December 8, 2007
Hi Everyone:
It’s really fun when we hear from you. The responses and comments really brighten our day when we get a chance to go online. So thanks to all who have taken the time to share their thoughts with us and for the rest of you -- please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know what you think.
My apologies to all who have been wondering what happened to “the Buds at Sea” for the past few weeks. Somehow, other priorities are always popping up, but I will redouble my efforts, and try to keep up every day so I can get back to a weekly publishing schedule. I’m hoping some Wifi technology will make it easier to post updates as we go along.
We’re currently in Vero Beach. We arrived two days ago, and as advertised, it’s a great spot for cruisers to provision and get organized for further cruising. We’ll probably stay another 3 days at least.
So how did we do in the Carolinas and Georgia? This posting picks up in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Minim Creek under the Stars (Sun, Nov 11)
Sunshine Daydream (Tracy and Vytas) got off to an early start at 7 and told us their goal was Minim Creek. We left about 15 minutes later. This was a pretty easy day with only one drawbridge and we passed mile 400 on the ICW as we cruised down the sparsely settled Waccamaw River. It was a bit blustery as we passed by Georgetown, with the wind on our nose as we went down Winyah Bay, but soon we were back in a narrow ICW cut and anchored in the marshes surrounding Minim Creek by 3:30.
There was one other boat, but no Sunshine Daydream. We figured they had pressed on further to be closer to Charleston, where they planned to stay a week with family. We enjoyed an exceptional sunset followed by Sue’s pasta with clam sauce. It was a very calm night, and the stars and Milky Way were in full splendor. After a brief reflection on how lucky we were to be here, we reverted back to our usual vices and watched a couple more X-File episodes on the DVD!
Warming up for Charleston (Mon, Nov 12)
We were up and off the hook by 8:30. We were passed by the motor cruiser “Roving Seas” and had a short chat on VHF about Marblehead and Niantic, CT where they were from. All was pretty routine, until around 1:00, when I managed to run aground briefly. This time it was following the Skipper Bob ICW Guide to take day mark G “89” wide. I guess my “wide” was a little wider than Skipper Bob had in mind.
We arrived in Dewees Creek (northwest branch) around 2:10, completely surrounded by marshes, and it was warm – at last! We had cocktails as the sun set and then had a steak dinner (Brian finally got to fire up the BBQ) with sweet potatoes, zucchini and salad. We followed up with TWO X-file episodes. Living was easy!
Charleston Casts Its Charm (Tues, Nov 13)
We were off to a good start, and our luck continued when the only swing bridge we had to go through was opened perfectly by the bridge operator, so that we never even had to slow down. (It’s the simple pleasures that count on the ICW!)
At 10:30 we broke out of the “ditch” into Charleston Harbor and had some time for some sightseeing from the water (Fort Sumter, Fort Johnson, and the city itself). We even stopped the motor and actually sailed for an hour. What a concept! A sail boat using its sails on the way south! Charleston from the water was very impressive -- a nineteenth century city with a skyline dominated by church steeples and bell towers. Because of all the churches, Charleston is known locally as the “Holy City.” Let’s just say, I never heard that part about Charleston when I was in the Navy.
We tied up on the Ashley River side of town at the Charleston City Marina on the outside of the “Mega dock.” It gets its name from its size (over 1000 feet long) and the size of the yachts tied up to it. There were a number 200 foot plus mega-yachts tied there while we were there, plus two schooners and an occasional coastal passenger ship.
After we showered and had lunch, we grabbed our maps, jumped on a marina courtesy van, and soon found ourselves on East Bay Street at the city market. We proceeded get our bearings and walk through the large historic district to White Point Gardens and the Battery overlooking the harbor. You could tell immediately, that historic preservation (architecturally and otherwise) was a core Charleston value.
While looking for a restaurant that evening, we were “hailed” by four diners at the Crab Shack who highly recommended the various Low Country Boil dishes on the menu. (steamed shrimp, oysters, scallops, corn, and potatoes) They figured out from our hats that we were on Sogno. Turns out they were from “Roving Seas” (Niantic, CT), who had chatted with us the previous day. To top it off, the boat’s owners lived just a few houses down from the only couple we knew in Niantic. (Vicki, I’ll let you lead the chorus in “It’s a Small World.”).
Charleston Beats the Advanced Billing (Wed-Fri, Nov 14-16)
We won’t bore you with the details, but the bottom line is clear -- you have to visit Charleston for a few days. It’s filled with friendly people, good food and drink, interesting history, and architectural details that keep drawing you down side streets and peeking into walled off gardens.
Recommendations: Go to the visitor center, see the Welcome Video and get your DASH shuttle pass. See the Calhoun House (fabulous collection of art, furniture and Tiffany chandeliers). Take a walking or carriage ride tour. Grocery shop at Harris Teeters. Stay at the City Marina – top notch facilities, excellent courtesy van service, and friendly staff. Don’t miss the excellent breakfast at the “Variety Store and Restaurant” near the marina. Watering holes/food: Crab Shack, Tom Condon’s Pub, Moe’s, Noisy Oyster, Mad Grill. 82 Queen Street for a special dinner in the courtyard or one of the many dining rooms.
Amidst all that, we managed to do some minor engine maintenance (change oil, zinc, clean sea strainers) and general clean up to get Sogno – and us (laundry) -- ready for South Carolina and Georgia Low Country to come.
We also met Rick and Cindy (Dragonfly), who had left Marblehead ahead of us. They are friends of our house sitters (Jon and Shawna) and we had been both on the lookout for each other. They were anchored in the Ashley, near the marina, and they spotted Sogno on a dinghy run ashore. They left their boat card in the cockpit, and we were able to get together for 40 minutes or so aboard Sogno one evening. Coincidently, we learned that the person they have watching their house was one of our former next door neighbors.
We pass the 500 Mile Mark (Sat, Nov 17)
Despite the moderate current on our stern, we managed to back off the mega-dock neatly (i.e., didn’t hit the boat ahead of us) and resume our voyage south. Despite the sub-40 degree temps at dawn, it managed to get up to the 60s by the afternoon. We were now deep into the Low Country and passed mile 500 on the ICW. We had many dolphin sightings, and captured one pair we could practically touch, on 30 seconds of video. We hope to get that posted, once we figure out how to edit it a bit. (I thought of you Vicki, when we had the camera rolling.)
We anchored in a bend of the South Edisto River (just off the ICW), and celebrated 500 miles on the ICW with grilled lamb steaks, salad, potato and an appropriate beverage, followed by a DVD movie: “Flags of Our Fathers.” We want to now see the second movie that presents Iwo Jima from a Japanese soldier perspective.
Beaufort, SC: Can you say BWEW-fert? (Sun, Nov 18)
We passed through the Beaufort draw bridge and were tied up at the Downtown Marina by 1:00 (an easy approach to a floating dock against the current). Wifi came up with out a hitch, but we took off to see the Bay Street shopping area, a beautiful walk along the river and anchorage.
When we got back to the marina, we spotted Journey (Bill and Marlene) of Elizabeth City “wine and cheese” fame. We agreed to meet after dinner to watch the Patriots game. We risked our ear drums and had dinner at Kathleen’s, which had a blues band playing on the riverside deck. The Journey crew was still waiting for their meal at game time, so we took a rain check and headed back to Sogno to retire with our usual DVD episode.
Up Bull Creek (Mon, Nov 19)
This morning, to get a decent Wifi signal from the marina, Brian set up shop with his laptop, on a park bench. Not surprisingly, the first priority was to order a “super” Wifi antenna that promised a range of “up to 1 mile.” (We would settle for 300 yards!) In the email department, the Marblehead tax collector was there to ask for the boat excise tax. (Thanks Jon for sending a copy of the bill to us.)
We got underway backing out against a small flood current, and bidding farewell to Journey for now. That day we motored pass the Marine Basic Training base at Parris Island (very large) and eventually anchored in the middle of the marshes around 3:00. We were literally “up Bull Creek” (mile 565.5!) Some of us planned, some of us dreamed (aka naptime), but morale was high after a broiled chicken dinner. A calm anchorage and full tummy is something always to be appreciated!
We “bump” into Georgia (Tue, Nov 20)
We got off to a good start, and made it pass all the “Caution” areas in our Skipper Bob guide, UNTIL we entered Field’s Cut very near low tide. This is literally the last leg of the ICW in South Carolina, since it breaks out into the busy Savannah River, which marks the boundary with Georgia.
We started out on the left side of the channel after we saw “Eau Sauvage” (a sailboat from Montreal) run aground on the right side. Soon we saw them zigging one way and the other. As we followed behind, we saw why. It was like slaloming around shoals that came out from each bank to grab you. Finally, our Canadian “guide” ran aground only 200 short yards from the river. They backed off the mud and graciously suggested we give it a try! We tried left; we tried middle. NO GO. We just about gave up, and then we tried the same starboard path as our new friends, but this time turned toward the middle of the channel short of where they had bottomed out. The depth stayed good, and we were back in the center of the channel, we head straight for the river. We made it – and what’s more there were no big ships in the river bearing down on us! Eau Sauvage followed our lead, and a few hours later we both ended up at the same marina in the aptly named town of Isle of Hope, GA.
After we got tied up, we went over to meet the Eau Sauvage crew. They were so grateful for our help, that we got a bottle of genuine Canadian maple syrup as a present. Merci beaucoup!
After signing in, we got the necessary info to take a one hour bus ride into to Savannah for $1 each. This was our second visit, but this time we got to see what the suburbs were like. We arrived downtown around 5:00, just in time to do a Happy Hour survey. We settled on the Blue Moon Brewery on Bay Street, followed by dinner at the Old Tavern on River Street. It had been a long day indeed by 7:40 pm, so we elected to take a 20 minute taxi ride back to Isle of Hope and call it a day.
An Early Thanksgiving Feast (Wed, Nov 21)
Sogno’s crew was back for more the next morning, starting this time on a more cultural note at the “Ships of the Sea” museum (highly recommended). Lots of local nautical exhibits on commercial shipping and the Civil War, plus unexpected exhibits on the Titanic and the building in which the museum was located.
Culture always sharpens our appetites, so we jumped on the free city shuttle, and with the aid of a very jovial bus driver who told us to “trust me”, we were dropped off within a few yards of “Mrs. Wilkes Place.” It was around noon, and there were already 20 people in line for her famous “family style” Southern cooking. We jumped in line and within 20 minutes we were seated at a big table with 9 other folks, facing a huge selection of vegetables (corn, potatoes, a variety of beans, peas squash, turnips, collard greens, cabbage) and entrees (meat loaf, stew, barbeque pork, and fried chicken), biscuits, and iced tea. Everything began circulating clockwise, and continued until we couldn’t eat anymore, or were just embarrassed we were the only ones still eating. Most everyone still had room for the banana pudding. By the time we got up from the table, I realized I didn’t even know what the price was. It turned out to be a non-issue -- $15 each!!
Other attractions: Railroad Roundhouse museum, Savannah museum (lots about WWI and WWII also).
We wrapped it up with some more “grazing” along River St. and managed to have the same taxi driver we had the previous night to take us back to the marina.
Much to be Thankful For (Thur, Nov 22)
We got an early start (for us) at 8:30 on Thanksgiving morning, but our string of graceful exits ended we tried to leave the dock and avoid a large catamaran was pointing bow-to-bow with us on the dock. We nicked Sogno’s bow a bit, in trying to go forward and clear the cat. We got some more help from the catamaran couple, and with the use of a spring line and some initial forward power to kick Sogno’s stern out. We were very “thankful” to eventually back out without any more scratches or embarrassment.
We were also very thankful to get through two more “caution areas” in the Georgia ICW appropriately named “Hells Gate” and “Florida Passage” without seeing less than 2 feet under our keel. By the time we anchored in Kilkenny Creek, around 12:30 the tide was down, the wind was up, and we were happy to kick back and enjoy the marsh scenery with two other sailboats and a trawler.
Sue put together a delicious pasta dinner combining Lemon Pepper linguine (a gourmet shop purchase in Beaufort, SC) with Trader Joe’s piccatta sauce (thanks Vicki for the Trader Joe tip). Despite the “one-bar” cell phone service, Brian even managed to complete a call to his sister Norene in Denver, with only 3 or 4 drops.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. While this was a different kind of Thanksgiving for us, it still reminded us of how very fortunate we are. We owe much to so many for helping us on this adventure and plus a special debt to those who protect our freedoms at home and overseas.
When winds oppose the tide … (Fri, Nov 23)
As we motored out of the creek, a woman on one of the sailboats (Cassiopeia) popped out of the cabin to ask it we were really planning to go into St. Catherine’s Sound. It turns out they had tried on Thanksgiving, but had to come back to the anchorage because it was so rough. I explained that we were, but weather seemed to not be an issue today.
Along the way we had some momentary glitches in our battery charging system, and managed to pass one navigation aid on the wrong side, without incident. We also made it past still another caution area (Creighton Narrows) and anchored in the Duplin River, about 600 yards short of a 35 ft power line (Sogno’s metal mast is 53’ high). Given that this is a north-south river, and the evening wind was forecast from the North or North East, this wasn’t an ideal anchorage, but it seemed to be the best in the area, with some wind protection.
Despite a steak dinner, a clear sky with a full moon, and a pretty setting, this was the worst anchorage of the trip. Around 1:00 am the waves slapping against the hull signaled this would not be a quiet night.. With the wind blowing 20 knots from the north, and the strong tidal current flowing north, it started getting choppy. Sogno couldn’t decide whether to point into the wind or into the current so she did a little of both. The net result was a very rolly-poly night, with lots of noises of chain rubbing against the hull and the rigging that supports the bowsprit (aka bobstay). This was not your restful safe harbor!
We Land in the Golden Isles (Sat, Nov 24)
After a fitful night on the hook, within an hour of dawn, the full moon set and it was indeed darkest before the dawn. When the sun finally rose, the spring tide had risen at least a foot more than the previous day, covering much of the marshes and making the river look wider than it really was. The sign warning about the power lines, was half-submerged.
Despite the 20 knot wind gusts, we had an easy time leaving the anchorage, and once we were heading south again, the wind was not as much an issue. Maybe some time, we’ll come back in calm conditions, and give the Duplin a chance to live up to some of the glowing cruising guide descriptions.
We passed through still more of the “caution areas” (Little Mud River, Altamaha Sound, and Buttermilk Sound) where dredging was badly needed, but with the above average tide, we had no problems. A few of the day marks were hard to spot since the tops were only 3 feet above the water!
We arrived at Golden Isles Marina (across from St. Simon’s Island) and Sue made a perfect landing on the face dock, in a very strong current. Melissa, the dockmaster, was extremely efficient in arranging fuel, pumpout and a courtesy car for us, while Sue put their laundry to good use. Within 3 hours we were off on a quick drive around St. Simon’s Island enjoying a peek at its old lighthouse and the well planned community. We provisioned at a Harris Teeter supermarket, and returned to the Marina for showers and an excellent dinner at the Coastal Kitchen marina restaurant. Whew! We had done more in 6 hours at this marina than we can normally get done in a day at most places.
Biking on Jekyll Island (Sun, Nov 25)
Today’s run was less than 10 miles. Our destination was Jekyll Island, sight of the historic “Millionaire’s Club”, where all the prominent names of the late 1800’s built their cottages, moored their yachts and gathered for formal dinners at the “club house.” The state of Georgia now owns the entire island and the club house is now a classic hotel.
After making it through another caution area in Jekyll Creek (easy when you do it at high tide), we were greeted by the friendly staff of Jekyll Harbor Marina. They (plus a crowd of 6 onlookers) were there to help us with our lines as Sue made an excellent approach into the current. After a quick lunch, we were off to explore the island on the free marina bicycles.
They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but we both needed time to get use to these single speed bikes, with old fashioned pedal brakes. For Sue the problem wasn’t stopping, it was getting the bike to lean to the same side as her extended foot when she came to a stop. After 7 or 8 “mini-crashes”, it was time for some serious practice. After that, biking (and stopping) started to be much more enjoyable. Fortunately, the bikes had seen their days so a few more scratches probably didn’t make any difference.
We toured the southern part of the Island (beaches and picnic areas) and stopped with some other bikers to enjoy a beer at Blackbeard’s Restaurant. Back in the historic district, we poked around the shops and then headed for the “Rah Bar” along Jekyll Creek. The steamed shrimp was so good we managed to go through two pounds!
Our next stop was a walk through the impressive club house, and a peek at the grand dining room. We also discovered a snug little pub off the basement, where our bartender Ali (who lives on her boat at the marina) brought us up to speed on future development plans for the island. Nothing drastic, but after 50 years of very little change, it looked like change was coming to many of the old motels and restaurants outside the historic district.
We raced back to check in our bikes by 6pm, and a quick bite at the marina restaurant. We had biked about 10 miles, but I suspect the calories expended did not cover the food and drink we had consumed along the way. We’ll try harder the next time.
Fog and Shrimp (Mon, Nov 26)
We woke to fog, which was even thicker by 8:00. It eventually lifted and by 10:00, we were on our way to Cumberland Island. One more “caution area” was ahead – St. Andrews Sound, which can get nasty if the wind is up. There was very little wind, but was nasty this time was a big fog bank that sat right at the mouth of the sound where we would make our turn back to enter the Cumberland River.
We had our radar going, but due to some problems with the electronic compass, the display was some times confusing. We passed two sailboats (one with radar) who had turned back. We kept going, and made the turn without incident (i.e., didn’t hit the buoy or run aground). We sounded fog signals, and communicated with an overtaking power catamaran via VHF before we finally came out of the fog in less than 30 minutes after we entered. The other two sailboats also emerged 10 minutes later. We were back in the Georgia sun!
The rest of the trip was uneventful, although there were the usual thin water “tensions” to deal with on occasion. We also passed the huge Navy submarine base at Kings Bay, but didn’t see any missile subs underway. By 3:00 we turned into the Cumberland Island anchorage, which already had around 10 boats. The catamaran at the head of the anchorage was moving to a new location, and the skipper invited us to take his place.
By the time the hook was set, it was a bit too late to go ashore and explore the island. We settled for cocktails and steamed shrimp in the cockpit, followed by more Georgia shrimp over lemon pepper linguine for dinner. Remember: when cruising always have a plan B!
Coming attractions: More Golden Isles, the warm weather returns when we arrive in Florida, pass the 900 mile mark on the ICW, and settle down for a spell in “Velcro Beach.”
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Oriental, NC to Barefoot Landing, SC
November 22, 2007
Hi Everyone:
It’s really fun when we hear from you. The responses and comments really brighten our day when we get a chance to go online. So thanks to all who have taken the time to share their thoughts with us and for the rest of you -- please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know what you think.
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and Sue and I surely have much to be thankful for this year. We apologize for not keeping our blog up to date, but as you will read, we have been quite busy enjoying our journey through the Carolinas.
We are currently anchored in the Georgia “low country”, in Killkenny Creek. The day started out rather gray, and we had to rush to keep up with the tides, but right now the sun is out, the skies are blue and we are looking out on miles of golden marsh grass with the temps in the low 70s. We’re nearing Florida, but are focused right now on how to get through the few “thin spots” on the ICW at mid-tide and at the same time enjoy visiting St. Simons, Jekyll, and Cumberland Islands. Life is good!
So how did we do in the Carolinas? This posting picks up at Oriental, NC.
If it’s BOH-fert, we must be in North Carolina! (Mon, Nov 5)
Just as we were weighing anchor from Oriental, a “small” 200-ft. cruise ship arrived, to swallow up our place in the anchorage. It must have shaken up the boat anchored behind us, when he saw the new guy on the block dominating the anchorage.
This was the first day when dolphin sightings began to happen frequently as we skirted areas that opened directly on to Pamlico Sound and neared the direct opening to the ocean at Morehead and Beaufort, NC. We arrived at the Beaufort City Docks at around 1:30 pm, and didn’t even scratch the huge yacht next to us during the landing. We stayed on our best behavior trying to pronounce Beaufort just right (BOH-fert). We had been warned by dozens of boaters we shouldn’t confuse it with Beaufort (BYEW-fert), which was in South Carolina.
After lunch we took a stroll in the nearby shopping and residential area, got our email at the local library, and generally enjoyed the sights of Beaufort. Of course we couldn’t pass up some crab dip and “buffalo shrimp” appetizers at Clawsons.
More importantly, we also managed to get some valuable “tid bits” on the Georgia portion of the ICW. We were seated next to a friendly “delivery captain” who gave us some thumb rules for predicting currents knowing the tides, and frankly advised us to go outside and avoid the shallow and twisting ICW in Georgia. (Delivery captains are hired by owners to move their boat from one location to another at quickly as possible.) While his cautions about Georgia gave us pause, we are still determined to “stay the course”. Based on the advice of our ICW cruising friends back home (thanks, Dave and Cal, Peter and Vicki) plus many other first timers we have met along the way, we think the Georgia section has lots to offer us.
Catching up with the To Do List (Tues, Nov 6)
Today was a chance to get caught up on the logistical details. Sue got the marina courtesy car (a ’93 woody station wagon) to do some provisioning at Piggly Wiggly and Food Lion, while I fueled Sogno at our slip. This was the first marina I had been at, where they could bring a fuel nozzle to your slip, rather than taking your boat to the fuel dock – a great idea. I also did some engine maintenance, while Sue did the laundry --- in a real laundromat only 2 blocks from the marina. (Most marinas only have 1 – maybe 2 washers which means it can take forever.) The afternoon was devoted to composing our next blog posting, and then we went out for appetizers (“Dock House”) and dinner at the “Net House.” Lots of friendly locals, but we didn’t see any other cruisers. We retreated to Sogno, fired up the heater to take off the 45 degree chill before lights out. A productive but also relaxing day!
Good Food Trumps Misbehaving Technology (Wed, Nov 7)
Speaking as an engineer, today did not start well. I’ll skip the gory details, but the net result was I had to swap out one laptop for another, when we had problems with our Raymarine navigation software. In addition, the onboard heater was acting up in the morning; the temperature was 39 degree temperatures. The net result was a late start, but the good news was that we had most of our area of the slips to ourselves so we could make a very graceful departure with the aid of the dockmaster.
Once we passed the Beaufort-Morehead entrance, the 20-25 knot winds and chop calmed considerably and we had an uneventful trip to Swansboro, where we anchored for the night. “At the end of the day” I’m happy to report that crew morale was fully restored thanks to: (1) grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch, (2) restoring our heater to service via a cell phone call to customer support, and (3) Sue’s fresh shrimp and pasta stir-fry for dinner.
Bridgekeepers Rule! (Thurs, Nov 8)
We left Swansboro at around 8am (not quite as chilly as Beaufort) and managed to “touch bottom” briefly as we went around a well advertised shallow spot. (Note: There IS a difference between your boat touching bottom, hitting bottom, and having to call Sea Tow to pull your boat off the bottom. To date, we have not had to call Sea Tow – keep your fingers crossed for us.) Despite all the VHF radio chatter and our cruising guide advice, we (and others behind us) managed not to pass too close to Green Buoy “61A”. Even the tug captain who was advising other boaters over the VHF, managed to have his barge ground briefly as well.
After that adventure, we very happy to discover that there were no live gun fire exercises going on at the Camp Lejeune. The ICW passes through 6 miles of the Marine Base and there’s a big sign with lights warning you that if they are flashing, live fire is in progress. I’m told they back that up with the appropriate armed vessels to discourage any ICW John Waynes from trying to join in the fun by water.
This stretch of the ICW was our first test on how to pass through 4 successive draw bridges over the next 54 miles, some of whom only open on the hour, and some who open on the hour and half hour. We thought we had a reasonable plan, but we (and everyone else) learned at bridge no 2 (opening at 1:00) that bridge no. 3 was also down for maintenance from 1:00 to 4:00. All we could do (both sailboats and power boats) was to move along slowly. Our friendly tug and barge kept us a nice distance for those 3 hours. Brian was so bored by the whole thing that he got careless even and ran aground briefly. (One needs to watch the depth finder constantly in the ICW.). Finally we all went through bridge no. 3 at 4:15 dashing for bridge no. 4. Luckily our commercial tug captain got the bridge to open 15 minutes early and we were all through by 5:00.
Now a parade of 8 boats left the ICW in one group and all headed for the Wrightsville Beach anchorage. It was quite a sight to see us all racing for spots to drop the hook, as darkness descended (sunset was at 5:15). After a few false starts, we finally found the perfect “parking spot”. In this case perfect was defined as: 1. not near any local fisherman’s gill nets, 2. not too near any other boats, and 3. would actually let the anchor grab the bottom.
A post-sundown “sundowner” plus some pork chops and veggies for dinner made things right again. It had been a long and “interesting” day on the ICW.
New Friends from Chicago and Rhode Island (Fri, Nov 9)
We were off and running at 8am but most of our previous day’s ICW companions were already on the road already. Today promised to be a great day – no draw bridges!
We got to see some big ships and a large Army ammunition station as we passed down the Cape Fear River. We arrived at the St. James Marina, which is part of a condominium and golf resort near Southport, NC. We fueled up, pumped out, washed Sogno down and then hit the showers. After posting some more pictures for “Bud-at-Sea”, it was definitely time to socialize.
We set up camp near the marina store, with some wine and cheese, and pretty soon two other ICW couples joined us. Tracy and Vytas (boat name Sunshine Daydream) had sailed from Chicago via the Great Lakes, Erie Canal and Hudson. They were also heading for the Bahamas. Frank and Terry (boat name Frankly Terryfic) had begun their trawler voyage from Point Judith, RI. It was their very first boat, and they were aiming for the Florida Keys. We all had a great time exchanging stories. Tracy and Vytas had been in the previous day’s “bridge tournament”. At 9 pm, we called it a night after some coffee on “Frankly Terryfic”.
Going Barefoot after the Rock Pile (Sat, Nov 10)
Despite the “late night” festivities, we managed to get underway at 8, without incident. By noon, we were passing through the Sunset Beach pontoon bridge. This clever design from the past, had the central bridge span and the keepers house on what looked like a barge, and a series of cables was used to pull it out of the way when an opening was requested. Not very fast, but at least a change from the lift, draw and swing bridges we had seen thus far. Within a few miles we were in South Carolina and encountered a conventional, and very slow to open, draw bridge followed by a construction barge that had to be maneuvered out of the way by two tugs, before we could pass. (We had read that the bridges were slow and bridge operators we often slow to respond in SC. However, the operators were always very friendly.)
Our next hurdle was the “rock pile”, a notorious four mile stretch that had been dug through an unusually rocky area. For anyone who has cruised in New England, you really had to look hard to see the rocks, and the narrow channel itself was quite rock free. The real danger was meeting a large barge, and being squeezed out of the channel. We managed however to pass through untouched and then through a much better run draw bridge.
We then tied up at Barefoot Resort and Yacht Club. It sounds fancy, but the condominium and marina complex lost all its electrical power just as we arrived. (They still managed to collect our dockage fee.) Unfazed, we got into our shore clothes and walked over a bridge to the other side of the ICW to check out the Barefoot Landing factory outlet and entertainment complex. Everything from a House of Blues, country music theatre, dozens of shops, and a complete assortment of restaurants. We were actually in the Myrtle Beach area, and all of this was aimed at filling in the spare time of those not engaged in golf. We of course had appetizers in 3 restaurants, and ran into Tracy and Vytas at the last one. They were still on track to stop in Charleston, and we agreed to stay in touch and try and share an anchorage the following day.
Coming attractions: We enjoy our extended shore leave – 4 days -- in Charleston, bump our way through the SC-GA border, visit Savannah, and check out the “Golden Isles.”
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
Hi Everyone:
It’s really fun when we hear from you. The responses and comments really brighten our day when we get a chance to go online. So thanks to all who have taken the time to share their thoughts with us and for the rest of you -- please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know what you think.
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and Sue and I surely have much to be thankful for this year. We apologize for not keeping our blog up to date, but as you will read, we have been quite busy enjoying our journey through the Carolinas.
We are currently anchored in the Georgia “low country”, in Killkenny Creek. The day started out rather gray, and we had to rush to keep up with the tides, but right now the sun is out, the skies are blue and we are looking out on miles of golden marsh grass with the temps in the low 70s. We’re nearing Florida, but are focused right now on how to get through the few “thin spots” on the ICW at mid-tide and at the same time enjoy visiting St. Simons, Jekyll, and Cumberland Islands. Life is good!
So how did we do in the Carolinas? This posting picks up at Oriental, NC.
If it’s BOH-fert, we must be in North Carolina! (Mon, Nov 5)
Just as we were weighing anchor from Oriental, a “small” 200-ft. cruise ship arrived, to swallow up our place in the anchorage. It must have shaken up the boat anchored behind us, when he saw the new guy on the block dominating the anchorage.
This was the first day when dolphin sightings began to happen frequently as we skirted areas that opened directly on to Pamlico Sound and neared the direct opening to the ocean at Morehead and Beaufort, NC. We arrived at the Beaufort City Docks at around 1:30 pm, and didn’t even scratch the huge yacht next to us during the landing. We stayed on our best behavior trying to pronounce Beaufort just right (BOH-fert). We had been warned by dozens of boaters we shouldn’t confuse it with Beaufort (BYEW-fert), which was in South Carolina.
After lunch we took a stroll in the nearby shopping and residential area, got our email at the local library, and generally enjoyed the sights of Beaufort. Of course we couldn’t pass up some crab dip and “buffalo shrimp” appetizers at Clawsons.
More importantly, we also managed to get some valuable “tid bits” on the Georgia portion of the ICW. We were seated next to a friendly “delivery captain” who gave us some thumb rules for predicting currents knowing the tides, and frankly advised us to go outside and avoid the shallow and twisting ICW in Georgia. (Delivery captains are hired by owners to move their boat from one location to another at quickly as possible.) While his cautions about Georgia gave us pause, we are still determined to “stay the course”. Based on the advice of our ICW cruising friends back home (thanks, Dave and Cal, Peter and Vicki) plus many other first timers we have met along the way, we think the Georgia section has lots to offer us.
Catching up with the To Do List (Tues, Nov 6)
Today was a chance to get caught up on the logistical details. Sue got the marina courtesy car (a ’93 woody station wagon) to do some provisioning at Piggly Wiggly and Food Lion, while I fueled Sogno at our slip. This was the first marina I had been at, where they could bring a fuel nozzle to your slip, rather than taking your boat to the fuel dock – a great idea. I also did some engine maintenance, while Sue did the laundry --- in a real laundromat only 2 blocks from the marina. (Most marinas only have 1 – maybe 2 washers which means it can take forever.) The afternoon was devoted to composing our next blog posting, and then we went out for appetizers (“Dock House”) and dinner at the “Net House.” Lots of friendly locals, but we didn’t see any other cruisers. We retreated to Sogno, fired up the heater to take off the 45 degree chill before lights out. A productive but also relaxing day!
Good Food Trumps Misbehaving Technology (Wed, Nov 7)
Speaking as an engineer, today did not start well. I’ll skip the gory details, but the net result was I had to swap out one laptop for another, when we had problems with our Raymarine navigation software. In addition, the onboard heater was acting up in the morning; the temperature was 39 degree temperatures. The net result was a late start, but the good news was that we had most of our area of the slips to ourselves so we could make a very graceful departure with the aid of the dockmaster.
Once we passed the Beaufort-Morehead entrance, the 20-25 knot winds and chop calmed considerably and we had an uneventful trip to Swansboro, where we anchored for the night. “At the end of the day” I’m happy to report that crew morale was fully restored thanks to: (1) grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch, (2) restoring our heater to service via a cell phone call to customer support, and (3) Sue’s fresh shrimp and pasta stir-fry for dinner.
Bridgekeepers Rule! (Thurs, Nov 8)
We left Swansboro at around 8am (not quite as chilly as Beaufort) and managed to “touch bottom” briefly as we went around a well advertised shallow spot. (Note: There IS a difference between your boat touching bottom, hitting bottom, and having to call Sea Tow to pull your boat off the bottom. To date, we have not had to call Sea Tow – keep your fingers crossed for us.) Despite all the VHF radio chatter and our cruising guide advice, we (and others behind us) managed not to pass too close to Green Buoy “61A”. Even the tug captain who was advising other boaters over the VHF, managed to have his barge ground briefly as well.
After that adventure, we very happy to discover that there were no live gun fire exercises going on at the Camp Lejeune. The ICW passes through 6 miles of the Marine Base and there’s a big sign with lights warning you that if they are flashing, live fire is in progress. I’m told they back that up with the appropriate armed vessels to discourage any ICW John Waynes from trying to join in the fun by water.
This stretch of the ICW was our first test on how to pass through 4 successive draw bridges over the next 54 miles, some of whom only open on the hour, and some who open on the hour and half hour. We thought we had a reasonable plan, but we (and everyone else) learned at bridge no 2 (opening at 1:00) that bridge no. 3 was also down for maintenance from 1:00 to 4:00. All we could do (both sailboats and power boats) was to move along slowly. Our friendly tug and barge kept us a nice distance for those 3 hours. Brian was so bored by the whole thing that he got careless even and ran aground briefly. (One needs to watch the depth finder constantly in the ICW.). Finally we all went through bridge no. 3 at 4:15 dashing for bridge no. 4. Luckily our commercial tug captain got the bridge to open 15 minutes early and we were all through by 5:00.
Now a parade of 8 boats left the ICW in one group and all headed for the Wrightsville Beach anchorage. It was quite a sight to see us all racing for spots to drop the hook, as darkness descended (sunset was at 5:15). After a few false starts, we finally found the perfect “parking spot”. In this case perfect was defined as: 1. not near any local fisherman’s gill nets, 2. not too near any other boats, and 3. would actually let the anchor grab the bottom.
A post-sundown “sundowner” plus some pork chops and veggies for dinner made things right again. It had been a long and “interesting” day on the ICW.
New Friends from Chicago and Rhode Island (Fri, Nov 9)
We were off and running at 8am but most of our previous day’s ICW companions were already on the road already. Today promised to be a great day – no draw bridges!
We got to see some big ships and a large Army ammunition station as we passed down the Cape Fear River. We arrived at the St. James Marina, which is part of a condominium and golf resort near Southport, NC. We fueled up, pumped out, washed Sogno down and then hit the showers. After posting some more pictures for “Bud-at-Sea”, it was definitely time to socialize.
We set up camp near the marina store, with some wine and cheese, and pretty soon two other ICW couples joined us. Tracy and Vytas (boat name Sunshine Daydream) had sailed from Chicago via the Great Lakes, Erie Canal and Hudson. They were also heading for the Bahamas. Frank and Terry (boat name Frankly Terryfic) had begun their trawler voyage from Point Judith, RI. It was their very first boat, and they were aiming for the Florida Keys. We all had a great time exchanging stories. Tracy and Vytas had been in the previous day’s “bridge tournament”. At 9 pm, we called it a night after some coffee on “Frankly Terryfic”.
Going Barefoot after the Rock Pile (Sat, Nov 10)
Despite the “late night” festivities, we managed to get underway at 8, without incident. By noon, we were passing through the Sunset Beach pontoon bridge. This clever design from the past, had the central bridge span and the keepers house on what looked like a barge, and a series of cables was used to pull it out of the way when an opening was requested. Not very fast, but at least a change from the lift, draw and swing bridges we had seen thus far. Within a few miles we were in South Carolina and encountered a conventional, and very slow to open, draw bridge followed by a construction barge that had to be maneuvered out of the way by two tugs, before we could pass. (We had read that the bridges were slow and bridge operators we often slow to respond in SC. However, the operators were always very friendly.)
Our next hurdle was the “rock pile”, a notorious four mile stretch that had been dug through an unusually rocky area. For anyone who has cruised in New England, you really had to look hard to see the rocks, and the narrow channel itself was quite rock free. The real danger was meeting a large barge, and being squeezed out of the channel. We managed however to pass through untouched and then through a much better run draw bridge.
We then tied up at Barefoot Resort and Yacht Club. It sounds fancy, but the condominium and marina complex lost all its electrical power just as we arrived. (They still managed to collect our dockage fee.) Unfazed, we got into our shore clothes and walked over a bridge to the other side of the ICW to check out the Barefoot Landing factory outlet and entertainment complex. Everything from a House of Blues, country music theatre, dozens of shops, and a complete assortment of restaurants. We were actually in the Myrtle Beach area, and all of this was aimed at filling in the spare time of those not engaged in golf. We of course had appetizers in 3 restaurants, and ran into Tracy and Vytas at the last one. They were still on track to stop in Charleston, and we agreed to stay in touch and try and share an anchorage the following day.
Coming attractions: We enjoy our extended shore leave – 4 days -- in Charleston, bump our way through the SC-GA border, visit Savannah, and check out the “Golden Isles.”
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Great Dismal Swamp to Oriental, NC
November 6, 2007
Hi Everyone:
It’s really fun when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We are currently tied up at Beaufort, NC, which is located near a large inlet south of Point Lookout. Beaufort and nearby Morehead City are jumping off point for those who want to go outside and head south offshore after avoiding Cape Hatteras. We continue to look forward to experiencing more of the ICW and expect to get back in the southward ICW migration tomorrow, weather permitting.
When last we wrote, we were anchored in Turners Cut, just south of the Great Dismal Swamp. “Mr. Beke” (our faithful Westerbeke diesel) was ready to get us moving again.
Taking Time to Make Friends (Wed, Oct 31)
Our destination was nearby Elizabeth City (15 miles), so after yesterday’s excitement, we felt free to “sleep in” and get off to a later start than usual. The anchor came up easily (despite fears we had snagged it on a log or something) and we entered the much wider (and deeper) Pasquotank River. We radioed SeaTow and the Coast Guard in Elizabeth City to let them know that all was under control and also, to thank them for their help. As the last of the boats to go through the Dismal Swamp route, we now had a unique opportunity to have this small part of the ICW, during “high season”, all to ourselves.
Within a few hours, we passed through the Elizabeth City drawbridge and into the main harbor. As we circled around to see where we could tie up, we spotted two of our Dismal Swamp companions: the lead catamaran Spirit, and Born Free II, the Canadian sailboat who was just behind us in the canal. We decided to tie up at the city bulkhead, behind Born Free, and lucked out when Sebastian and “M-C” (Marie-Claude) emerged to wave us in and handle our lines. Admiral Sue at the helm made a masterful docking approach, and a marina bystander later came up to complement her. Skipper Brian, on the other hand, messed up his bow line toss, and was relegated to rookie status.
We managed to accomplish a few errands during the day (getting Sue’s glasses fixed, some minor engine tuning, a provisioning stop and some Internet time), but were looking forward to the Elizabeth City “wine and cheese” reception for newly arrived boaters. This is part of a bigger tradition of welcoming boaters with free dockage, information, and other goodies. It turned out that the person who had started all this, had died just a week earlier and things were a bit disorganized. Sue took things into her own hands, and we went about trying to invite any boaters we could find, to a “potluck” gathering. The net result was a 2 couple wine and appetizer gathering, in which we met Bill and Marlene of “Journey” and found out that they were from Charlestown, MA – and on their way to the Bahamas for the first time as well. As you can guess, we had much in common to talk about (boating and otherwise), so we reconvened the session at a nearby restaurant, and had a wonderful evening.
Stumps to Starboard, Stakes to Port – Noel is coming (Thur-Fri, Nov 1-2)
We had a restful night, and woke to a dead calm, with forecasts of north east winds to 25 knots by the evening. Tropical Storm/Hurricane Noel was expected to pass 400 miles off Cape Hatteras. The Elizabeth City docks are exposed to the east, so we decided to find a more sheltered location, and press on to the Alligator River were there seemed to be 3 or 4 very good anchorages to seek shelter in. Sebastian and M-C were there to help us get off, but they and Marlene and Bill elected to ride things out at the docks.
We had virtually no wind, so this leg down the Pasquotank River and across Albemarle Sound was routine. The Albemarle is known for becoming very choppy when there is any strong wind, so “routine” was OK with us, knowing that things would be very different in 24 hours. We passed through the Alligator River swing bridge, which is part of a nearly 2.7 mile span. Brian had decided to seek shelter off the river, south of Catfish Point (mile 95 on the ICW) in a body of water known as “The Straights.” The navigation was a bit tricky, but doable with GPS and electronic chartplotter – at the helm and well as below. Only two cruising guides covered it. One advised to “follow the deep water along the port side ignoring stakes, bushes and shoals on starboard” and the other said your “track will take you between two sets of stumps and stakes, to starboard and port respectively.” Not sure if we could distinguish between a broken stake and a stump, we placed our trust in NOAA’s electronic charts and plunged ahead. Sue was at the helm and chart plotter, and Brian was standing by with a backup list of each leg’s course written down. It was a little nerve wracking going across the relatively shallow bar (2.3 feet under the keel), but we made it through unscathed, and anchored in around 14 feet of water south of a small point!
We went about collapsing our canvas dodger and bimini, and securing our sail covers and roller furling gear to be sure we were ready for the forecasted 40 knot gusts. Toward the end of the day, a second boat joined us (Canadian) and we both enjoyed a magnificent sunset, in absolutely calm conditions. A grilled steak dinner, 90 feet of anchor chain and we were ready! (Unfortunately, the weather never calmed enough for either of us to dinghy over to the other and say hello.)
By 12:30 am, the wind began to pick up to 15 knots or so, and we decided to supplement the chain with another 30 feet of nylon anchor line. Everything was doing fine, but we have to confess, that when it is blowing on anchor, every new sound wakes you up, because you’re constantly wondering if the anchor may have begun to more, or something has come loose, or maybe something is wearing through. None of this normally ever happens, but in the dark your mind comes up with plenty of things to worry about.
By the morning, the winds were more about 20 knots, with gust to 25, so we added some chafing protection to the nylon line where it passes over the bowsprit roller. We wanted to be sure the line would never fray from all action of the line on the roller as Sogno yawed about in the wind.
We also noticed that our Canadian neighbor was swinging on his anchor with a large stake/piling now clearly visible out of the water, just 5 or so yards behind his stern. The wind had obviously lowered the water level, and revealed this new hazard, which precluded him from letting out any more anchor rode if he needed it to prevent the anchor from dragging. Indeed, both of us had both passed very close to that spot and hadn’t realized a large piling was just below the surface!
The rest of the day was just spent doing odd jobs. We listened on the VHF radio to some of the folks struggling to find space in marinas, or dealing with the closure of the Alligator River swing bridge, due to high winds. Brian worked on the journal and blog. We read. We listened to music. Sue cooked. We ate. We ran the engine to charge the batteries. We played music and watched TV and we always listened to the wind which continued to blow around 15 knots with gusts to 20. By bed time, the guests were frequently interrupted with strangely quiet periods. We took that to be a good sign. By the middle of the night, you couldn’t hear the wind. We both slept MUCH better.
Belhaven and a Glimpse Back (Sat, Nov 3)
We awoke to gray skies, but a considerably reduced wind, with occasional 20 knot gusts. Looks like we’re free to move about the ICW! Our Canadian neighbors weighed anchor around 8:30 am (the stump at their stern is less of a threat, after the wind shifted more to the north). We followed suite an hour later, and were soon motor sailing with our head sail partially unfurled. We called up to arrange a slip in Belhaven, and were warned to be very alert in the upcoming Alligator River – Pungo River Canal. Some boats have run into stumps and damaged their props or worse.
Frankly, the canal is interesting for the first few miles, but after a while it IS hard to stay alert. The cut is long and straight. Other than hawks, there was not much other wild life. When the skies became blue, we quickly shed our light foul weather gear, fleece wear, etc. Such is a warm fall day in coastal North Carolina.
Arriving at the Pungo River, we headed for Belhaven and the River Forest Marina and tiee up in our slip at a little before 5:00. It was a good landing, made even better by the dockmaster Brice.
Brian remembers this marina and the associated River Forest Inn from the 70’s, when he helped a friend of a friend bring his boat up the ICW to Solomons, MD. The memory of going into the “fancy” Inn for a meal after a long day on the water has stuck all these years. The marina, to tell the truth, is now a bit “worn”, but it does remind you how things were backing when most boaters were used to roughing it a bit more than now. Two shower-restrooms are all there is, but it’s a chance to talk to other cruisers while we wait. We are not convinced that so many boomers are retiring, that there are more cruisers than ever heading south. It’s a good theory, but I’m not yet ready to plead guilty for messing everything up.
It’s Saturday evening, and we’ve had our first showers since Monday! We can now sail to windward of anyone, and not be embarrassed. We had a good meal, but the highlight is the original part of the Inn - full of antiques, memorabilia and furnishings from 75 years of operation. We sat and talked for a few minutes in some wing back chairs, and imagined a slower and gentler time, when Wi-Fi was not the hottest amenity at the Inn.
We Fall Back and Go Oriental (Sun, Nov 4)
Today we fall back, and it is nice to see the sunrise at around 6, rather than 7. Sue, however, doesn’t buy it and covered her head until 7:00 am. We used the Wi-Fi inside the Inn so we can publish the blog, check email, and pay some credit card bills. Our concerned hosts at the Inn kept reminding us that there is a free continental breakfast going on, but other than coffee we stay focused on our mission.
By 9:15 we are underway and the sun is very far advanced. We motored down the Pungo River again to cross the Pamlico River. From there. We took another cut to get to the Neuse River and Oriental, NC. We passed by one of our Forest River neighbors (a Dutch boat named Atlantis) and when we see them raise their sails and sneak off the ICW to some quiet anchorage, I think they may be more wise than most of us, fixated on heading South.
We reached Oriental at about 3:30, and after two attempts we finally find the right spot south of the nearby bridge. After a quick drop of the dinghy, we went ashore and tied up to a very nice, but very empty town dinghy dock. After checking out a very well stocked marine equipment and gift store, we settled down with the boating crowd at the Oriental Marina Restaurant and Tiki Bar. Turns out that the state legislature has declared Oriental to be the “Sailing Capital of North Carolina” and judging by all the sailboats we saw in the Neuse River the politicians probably got it right.
We hit it off with another couple, Len and Susan who live in Beaufort, NC. They urged us to spend a few days there. It was late and Sue did not object to “dinner out” so we went to the M&M Café, having a wonderful dinner. The shock of that 5:15 sunset was much easier to take with some new friends and a great meal.
Coming attractions: We finally return to the coast, and spend some quality time in Beaufort.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Hi Everyone:
It’s really fun when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We are currently tied up at Beaufort, NC, which is located near a large inlet south of Point Lookout. Beaufort and nearby Morehead City are jumping off point for those who want to go outside and head south offshore after avoiding Cape Hatteras. We continue to look forward to experiencing more of the ICW and expect to get back in the southward ICW migration tomorrow, weather permitting.
When last we wrote, we were anchored in Turners Cut, just south of the Great Dismal Swamp. “Mr. Beke” (our faithful Westerbeke diesel) was ready to get us moving again.
Taking Time to Make Friends (Wed, Oct 31)
Our destination was nearby Elizabeth City (15 miles), so after yesterday’s excitement, we felt free to “sleep in” and get off to a later start than usual. The anchor came up easily (despite fears we had snagged it on a log or something) and we entered the much wider (and deeper) Pasquotank River. We radioed SeaTow and the Coast Guard in Elizabeth City to let them know that all was under control and also, to thank them for their help. As the last of the boats to go through the Dismal Swamp route, we now had a unique opportunity to have this small part of the ICW, during “high season”, all to ourselves.
Within a few hours, we passed through the Elizabeth City drawbridge and into the main harbor. As we circled around to see where we could tie up, we spotted two of our Dismal Swamp companions: the lead catamaran Spirit, and Born Free II, the Canadian sailboat who was just behind us in the canal. We decided to tie up at the city bulkhead, behind Born Free, and lucked out when Sebastian and “M-C” (Marie-Claude) emerged to wave us in and handle our lines. Admiral Sue at the helm made a masterful docking approach, and a marina bystander later came up to complement her. Skipper Brian, on the other hand, messed up his bow line toss, and was relegated to rookie status.
We managed to accomplish a few errands during the day (getting Sue’s glasses fixed, some minor engine tuning, a provisioning stop and some Internet time), but were looking forward to the Elizabeth City “wine and cheese” reception for newly arrived boaters. This is part of a bigger tradition of welcoming boaters with free dockage, information, and other goodies. It turned out that the person who had started all this, had died just a week earlier and things were a bit disorganized. Sue took things into her own hands, and we went about trying to invite any boaters we could find, to a “potluck” gathering. The net result was a 2 couple wine and appetizer gathering, in which we met Bill and Marlene of “Journey” and found out that they were from Charlestown, MA – and on their way to the Bahamas for the first time as well. As you can guess, we had much in common to talk about (boating and otherwise), so we reconvened the session at a nearby restaurant, and had a wonderful evening.
Stumps to Starboard, Stakes to Port – Noel is coming (Thur-Fri, Nov 1-2)
We had a restful night, and woke to a dead calm, with forecasts of north east winds to 25 knots by the evening. Tropical Storm/Hurricane Noel was expected to pass 400 miles off Cape Hatteras. The Elizabeth City docks are exposed to the east, so we decided to find a more sheltered location, and press on to the Alligator River were there seemed to be 3 or 4 very good anchorages to seek shelter in. Sebastian and M-C were there to help us get off, but they and Marlene and Bill elected to ride things out at the docks.
We had virtually no wind, so this leg down the Pasquotank River and across Albemarle Sound was routine. The Albemarle is known for becoming very choppy when there is any strong wind, so “routine” was OK with us, knowing that things would be very different in 24 hours. We passed through the Alligator River swing bridge, which is part of a nearly 2.7 mile span. Brian had decided to seek shelter off the river, south of Catfish Point (mile 95 on the ICW) in a body of water known as “The Straights.” The navigation was a bit tricky, but doable with GPS and electronic chartplotter – at the helm and well as below. Only two cruising guides covered it. One advised to “follow the deep water along the port side ignoring stakes, bushes and shoals on starboard” and the other said your “track will take you between two sets of stumps and stakes, to starboard and port respectively.” Not sure if we could distinguish between a broken stake and a stump, we placed our trust in NOAA’s electronic charts and plunged ahead. Sue was at the helm and chart plotter, and Brian was standing by with a backup list of each leg’s course written down. It was a little nerve wracking going across the relatively shallow bar (2.3 feet under the keel), but we made it through unscathed, and anchored in around 14 feet of water south of a small point!
We went about collapsing our canvas dodger and bimini, and securing our sail covers and roller furling gear to be sure we were ready for the forecasted 40 knot gusts. Toward the end of the day, a second boat joined us (Canadian) and we both enjoyed a magnificent sunset, in absolutely calm conditions. A grilled steak dinner, 90 feet of anchor chain and we were ready! (Unfortunately, the weather never calmed enough for either of us to dinghy over to the other and say hello.)
By 12:30 am, the wind began to pick up to 15 knots or so, and we decided to supplement the chain with another 30 feet of nylon anchor line. Everything was doing fine, but we have to confess, that when it is blowing on anchor, every new sound wakes you up, because you’re constantly wondering if the anchor may have begun to more, or something has come loose, or maybe something is wearing through. None of this normally ever happens, but in the dark your mind comes up with plenty of things to worry about.
By the morning, the winds were more about 20 knots, with gust to 25, so we added some chafing protection to the nylon line where it passes over the bowsprit roller. We wanted to be sure the line would never fray from all action of the line on the roller as Sogno yawed about in the wind.
We also noticed that our Canadian neighbor was swinging on his anchor with a large stake/piling now clearly visible out of the water, just 5 or so yards behind his stern. The wind had obviously lowered the water level, and revealed this new hazard, which precluded him from letting out any more anchor rode if he needed it to prevent the anchor from dragging. Indeed, both of us had both passed very close to that spot and hadn’t realized a large piling was just below the surface!
The rest of the day was just spent doing odd jobs. We listened on the VHF radio to some of the folks struggling to find space in marinas, or dealing with the closure of the Alligator River swing bridge, due to high winds. Brian worked on the journal and blog. We read. We listened to music. Sue cooked. We ate. We ran the engine to charge the batteries. We played music and watched TV and we always listened to the wind which continued to blow around 15 knots with gusts to 20. By bed time, the guests were frequently interrupted with strangely quiet periods. We took that to be a good sign. By the middle of the night, you couldn’t hear the wind. We both slept MUCH better.
Belhaven and a Glimpse Back (Sat, Nov 3)
We awoke to gray skies, but a considerably reduced wind, with occasional 20 knot gusts. Looks like we’re free to move about the ICW! Our Canadian neighbors weighed anchor around 8:30 am (the stump at their stern is less of a threat, after the wind shifted more to the north). We followed suite an hour later, and were soon motor sailing with our head sail partially unfurled. We called up to arrange a slip in Belhaven, and were warned to be very alert in the upcoming Alligator River – Pungo River Canal. Some boats have run into stumps and damaged their props or worse.
Frankly, the canal is interesting for the first few miles, but after a while it IS hard to stay alert. The cut is long and straight. Other than hawks, there was not much other wild life. When the skies became blue, we quickly shed our light foul weather gear, fleece wear, etc. Such is a warm fall day in coastal North Carolina.
Arriving at the Pungo River, we headed for Belhaven and the River Forest Marina and tiee up in our slip at a little before 5:00. It was a good landing, made even better by the dockmaster Brice.
Brian remembers this marina and the associated River Forest Inn from the 70’s, when he helped a friend of a friend bring his boat up the ICW to Solomons, MD. The memory of going into the “fancy” Inn for a meal after a long day on the water has stuck all these years. The marina, to tell the truth, is now a bit “worn”, but it does remind you how things were backing when most boaters were used to roughing it a bit more than now. Two shower-restrooms are all there is, but it’s a chance to talk to other cruisers while we wait. We are not convinced that so many boomers are retiring, that there are more cruisers than ever heading south. It’s a good theory, but I’m not yet ready to plead guilty for messing everything up.
It’s Saturday evening, and we’ve had our first showers since Monday! We can now sail to windward of anyone, and not be embarrassed. We had a good meal, but the highlight is the original part of the Inn - full of antiques, memorabilia and furnishings from 75 years of operation. We sat and talked for a few minutes in some wing back chairs, and imagined a slower and gentler time, when Wi-Fi was not the hottest amenity at the Inn.
We Fall Back and Go Oriental (Sun, Nov 4)
Today we fall back, and it is nice to see the sunrise at around 6, rather than 7. Sue, however, doesn’t buy it and covered her head until 7:00 am. We used the Wi-Fi inside the Inn so we can publish the blog, check email, and pay some credit card bills. Our concerned hosts at the Inn kept reminding us that there is a free continental breakfast going on, but other than coffee we stay focused on our mission.
By 9:15 we are underway and the sun is very far advanced. We motored down the Pungo River again to cross the Pamlico River. From there. We took another cut to get to the Neuse River and Oriental, NC. We passed by one of our Forest River neighbors (a Dutch boat named Atlantis) and when we see them raise their sails and sneak off the ICW to some quiet anchorage, I think they may be more wise than most of us, fixated on heading South.
We reached Oriental at about 3:30, and after two attempts we finally find the right spot south of the nearby bridge. After a quick drop of the dinghy, we went ashore and tied up to a very nice, but very empty town dinghy dock. After checking out a very well stocked marine equipment and gift store, we settled down with the boating crowd at the Oriental Marina Restaurant and Tiki Bar. Turns out that the state legislature has declared Oriental to be the “Sailing Capital of North Carolina” and judging by all the sailboats we saw in the Neuse River the politicians probably got it right.
We hit it off with another couple, Len and Susan who live in Beaufort, NC. They urged us to spend a few days there. It was late and Sue did not object to “dinner out” so we went to the M&M Café, having a wonderful dinner. The shock of that 5:15 sunset was much easier to take with some new friends and a great meal.
Coming attractions: We finally return to the coast, and spend some quality time in Beaufort.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Deltaville, VA to the Great Dismal Swamp, NC
November 2, 2007
Hi Everyone:
We are really are thrilled when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We are currently anchored in a small body of water called “The Straights” on the western shore of the Alligator River (mile mark 95 on the ICW), in North Carolina.
Yes, we are actually on the Intracoastal Waterway! We are waiting out the passage of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Noel, which is about 475 miles off Cape Hatteras. Seems like a safe distance, but we have been seeing winds around 25-30 knots since around midnight, and it may not drop down late Saturday (Nov 3).
So, friends, looks like I have a golden opportunity to get you caught up on our adventures since we were anchored in Jackson Creek (Deltaville, VA).
Peaceful Put In Creek (Tues, Oct 23)
We awoke around 6 am in Jackson Creek to the noise of watermen departing to check on their crab pots. We were underway by 8:40 am, motor sailing south toward Mobjack Bay. We spied some strange craft in the distance, which turned out to be some sort of Navy hovercraft exercising. When ever they made a turn, they seemed to disappear into a cloud of mist and spray. They looked to be very maneuverable.
Winds picked up so we could sail up the Mobjack on a welcome reach for about an hour before heading up the East River and our anchorage at Put In Creek, which we shared with one other boat. Some miscellaneous maintenance, a few pork chops on the bbq fresh veggies from Onancock and some quiet talk in the cockpit made for a very relaxing stay.
Sarah’s Creek Hospitality (Wed, Oct 24)
Our next stop was the York River, the last major river on the Western Shore. We were heading for Sarah’s Creek. We sharpened or electronic charting skills, by entering the York via the “Swash Channel”, a narrow and shallow zigzag path through some shoals, which saves about 3 miles. Sue coolly handled the helm, as Brian bounced about from the nav station to the helm delivering navigational advice that in the end was hardly needed, if you just followed the chart plotter on the helm.
We tied up a little past noon, at Sawgrass Point. Paul and Barbara, relatively new Gozzard owners, were there to give us some last minute advice on navigating the creek, plus help us with the dock lines. Like all owners of similar boats, we like to see how others have improved them, so we spent a few hours visiting each others boats. Paul and Barbara were very gracious hosts, providing us not only free dockage, but lunch, local transportation, and a fabulous steak dinner at their place, a short walk from the dock. Weather-wise things were beginning to deteriorate, with some very heavy rain showers beginning in the afternoon and running into the night. Sogno badly needed a fresh water wash and Virginia certainly needed the rain, but it was still somewhat of a come down, after having had such a great run of weather since we left Marblehead.
We finished the evening by watching the Red Sox take a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
Oysters, Friends, and Family (Thurs-Sun, Oct 25-28)
We woke to a very soggy Sarah’s Creek. The forecast was for further deterioration, so we left early after stopping at York River Yacht Haven to top off our diesel tanks. A very friendly “boat sitter” came out of her client’s large yacht to help us with the dock lines. It was a totally self service pump, so we were soon on our way again in a light drizzle. As we turned the channel toward the York River, we were surprised to see fog all across the river. On came the running lights and the radar, and we were soon sorting out the moving barges from those anchored. Visibility improved as we headed out, but the waves were building as we rounded the Goodwin Island shoals to make our way to the Seaford Yacht Club in Back Creek, VA.
There are literally dozens of Back Creeks in the Chesapeake, but this one was home to our dear friends, Mark and Nancy, who we have kept in touch with through 30 years via Annapolis Boat Shows! They had arranged dockage at the Seaford Yacht Club, and we were to be their guests at the annual Oyster Roast on Saturday.
We arrived without incident, with Mark there to greet us in a light drizzle. After we did some chores and investigated a leak near the mast, we were off to M&N’s for dinner. Other Boat Show friends Jack and Gena were there as well.
The next few days were spent running around to deal with a variety of provisioning, financial, and other errands. Seaford was also our “drop” for some canvas repair supplies, and some new batteries for the laptops. (Thanks Dan and Elaine!). The evenings were definitely social, connecting with other Boat Show “regulars” Mary and Toby, Carl and Debbie and Herb and Barb. Our new Gozzard friends, Paul and Barbara joined in on Friday, rafting up to Sogno for the weekend.
The social highlight of the stay, however, was the Oyster Roast. SYC has been doing this for years and has it down to a science. We are not real oyster fans, but I have discovered that roasted oysters have certain appeal. Two pits are dug, with roaring wood fires heating up metal plates on which oysters are placed, covered with wet burlap bags. The whole thing is pretty primitive, with the roasted oysters delivered to the stand up table with a shovel! Even then, the oysters don’t just give up, you’ve still got to dig in to the critter with an oyster knife and pry the shells apart. (Gloves were provided.) To a novice like me it’s all great fun , as long as you are careful with the knife. Boiled shrimp, raw oysters, pulled pork, wine and beer complete the recipe for what is a sellout event each year. A few of us sat around the oyster fire until midnight – talking about boats and boating.
Our last day on Sunday was (thankfully) a bit slower paced, but just as fun. Sue’s two nieces, Joanna and Louisa and friends Amy and Matt came over for a visit to see Sogno. Except for Matt, they are students at Christopher Newport University, in nearby Newport News. We had planned to go out for a sail, but the wind was acting up so they had to settle for a tour, an explanation of our planned trip and an attempt at understanding what college was like these days.
We finished up at Mark and Nancy’s for another great dinner and watching the Sox hold on to sweep the Series. Mark and Nancy – you are the best!
Draw Bridges Rule the ICW (Mon, Oct 29)
If we stayed any longer in Seaford, we’d have to join the SYC. This was the day to get back in the hunt for the ICW. We showered up, pumped out the holding tank, topped off the water and said farewell to Mark and Jake who were down to help us off, and give us the latest status on the ICW.
We mostly motored, but did get some downwind sailing in as we headed for Hampton Roads, the entrance to Norfolk and “the Ditch”. The ICW begins at Norfolk (mile 0) and continues on for over a 1000 miles to Miami and beyond. At the beginning, there are two alternate routes to get to the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. Route 1 (the Virginia Cut) is deeper and less restricted and is the favorite of most boaters. Route 2 (the Great Dismal Swamp Canal route) is slower, a bit shallow in spots, and is favored mostly by slow moving sailboats, like us, who don’t like to be bounced around by the wakes of overtaking power boats).
We were going for the Dismal Swamp route, but the only problem was that Tuesday (Oct 30) was the last day the canal (and locks) would open this year, due to a shortage of water in the lake that feeds the two locks. On Tuesday, you had to be ready to enter the Deep Creek Lock at 9 am and leave the canal via the South Mills lock by 3 pm. Without going into more details, we had to hustle into Norfolk, get through two draw bridges that normally don’t open for recreational boats until after 5:30 pm and find a place to “park” before the sun set at 6:10 pm.
We had an impressive cruise down the Elizabeth River, past the Atlantic Fleet, various commercial and military shipyards, and the fleet of cruisers anchored at Mile 0, waiting to set out the following day on the Virginia Cut. We lucked out on the first bridge (a tug and barge were let through so we could go through early). The second bridge opened for us at 5:30 and we were able to anchor by ourselves in the snug little Deep Creek basis 8 minutes fore sunset! It was a long day, but one worth celebrating with one of Sue’s special pasta dinners.
Dismal Swamp, Duckweed, and Diesels (Tues, Oct 30)
We woke to dense ground fog (or sea smoke rising from the water), which lets you see everything above 20 feet. We exited the basin at around 8 am and immediately had to let a motoring sail boat slide ahead of us. We were happy to do so, since we could follow. It was strange motoring along where you could see the buildings and trees, but couldn’t see the banks, the docks or the low lying marshy areas. By the time we got to the lock there were 4 other boats ahead of us waiting for the lock to open around 9:00. When the moment arrived out came one northbound sailboat (where was he going?) and in we filed together with one late arrival and a VA park ranger boat.
The lockmaster was a very cool guy. He effortlessly helped out all the boaters with tying up to the lock and then got them relaxed. We were at the back of the pack, and only a few feet from where the lock door closes. The lockmaster, just told me to not look or else I would really get scared! Then the water was let into the lock, and we were raised about 8 feet in what seemed about 10 minutes. We then moved out of the lock, waited again for the lockmaster to drive to the next draw bridge and open it, and finally we were in the Canal.
At the head of our parade was a large but slow catamaran, 2 smaller catamarans, 3 sailboats from the lock, and 2 sailboats who had spent the night in the canal near the Deep Creek lock. Some wanted to go faster, but no one wanted to go too far from the center of what was a channel that was only around 8 feet or so. When the lead catamaran Spirit agreed to move over to let a catamaran go by, she immediately went aground, and our caravan halted again. When Spirit got going again, the urge to pass anyone had completely vanished.
Since we were the last group going south (and we never saw anyone in the canal going north, thankfully), one of the boats contacted the South Mill lock to ask if he would open early. He was ok with the idea, but there was a TV crew coming to take pictures of the last lock openin! It eventually turned out ok, and we did get through the lock a half hour early, while they were taking our pictures.
Everyone blasted out of the lock into the much deeper Turner Cut, but we noticed that the engine cooling water coming out of our exhaust was much less then usual. The engine temperature was also rising. We pulled into an abandoned “side canal” and ran aground. That was as good as anchoring, and gave Brian a chance to clear the water intake which was plugged with duck weed that was picked up in the canal and lock. Things were better for a while but a few miles later we had to stop and anchor. After a lot of trouble shooting, letting the Coast Guard know we could use some mechanical help, and some encouragement over the phone from SeaTow, we finally removed another plug in the intake valve (pine needles!) and got everything back in order. We spent the night in Turner Cut (about 100 feet wide) in almost a total calm. It was actually a unique and special place to take some time out from the ICW race south.
Coming attractions: We make new friends in Elizabeth City. Stumps to starboard and stakes to port, we hole up in “The Straits” off the Alligator River. Noel heads North and we head south to Belhaven.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Hi Everyone:
We are really are thrilled when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We are currently anchored in a small body of water called “The Straights” on the western shore of the Alligator River (mile mark 95 on the ICW), in North Carolina.
Yes, we are actually on the Intracoastal Waterway! We are waiting out the passage of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Noel, which is about 475 miles off Cape Hatteras. Seems like a safe distance, but we have been seeing winds around 25-30 knots since around midnight, and it may not drop down late Saturday (Nov 3).
So, friends, looks like I have a golden opportunity to get you caught up on our adventures since we were anchored in Jackson Creek (Deltaville, VA).
Peaceful Put In Creek (Tues, Oct 23)
We awoke around 6 am in Jackson Creek to the noise of watermen departing to check on their crab pots. We were underway by 8:40 am, motor sailing south toward Mobjack Bay. We spied some strange craft in the distance, which turned out to be some sort of Navy hovercraft exercising. When ever they made a turn, they seemed to disappear into a cloud of mist and spray. They looked to be very maneuverable.
Winds picked up so we could sail up the Mobjack on a welcome reach for about an hour before heading up the East River and our anchorage at Put In Creek, which we shared with one other boat. Some miscellaneous maintenance, a few pork chops on the bbq fresh veggies from Onancock and some quiet talk in the cockpit made for a very relaxing stay.
Sarah’s Creek Hospitality (Wed, Oct 24)
Our next stop was the York River, the last major river on the Western Shore. We were heading for Sarah’s Creek. We sharpened or electronic charting skills, by entering the York via the “Swash Channel”, a narrow and shallow zigzag path through some shoals, which saves about 3 miles. Sue coolly handled the helm, as Brian bounced about from the nav station to the helm delivering navigational advice that in the end was hardly needed, if you just followed the chart plotter on the helm.
We tied up a little past noon, at Sawgrass Point. Paul and Barbara, relatively new Gozzard owners, were there to give us some last minute advice on navigating the creek, plus help us with the dock lines. Like all owners of similar boats, we like to see how others have improved them, so we spent a few hours visiting each others boats. Paul and Barbara were very gracious hosts, providing us not only free dockage, but lunch, local transportation, and a fabulous steak dinner at their place, a short walk from the dock. Weather-wise things were beginning to deteriorate, with some very heavy rain showers beginning in the afternoon and running into the night. Sogno badly needed a fresh water wash and Virginia certainly needed the rain, but it was still somewhat of a come down, after having had such a great run of weather since we left Marblehead.
We finished the evening by watching the Red Sox take a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
Oysters, Friends, and Family (Thurs-Sun, Oct 25-28)
We woke to a very soggy Sarah’s Creek. The forecast was for further deterioration, so we left early after stopping at York River Yacht Haven to top off our diesel tanks. A very friendly “boat sitter” came out of her client’s large yacht to help us with the dock lines. It was a totally self service pump, so we were soon on our way again in a light drizzle. As we turned the channel toward the York River, we were surprised to see fog all across the river. On came the running lights and the radar, and we were soon sorting out the moving barges from those anchored. Visibility improved as we headed out, but the waves were building as we rounded the Goodwin Island shoals to make our way to the Seaford Yacht Club in Back Creek, VA.
There are literally dozens of Back Creeks in the Chesapeake, but this one was home to our dear friends, Mark and Nancy, who we have kept in touch with through 30 years via Annapolis Boat Shows! They had arranged dockage at the Seaford Yacht Club, and we were to be their guests at the annual Oyster Roast on Saturday.
We arrived without incident, with Mark there to greet us in a light drizzle. After we did some chores and investigated a leak near the mast, we were off to M&N’s for dinner. Other Boat Show friends Jack and Gena were there as well.
The next few days were spent running around to deal with a variety of provisioning, financial, and other errands. Seaford was also our “drop” for some canvas repair supplies, and some new batteries for the laptops. (Thanks Dan and Elaine!). The evenings were definitely social, connecting with other Boat Show “regulars” Mary and Toby, Carl and Debbie and Herb and Barb. Our new Gozzard friends, Paul and Barbara joined in on Friday, rafting up to Sogno for the weekend.
The social highlight of the stay, however, was the Oyster Roast. SYC has been doing this for years and has it down to a science. We are not real oyster fans, but I have discovered that roasted oysters have certain appeal. Two pits are dug, with roaring wood fires heating up metal plates on which oysters are placed, covered with wet burlap bags. The whole thing is pretty primitive, with the roasted oysters delivered to the stand up table with a shovel! Even then, the oysters don’t just give up, you’ve still got to dig in to the critter with an oyster knife and pry the shells apart. (Gloves were provided.) To a novice like me it’s all great fun , as long as you are careful with the knife. Boiled shrimp, raw oysters, pulled pork, wine and beer complete the recipe for what is a sellout event each year. A few of us sat around the oyster fire until midnight – talking about boats and boating.
Our last day on Sunday was (thankfully) a bit slower paced, but just as fun. Sue’s two nieces, Joanna and Louisa and friends Amy and Matt came over for a visit to see Sogno. Except for Matt, they are students at Christopher Newport University, in nearby Newport News. We had planned to go out for a sail, but the wind was acting up so they had to settle for a tour, an explanation of our planned trip and an attempt at understanding what college was like these days.
We finished up at Mark and Nancy’s for another great dinner and watching the Sox hold on to sweep the Series. Mark and Nancy – you are the best!
Draw Bridges Rule the ICW (Mon, Oct 29)
If we stayed any longer in Seaford, we’d have to join the SYC. This was the day to get back in the hunt for the ICW. We showered up, pumped out the holding tank, topped off the water and said farewell to Mark and Jake who were down to help us off, and give us the latest status on the ICW.
We mostly motored, but did get some downwind sailing in as we headed for Hampton Roads, the entrance to Norfolk and “the Ditch”. The ICW begins at Norfolk (mile 0) and continues on for over a 1000 miles to Miami and beyond. At the beginning, there are two alternate routes to get to the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. Route 1 (the Virginia Cut) is deeper and less restricted and is the favorite of most boaters. Route 2 (the Great Dismal Swamp Canal route) is slower, a bit shallow in spots, and is favored mostly by slow moving sailboats, like us, who don’t like to be bounced around by the wakes of overtaking power boats).
We were going for the Dismal Swamp route, but the only problem was that Tuesday (Oct 30) was the last day the canal (and locks) would open this year, due to a shortage of water in the lake that feeds the two locks. On Tuesday, you had to be ready to enter the Deep Creek Lock at 9 am and leave the canal via the South Mills lock by 3 pm. Without going into more details, we had to hustle into Norfolk, get through two draw bridges that normally don’t open for recreational boats until after 5:30 pm and find a place to “park” before the sun set at 6:10 pm.
We had an impressive cruise down the Elizabeth River, past the Atlantic Fleet, various commercial and military shipyards, and the fleet of cruisers anchored at Mile 0, waiting to set out the following day on the Virginia Cut. We lucked out on the first bridge (a tug and barge were let through so we could go through early). The second bridge opened for us at 5:30 and we were able to anchor by ourselves in the snug little Deep Creek basis 8 minutes fore sunset! It was a long day, but one worth celebrating with one of Sue’s special pasta dinners.
Dismal Swamp, Duckweed, and Diesels (Tues, Oct 30)
We woke to dense ground fog (or sea smoke rising from the water), which lets you see everything above 20 feet. We exited the basin at around 8 am and immediately had to let a motoring sail boat slide ahead of us. We were happy to do so, since we could follow. It was strange motoring along where you could see the buildings and trees, but couldn’t see the banks, the docks or the low lying marshy areas. By the time we got to the lock there were 4 other boats ahead of us waiting for the lock to open around 9:00. When the moment arrived out came one northbound sailboat (where was he going?) and in we filed together with one late arrival and a VA park ranger boat.
The lockmaster was a very cool guy. He effortlessly helped out all the boaters with tying up to the lock and then got them relaxed. We were at the back of the pack, and only a few feet from where the lock door closes. The lockmaster, just told me to not look or else I would really get scared! Then the water was let into the lock, and we were raised about 8 feet in what seemed about 10 minutes. We then moved out of the lock, waited again for the lockmaster to drive to the next draw bridge and open it, and finally we were in the Canal.
At the head of our parade was a large but slow catamaran, 2 smaller catamarans, 3 sailboats from the lock, and 2 sailboats who had spent the night in the canal near the Deep Creek lock. Some wanted to go faster, but no one wanted to go too far from the center of what was a channel that was only around 8 feet or so. When the lead catamaran Spirit agreed to move over to let a catamaran go by, she immediately went aground, and our caravan halted again. When Spirit got going again, the urge to pass anyone had completely vanished.
Since we were the last group going south (and we never saw anyone in the canal going north, thankfully), one of the boats contacted the South Mill lock to ask if he would open early. He was ok with the idea, but there was a TV crew coming to take pictures of the last lock openin! It eventually turned out ok, and we did get through the lock a half hour early, while they were taking our pictures.
Everyone blasted out of the lock into the much deeper Turner Cut, but we noticed that the engine cooling water coming out of our exhaust was much less then usual. The engine temperature was also rising. We pulled into an abandoned “side canal” and ran aground. That was as good as anchoring, and gave Brian a chance to clear the water intake which was plugged with duck weed that was picked up in the canal and lock. Things were better for a while but a few miles later we had to stop and anchor. After a lot of trouble shooting, letting the Coast Guard know we could use some mechanical help, and some encouragement over the phone from SeaTow, we finally removed another plug in the intake valve (pine needles!) and got everything back in order. We spent the night in Turner Cut (about 100 feet wide) in almost a total calm. It was actually a unique and special place to take some time out from the ICW race south.
Coming attractions: We make new friends in Elizabeth City. Stumps to starboard and stakes to port, we hole up in “The Straits” off the Alligator River. Noel heads North and we head south to Belhaven.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Crisfield, MD to Deltaville, VA
October 27, 2007
Hi Everyone:
We are really are thrilled when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We are currently tied up at the Seaford Yacht Club, on the Back Creek in Seaford, VA, close to the Yorktown, site of the decisive battle of the American Revolution. Nancy and Mark, our boat show friends for 30 years and SYC members, have invited us to stay for a few days. We are looking forward to tonight’s big SYC Oyster Roast, despite the first real rainy weather we have experienced during the trip.
But when we last left you, we had just arrived in Crisfield, MD after bumping our way out of Smith Island’s eastern channel. Here’s the rest of the story.
Golf Carts, High Rises and Change (Thurs, Oct 18)
We went into the marina office to register, and ran into Jenny and Leon, cruisers we had last seen in Solomons. They encouraged us to call again to see if the Tangier Island cruise was on for that day. It WAS -- and leaving in 20 minutes! We dashed back to Sogno, grabbed a few things and made the sailing with 4 minutes to spare.
Tangier Island, VA is south of Smith Island, and is similarly isolated from the rest of the mainland. It does have a larger population, a single schoolhouse, and seems to be more prosperous. Sue and I had last been there on July 4, 1976 (the Bicentennial) and were anxious to see what “changes” had occurred. When we landed, we were first off the boat and first to line up at the Waterfront Sandwich Shop. Brian stuck to a crabcake sandwich, but Sue “thought outside the box” and went for fried shrimp. Fortified, we toured the island, hiking down the narrow roads in a light drizzle in our bright yellow panchos. Electric golf carts were the main mode of transportation, with a few scooters, motor cycles, and all terrain vehicles thrown in. All the houses had concrete blocks at the road’s edge to restrain any thoughts of driving along the shoulder. We were there to see school let out. Most students walked, or had bikes, but there were a few moms in golf carts there to pick up the kids.
We went over to the small marina we had stayed at long ago and met the owner. When we explained we had been here over 30 years ago, all he would say is: “Well, I guess you don’t come here very often – and shame on you!”
The skies opened up just before we made it back to the boat, but by the time we returned to Crisfield the sun was out. At the marina we ran into Randy and Morris and had a chance to walk about town. (We had not seen them since the episode going down the East River.) Maryland’s “Seafood Capital of the World” was a town in transition, and the changes since 2002 were pretty striking. Most of the seafood buildings along the waterfront were gone, three condo high rise buildings were taking their place, and many store fronts were empty. We stopped for some crab dip. Some friendly locals, upbeat news about the Sox, and soon our spirits were back on track.
Romancing the Oyster (Fri, Oct 19)
We spent the morning doing some shopping before the day’s main event: The Second Annual Watermen’s Festival. There was a great old-fashioned hardware store, where we found out more about the Festival’s Oyster Shucking contest, and met Sam who was touted as the sure winner. Sam was very modest, but you could tell this was serious business. By the time the festival began at 12:30, it seemed like most of the town was there.
The first order of business was eating. At $35 per head for all the beer, wine, steamed crabs, oysters, shrimp, clam strips, fish, and chicken you could eat, it was quite a bargain. We joined other sailboat cruisers: Jenny and Leon, plus a new Canadian couple, Blair and Mary who it turned out were on the boat anchored near us during our 3-day stay in Lees Creek (St. Michael’s). Lots of tips and ideas swapped about cruising and heading south. Leon and Jenny were soon taking their catamaran Andiamo to her home port on the Rappahanock and then driving home to Reno, Nevada. Blair and Mary were heading down the ICW in their sloop Strathspey, so we fully expect to see them again along the way.
After the food, there was much music, dancing, a Native American dance performance, and finally the Oyster Shucking contest. Fastest time to shuck (open, prepare, and place on a silver platter) 24 raw oysters was the basic rule, with a complicated time penalty system if you made mistakes with the oyster (e.g., knicking the oyster with your knife). We were of course were rooting for Sam and he shucked true to form, finishing with a corrected time of 1:52 which beat the closest competitor by over a minute. “Miss Crustacean”, a local high school senior, presented the winner with a $400 prize plus $100 more when Sam’s winning oyster knife was auctioned off. Sam, it turned out was also off to another competition the next day, to qualify for the “nationals”. Seems that oyster shucking is a very competitive field of endeavor!
We had the group over to Sogno to continue the talk, and after everyone left around sunset, we finished a great day with one of Sue’s special pasta dishes, and some DVD viewing. The wind was a bit blustery that evening, so we had to do some dock line adjustments to be sure we stayed off the pilings.
Publish or Perish (Sat, Oct 20)
After 2 enjoyable days at the marina, we decide to take advantage of the “third day free” offer and stick around some more to publish the weekly blog posting and do some laundry. After some intense deadline pressure, Brian finally finished another installment (chapter 5). We then hiked out to the library (the marina only has dial-up) and post the text and pictures with 15 minutes to spare. With a beautiful day, we meandered back, stopping at Dollar General Store (Sue can never pass a dollar store), a Mexican restaurant (Brian can never say no to nachos and a $2.75 draft Dos Eques) and a seafood restaurant (we satisfy our crustacean fix, with some Maryland crab soup). Back on Sogno, broiled chicken breasts and some more X-Files episodes on DVD end another lazy day on the Eastern Shore.
The House of Deals (Sun, Oct 21)
Sunday, we topped off our water tanks and expertly left the slip (there was no wind, and we didn’t want to disgrace ourselves in front of the 4 power boats that were all leaving the marina with us at about the same time.) The wind finally picked up just as we neared Onancock Creek, so we were able to have some fun for about an hour before we had to drop our sails and motor in. It took two shots to anchor, but we were soon settled in the town harbor. Andiamo (Jenny and Leon) were anchored nearby and came over to chat. That’s when we found out more about their “incident” on Friday evening. They had dragged about 200 yards across the Somers Cove harbor (Crisfield) and not noticed anything awry until they actually “bumped” into a docked boat. Kind of scary. They spend the rest of the night on a dock, but then dusted themselves off and went back out on the anchor Saturday night.
They then gave us a great tour of Onancock, VA, a town that looked like it was still back in the 1950’s. Most everything was closed, but we did get to peruse another old hardware store, named “The House of Deals.” Lets just say that it contained a selection of both new and not so new inventory, complete with a husband and wife who ran the place and were both engaged in shelling fresh butter beans (baby lima beans to city folk like us). Excellent tomatoes, native potatoes, clams, scallops, etc. were available along with the latest weather analysis and the local news. It was really a fun stop. After that, we went back to the local pub near the town wharf which was open (a surprise) and promoting happy hour prices for both beverages and wings. We got to know more about Jenny and Leon, who live near Reno, alternately cruise the East Coast or the Pacific Northwest, with boats in both locations. A couple who really has their sailing priorities in order!
We continued our conversations aboard Andiamo, and finally dinghied back in to Sogno around 8, under a nearly full moon and totally calm and glassy anchorage. After making a round of family phone calls, we learned that Auntie Sue had another nephew (technically a grandnephew) – Noah Thacker, born Friday with mother Molly doing fine. With a fine nautical name like Noah, we were happy to hear that his launching had been a complete success.
The Big Blow that wasn’t (Mon, Oct 22)
We woke to a very calm and misty morning, complete with ground fog and a heavy due. We motored out and picked up a nice breeze that was blowing almost in the right direction, and we got across the Bay to the Western Shore by around 1pm. From there we had to motor sail occasionally to get south of the Rappahanock to reach our destination Deltaville. We were overtaking one of the sailboats we had seen ahead of us, and soon discovered that she was being towed off a shoal by TowBoat US. The shoal was clearly on the chart, but since our track was only 200 yards south of theirs, we certainly didn’t feel particularly superior about our navigational skills.
Our first attempt at anchoring in the north branch of Jackson Creek, was a partial success. The anchor held well, but we were too close to another boat who declared they had 86 feet of chain out and were expecting a “big blow!” We decided this particular Canadian vessel wasn’t inviting us to raft up with them, so we picked up our hook and proceeded to a less crowded area (south branch) and successfully anchored (on the second try) a hundred yards or so off the public pier. Jackson Creek was another area where Canadian boats were almost in the majority.
Brian got his chance to grill a steak, and by 9pm it was “lights out” in a totally calm anchorage with hardly a breeze in sight, let alone a “blow.”
Coming attractions: Our virtually rain free weather streak comes to end with a vengeance and we learn how the locals roast oysters and claim to make clam chowder.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Cooler weather has arrived (60s), we’re only a day or so from the ICW. Time to get serious about the ICW and all those bridge opening schedules!
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Hi Everyone:
We are really are thrilled when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We are currently tied up at the Seaford Yacht Club, on the Back Creek in Seaford, VA, close to the Yorktown, site of the decisive battle of the American Revolution. Nancy and Mark, our boat show friends for 30 years and SYC members, have invited us to stay for a few days. We are looking forward to tonight’s big SYC Oyster Roast, despite the first real rainy weather we have experienced during the trip.
But when we last left you, we had just arrived in Crisfield, MD after bumping our way out of Smith Island’s eastern channel. Here’s the rest of the story.
Golf Carts, High Rises and Change (Thurs, Oct 18)
We went into the marina office to register, and ran into Jenny and Leon, cruisers we had last seen in Solomons. They encouraged us to call again to see if the Tangier Island cruise was on for that day. It WAS -- and leaving in 20 minutes! We dashed back to Sogno, grabbed a few things and made the sailing with 4 minutes to spare.
Tangier Island, VA is south of Smith Island, and is similarly isolated from the rest of the mainland. It does have a larger population, a single schoolhouse, and seems to be more prosperous. Sue and I had last been there on July 4, 1976 (the Bicentennial) and were anxious to see what “changes” had occurred. When we landed, we were first off the boat and first to line up at the Waterfront Sandwich Shop. Brian stuck to a crabcake sandwich, but Sue “thought outside the box” and went for fried shrimp. Fortified, we toured the island, hiking down the narrow roads in a light drizzle in our bright yellow panchos. Electric golf carts were the main mode of transportation, with a few scooters, motor cycles, and all terrain vehicles thrown in. All the houses had concrete blocks at the road’s edge to restrain any thoughts of driving along the shoulder. We were there to see school let out. Most students walked, or had bikes, but there were a few moms in golf carts there to pick up the kids.
We went over to the small marina we had stayed at long ago and met the owner. When we explained we had been here over 30 years ago, all he would say is: “Well, I guess you don’t come here very often – and shame on you!”
The skies opened up just before we made it back to the boat, but by the time we returned to Crisfield the sun was out. At the marina we ran into Randy and Morris and had a chance to walk about town. (We had not seen them since the episode going down the East River.) Maryland’s “Seafood Capital of the World” was a town in transition, and the changes since 2002 were pretty striking. Most of the seafood buildings along the waterfront were gone, three condo high rise buildings were taking their place, and many store fronts were empty. We stopped for some crab dip. Some friendly locals, upbeat news about the Sox, and soon our spirits were back on track.
Romancing the Oyster (Fri, Oct 19)
We spent the morning doing some shopping before the day’s main event: The Second Annual Watermen’s Festival. There was a great old-fashioned hardware store, where we found out more about the Festival’s Oyster Shucking contest, and met Sam who was touted as the sure winner. Sam was very modest, but you could tell this was serious business. By the time the festival began at 12:30, it seemed like most of the town was there.
The first order of business was eating. At $35 per head for all the beer, wine, steamed crabs, oysters, shrimp, clam strips, fish, and chicken you could eat, it was quite a bargain. We joined other sailboat cruisers: Jenny and Leon, plus a new Canadian couple, Blair and Mary who it turned out were on the boat anchored near us during our 3-day stay in Lees Creek (St. Michael’s). Lots of tips and ideas swapped about cruising and heading south. Leon and Jenny were soon taking their catamaran Andiamo to her home port on the Rappahanock and then driving home to Reno, Nevada. Blair and Mary were heading down the ICW in their sloop Strathspey, so we fully expect to see them again along the way.
After the food, there was much music, dancing, a Native American dance performance, and finally the Oyster Shucking contest. Fastest time to shuck (open, prepare, and place on a silver platter) 24 raw oysters was the basic rule, with a complicated time penalty system if you made mistakes with the oyster (e.g., knicking the oyster with your knife). We were of course were rooting for Sam and he shucked true to form, finishing with a corrected time of 1:52 which beat the closest competitor by over a minute. “Miss Crustacean”, a local high school senior, presented the winner with a $400 prize plus $100 more when Sam’s winning oyster knife was auctioned off. Sam, it turned out was also off to another competition the next day, to qualify for the “nationals”. Seems that oyster shucking is a very competitive field of endeavor!
We had the group over to Sogno to continue the talk, and after everyone left around sunset, we finished a great day with one of Sue’s special pasta dishes, and some DVD viewing. The wind was a bit blustery that evening, so we had to do some dock line adjustments to be sure we stayed off the pilings.
Publish or Perish (Sat, Oct 20)
After 2 enjoyable days at the marina, we decide to take advantage of the “third day free” offer and stick around some more to publish the weekly blog posting and do some laundry. After some intense deadline pressure, Brian finally finished another installment (chapter 5). We then hiked out to the library (the marina only has dial-up) and post the text and pictures with 15 minutes to spare. With a beautiful day, we meandered back, stopping at Dollar General Store (Sue can never pass a dollar store), a Mexican restaurant (Brian can never say no to nachos and a $2.75 draft Dos Eques) and a seafood restaurant (we satisfy our crustacean fix, with some Maryland crab soup). Back on Sogno, broiled chicken breasts and some more X-Files episodes on DVD end another lazy day on the Eastern Shore.
The House of Deals (Sun, Oct 21)
Sunday, we topped off our water tanks and expertly left the slip (there was no wind, and we didn’t want to disgrace ourselves in front of the 4 power boats that were all leaving the marina with us at about the same time.) The wind finally picked up just as we neared Onancock Creek, so we were able to have some fun for about an hour before we had to drop our sails and motor in. It took two shots to anchor, but we were soon settled in the town harbor. Andiamo (Jenny and Leon) were anchored nearby and came over to chat. That’s when we found out more about their “incident” on Friday evening. They had dragged about 200 yards across the Somers Cove harbor (Crisfield) and not noticed anything awry until they actually “bumped” into a docked boat. Kind of scary. They spend the rest of the night on a dock, but then dusted themselves off and went back out on the anchor Saturday night.
They then gave us a great tour of Onancock, VA, a town that looked like it was still back in the 1950’s. Most everything was closed, but we did get to peruse another old hardware store, named “The House of Deals.” Lets just say that it contained a selection of both new and not so new inventory, complete with a husband and wife who ran the place and were both engaged in shelling fresh butter beans (baby lima beans to city folk like us). Excellent tomatoes, native potatoes, clams, scallops, etc. were available along with the latest weather analysis and the local news. It was really a fun stop. After that, we went back to the local pub near the town wharf which was open (a surprise) and promoting happy hour prices for both beverages and wings. We got to know more about Jenny and Leon, who live near Reno, alternately cruise the East Coast or the Pacific Northwest, with boats in both locations. A couple who really has their sailing priorities in order!
We continued our conversations aboard Andiamo, and finally dinghied back in to Sogno around 8, under a nearly full moon and totally calm and glassy anchorage. After making a round of family phone calls, we learned that Auntie Sue had another nephew (technically a grandnephew) – Noah Thacker, born Friday with mother Molly doing fine. With a fine nautical name like Noah, we were happy to hear that his launching had been a complete success.
The Big Blow that wasn’t (Mon, Oct 22)
We woke to a very calm and misty morning, complete with ground fog and a heavy due. We motored out and picked up a nice breeze that was blowing almost in the right direction, and we got across the Bay to the Western Shore by around 1pm. From there we had to motor sail occasionally to get south of the Rappahanock to reach our destination Deltaville. We were overtaking one of the sailboats we had seen ahead of us, and soon discovered that she was being towed off a shoal by TowBoat US. The shoal was clearly on the chart, but since our track was only 200 yards south of theirs, we certainly didn’t feel particularly superior about our navigational skills.
Our first attempt at anchoring in the north branch of Jackson Creek, was a partial success. The anchor held well, but we were too close to another boat who declared they had 86 feet of chain out and were expecting a “big blow!” We decided this particular Canadian vessel wasn’t inviting us to raft up with them, so we picked up our hook and proceeded to a less crowded area (south branch) and successfully anchored (on the second try) a hundred yards or so off the public pier. Jackson Creek was another area where Canadian boats were almost in the majority.
Brian got his chance to grill a steak, and by 9pm it was “lights out” in a totally calm anchorage with hardly a breeze in sight, let alone a “blow.”
Coming attractions: Our virtually rain free weather streak comes to end with a vengeance and we learn how the locals roast oysters and claim to make clam chowder.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Cooler weather has arrived (60s), we’re only a day or so from the ICW. Time to get serious about the ICW and all those bridge opening schedules!
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Dividing Creek, MD to Crisfield, MD
October 20, 2007
Hi Everyone:
We are really are thrilled when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We have been in Crisfield, MD, for the past two days, and are planning to stay for a third day. This is the heart of Maryland’s Eastern Shore “Crab Country.” We also couldn’t pass Somers Cove Marina’s off-season rate of $1 per foot per day, which is very inexpensive by Northeast standards. In addition after two days, the third day is free!
We’ve had a chance to catch up on a few “projects”, get to know some fellow cruisers, and immerse ourselves in the seafood culture. But I’m skipping ahead …
St. Michaels: No Crab Left Behind (Wed, Oct 10)
With the passing of the cold front, we woke in Dividing Creek to a much cooler (and less humid) day. Our next leg would be relatively short, so we skipped the usual cereal and Sue prepared a great zucchini scrambled egg breakfast. On our way out the Wye River, we spyed John and Cindy on their Gozzard 37, headed our way. We shouted our thanks for the Dividing Creek recommendation and promised to see them in the Spring.
There wasn’t much wind, but we raised the sails, just to dump some of the water that gets trapped in them after a rain storm. We then headed toward St. Michaels, a very popular destination for both land and water visitors. We decided to anchor in Leed’s Creek, across the Miles River from St. Michaels (less crowded, better holding ground, and more sheltered). After a quick lunch, we went into town using our dinghy (about 1.5 miles) and tied up at the public landing, which is right next to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. We had been there once before, so we focused on their new exhibit (Recreation on the Bay) as well as our old favorite, the former Hooper Straight Light House, which was moved to the museum to preserve it. We highly recommend this museum as a good introduction to the Chesapeake Bay estuary and how special a resource it is.
From there it was on to the various shops, a mandatory stop for refreshment at the Carpenter St. Saloon, and on to the main attraction: more crabs. We panicked briefly when we discovered the St. Michael’s Crab and Steak House was closed (Tues. and Wed. closing seemed a bit odd), but not to worry: the Crab Claw restaurant was the solution. Some crab dip and a dozen large crabs later we were happy cruisers watching the sun set.
The trip back in the dark was uneventful. Brian used our portable GPS to retrace our track back to the anchorage. There were no lighted navigation aids on Leeds Cr., so it was a big help to us in avoiding the shallows near mouth of the creek. Another boat had anchored near us since we left.
Waiting out a Cold Front Passage (Thurs & Fri, Oct 11-12)
The forecasted cold front arrived promptly at 1:30 AM with some wind (20 knot gusts) and 20 minutes of driving rain. Our anchor held nicely and we woke to forecasts of continued gusty wind from the West. We (and other boats anchored near us) decided to stay for both Thursday and Friday. We won’t bore you with the details, but it is amazing how many things need to be organized, re-organized on a boat when you have the time. If I forget this, Sue (the information specialist/librarian) is there with a list of items that could be improved. These times, also give us a chance to catch up on our journal and prepare our next Buds-at-Sea posting. The continuing noise of the wind keeps you alert, rechecking your location (to be sure you’re not dragging) or adjusting the anchor rode (to avoid chafe on the lines). We even have time to listen to the local and national news (sometimes curious about what’s going on in the “real” world), and watch a few more X-Files episodes on the DVD. Of course, food is essential to crew morale (I re-learn that steaks take longer to grill in 20 knots of wind). The cell phone also helps when we discover something needs replacement (Dan – thanks for ordering some new laptop batteries) or we just want to touch base with family.
Oh Canada! (Sat, Oct 13)
With the winds dying down, our last night in Leeds Creek was very restful, and we awoke to the site of a waterman tending this “trot line”, which is a long line between floats with bait lines tied to it at intervals. Starting at one floate, the crabber places the line on a roller a few feet above his boats rail, and then very slowly motors along, raising the bait to near the surface, where he can use a simple pole net to catch any crab that is hanging on to the bait. Not used much commercially anymore, but it works well in this part of the Bay.
By the time we were ready to go (8:15 am), all the other sailboats had left as well. As we neared the Green, “1” day mark, we slowly and gracefully came to a halt, we had strayed ONLY 20 or 30 yards closer to the mark that we had on entering 3 days earlier –but that was all it took! We backed off, turned left, found the deep water and in less than 2 minutes we were back to normal speed. Our second “soft grounding” of the trip was no big deal, but it reminded us of how close the shoals can get to what you think is the “center” of the channel. In this case, the chart and GPS said we should have had 9 feet of water instead of the 5.5 feet it turned out to be. In both cases we had entered a channel with no problems, but grounded on the way out.
Once we were in the open Bay, we got some good winds and were finally sailing again at 5.5 – 6.5 knots toward the Little Choptank River. By 1:30 pm the winds were dying so we motored into Hudson Creek around 3:30, followed by 2 other sailboats flying Canadian flags. We quickly anchored in a group of boats numbering around 5, which grew to around 12 or so by cocktail time. At least 6 of them were flying Canadian flags, and were thus almost certainly going down the ICW to Florida and beyond. We had been seeing hundreds of migrating Canada geese on the Eastern Shore as we made our way down the Bay. It was now clear, that another significant Canadian flock was also passing through.
Crossing the Potomac (Sun, 14 Oct)
The next morning we got an early start (7:30 am) and our hopes rose as we got an early breeze in the open Bay. The sailing ended however within an hour, and we motored the rest of the way, with some help from the current, toward the Patuxent River, on the Western Shore. As we closed Drum Point at the entrance, the wind came on strong, and we had a great one hour sail, hitting 6 to 7 knots at one point as we tacked back and forth up the River.
The Patuxent River is known mostly for the local Naval Air Station on the south side and for Solomons Island across the river, a quaint little town with what sailors are looking for marinas, anchorages, museums, restaurants, provisions, shops and pretty scenery. Did I mention the Tiki Bar? We tied up at Zahnisers Yacht Center, and were given an outside dock to tie up to. Hooray! We would have to wait some more to practice boat handling in slips.
Sue’s older brother Dave and Lisa, his wife, live in Woodbridge VA, just south of Washington, DC along the Potomac. It seemed like a natural for them to come see us and Sogno, since we were within 50 miles or so. When we decided to look at a road map, we saw that for much of Northern VA, we might as well be in Baltimore! It turns out that the Potomac, which forms the VA-MD border, has only two crossings in Northern VA: one in DC (I-95) and one sort of near Fredericksburg. No other bridges or ferries. Dave and Lisa would not be deterred and they spent 90 minutes, braving DC traffic, to get to our end of Calvert County while we took a walk about town. Did I mention the Tiki Bar?
We had fun showing off Sogno for the first time to our landlubber relatives, catching up on family news and having a fun dinner at the “Captain’s Table.” (I confined my crab intake to a small cup of cream of crab soup.)
Change the Oil, Change the Plans (Mon, Oct 15)
The “plan” was to change the engine oil, tighten and lube the steering cables, post the blog, and take showers before shoving off at noon. The reality: it was 11:15 and we were still trying to post the blog. Time out for a crew meeting! We finally decided there was more to see and do, and no need to rush out. We signed up for another day, finished our to do list, and headed out to see the Calvert County Marine Museum.
What a great decision. We had a wonderful time in a fascinating display of all things marine. An estuarium, crabs of all kinds, fish, jelly fish, terrapins – much more than historical stuff. We especially enjoyed the lighthouse tour. The former Drum Pt light had been cut off at the base and taken to the museum intact. It was the best light house tour of the trip, and we got to clamber up ladders, through hatches, plus see the living quarters as they would have been furnished in the early 1900s. Other memorable stuff on engines, crab and oyster packing, fossils from the nearby cliffs, etc. If you get to the Solomons, MD area we highly recommend this stop!
From there we did the obligatory provisioning and shopping tour and returned back for a relaxing night aboard, complete with a mixed grill dinner.
St. Leonard, Crab Cakes and Thou (Tues, 16 Oct)
The day began with a flurry of blog postings, a bit of confusion in getting our holding tank pumped out, but with help from both Zahnisers and Spring Cove Marina, we were on our way out of Solomons by 11:30. Our destination was St. Leonard’s Creek, 10 miles or so up the Patuxent.
One point of interest about the Patuxent is that it is the deepest river emptying into the Bay. Practically right under the Thomas Johnson Bridge, the depth is 127 feet – the deepest spot in the entire estuary. From there it was a quiet and peaceful cruise (no wind) up the river to the very wide, and relatively deep St. Leonard’s Creek. We found a wonderful spot to anchor near a small bluff near Rollins Cove. After lunch, we took time to tour the creek for a few miles upstream, passing some very nice houses. Our one disappointment was that the widely known Vera’s White Sands Resort restaurant was not open. We walked the grounds that include palm trees, a beach, pool, large marina, etc. The “high season” was over now, but we could imagine this “exotic” complex would be really going strong on a weekend summer night.
Back to Sogno for the “best crab cakes” of the trip – created by Sue from authentic Maryland recipes and the better part of one pound of lump crab meat we had bought in Solomons the day before. Delicious! The evening concluded in the cockpit with some balmy breezes, starlit skies and sincere thanksgiving for being able to be on this journey. We saw only one other boat anchored in this entire beautiful creek!
Paulie, Eddie and Crabs to Go (Wed, 17 Oct)
We were hoping our next destination would be Smith Island, Maryland’s “last offshore inhabited island”. Located right in the middle of the Bay along the Maryland’s southern boundary with Virginia, we were concerned about the depth coming in. The chart said 5 feet, the cruising guides said 5.5 to 6, but we called the Smith Island Marina to find out what the locals said. We were assured that with our 5.5 foot draft we could make it, but it was best to be there at mid-tide, scheduled for around 2:30. And yes we could have a slip for $1/per foot!
With no time to waste, we had to motor all the way, occasionally getting some boost from our main sail, but mostly motoring right into the wind. We arrived right on time, held our breadth through some shallower spots, but really never saw anything shallower than 8 feet or so. Our next challenge was docking in a slip, but it turned to be no problem (no wind or current helped immensely). We came in like we knew what we were doing, and were cautioned to not come in all the way since the last ten feet or so were a bit shallow (or depth meter said we were virtually aground.) Our hostess, Paulie, gave us a run down on the island, and since most things were closing at 4:00 we took off to see the sights. We had the mandatory crab ceremony (I had a softshell crab sandwich, Sue chose crabcake) and we then walked around a very small town, with a large church, a grocery, post office and lots of crab shanties – all virtually one foot above sea level, or so it seemed. It was very quiet, but there was some action at the docks as the mail boat left for Crisfield, and the last of the day’s crabs were loaded up for market.
By the time we had completed the tour, we went over to the Hot Steamed Crabs sign to see what that was about. The very friendly proprietor Eddie (pronounced Edduh) told us the large crabs were $10 for 6 and $18 for a dozen, and when would we like them? We thought everything shut down by 4:30, but Eddie was happy to make them to order so we could pick them up at 6:00. What a deal (the going price for a dozen large in Annapolis was $64!)
We ate our fill of crabs at the marina patio, under the stars, fortified with some local Yuengling beer and some liberal use of “Off” to keep the local mosquitoes at bay. We couldn’t shake the crab habit, and we were loving it.
Three Groundings in less than 1 hour (Thurs, 18 Oct)
To catch the mid-tide, we had to be underway by 7:30 am. This time we were going out the eastern side of the island, which was supposed to be better dredged, but almost 4 miles long. Carefully noting how the 7:30 mail boat proceeded, I promptly ran Sogno aground within 15 minutes of starting. A bit of backing and turning and we were back in the channel. I now concentrated on being very careful to go straight for each day mark. This worked very well, and since I nearly went 20 minutes this time before running aground. Again we worked our way back to the channel, and by this time I was not surprised when again we ran aground in about 15 minutes. At least at this point we could see the end of the dredged channel. The nearby waterman, hardly seemed to notice what these sailors were up to, but we finally made it out to the “deep” water (6 feet) at 8:30 am. We had made it!
From there we headed for Crisfield, MD, the “crab capital” of the Eastern Shore. Our idea was to sail a bit, get a slip at the Marina, take a sight seeing trip to Virginia’s Tangier Island (a bigger version of nearby Smith Island), see the town, and then attend the Watermen’s Festival the following day. We arrived at the marina around 11:00 am after a 1 hour sail, and again made a nearly perfect landing in a nice large slip. [To be continued]
Coming attractions: We dash to make the trip to Tangier, we finally meet some crews of boats we have seen along the way, and we find out how long it takes to shuck 24 oysters when money is on the line.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Warm weather has returned, we’re getting closer to the end of the Chesapeake portion of the trip. Time to start reading up on the ICW.
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Hi Everyone:
We are really are thrilled when we hear from you, so please go to the end of this posting and click on the word Comments and let us know your reactions!
We have been in Crisfield, MD, for the past two days, and are planning to stay for a third day. This is the heart of Maryland’s Eastern Shore “Crab Country.” We also couldn’t pass Somers Cove Marina’s off-season rate of $1 per foot per day, which is very inexpensive by Northeast standards. In addition after two days, the third day is free!
We’ve had a chance to catch up on a few “projects”, get to know some fellow cruisers, and immerse ourselves in the seafood culture. But I’m skipping ahead …
St. Michaels: No Crab Left Behind (Wed, Oct 10)
With the passing of the cold front, we woke in Dividing Creek to a much cooler (and less humid) day. Our next leg would be relatively short, so we skipped the usual cereal and Sue prepared a great zucchini scrambled egg breakfast. On our way out the Wye River, we spyed John and Cindy on their Gozzard 37, headed our way. We shouted our thanks for the Dividing Creek recommendation and promised to see them in the Spring.
There wasn’t much wind, but we raised the sails, just to dump some of the water that gets trapped in them after a rain storm. We then headed toward St. Michaels, a very popular destination for both land and water visitors. We decided to anchor in Leed’s Creek, across the Miles River from St. Michaels (less crowded, better holding ground, and more sheltered). After a quick lunch, we went into town using our dinghy (about 1.5 miles) and tied up at the public landing, which is right next to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. We had been there once before, so we focused on their new exhibit (Recreation on the Bay) as well as our old favorite, the former Hooper Straight Light House, which was moved to the museum to preserve it. We highly recommend this museum as a good introduction to the Chesapeake Bay estuary and how special a resource it is.
From there it was on to the various shops, a mandatory stop for refreshment at the Carpenter St. Saloon, and on to the main attraction: more crabs. We panicked briefly when we discovered the St. Michael’s Crab and Steak House was closed (Tues. and Wed. closing seemed a bit odd), but not to worry: the Crab Claw restaurant was the solution. Some crab dip and a dozen large crabs later we were happy cruisers watching the sun set.
The trip back in the dark was uneventful. Brian used our portable GPS to retrace our track back to the anchorage. There were no lighted navigation aids on Leeds Cr., so it was a big help to us in avoiding the shallows near mouth of the creek. Another boat had anchored near us since we left.
Waiting out a Cold Front Passage (Thurs & Fri, Oct 11-12)
The forecasted cold front arrived promptly at 1:30 AM with some wind (20 knot gusts) and 20 minutes of driving rain. Our anchor held nicely and we woke to forecasts of continued gusty wind from the West. We (and other boats anchored near us) decided to stay for both Thursday and Friday. We won’t bore you with the details, but it is amazing how many things need to be organized, re-organized on a boat when you have the time. If I forget this, Sue (the information specialist/librarian) is there with a list of items that could be improved. These times, also give us a chance to catch up on our journal and prepare our next Buds-at-Sea posting. The continuing noise of the wind keeps you alert, rechecking your location (to be sure you’re not dragging) or adjusting the anchor rode (to avoid chafe on the lines). We even have time to listen to the local and national news (sometimes curious about what’s going on in the “real” world), and watch a few more X-Files episodes on the DVD. Of course, food is essential to crew morale (I re-learn that steaks take longer to grill in 20 knots of wind). The cell phone also helps when we discover something needs replacement (Dan – thanks for ordering some new laptop batteries) or we just want to touch base with family.
Oh Canada! (Sat, Oct 13)
With the winds dying down, our last night in Leeds Creek was very restful, and we awoke to the site of a waterman tending this “trot line”, which is a long line between floats with bait lines tied to it at intervals. Starting at one floate, the crabber places the line on a roller a few feet above his boats rail, and then very slowly motors along, raising the bait to near the surface, where he can use a simple pole net to catch any crab that is hanging on to the bait. Not used much commercially anymore, but it works well in this part of the Bay.
By the time we were ready to go (8:15 am), all the other sailboats had left as well. As we neared the Green, “1” day mark, we slowly and gracefully came to a halt, we had strayed ONLY 20 or 30 yards closer to the mark that we had on entering 3 days earlier –but that was all it took! We backed off, turned left, found the deep water and in less than 2 minutes we were back to normal speed. Our second “soft grounding” of the trip was no big deal, but it reminded us of how close the shoals can get to what you think is the “center” of the channel. In this case, the chart and GPS said we should have had 9 feet of water instead of the 5.5 feet it turned out to be. In both cases we had entered a channel with no problems, but grounded on the way out.
Once we were in the open Bay, we got some good winds and were finally sailing again at 5.5 – 6.5 knots toward the Little Choptank River. By 1:30 pm the winds were dying so we motored into Hudson Creek around 3:30, followed by 2 other sailboats flying Canadian flags. We quickly anchored in a group of boats numbering around 5, which grew to around 12 or so by cocktail time. At least 6 of them were flying Canadian flags, and were thus almost certainly going down the ICW to Florida and beyond. We had been seeing hundreds of migrating Canada geese on the Eastern Shore as we made our way down the Bay. It was now clear, that another significant Canadian flock was also passing through.
Crossing the Potomac (Sun, 14 Oct)
The next morning we got an early start (7:30 am) and our hopes rose as we got an early breeze in the open Bay. The sailing ended however within an hour, and we motored the rest of the way, with some help from the current, toward the Patuxent River, on the Western Shore. As we closed Drum Point at the entrance, the wind came on strong, and we had a great one hour sail, hitting 6 to 7 knots at one point as we tacked back and forth up the River.
The Patuxent River is known mostly for the local Naval Air Station on the south side and for Solomons Island across the river, a quaint little town with what sailors are looking for marinas, anchorages, museums, restaurants, provisions, shops and pretty scenery. Did I mention the Tiki Bar? We tied up at Zahnisers Yacht Center, and were given an outside dock to tie up to. Hooray! We would have to wait some more to practice boat handling in slips.
Sue’s older brother Dave and Lisa, his wife, live in Woodbridge VA, just south of Washington, DC along the Potomac. It seemed like a natural for them to come see us and Sogno, since we were within 50 miles or so. When we decided to look at a road map, we saw that for much of Northern VA, we might as well be in Baltimore! It turns out that the Potomac, which forms the VA-MD border, has only two crossings in Northern VA: one in DC (I-95) and one sort of near Fredericksburg. No other bridges or ferries. Dave and Lisa would not be deterred and they spent 90 minutes, braving DC traffic, to get to our end of Calvert County while we took a walk about town. Did I mention the Tiki Bar?
We had fun showing off Sogno for the first time to our landlubber relatives, catching up on family news and having a fun dinner at the “Captain’s Table.” (I confined my crab intake to a small cup of cream of crab soup.)
Change the Oil, Change the Plans (Mon, Oct 15)
The “plan” was to change the engine oil, tighten and lube the steering cables, post the blog, and take showers before shoving off at noon. The reality: it was 11:15 and we were still trying to post the blog. Time out for a crew meeting! We finally decided there was more to see and do, and no need to rush out. We signed up for another day, finished our to do list, and headed out to see the Calvert County Marine Museum.
What a great decision. We had a wonderful time in a fascinating display of all things marine. An estuarium, crabs of all kinds, fish, jelly fish, terrapins – much more than historical stuff. We especially enjoyed the lighthouse tour. The former Drum Pt light had been cut off at the base and taken to the museum intact. It was the best light house tour of the trip, and we got to clamber up ladders, through hatches, plus see the living quarters as they would have been furnished in the early 1900s. Other memorable stuff on engines, crab and oyster packing, fossils from the nearby cliffs, etc. If you get to the Solomons, MD area we highly recommend this stop!
From there we did the obligatory provisioning and shopping tour and returned back for a relaxing night aboard, complete with a mixed grill dinner.
St. Leonard, Crab Cakes and Thou (Tues, 16 Oct)
The day began with a flurry of blog postings, a bit of confusion in getting our holding tank pumped out, but with help from both Zahnisers and Spring Cove Marina, we were on our way out of Solomons by 11:30. Our destination was St. Leonard’s Creek, 10 miles or so up the Patuxent.
One point of interest about the Patuxent is that it is the deepest river emptying into the Bay. Practically right under the Thomas Johnson Bridge, the depth is 127 feet – the deepest spot in the entire estuary. From there it was a quiet and peaceful cruise (no wind) up the river to the very wide, and relatively deep St. Leonard’s Creek. We found a wonderful spot to anchor near a small bluff near Rollins Cove. After lunch, we took time to tour the creek for a few miles upstream, passing some very nice houses. Our one disappointment was that the widely known Vera’s White Sands Resort restaurant was not open. We walked the grounds that include palm trees, a beach, pool, large marina, etc. The “high season” was over now, but we could imagine this “exotic” complex would be really going strong on a weekend summer night.
Back to Sogno for the “best crab cakes” of the trip – created by Sue from authentic Maryland recipes and the better part of one pound of lump crab meat we had bought in Solomons the day before. Delicious! The evening concluded in the cockpit with some balmy breezes, starlit skies and sincere thanksgiving for being able to be on this journey. We saw only one other boat anchored in this entire beautiful creek!
Paulie, Eddie and Crabs to Go (Wed, 17 Oct)
We were hoping our next destination would be Smith Island, Maryland’s “last offshore inhabited island”. Located right in the middle of the Bay along the Maryland’s southern boundary with Virginia, we were concerned about the depth coming in. The chart said 5 feet, the cruising guides said 5.5 to 6, but we called the Smith Island Marina to find out what the locals said. We were assured that with our 5.5 foot draft we could make it, but it was best to be there at mid-tide, scheduled for around 2:30. And yes we could have a slip for $1/per foot!
With no time to waste, we had to motor all the way, occasionally getting some boost from our main sail, but mostly motoring right into the wind. We arrived right on time, held our breadth through some shallower spots, but really never saw anything shallower than 8 feet or so. Our next challenge was docking in a slip, but it turned to be no problem (no wind or current helped immensely). We came in like we knew what we were doing, and were cautioned to not come in all the way since the last ten feet or so were a bit shallow (or depth meter said we were virtually aground.) Our hostess, Paulie, gave us a run down on the island, and since most things were closing at 4:00 we took off to see the sights. We had the mandatory crab ceremony (I had a softshell crab sandwich, Sue chose crabcake) and we then walked around a very small town, with a large church, a grocery, post office and lots of crab shanties – all virtually one foot above sea level, or so it seemed. It was very quiet, but there was some action at the docks as the mail boat left for Crisfield, and the last of the day’s crabs were loaded up for market.
By the time we had completed the tour, we went over to the Hot Steamed Crabs sign to see what that was about. The very friendly proprietor Eddie (pronounced Edduh) told us the large crabs were $10 for 6 and $18 for a dozen, and when would we like them? We thought everything shut down by 4:30, but Eddie was happy to make them to order so we could pick them up at 6:00. What a deal (the going price for a dozen large in Annapolis was $64!)
We ate our fill of crabs at the marina patio, under the stars, fortified with some local Yuengling beer and some liberal use of “Off” to keep the local mosquitoes at bay. We couldn’t shake the crab habit, and we were loving it.
Three Groundings in less than 1 hour (Thurs, 18 Oct)
To catch the mid-tide, we had to be underway by 7:30 am. This time we were going out the eastern side of the island, which was supposed to be better dredged, but almost 4 miles long. Carefully noting how the 7:30 mail boat proceeded, I promptly ran Sogno aground within 15 minutes of starting. A bit of backing and turning and we were back in the channel. I now concentrated on being very careful to go straight for each day mark. This worked very well, and since I nearly went 20 minutes this time before running aground. Again we worked our way back to the channel, and by this time I was not surprised when again we ran aground in about 15 minutes. At least at this point we could see the end of the dredged channel. The nearby waterman, hardly seemed to notice what these sailors were up to, but we finally made it out to the “deep” water (6 feet) at 8:30 am. We had made it!
From there we headed for Crisfield, MD, the “crab capital” of the Eastern Shore. Our idea was to sail a bit, get a slip at the Marina, take a sight seeing trip to Virginia’s Tangier Island (a bigger version of nearby Smith Island), see the town, and then attend the Watermen’s Festival the following day. We arrived at the marina around 11:00 am after a 1 hour sail, and again made a nearly perfect landing in a nice large slip. [To be continued]
Coming attractions: We dash to make the trip to Tangier, we finally meet some crews of boats we have seen along the way, and we find out how long it takes to shuck 24 oysters when money is on the line.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Warm weather has returned, we’re getting closer to the end of the Chesapeake portion of the trip. Time to start reading up on the ICW.
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Monday, October 15, 2007
Annapolis to Dividing Creek, MD
October 15, 2007
Hi Everyone:
This installment finds Sogno and her crew currently docked on Maryland’s western shore, near the mouth of the Patuxent River in Solomons Island, MD. The weather is more seasonal now, but earlier this week, after over 3 weeks of great weather, we finally experienced a few days of “unsettled” weather while on the Eastern Shore. Nothing serious, but it gave us a chance to hang on the hook for 2 extra days and catch up a on a few things, including a more timely update on our activities and some more photos.
In the last installment, we had just about worn ourselves ragged running around with the Sailboat Show crowd in Annapolis and were scheduled to depart on Sunday. Sounds simple right? Read on my friends!
Backing to port, and other ways to leave your slip (Sun, Oct 7)
We got up early Sunday, to take care of the usual cruiser priorities: showers, internet, laundry, water, garbage, etc. Sue was in charge of laundry, and I tried to deal with the rest. I finally got a decent enough Wi-Fi signal from the Annapolis municipal system to pay some bills, check our bank finances, and learn that Notre Dame had finally won a football game (UCLA), after losing their first 5 games (ouch!)
Finally around noon, we were ready to untie the spider web of docking lines I had designed to keep Sogno in the slip and avoid toppling the telephone wiring enclosure located directly in front of Sogno’s bowsprit (and dueling anchors). I confidently talked about how easy backing out in the light wind off our stern, as we were finally down to just the spring line that kept Sogno from charging forward toward that telephone thingy.
I asked Sue to start backing out slowly and was keeping us off the various pilings and the sailboat on our port side, when we stopped backing. Sue politely pointed out that the spring was still tied. Oops! I looked around to make sure no one else had seen this faux pas, and managed to take off the spring, like it had been there all along to help with the turn out of the slip.
This was the crucial thing – we had to back the stern to the right (starboard), so we would be pointed out of the marina and toward the Back Creek channel. As many of you know, sailboats don’t back up very well, and when they do they tend to back to the left (port). Sogno didn’t change a thing, and with the assistance of the wind, we were consistently backing to starboard. Not too worry. “Full speed astern” said I, “We’ll just back out all the way” using the rudder to steer. “Stop!” said Sue, as I continued to back to starboard until we almost hit another neighboring boat. I obeyed, but continued to whine that I really could do it, if I was given half a chance. A cooler head (i.e., Sue’s) prevailed and I eventually gave a grand demonstration of backing to port, until I had turned Sogno 270 degrees between two rows of slips. She was now pointed out toward the channel and I could resume my cool air of authority. We were cruising again.
We had a great sail up the Bay but the winds died (don’t they always) as we approached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. We had a good current and managed to drift through the bridges with sails flapping, before I gave up and fired up the diesel. (Yes, we went “north” for a while since time is not an issue and there are SO many rivers, creeks, and coves to explore.)
We arrived in the Magothy River and anchored behind Dobbins Island, a popular anchorage that eventually thinned down in the evening to a 3 or 4 sailboats and a trawler. Sue prepared a great dinner. “Chicken Parthenon” was named after the restaurant where our chicken leftovers had originated the night before. We were happy to escape the crowds and I was happy to not have to deal with those confounded slips!
Fuel Docks and Burning Sailboats don’t Mix (Mon, Oct 8)
We celebrated Columbus Day, by taking a short trip over to the Eastern Shore and Rock Hall, MD, home of the Sailing Emporium marina. We had noticed a slight oil leak under the diesel engine during the NJ leg, and knew this marina had plenty of experience with our type of boat (Gozzard) and engine (Westerbeke). We wanted a knowledgeable opinion and had gotten some good help during our last Chesapeake cruise in 2002.
We arrived around 11:30 and were told to tie up at one end of the fuel dock. Yippee! No stinking slip -- just a nice outside dock, where you could use their lines to quickly tie up. Eddie the mechanic determined our problem was a small leak in the oil pan seal, but certainly not worth pulling the entire engine to fix it. We could just monitor if for now, and it would likely not get any worse. When we asked if we could stay the night (and oh by the way this dock is very nice), we were told no problem. My next “Slip Maneuvering 101” makeup exam had been postponed.
Sue went off to gather some provisions in town. (Bayside Foods will pick you up and bring you back.) I was planning to microwave the last of the “Chicken Parthenon” for lunch and then “replace” some varnish on the starboard cap rail, that I managed to leave behind on slip piling in Cape May. As I was finishing lunch, I heard loud engine noises. I had been told a large boat was scheduled to share the dock for the night, so I came up to see if I needed to move Sogno down the dock. What I saw was a local waterman and a work boat, but what he and I were both looking at was big cloud of black smoke coming out of the sailboat directly across the dock from me in the last slip on the pier. “Circe” was on fire, right across from us next to the fuel pumps on the dock!
The waterman started shouting “fire” and gunned his boat to the shore. I ran down the dock, but he beat me to the office. I then ran back with a bunch of yard workers. I pulled the power cord on “Circe”, one worker with a fire extinguisher couldn’t see where to aim it, so he and his mate grabbed the regular hoses at the slips and started dousing the fire. Took a few minutes to get the smoke to subside, and find out that the fire was in the vicinity of a charred120VAC fan, burned rug, and very hot base of the aluminum mast. Whatever the cause, we were all very lucky that the waterman had come along when he did. Because of the way the wind had been blowing, I hadn’t smelled a thing. Also lucky was Circe’s live-aboard cat, who came out of the smoke tongue dangling, but alive. The cat’s name? Smokey – a prophetic name that was very prophetic for a feline with one less of his nine lives!
Sue was coming back from town as the Rock Hall Volunteer fire department passed by on the way to the marina. She got a bit of a scare when she saw they were all out the fuel dock. Sogno? Brian? Microwave? Nope – just a close call with a hot little sailboat named Circe.
The rest of our stay was much more relaxing – showers, cocktails onboard another boat with two couples, and dinner at a local restaurant (Baywolf had a half-price entrée special going). We were even given the keys to a car to help us get into town. Life was good!
Our first (but not last) Chesapeake Grounding (Tues, Oct 9)
We spent much of the morning with some minor engine maintenance, laundry (one washer and one dryer) and talking with some friends who own a Gozzard 37, the same type of boat as Sogno. John and Cindy gave us some recommendations for some nearby anchorages plus caught us up on what’s been happening with the Gozzard family. John drove me to the hardware store and West Marine to pick up some boat “stuff” and we were ready to go at noon. With no wind we were able to depart from our dock, stop at the pump out dock, and depart again without incident.
Our boat handling confidence restored, we almost immediately executed a perfect “soft grounding” just as we left the Rock Hall Harbor. Brian said port to the helmsperson, when he should have said starboard, and we ended up a bit too far to the right of the channel. The charts said we should be still afloat, but our keel told us otherwise. The BAD thing about the Chesapeake is that it can be very shallow and the shoals move around faster than NOAA can chart them. The GOOD thing is that it IS mud, from which you can almost always back out, unless you’re going to fast. We were back in the channel in less than two minutes, and we had re-learned a few lessons, and given a local waterman another story to tell about how those crazy sail boats from up North just couldn’t manage to stay in a simple channel.
We were hoping for some sailing too, but the winds were in the wrong direction, so we motored south, passed through Kent Narrows Draw Bridge with its 2.5 knot current, to the famously beautiful Wye River, where we took the eastern branch to Dividing Creek. This snug little creek had a surprising amount of room, and we were the last arrivals to join four other sail boats, including “White Skye” with a hailing port of Glenvil, Nebraska!
It was very beautiful, very still, very calm, very snug and very hot! That all changed during the night, when we were treated to our first thunderstorm. Lots of rain to wash off the salt, but thankfully, hardly any wind at all. Snugness can have its pluses.
Coming Attractions: Why we were so happy with our anchorage near St. Michaels, that we stayed an unexpected two days more; why one grounding in the Chesapeake is not enough for real cruisers, and why the crow can fly a lot faster to Solomons Island than family visitors from Woodbridge, VA.
We are really happy to hear your comments so keep them coming!
Fall is in the air. We are both well. Life is good.
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Hi Everyone:
This installment finds Sogno and her crew currently docked on Maryland’s western shore, near the mouth of the Patuxent River in Solomons Island, MD. The weather is more seasonal now, but earlier this week, after over 3 weeks of great weather, we finally experienced a few days of “unsettled” weather while on the Eastern Shore. Nothing serious, but it gave us a chance to hang on the hook for 2 extra days and catch up a on a few things, including a more timely update on our activities and some more photos.
In the last installment, we had just about worn ourselves ragged running around with the Sailboat Show crowd in Annapolis and were scheduled to depart on Sunday. Sounds simple right? Read on my friends!
Backing to port, and other ways to leave your slip (Sun, Oct 7)
We got up early Sunday, to take care of the usual cruiser priorities: showers, internet, laundry, water, garbage, etc. Sue was in charge of laundry, and I tried to deal with the rest. I finally got a decent enough Wi-Fi signal from the Annapolis municipal system to pay some bills, check our bank finances, and learn that Notre Dame had finally won a football game (UCLA), after losing their first 5 games (ouch!)
Finally around noon, we were ready to untie the spider web of docking lines I had designed to keep Sogno in the slip and avoid toppling the telephone wiring enclosure located directly in front of Sogno’s bowsprit (and dueling anchors). I confidently talked about how easy backing out in the light wind off our stern, as we were finally down to just the spring line that kept Sogno from charging forward toward that telephone thingy.
I asked Sue to start backing out slowly and was keeping us off the various pilings and the sailboat on our port side, when we stopped backing. Sue politely pointed out that the spring was still tied. Oops! I looked around to make sure no one else had seen this faux pas, and managed to take off the spring, like it had been there all along to help with the turn out of the slip.
This was the crucial thing – we had to back the stern to the right (starboard), so we would be pointed out of the marina and toward the Back Creek channel. As many of you know, sailboats don’t back up very well, and when they do they tend to back to the left (port). Sogno didn’t change a thing, and with the assistance of the wind, we were consistently backing to starboard. Not too worry. “Full speed astern” said I, “We’ll just back out all the way” using the rudder to steer. “Stop!” said Sue, as I continued to back to starboard until we almost hit another neighboring boat. I obeyed, but continued to whine that I really could do it, if I was given half a chance. A cooler head (i.e., Sue’s) prevailed and I eventually gave a grand demonstration of backing to port, until I had turned Sogno 270 degrees between two rows of slips. She was now pointed out toward the channel and I could resume my cool air of authority. We were cruising again.
We had a great sail up the Bay but the winds died (don’t they always) as we approached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. We had a good current and managed to drift through the bridges with sails flapping, before I gave up and fired up the diesel. (Yes, we went “north” for a while since time is not an issue and there are SO many rivers, creeks, and coves to explore.)
We arrived in the Magothy River and anchored behind Dobbins Island, a popular anchorage that eventually thinned down in the evening to a 3 or 4 sailboats and a trawler. Sue prepared a great dinner. “Chicken Parthenon” was named after the restaurant where our chicken leftovers had originated the night before. We were happy to escape the crowds and I was happy to not have to deal with those confounded slips!
Fuel Docks and Burning Sailboats don’t Mix (Mon, Oct 8)
We celebrated Columbus Day, by taking a short trip over to the Eastern Shore and Rock Hall, MD, home of the Sailing Emporium marina. We had noticed a slight oil leak under the diesel engine during the NJ leg, and knew this marina had plenty of experience with our type of boat (Gozzard) and engine (Westerbeke). We wanted a knowledgeable opinion and had gotten some good help during our last Chesapeake cruise in 2002.
We arrived around 11:30 and were told to tie up at one end of the fuel dock. Yippee! No stinking slip -- just a nice outside dock, where you could use their lines to quickly tie up. Eddie the mechanic determined our problem was a small leak in the oil pan seal, but certainly not worth pulling the entire engine to fix it. We could just monitor if for now, and it would likely not get any worse. When we asked if we could stay the night (and oh by the way this dock is very nice), we were told no problem. My next “Slip Maneuvering 101” makeup exam had been postponed.
Sue went off to gather some provisions in town. (Bayside Foods will pick you up and bring you back.) I was planning to microwave the last of the “Chicken Parthenon” for lunch and then “replace” some varnish on the starboard cap rail, that I managed to leave behind on slip piling in Cape May. As I was finishing lunch, I heard loud engine noises. I had been told a large boat was scheduled to share the dock for the night, so I came up to see if I needed to move Sogno down the dock. What I saw was a local waterman and a work boat, but what he and I were both looking at was big cloud of black smoke coming out of the sailboat directly across the dock from me in the last slip on the pier. “Circe” was on fire, right across from us next to the fuel pumps on the dock!
The waterman started shouting “fire” and gunned his boat to the shore. I ran down the dock, but he beat me to the office. I then ran back with a bunch of yard workers. I pulled the power cord on “Circe”, one worker with a fire extinguisher couldn’t see where to aim it, so he and his mate grabbed the regular hoses at the slips and started dousing the fire. Took a few minutes to get the smoke to subside, and find out that the fire was in the vicinity of a charred120VAC fan, burned rug, and very hot base of the aluminum mast. Whatever the cause, we were all very lucky that the waterman had come along when he did. Because of the way the wind had been blowing, I hadn’t smelled a thing. Also lucky was Circe’s live-aboard cat, who came out of the smoke tongue dangling, but alive. The cat’s name? Smokey – a prophetic name that was very prophetic for a feline with one less of his nine lives!
Sue was coming back from town as the Rock Hall Volunteer fire department passed by on the way to the marina. She got a bit of a scare when she saw they were all out the fuel dock. Sogno? Brian? Microwave? Nope – just a close call with a hot little sailboat named Circe.
The rest of our stay was much more relaxing – showers, cocktails onboard another boat with two couples, and dinner at a local restaurant (Baywolf had a half-price entrée special going). We were even given the keys to a car to help us get into town. Life was good!
Our first (but not last) Chesapeake Grounding (Tues, Oct 9)
We spent much of the morning with some minor engine maintenance, laundry (one washer and one dryer) and talking with some friends who own a Gozzard 37, the same type of boat as Sogno. John and Cindy gave us some recommendations for some nearby anchorages plus caught us up on what’s been happening with the Gozzard family. John drove me to the hardware store and West Marine to pick up some boat “stuff” and we were ready to go at noon. With no wind we were able to depart from our dock, stop at the pump out dock, and depart again without incident.
Our boat handling confidence restored, we almost immediately executed a perfect “soft grounding” just as we left the Rock Hall Harbor. Brian said port to the helmsperson, when he should have said starboard, and we ended up a bit too far to the right of the channel. The charts said we should be still afloat, but our keel told us otherwise. The BAD thing about the Chesapeake is that it can be very shallow and the shoals move around faster than NOAA can chart them. The GOOD thing is that it IS mud, from which you can almost always back out, unless you’re going to fast. We were back in the channel in less than two minutes, and we had re-learned a few lessons, and given a local waterman another story to tell about how those crazy sail boats from up North just couldn’t manage to stay in a simple channel.
We were hoping for some sailing too, but the winds were in the wrong direction, so we motored south, passed through Kent Narrows Draw Bridge with its 2.5 knot current, to the famously beautiful Wye River, where we took the eastern branch to Dividing Creek. This snug little creek had a surprising amount of room, and we were the last arrivals to join four other sail boats, including “White Skye” with a hailing port of Glenvil, Nebraska!
It was very beautiful, very still, very calm, very snug and very hot! That all changed during the night, when we were treated to our first thunderstorm. Lots of rain to wash off the salt, but thankfully, hardly any wind at all. Snugness can have its pluses.
Coming Attractions: Why we were so happy with our anchorage near St. Michaels, that we stayed an unexpected two days more; why one grounding in the Chesapeake is not enough for real cruisers, and why the crow can fly a lot faster to Solomons Island than family visitors from Woodbridge, VA.
We are really happy to hear your comments so keep them coming!
Fall is in the air. We are both well. Life is good.
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
Monday, October 8, 2007
City Island to Annapolis
October 8, 2007
Hi Everyone:
Sorry about the delay, but we're happy to report that all is well with Sogno and her crew. We are now in Annapolis, MD finishing up our annual US Sail Boat Show gathering visit with some old friends and some new ones we made this year. The weather has been great, although we are still getting used to the Chesapeake humidity and heat. Hope the lingering summer weather has been good to you back in your area.
On to the news! We last left you when we were in New York on Sept 25, with Homeland Security blocking our exit, and Brian furiously typing away to finish our first blog installment before the City Island library branch would kick us out. We made it to Annapolis. But what about the "rest of the story."
Sailboat Maneuvers in the East River (Wed, Sep 26)
We had gotten so many stories about the United Nation security zones in the East River, that Brian decided to check one more time and got up at 5am to do that. Both by cell phone and VHF, with a bit of prompting, we confirmed that it was a go. Recreational vessels were going to be allowed down the East River on the EASTERN side of Roosevelt Island. The WESTERN side of the island (nearest the UN) was still closed to everyone except authorized commercial vessels under escort.
Sounds simple, right.? We had to arrive at a famously turbulent spot in the East River called Hell Gate at slack water at 9:12am, when the current is calm for a few minutes and then proceed down with the ebb tide (out going current), admire all the sights of Manhattan's east side and proceed into New York harbor, Statue of Liberty, etc.
Among the sights of course were all those big suspension bridges: the Queensborough, Williamsburg, Manhattan, Brooklyn, etc. No problem for Sogno's 53 foot mast to pass under. HOWEVER, the EASTERN passage of Roosevelt Island. had a lift bridge (a type of draw bridge) that was only 40 above the water in its normal position. Most sailboats normally avoid it by going down the UN side of the island (WESTERN passage), but we didn't have that option this time. But everyone from the Coast Guard to the bridge operator assured all the sailboats that it would duly lift when requested to.
Well you guessed it - when the lift bridge got its moment of glory around 9:15, it wouldn't budge! Now there were around 10 sailboats, and some larger power boats all circling around in the rapidly building current waiting for the bridge or Coast Guard to do something. In the meantime a tug and ugly scrap barge were approaching and the skipper was telling us to be sure to get out of the way, because he was coming through and could get under the bridge in any event. Things then got even more interesting.
We were ordered by the Coast Guard to go around and wait on the WESTERN side. They planned to escort us through soon, but until "plan" was all approved, be sure NOT to go past the Queensborough Bridge. That was easy to figure out since there were USCG boats with 2 machine guns each, clearly blocking that area.
We all then sped off at max speed into the ebbing current to go around the north end of Roosevelt I., and then got out of the way of the tug/barge, which was escorted through the west side after all. The CG then said the lift bridge would be fixed, head back to the EAST. Then the NY PD said, we could go back down the WEST side, but the machine gun boats didn't get the word, and all was a big mess for a while. Finally it was all straightened out (after nearly 2 hours) and we all motored as slow as we could, in a single file past the UN, trying to stay separated by 1000 yards!
We were out into the Harbor by 11:30, but some of the boats near the end of our Conga line were stopped again, by a new security zone set up around the heliport at then end of Manhattan. Pres. Bush had decided to leave an hour early and they got trapped again.
All in all, everyone acted reasonably, but the need for disciplined communications by all agencies, commercial vessels and all the recreational folks was never more clearly illustrated!
The rest of the day was much more uneventful, and we motored in light winds to Great Kill harbor on Staten Island. The Richmond County Yacht Club provided us with a mooring, some showers, and a great little bar. We were ready to hit our second NYC borough. We ended up at a very unique happy hour, with a bartender who did magic and card tricks between drinks. He cleverly took Sue's marked dollar bill, made it disappear, and then reappear inside a fresh lemon he produced and cut open to reveal the bill. A pizza under the stars at a simple restaurant got us pack to the RCYC. There we hooked up with many of the East River sailboat veterans and discussed the (now) many funny things that were said and done that morning.
Hang a right at the Hook, and straight on to Barnegat Inlet (Thurs, Sept 27)
We got a nice early start and were soon rounding Sandy Hook and heading down the Jersey coast. There are only a few good inlets along the coast. Plan A was Manasquan – no room at any of the marinas. There is some room to anchor, but we decided to press on to Barnegat Inlet, motoring, sailing and motor sailing along the way as the winds changed speed and directions. At 5.5 to 6.0 knots, this 51 mile trip can be a bit boring, but we at least had a few times to practice some navigation in the patchy fog along the coast. We arrived around 6pm, and just had enough time to successful anchor on the second try.
We had our first Dark and Stormy to celebrate the event, and tucked in for the night with Barnegat light and another cruising sailboat for company.
AC Here We Come! (Fri, Sept 28).
This leg started out with great winds and fair tides, and we were sailing in bursts of 7 knots, which is well above our average sailing speed of 5.5 to 6.0. This of course couldn't last all day, and by the time we were off Little Egg inlet, the winds died, and we got one of our first attacks from some flies. How they can find us 2 miles off shore is always a puzzle, but we motored on and arrived in Atlantic City. Our marina was opposite the Trump casino, so we had a nice backdrop of large motor yachts, and LOUD music at night. We fueled up (our first one since Marblehead) and tied up at their bulkhead. (Lots of practice with fender boards, and adjusting dock lines to keep us from hitting the boat ahead of us). We got our showers, and headed off to the Gardner's Basin area where the last of the local clamming fleet is. There was quite a lot of residential development going on along the water (townhouse units), so some of the casino money seems to be reviving this area. Our f
ish and chips dinners were a disappointment (the fish came from Gloucester, via Gorton's we think), but we found some hospitable Phillies fans at the establishment next door, one of whom gave us a ride back in his van. We even found out that the Sox had made the playoffs!
Rolling the dice to escape our Atlantic City Berth (Sat, Sept 29)
We awoke to forecasts of 15 to 20 knots, with gusts to 30, but the good news was they were from the East. We knew Sogno could handle this and really fly. We thought we were up to the task, but our basic concern was leaving our bulkhead berth with out spearing the large Egg Harbor ahead of us with the anchors we have mounted our bowsprit rollers. The winds from directly astern didn't help, but after much talk in the increasingly gusty morning, and much movement of dock lines we were ready. We cast off, put it in gear and gave it the gun – we were committed. We cleared the trawler ahead of us, circled in the basin, and made a clean getaway. It was good to see a few more sailboats proceeding out with us, and we were soon making good speed off the coast – until the winds died again. Yikes – where are those 30 knot gusts when you really want them!
We eventually had to motor the last 10 miles to Cape May, and had some adventures going into our first slip of the trip. The second attempt was the charm, but we still had a lot of neighboring boat skippers watching us closely as we finally tied up. Laundry, navigation planning, and time out for dinner kept us pretty busy. Lights out early – we had an early departure to catch the tide.
Two hours after low tide is the secret (Sun, Sept 30)
After spending an hour planning our departure from Cape May for Delaware Bay and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, Brian figured the best time to leave was around 6:30 to 7:00 am. Low tide was at 7:00 am, and this would allow us to get our 53 foot mast under two 55 foot bridges in the Cape May Canal with plenty to spare during a spring tide, AND catch the incoming tide in Delaware Bay. A quick look at one of our cruising guides, revealed that everyone knew that leaving 2 hours after low tide was the way to get a favorable current up Delaware Bay and then have a favorable current through the C&D canal. I guess it pays to read ALL the material if you go the trouble of buying it in the first place!
The short story was we had some great winds at the start, and a whole gaggle of sail boats joined us in an unofficial race up the Bay. We were easily sailing 7 knots over the bottom, with 2.5 knots from the current in the Bay alone. The trip was over 50 miles, and we were way ahead of schedule so we kept on motoring through the C&D canal and anchored in the Bohemia River with only 1 foot of water under our keel. We were in the Chesapeake Bay in September!
Heading North Already? (Mon, Oct 1)
Finally we were in cruising territory, and we had a few days to spare, so what do we do? We tried to connect with two Marblehead friends, John and Barb, who were in Annapolis for two nights, but couldn't figure out a meeting place in between that made sense. We finally decided to head up the head north to the Susquehanna River, the river that originally formed the Chesapeake Bay estuary. The destination was Havre De Grace, MD, actually named by Lafayette, but pronounced by the locals – HAVE a duh grace. Brian spent six months in the area at a nearby naval base, and was interested to see how it was now. We sailed around our first crab pot area, so we felt more at home dodging those little floats. We arrived around 3:30 and anchored after two tries. The wind was making things a bit choppy, but we were eager to get in and at least check out the dining possibilities. It took us a while to find where to tie up our dinghy, but soon we were checking out all the menus. We found out
along the way that Brian's naval base (Bainbridge) was completely closed and an environmental disaster!
We ended up at a very popular Irish pub and had Maryland crab soup and two crab cakes. We finally knew we were in Maryland! As it got dark, we beat feet for our dinghy, as the Monday Night football crowd began to arrive. Unfortunately the gate to the marina was locked. We circled the marina and began to debate jumping the fence or asking the police for help, when we found out that we could just yell at one of the boaters still in the yard, for the security code to get in. We got back to Sogno, let out some more anchor rode and watched another X-Files DVD episode as the 15 knot wind blew. Life was good!
Which way to Witchcoat? (Tues, Oct 2)
Our next destination had to be somewhere within 30 miles of Annapolis. We took the easy choice and picked Back River, MD. Actually there are more Back Rivers and Back Creeks in MD and VA than there are Dunkin Donuts in MA, and this one was just east of Baltimore. We had read about a good anchorage off Witchcoat Point, so we headed there until the depth was less than 1 foot under Sogno. The first anchor attempt seemed to be a bit tight (0.5 feet), so we tried a second time and managed to end up in about 2 feet under our bottom (suggested by helmsman Sue). We backed down on the anchor and everything was cool. It was very quiet with only the local watermen leaving any wakes as they went about their crab business.
Sue created "Chicken Witchcoat" that night and we hit the sack well fed and looking forward to Annapolis. Three days anchoring in a row also felt like we are really getting into a cruising mode.
Back River to Back Creek (Wed, Oct 3)
The forecast said a chance of rain, but it was mostly overcast and no wind when we carefully motored our way down the Back River. We were now seeing more large ships as we passed by Baltimore – staying out of the ship channels was the easiest way to deal with these guys, but it was still fun to practice with the radar to track them as they stayed in their assigned "traffic lanes." We arrived in Annapolis around 12:30 and could not resist a little drive by the Sailboat Show which was opening the next day. With all the flags and banners flying and all the boats packed in the inner harbor it was quite a sight. Sue and I had been going to this show since 1976, but this was the first time we had seen it from the water, so it was the first time we realized how many visiting sailors were anchored in every available space in the harbor, in Spa Creek, Back Creek and any place that could be found to drop the hook.
We then went to our marina in next door Eastport, fueled up, pumped out, and got into our slip on the first try! We were getting better at this thing, although getting all our dock lines straightened out and keeping our bowsprit from blocking the dock walkways took an hour of assorted cleat hitches, round turns and clove hitches! We had arrived: showers, water, electricity, Wireless internet (sort of) for the next four days!
We launched our inflatable dinghy and although it took a while, with help from a local tourist "chart" and two teenage girls we found the Sixth St. public dinghy dock. We were able to grab a bite to eat at Davis Pub and then join in the sixth birthday of another local pub. Tomorrow it was time to hit the show!
A Drinking Town with a Sailing Problem (Thurs Oct 4 – Sat Oct 6)
Annapolis advertises itself as America's Sailing Capital, and to be honest it is a great for a boater of any persuasion, with hundreds of marine businesses that can help you dispose of your "boat units" (a boat unit is $100) at an amazing clip, plus give you a super selection of cruising destinations to visit up and down the Bay.
Sue and I used to live down in Hampton and Newport News at the mouth of the Bay (Hampton Roads) and we have continued to attend the show since we left in 1978. Our good friends Mark and Nancy from Seaford, VA (near Yorktown) get together with us and over the many years we have stayed in a variety of "value" motels. This was the first time we would be bringing our own lodgings.
We lucked out and got a marina slip at Annapolis Landing in Eastport, on Back Creek, which was easy dinghy/walking/water taxi distance from the show at the Annapolis inner harbor. The weather was great, and despite the overcast early mornings, by 11am, everything had burned off and we had plenty of sunshine. As always it was fun to go aboard all the boats in the water, and prowl the tents looking for "accessories" for Sogno.
We also get a chance to connect with friends among the exhibitors, especially the builders of our boat, Gozzard Yachts. We get to see the new Gozzards boats and see what's new in improvements, plus ask questions about particular items we need help with fixing and/or improving.
Needless to say there are plenty of pubs, restaurants, shops and historical places of interests in Annapolis, Eastport and outlying areas. We especially recommend Galway Bay (pub), Mike's (streamed crabs), Davis Pub (atmosphere and cheap food), and Parthenon (Greek). The State House, Naval Academy and Paca House (garden) are also good places to go when the boat show gets a bit overwhelming.
This year we also attended the Seven Seas Cruising Association "Gam". A gam is an old nautical term for getting together to talk and exchange news, which usually occurred when two sailing ships encountered each other out in the open sea. We joined 2 years ago, and the group is a fantastic resource for finding out about cruising anywhere in the world. They had an excellent set of seminars Sat. morning on: medical kits, electronic charting, and dealing with marine head "issues". We wish we could have caught the whole meeting, but "so many boats, so little time!"
That's about it for now, but we'll try to post another segment soon.
Coming attractions: Our exciting adventure in backing out of our slip on Sunday, drifting under the Annapolis Bay Bridge, and a fire at the slip next to us in Rock Hall, MD.
We'd love to hear your comments and ideas for what to include (or leave out) in future postings.
Regards,
Brian and Sue Schanning
Buds at Sea
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