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

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

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

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