August 29 - September 25, 2014: Closing up shop for the winter.

After finding out the day before that the boat could not be pulled until the following week, we decided to get our car from Daytona Beach and utilize the long weekend to also visit Ger's sister Cath in Homosassa FL. We checked into a car rental to drive to DB, but the number got pretty big with the one-way drop charges, food, gas and a night in a hotel. So we got on line, and found a flight that including the airfare, taxi to the airport, and checked baggage was a big savings! A pleasant surprise. So the following day we caught a 7:00 cab to the airport and had the car in hand and driving away from the dealer where we purchased it (they stored it for us free of charge), by 3:00 in the afternoon. Footnote: never buy a car out of state - too much hassle with paperwork!

We had a nice visit with Ger's sister Cath, and headed back to AYB and the boat on Wednesday - a one day drive. Next day they pulled R Island (that is when we found the rope wrapped around the prop as seen in the previous blob entry).

They then directed us to a covered slip so we could do some work on the boat - but be out of the rainy weather. This is also where R Island will spend the winter- nice and dry, but cold at times! We spent the next 2 weeks touching up worn/damaged/faded areas on the exterior teak with 6 coats of varnish and then a two-part sealer over the everything.

This all got complicated by Ger slipping and falling down the steps to the master stateroom on the third day and badly bruising his ribs on the right side. No trip to the doctor, just self-medicated according to the instructions on the Mayo Clinic web site (probably stupid, but slowly getting better).

We also packed up all of our clothes and food and loaded them into the car. Also, due to the cold winters in that area, had to box up all the varnish, cleaning products, waxes, and anything else that would freeze and get it into the car. All got finished by the evening of the 18th. Then on the 19th, the boatyard winterized the engine, generator, a/c units, fresh water system, and waste system and we closed her for the winter and left to visit our son Gary and his family in suburban Washington DC. We were able to catch Sunday breakfast with Mike and Lois, our cruising friends from Inch-N-Along who were at Gangplank marina in DC.

Then on Monday the 22nd, we headed west for our 2355 mile trip home. We spent the nights in Nashville TN, Oklahoma City OK, and Gallup NM. The new Honda CRV was great and gave us a 30% increase in mileage from our 20003 CRV. Also a great music system and very nice ride.

We are planning to return to the boat and begin our 2015 adventures to Lake Champlain and the Erie Canal in late March next year. This blog will be silent till then. Hope you enjoyed sharing in our great adventure.....

Barge going by AYB

View from our covered slip

R Island in her slip

The exterior of the "shed" where she is.

A little fog over the water our last day.

August 26-28, 2014 Potomic River to Great Bridge VA

Sorry to be tardy in updating this blog, but a combination of poor wifi connections and a busy schedules played a big role as you will see. Excuses, not reasons.

Day 1: Potomac to the Rappahannock. After 4 days of waiting out the rain and wind, we were up at 5:30 and away from the dock of Point Lookout Marina at 6:25. It was a nice ride down Smith Creek and into the Potomac with a big red sun rising. It's a little hard to see the crab pots at that time of day, but we did a good job of remembering where they were from our trip into the marina 4 days earlier. One strange thing: we saw blackbirds picking over an osprey nest for small twigs and ??? - while the osprey just sat there and watched. Guess we need to consult with some birder folks to figure that one out!
The run southward on the Bay seemed to last forever. First off we were going slow to make certain the rudder etc. behaved. And then there was the following sea with 3 foot waves and constant steering adjustments to keep on line. We did see a barge loaded with rock headed south from Havre de Grace and a bunch of birds hitching a ride! Later saw a lighthouse covered with birds - must have been the destination!
We stopped after 49 miles back at Dozier's Regatta Point and the dock-master met us at the pump out station and after doing our business we simply walked the boat forward to our usual spot. We quickly secured the boat, got the power and a/c working, paid our fees, grabbed a loaner car and headed to the pizza parlor for a late lunch and some time off. Stopped at the hardware store for a grease gun, some grease, and bug spray. The spiders had taken over the stern and port side of the boat and the flies decided to start eating for their winter hibernation. Ortho "Home Defense" works great and lasts a long time!

Water level at Pt. Lookout at it's highest.

Rock barge with birds!

Birds at vacation resort!

Day 2: Rappahannock to Hampton Roads. Our regular slip at Dozier's is at the end of a long fairway and right next to the main pier - leaving no maneuvering room for a boat without a bow thruster. So with the wind against us, we backed the boat all the way out of the fairway, past the 15 boats on either side, and into the main channel - went very smoothly with Judie keeping watch and coaching Ger all the way. We may need to consider a new slip if we stop there in the spring on our way north.

Nice wind coming out of the Rappahannock but the Bay had 3-4 foot rollers on our port stern and we were in for another long day. We passed Wolf Point Light, the same light that had surprised us out of the fog/rain on the way up in June, but this time it was visible from 4 miles away!  There was lots of ship traffic on the Bay and we always had at least one to keep track of. We finally made the turn at Thimble Point Light and into the Hampton Roads area and found beautiful water with comfortable six inch waves. We made our way to the City of Hampton and Bluewater Yachting Center.

The Marina is excellent - with new floating docks, great restrooms, a wonderful - but busy - restaurant and nice folks. We had to adjust our slip and the first location was down a very narrow fairway, so they put us on a small "T" dock - but about as far from the office and facilities as we could get. No matter, when we were ready we made a combined trip to the showers and dinner. Later  that evening the Wednesday night sailboat races were finishing just pat R Island's dock, and we watched the boats "race" past in a dying wind and sunset. Very relaxing with a glass of wine and the great views.

Interesting large "landing craft" type of boat transporting a large fork lift.

Hampton Roads Light and Hampton University buildings.

 

Day 3: Hampton Roads to Great Bridge VA and the Atlantic Yacht Basin. Timing the tide, we left the dock about 7:30 and headed south. We passed Naval Station Norfolk on our port side and once again marveled at the ships there for refit and re-supply. Warship 57 left just as we passed her slip and it was interesting to see the tugs do their work and the sailors standing on the ship perimeter. As we continued past the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, we saw lots of activity and lots of pilot boats and tugs - must have been moving day on the water!

 

After about 14 miles and just before the Gilmerton Lift Bridge, there was a loud bag and vibration at the stern. We immediately reduced speed to idle, and checked the stern and engine room for trouble. Finding nothing, we continued on slowly but made ready the anchor just in case we needed to stop quickly or lost something in the drive train for some reason. We were lucky at the remaining bridges and lock as we arrived right at opening time and we called bridge/lock operators and other boaters to express our situation and concerns. Christina the sailboat, also headed to Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB), was very cooperative but Maverick the tugboat was a ass using his size and having a lack of communication skills.

 

Next thing we know, the bilge pump alarm is going off and we are thinking about where/when we will sink! Luckily, it activated for only short periods and a review of the bilge found it keeping up with the water flow but no source for the water. By now we have only one lock and one bridge and about one mile to go, so we prayed and continued on.

 

We finally made it to AYB and tied-up to the main dock. After consulting with James, the boatyard manager, I discovered a leak in the fresh water system behind the water heater. Why it happened I do not know, but we essentially wound up pumping the water from our 110 gallon fresh water tank thru the broken fitting and into the bilge!  I was able to fix it and pump out the remaining water, dry out the electrical cable tray it had leaked into, and all was well on that end. They were unable to pull the boat out of the water until the following week to check on the vibration, but when they did, we found a rope wrapped around the prop. Our "line cutter' had cut it - the loud bang we heard, and it was the cause of the vibration by interfering with the prop wash as it went over the rudder.

 

 

Tug pushing Warship 57

Full view of the ship

 Standing the rail

A medical ship

Warship 55 in dry dock

R Island being lifted from the water

The problem rope!

August 18-25, 2014 Magothy River to the Potomac River (Big Vibrations!)

 

The Severn River: We rose late and had a leisurely breakfast, showers, and even watched a little TV news. Backed out of the Magothy Marina slip after 3 weeks - still remembered how - and stopped for another pump out before heading down the Magothy River and into the Bay. It was overcast and that kept the sun out of our eyes as we were traveling east. We went under the center span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - 168 feet clear - just to say we did it and continued south and west toward the Severn River.

Annapolis is at the mouth of the Severn and this is the first time, even with living here in the 80's, that we approached town from the water - pretty cool feeling as Annapolis is one of our favorite cities. There is even some language in the will about having Ger's ashes scattered here. As we passed the Naval Academy, we saw all the training boats lined up - about 15 of them in two rows, and the always impressive education buildings.

We then passed under two more fixed bridges and headed 3 miles up river to Little Round Bay and settled R Island behind an island and out of the wind in about 15 feet of water. Consistently beautiful homes on both banks of the river. Probably "Wealthiest River" of the trip.  Ate lunch and did some small "do list" activities, read our books and just relaxed. There were passing boats to watch and kids enjoying the last week of vacation. Funny thing - after our 25 mile trip. we are only about 3 miles from where we started - as the crow flies.

Small snap-shot of the Magothy Marina and Hotel.

Our view off the stern for 3 weeks.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge  and her twin spans.

Some guy actually working on the bridge!

Naval Academy

PT boats - or a close cousin.

The West River:     Lots of black mud on the anchor when Judie pulled it up. She used lots of water to wash it, and the deck off, and make everything clean. Passed Annapolis one last time and into the Bay. We saw a  large ship, looked like a grain hauler, drop her anchor. We assume they are waiting for their berth to open up in Baltimore harbor - she was riding high and empty.

We went around Thomas Point Light - most popular light on the Bay for it's beauty and durability. There were actually visitors there that day, but our photographer had trouble with the boat rocking and could not get their craft in the picture.

We went on to the West River and the town of Galesville. Docked at Hartge Yacht Harbor. Hartge is the oldest family held marina in the US, started in 1865. It is a working boatyard that happens to have 270 boat slips attached to it. The marina is up a side creek and we were in a very well-protected slip. There is a lot of work going on here, but also an effort to preserve the past and foster the family pride. The second night is free, so we stayed two nights. The second day Judie cleaned all of the exterior stainless steel while Ger put air in the dingy, cleaned the boat transom, and mounted a new drink holder in the bridge.

 Thomas Point Light

 

 This big Cat had dual steering stations - one at each pontoon.

The guest House

The original house is now the museum

The office

                             
The Patuxent River: Judie woke up early, so we all got up early. We finished our morning routine, including a nice breakfast, and were away from the slip by 6:40. It was a great cruise down the Bay. Periods of sun and clouds and a very light breeze - none at times. This is only the second day of the trip that we traveled on water like glass.

Stopped at Solomons, at the mouth of the Patuxent and refueled at Calvert Marina. 95 gallons and the worst mileage of the trip. Judie says it's from going fast to keep up with Inch-N-Along, and using the extra power. She's probably right - looks like the skipper will have to back her down a little bit. Moved over to Zahnisers Yacht Harbor (a re-visit) and got a very nice end-tie with a great view. Took the shuttle into town and the Food Lion. the went to CD Café for one of the top 5 dinners of the trip.

Our view of the house of the founder of Solomons.

The Potomac River: Our goal for today is to travel 39 miles to the Point Lookout Marina on Smith Creek near the mouth of the Potomac River. We want to spend the weekend getting ready for our trip up the River to Washington DC. It was a nice day as we surfed down the river with a light following breeze. In fact. part of the time the water was flat - only the second time on the trip.

About 10:00 Ger noticed a vibration in the lower stern of the boat. with Judie's great hearing, we were able to determine that if we kept the engine RPMs low we could eliminate the vibration and still make 6 knots of speed instead of our usual 7-7.5. We called the marina and they agreed to do a "short Haul" (leaving it in the slings) so we could see what was happening and hopefully fix it. Well, no crab line tangled on the shaft or around the propeller. We did find a wobble in the rudder and the top bushing needs to be replaced. We went back into the water and decided to move on to Deltaville the next day where there are more facilities and related marine businesses. Point Lookout Marina is pretty isolated, pretty but isolated.

After 4 days we are still here waiting for the rain and now wind to let up. Our trip to Washington DC will have to wait  - maybe next year. We will still visit our son and his family in Annandale VA before heading back to AZ.

This marina took it tough in Hurricane Sandy. They lost their main dock and most of their customers. They are coming back slowly. They have a restaurant on site and there is another one close by, but we have eaten almost all meals on the boat while watching it rain and the wind blow. Hopefully we are out of here tomorrow.



Rain and high tides have really brought the water level up!

July 25 - August 18, 2014 Annapolis, Chesterton, Chicago, and Baltimore

The 6 hour/50 mile trip from Havre de Grace to our new stop-over was all down-wind and mostly with the tide - that's how we cruise at 8+ mph; about a mile over our usual speed. We chose to stop at the Magothy Marina, on the Magothy River - the same river we lived on when we were here from 1983-1986. We are about 3 miles from the house and half way between Baltimore and Annapolis. We did have to speed up at one point of the trip to beat a large car carrier on it's way from Baltimore Harbor to the Atlantic. We passed the Baltimore Light at the entrance to the Magothy, and had a great 4 mile cruise up the river. Lots of new homes and community piers since we lived here. The marina is condo - most slips owned by the boaters; with great dock hands (mostly young kids) and the best showers/restrooms of the trip; along with a pool and great deck area. There is a lot of wave action and one evening we lost our boarding ladder (boat knocked it into water??) and the finger piers are short and narrow. We got the monthly rate as we were planning to be here a while and it saved greatly on the budget. One downer was that night before last, one of the live-aboard guys had a heart attack and died in his sleep. I guess at least it was quick and he died on his boat!

Next day we rented a car - seems Ger made the reservation for Arnold MO (Missouri) instead of Arnold MD (Maryland) and when he called for pickup (Enterprise) the could not find us to come and get us! Had to start from scratch with a local reservation and we had to take a larger car than requested - but it turned out well for the trip to Chicago.

We spent the first day crossing the Bay Bridge back to the Eastern Shore to visit Chestertown MD - a place we bypassed on the way up the bay. Chestertown, on the Chester River,  is almost like stepping back in time - because there is no highway by-pass, and the downtown area is surrounded by restored homes and narrow streets. We visited the waterfront with a salute to the local ducks, walked past houses with beautiful flowers/trees and drove the neighborhoods to see many, many, many homes on the historic register.

Local hero who still holds Major league records today! (whose name we forgot)

Local ship!

...with uncomfortable figurehead!

Salute to the Ducks

one of many

 

We spent the next few days visiting Annapolis and renewing some of the fond memories of when we lived here. The City Dock with all it's activity, the quaint houses in the Edgewater neighborhood, the shops along main street including McBride's Art Gallery (they lived across the street from us) and of course our old neighborhood. We did not enter the Naval Academy, (Security turned us away because Judie had no ID on her) but remembered the sporting events we attended and the beautiful Church with all the weddings the day after graduation. Don't miss this place if you are ever even close. We were able to catch a light dinner at O'Leary's  - the first place we ate when we were looking for a house 31 years ago.

 

We also celebrated Mike's birthday and going away party at Mezzonotte's Italian restaurant as Inch-N-Along left for downtown Baltimore, Mike for a trip to see Mom in CA, and a schedule that does not quite match R Island. We hope to catch up with them at the Solomon's after we go to Washington DC for Labor Day.

 

The Baltimore Light

Annapolis City Dock/Marina

Best breakfast and all the local gossip!

Our next boat - really!

State Capitol building

Happy Birthday Mike!

We left for Illinois to visit our two children who live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Had a great time with them, their spouses and our grand-daughter. Visited the Brookfield Zoo, AA Baseball game in Kenosha, and stopped at Ger's sister and husband's home in South Bend IN coming and going and had a great time reconnecting and visiting Amish shops. Trip was August 1-13.

 

When we returned, spent the first day recuperating (read: slept late, grocery shopping and naps). Then headed to Baltimore to Fort McHenry where the Star Spangled Banner was written during the war of 1812. We had visited here in the 80's but we learned many new things but mostly how little we knew about this "forgotten war". It still sends shivers up our spines during the orientation video - another "don't miss" historical site. It was then off to the Inner Harbor and lunch at "Bubba Gump's" . We see this restaurant lot's of places - but seldom go in - but it was great sitting on the deck overlooking the harbor. Food was good and lot's of good memories when we used to come with the kids.

 

Francis Scott Key and the Flag!

Baltimore Fire boats next door to the Fort.

The Pride with water reflecting the morning light.

Firing the guns!

Entrance to the Fort

Judie and the dedication plaque.

Drill and music practice

At the inner harbor

Much like we remembered only seems smaller!

Viking ships at dock and patrolling the seas!

Ger worked on the conversion of this old power plat into an attraction.

Baltimore - home to McCormick Spice and Old Bay Seasoning! 

Not really sure....

Some Fords never die!