are definitely getting our exercise.

NJ Coast, Delaware Bay, C&D Canal

There are many challenges facing us and some more difficult than others. One which we had thought about and discussed a lot was our overnight passage along the New Jersey coast. We had never done an overnight trip before so this was new territory for us. While anchored in Atlantic Highlands we met Christian and Mary from ‘I Wanda’. They have been cruising since 1993 including three years in the Mediterranean. They are a wealth of knowledge and they advised staying only about 1 – 2 miles off the coast. We adjusted our planned course to be two miles off. We waited until 1:30 pm to depart so we could be sure to have a daylight arrival at Cape May. We stood two hours watches right from the start and powered under sail until sunset. We shortened sail at sunset and motored sailed through the night. It was an uneventful night and we had two other sailboats within one to two miles as displayed on the radar all night. The skies were clear so millions of stars were visible. The casinos at Atlantic City are lit all night so the city is in view for miles before and after passing. We dropped anchor in Cape May just off the Coast Guard training facility at 8:00 am. We took showers and had short naps and then shortly after lunch picked up Doug and Sharon on ‘About Time’ to go into the town of Cape May. We had seen their boat at all of our anchorages beginning in Port Jefferson and they were one of the two other boats traveling through the night with us. They are from Toronto, Ontario and just spent the summer in Maine. After a visit to town we compared plans for the next day over cocktails on their boat and agreed at a 4:30 am anchors up to get out to the mouth of Delaware Bay at the right time to catch a favorable current all the way up the bay and through the Chesapeake and Delaware canal (C&D). We are too tall to use the Cape May canal so we had to go around the outside. There are shoals so picking the right course is very important. We decided on the Cape May Channel which is a middle course. Adding to the challenge was doing this in the night but with the chart plotter we easily picked our way through. Our trip up the bay was very fast with both wind and current favorable. We had decided to anchor in the Sassafras River, again based on a recommendation from both ‘I Wanda’ and About Time’. We anchored in a beautiful spot for a very peaceful night for some much needed rest.

Darkness arriving on our trip down the coast

Sharing space with the big boys on Delaware Bay

Entering the C&D canal

9/11

Last night as the high pressure system moved in, the skies cleared and the visibility improved dramatically. For the first time we could see the lights from the Varrazano Narrows Bridge and the New York skyline. Our special treat was to see the light from the site of the World Trade Center sharp and narrow shining straight up into space. The weather is favorable so we are off later today (9/12) for our overnight passage along the N.J. coast

NYC From The Water

We made our trip down the East River on Monday September 10, just a day before the 9/11 anniversary. Most of the day we were travelling in fog and relying quite heavily on radar, but as we passed Manhattan and then the Statute of Liberty the skies were clear. We ran very close to the shore and it was unbelievable taking in the sights and sounds of the city getting into another work week. Today we are tucked in at Atlantic Highlands at Sandy Hook, New Jersey with on and off showers. The weather looks very good to leave tomorrow for Cape May.

 

Visit To The Big Apple

While waiting for Gabrielle to definitely decide to go move away, we decided to visit New York City. It was an easy trip beginning with a water taxi to the town dock, then a short walk to the Long Island Railroad train station and then a short trip and inexpensive ride into Penn Station. We had a great day in the city. It was nice so everyone was out and about enjoying the weekend. From our vantage point at Top of the Rock in addition to these great views of Central Park and the Empire State Building, we were able to view our planned trip through Throgs Neck, Hell Gate, the East Side and out past the Statute of Liberty.

We Passed Inspection

Today was supposed to be a short routine run from Port Jefferson to Port Washington. There has been very little traffic on the sound during the week. Imagine our surprise as we saw the U.S. Coast Guard speeding toward us. It was hard to believe, but in that there were no other boats we decided we were probably their target. They boarded us for a safety inspection. We actually welcomed the inspection, they were cordial, and we had no violations. Later as we approached Manhasset Bay we could see the New York City skyline and what a sight. We picked up a Port of Washington town mooring which is free the first two nights. We will stay the weekend and make out plans for the coming week.

We Are Off

We are on our way. We had planned a Labor Day departure, but on Sunday our work was done, the weather was perfect, and we just couldn’t resist another great sailing day on Narragansett Bay. We anchored that evening at Dutch Harbor. On Monday we continued on to Block Island, which was our planned original first stop. We always enjoy Block and had not been there yet this summer. It was quite breezy so we did not go ashore. Our first new stop was Old Lyme which is on the Connecticut River. It was a quiet anchorage just past the I95 Bridge. We picked up a few groceries in town which was a very short walk. We are now in Port Jefferson on Long Island. We are staying here an extra day before going on. We will need to slow our pace between now and the middle of next week as the weather early next week is not favorable for our trip down the New Jersey coast.

Retired

My colleagues at Bayer and Deloitte made my last week very special for me. Linda and I drove to Pittsburgh as I needed to return company equipment and deliver the car our daughter in Ohio for storage. Wednesday was my last full non travel day. They arranged an office farewell gathering. I am happy to acknowledge the work of Bonnie Crawford, Lou Vitolo, Jean Sponseller and Shelly Dulesky in putting this together and getting the word out. It was quite a day with absolutely everyone wearing badges with my mug shot taped on. Everyone was Norm for the day. I arrived to be greeted with Norm face cutouts held up in front of everyone and of course the greeting of “NORM”. We had good fun with the usual complement of gag gifts. I was so happy to see everyone including former colleagues I had not seen in a very long time. They had managed to sneak Linda in and she was also one hiding behind a Norm face. I so much appreciate that they included Linda. The day was capped off with dinner at Monterrey Fish Grotto on Mount Washington overlooking the city of Pittsburgh. This was a smaller group hosted by George Bartha. The food was good, the wine was good and the conversation was great. We all had a great time. My manager, Jim Bertino, was out of town for training and could not attend, but Jim had set the wheels in motion for a great last week for me and I very much appreciate that. Throughout the week I received well wishes from throughout the company.

View from the top

I made my third trip up the mast this summer to replace the mount for the TV antenna. I designed and built this new mount as the original was obstructing the anchor light as viewed from the rear. This was to be a simple task but one of screws was frozen in place. I finally took a saw up and cut the screw head off. I spent nearly an hour doing this as every task is much more difficult suspended in a climbing harness. As I have mentioned before I use a ascender which is typically used in Caving where the need is to climb back out after descending. This has worked really well as I use my own power to ascend. I am also attached to a spare halyard which Linda keeps tight using a winch. When I am done I detach the ascender and I get a free ride down as Linda lowers me. Note the tight spacing between boats. This really sharpens the skills when returning to the slip. I drop the main sail, which is visable on the deck, when going aloft. I actually attach to the main sail halyard for the climb.