The Weitzells Join Us in Solomons

The end of our summer cruise is  especially fun for us. Erin, Roy, Morgan, and Dylan join us for the 4th of July weekend in Solomons. We luck out and get the last....and the only large transient slip at the Navy Recreation Center here. The boat is a bit crowded with 6 sleeping, but there is plenty to do here.

 

 We go to the Calvert Marine Museum, where we see a megladon and a lighthouse and learn the history of the Chesapeake.

We also swim in the pool, one of FOUR pools at the complex, sail to  Vera's White Sand Beach Club for lunch on the St. Leonard Creek, take a dinghy ride, go to the reconstructed St. Marys City, an 800 acre park showing life in the 1600s, and finish the weekend with 4th of July fireworks, viewed from the boat, after which, Rick makes a fantastic smooth landing back into our med-mooring slip in 15 knot winds in the pitch dark with a line of boats hot on our tail.

The Chesapeake At Last

After three years of telling everyone that this was the year we'd sail to the Chesapeake, we finally arrive  through the intercoastal waterway at Portsmouth , Virginia, and even though we once lived here, the sudden introduction into urban sprawl stuns us. Instead of the quiet of the Bahamas and North Carolina, there are huge cargo ships resolutely plying the waters, Naval vessels line the rivers, and tour boats, pleasure boats, and ferries dash between them from shore to shore.  Interesting to watch, and we do watch to insure that these giants do not run us down.

We spend the night at Tidewater Yacht Marina in Portsmouth. It's a little pricey, but it is our anniversary, and the marina nestles into the old port area of the town. Beautiful historical homes and gardens make for a wonderful walk in the evening. In the morning, we start our journey south, passing the unique lighthouses that mark the shoal waters of the bay.

On the night of June 26th, our stop is a lovely anchorage in Jackson Creek at Deltaville where a beautiful sunset breaks through the clouds.

Morning means the end of this particular cruise is drawing to a close. We motor on to Soloman's Island, Maryland where we will meet our daughter, Erin, son-in-law, Roy, and grandchildren, Morgan and Dylan.

Chugging Through North Carolina

We spent 2 days in beautiful Beaufort. Friday night, cleaned up and somewhat rested, we ate at The Grocery Company, a great Beaufort restaurant. Our son Ryan and his finacee Sabrina drove down to see us. We drove to Morehead City and ate at the Sanitary Fish Company. With a name like that, we're not sure how they remain in business, but there is seating for 400, at least 300 filled, and the food is fabulous. Ryan and Sabrina left Sunday, taking Don with them, back to Raleigh, where he could catch a plane for home. That night Beaufort was rocked with a huge thunderstorm and 76 mph winds. The boat survived, being nicely tied to the dock, but there was damage to many surrounding boats as anchor lines failed in the harbor.

While at the Beaufort City Marina, we had the pleasure of meeting Anthony, from Ireland, and his friends from England/Scotland Duncan and Dorothy. They were headed for the Chesapeake also, and for the next four days, we kept company on the journey. Our fiirst night we anchored in Broad Creek, where Rick and Cookie had anchored last fall on a trip to Bath, NC. The second night we settled in a small creek, Upper Dowry Creek, near Bell Haven. Duncan, Dorothy, and Anthony joined us on Wind Dancer for cocktail hour. Forest fires nearby gave an eerie cast to the sunrise in the morning. We motored, chugging along without much wind to Alligator River Marina on our third night. There appeared to be no safe anchorages at the end of the day. Wind Dancer and Anthony's boat, Wild Fox, made it to a marina, and through another storm, with 35 knot winds, but unfortuately Duncan and Dorothy on Hunda, with its 7 foot draft, could not get into the shallow waters of the marina and had to journey another 20 miles to an anchorage. They were caught in the storm while transiting the river. The 4th night, after motoring through the intercoastal waters of North Carolina, the three boats tied up at Coinjock Marina and said our goodbyes over an unexpectedly  fantastic dinner.

Dorothy, Duncan, Anthony, Rick, and Cookie at Coinjock Marina

The intercoastal waterway in North Carolina is convenient and avoids the hassle of giving a wide berth to Cape Hatteras, but the waters are bracken, and we left a yellow wake behind us. After four days, the boat sported a brownish mustache where the brackish waters flowed across the bow, and another on the stern. There isn't much sailing to be done either, except in the Pamlico  River.  The trip was interesting to do this time, miles and miles of wilderness and cypress swamps, but we would not like to do it every year as we moved south again in winter.

The Long Ride Home

This was the hard part, the part where Don as our crew earned his keep. Three days and three nights we stood our 3 hour watches.  Some of the trip was great, we sailed with fair winds through the heart of the gulf stream, reaching the amazing speed of 12 knots! However, once we reached the coastal waters, wind and weather turned against us. Winds from the north and east put an end to pleasant sailing. Our second night the boat rocked and pounded into east winds and oncoming waves and no one slept. The third night was slightly better, but we still rocked and pitched  in the following sea. Storms chased us up the Georgia and Carolina Coasts. The winds shifted to the SW, coming directly behind us. On our third full day, with the wind still behind us, and fuel running short, we raised the spinnaker and sailed in inconsistent, gusty winds, which puffed from 5 to 15 knots and angled  back and forth, 30 degrees behind us. For over an hour, the spinnaker snapped and heaved and finally the shackle separated spilling the sail into the water. Rick and Don  were able to pull the sail back aboard, and an inspection proved that we were lucky. The sock that encloses the spinnaker remained attached to the halyard, so we were able to lower it to the boat and the only problem was with the shackle itself. So we pulled out the main again and moved at speeds of 3-5 knots in the water for the next 5 or 6 hours, until we were confident that we had enough fuel to motor the remainder of the way to Beaufort, North Carolina.

One of the unique features of the crossing was the mascot which found us about 70 miles off the coast of Florida and stayed with us until we tied up at the pier in Beaufort. Bob (or Betty) the Bird was exhausted and starving when he landed on the boat. Cookie fed and watered him, while Rick and Don muttered and cleaned up bird poop. He spent one night in the bathroom, when he flew into the boat and could not be caught. When we finally got him out to the cockpit again, and used the companionway bug screen to keep him out, he spent the second night sitting on a line attached to the radar arch. On our approach to Beaufort, he sensed the land and made flight after flight toward shore, returning each time to the security of the boat. About the same time, he began hopping on our shoulders and pecking at our fingers....a strange way to thank us for bringing him back to shore. 

We made Beaufort in the morning just 73 hours after leaving the Bahamas, passing a great freighter as we entered the harbor.

On to Green Turtle and Great Sale

We have waited on the weather, once again. It is the wisest thing to do. Today we must exit the bank for a 2 mile jaunt through the Atlantic and back again around the island they call "The Whale". This spot can be plagued by winds and waves they call, "The Rage", when the ocean boils around the invisible reef and no one ventures out, but on this calm day it is hard to imagine. We slip in and out of the reef, with the waters, placid, the difference between a lion and a house cat. So calm is the day that we must motor the entire way. Our timing was good though because by the time we reeach Green Turtle, the winds have picked up and we anchor for the night in bumpy waters. Green Turtle is an old and quiet town on a small cove. One end of the island has a new resort, but we enjoy the our excursion into the old town and to Pineapples, the poolside bar whose fame had preceded it. We found it just as enjoyable as our friends who had visited before..

This is our last night of cruising in the Bhamas and Sand Castle joins us for a final cocktail together before we set sail for home. Tomorrow will be the island of Great Sale, an uninhabited stopover for most who travel between the Bahamas and the north.

At Great Sale, we watch our last Bahamian sunset, and Rick and Cookie blow our island conchs for the last itme until we return to Key West in the fall.