Hi Everyone,
Two Items:
The blog for Deltaville was redone as it was lost, but the new one has lots of pictures and should be revisited.
Hurricane Sandy: We were very fortunate to get to Georgetown SC as early as we did. All we got from Sandy was some rain and wind gusting up to about 20 knots and some extra high water but nothing to cause any damage so far. Some of the boats that were wholed up here over the weekend, moved on this morning, Monday. We are watching the news and are hoping all our sailing friends have found safe anchorages.
We also hear that people on land are going to be hit hard so please keep in touch.
Thanks to everyone who have called and emailed. It is nice to hear from everyone.
I hope everyone at PCYC are all secured as well as those that have moved to other marinas for the winter.
Linda
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Deltaville Blues and a trip in the Ditch
Hi everyone,
Somehow this posting got deleted and I'm going to re-write it.
We left Solomons MD after a week of R&R in 75* - 80*F weather. We were on the hook for a couple of days then took a mooring ball for the remainder of our stay there. The mooring ball was at Zhaniser's Marina. What a very nice facility for a stay. Free bicycles, marina store on site, great washrooms and showers and they will drive you to the grocery store.
On the way to Deltaville we stopped in at Jutland Creek MD, which is a short sail up the Potomac River to Smiths Creek. It was nothing special, just a quiet place to spend the night. The next day we pulled into Deltaville VA on the south side entering through Jackson's Creek and anchoring right in front of Deltaville Boat Yard. We had been experiencing some electrical problems and decided to try and get it resolved here. The service writer at DBY is Chuck Ruble, a fellow Pearson 424 owner. I hadn't met Chuck before, but knew of him through our owners group. He said that they would try to get an electrician to look at the problem but they were very busy launching and hauling boats. A lot of people leave their boats here for the summer and launch in September and go south. Others sail the Chesapeake all summer and haul the boat for the winter. There must have been 10 Canadian boats in the yard and marina getting ready to head south.
We arrived in Deltaville late on a Friday afternoon, spoke with Chuck on Saturday morning and he couldn't get anything done until Monday at the earliest. As it was, the electrician couldn't get to us until Wednesday afternoon, then came back Friday afternoon. There was a small craft advisory for the weekend and just plain rainy for the next couple of days after that. So we planned to leave on the Wednesday of our 11th day in Deltaville.
Deltaville Marina
Deltaville has a population of about 823 people and 3500 registered boats. Yes it's a boating town. There are quite a few marinas on the north side of the peninsula in Broad Creek off of the Rhappahannock River. Deltaville is spread out over quite a large area, so you can't really walk to too many places . One night we were at a resteraunt eating and 3 seperate couples offered to drive us back to the boat. Very friendly people around here. There were bicycles available here as well, but they are the goofy looking ones that it looked like your grandmother rode. but better than nothing. There was also a car that you could use for an hour at a time and that was a bonus. With all of the cruisers here, there was no shortage of information available for the trip down the Intracoastal Waterway ( ICW ) aka the Ditch. We got some tips from a few people that we put to good use. One of the people that we met was Michael that had a 31 ft. catameran. He is 81 years old and he has made this trip south to the Bahamas every year for the past 31 years.
Finally we had some good weather and we made our departure from Deltaville. Our plan was to go to Yorktown VA and take in some of the historical sites. The weather forcast had changed overnight with predicted high winds out of the west so we decided to carry on to Norfolk VA instead of stopping at Yorktown.
Coming into Norfolk you go by the largest naval base in the world. Along the banks of the Elizabeth River you see the might of the United States Navy. It was quite impressive to see all of those ships in one place. We anchored at Hospital Point ( mile 0 ) near the center of the Norfolk waterfront right across from the WW II battleship USS Wisconsin. The next day we did some site seeing and the first place that we went to was the Wisconsin and the area around it. Norfolk has a nice marine display right at the harbor front as well as a lot of good restaurants.
Now it's time to start the trip down the ICW. We start of with topping up the fuel and a pump out first thing in the morning. The first bridge that we have to get to open for us is at mile 5.8 and we go through without any trouble. Some of the bridges are open and some are fixed at 65 feet high. The ones that have to open for you are on a schedule of every hour or half hour, so you have to time your arrival for the opening of the bridge. When you go down the ICW you can take the Dismal Swamp route or the Virginia Cut route. We decided on the Virginia Cut route just because it seemed easier. The first day we went as for as mile 12, Great Bridge VA. This was the best location that we have stopped at so far on our whole trip for close proximity to good grocery stores a short walk away.
South Carolina, The Pinkhouse?
Boats hunkered down for the side effects of Hurricane Sandy
We have been traveling with some of the boats off and on
I'm sure that we will see some of them again
On to Oriental NC where we stayed at the city marina. Here we met a very friendly couple that lived here and they drove us to the grocery store. This is another beautiful town that has a solid marine background. The next morning we were on our way to Morehead City, which was only 20 odd miles away. We ended up staying at a working boat yard instead of anchoring. The anchorage area the we were looking at has a lot of mooring balls and was crowded with 6 or 7 anchored boats and there just wasn't enough room for us to swing. We moved on to an anchorage the next day on a Marine Corp Base, Camp Lejeune, Mile Hammock Bay. They were flying operations for most of the evening, it was very cool to see the Cobras and other helicopters taking off and landing so close. When we left Mile Hammock Bay we went to Wrightsville Beach and along the way we ran aground twice. The second time 2 other boats ran aground at the same place as us. I couldn't believe our bad luck, but we were able to get ourselves freed without the assistance of Tow-Boat US. Later at the anchorage in Wrightsville Beach, we were talking to one of the guys that ran aground and he said that he ran aground 3 times that day. We chilled out at anchor in Wrightsville for 3 days then moved on to the Cape Fear River and stopped at Southport, then the Calabash River and on to Georgetown SC.
Hurricane Sandy was moving up from the Caribbean and it was going to have some kind of an effect along the US east coast. Some areas are going to get hit harder than others. With the forecast that we were looking at, we decided to take a slip at Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown for a week. We have floating docks and that makes a big difference for securing the boat. Saturday, October 27th has passed and we experienced about 10 - 15 kts of wind with gusts to about 20kts and some rain off and on. There are 13 boats here in this one small marina alone waiting out Sandy. In the next couple of days we will be doing some tourist stuff ashore. This area has a lot to offer in that regard.
On Friday night, Oct.26th, all of the local merchants along Front St. in Georgetown put on an early Halloween for the area kids and we couldn't beleive the turn out they had. Kids of all ages came out for the treats and they were all dressed for the occasion as well as quite a few of their parents. There must have been about 400 of them along with their pets. It was a nice small town feel.
Somehow this posting got deleted and I'm going to re-write it.
We left Solomons MD after a week of R&R in 75* - 80*F weather. We were on the hook for a couple of days then took a mooring ball for the remainder of our stay there. The mooring ball was at Zhaniser's Marina. What a very nice facility for a stay. Free bicycles, marina store on site, great washrooms and showers and they will drive you to the grocery store.
On the way to Deltaville we stopped in at Jutland Creek MD, which is a short sail up the Potomac River to Smiths Creek. It was nothing special, just a quiet place to spend the night. The next day we pulled into Deltaville VA on the south side entering through Jackson's Creek and anchoring right in front of Deltaville Boat Yard. We had been experiencing some electrical problems and decided to try and get it resolved here. The service writer at DBY is Chuck Ruble, a fellow Pearson 424 owner. I hadn't met Chuck before, but knew of him through our owners group. He said that they would try to get an electrician to look at the problem but they were very busy launching and hauling boats. A lot of people leave their boats here for the summer and launch in September and go south. Others sail the Chesapeake all summer and haul the boat for the winter. There must have been 10 Canadian boats in the yard and marina getting ready to head south.
We arrived in Deltaville late on a Friday afternoon, spoke with Chuck on Saturday morning and he couldn't get anything done until Monday at the earliest. As it was, the electrician couldn't get to us until Wednesday afternoon, then came back Friday afternoon. There was a small craft advisory for the weekend and just plain rainy for the next couple of days after that. So we planned to leave on the Wednesday of our 11th day in Deltaville.
Deltaville Marina
Deltaville has a population of about 823 people and 3500 registered boats. Yes it's a boating town. There are quite a few marinas on the north side of the peninsula in Broad Creek off of the Rhappahannock River. Deltaville is spread out over quite a large area, so you can't really walk to too many places . One night we were at a resteraunt eating and 3 seperate couples offered to drive us back to the boat. Very friendly people around here. There were bicycles available here as well, but they are the goofy looking ones that it looked like your grandmother rode. but better than nothing. There was also a car that you could use for an hour at a time and that was a bonus. With all of the cruisers here, there was no shortage of information available for the trip down the Intracoastal Waterway ( ICW ) aka the Ditch. We got some tips from a few people that we put to good use. One of the people that we met was Michael that had a 31 ft. catameran. He is 81 years old and he has made this trip south to the Bahamas every year for the past 31 years.
Two Pearson 424 in Deltaville, Xanadu and Sea Duty
Anchorage at Jackson's Creek
Finally we had some good weather and we made our departure from Deltaville. Our plan was to go to Yorktown VA and take in some of the historical sites. The weather forcast had changed overnight with predicted high winds out of the west so we decided to carry on to Norfolk VA instead of stopping at Yorktown.
Boats of all sorts
Some of the US Navy Fleet
Coming into Norfolk you go by the largest naval base in the world. Along the banks of the Elizabeth River you see the might of the United States Navy. It was quite impressive to see all of those ships in one place. We anchored at Hospital Point ( mile 0 ) near the center of the Norfolk waterfront right across from the WW II battleship USS Wisconsin. The next day we did some site seeing and the first place that we went to was the Wisconsin and the area around it. Norfolk has a nice marine display right at the harbor front as well as a lot of good restaurants.
USS Wisconsin WW II Battleship
Very impressive
Has She ever got BIG GUNS
30,000 lb. Anchor and she has three of them
Now it's time to start the trip down the ICW. We start of with topping up the fuel and a pump out first thing in the morning. The first bridge that we have to get to open for us is at mile 5.8 and we go through without any trouble. Some of the bridges are open and some are fixed at 65 feet high. The ones that have to open for you are on a schedule of every hour or half hour, so you have to time your arrival for the opening of the bridge. When you go down the ICW you can take the Dismal Swamp route or the Virginia Cut route. We decided on the Virginia Cut route just because it seemed easier. The first day we went as for as mile 12, Great Bridge VA. This was the best location that we have stopped at so far on our whole trip for close proximity to good grocery stores a short walk away.
The ICW, some times swamp like, other times vacation like properties.
You can almost hear the banjo music!
Lots of wild life along the way like these two Bald Eagles
Belhaven NC, The Whitehouse?
Beautiful anchorages
Big lawn ornaments
At the anchorage in Wrightsville Beach we had the best seats in town for the Triathelon
Spanish Moss in the trees
The beach at Wrightsville Beach
Still seeing Dolphins along the way
Lots of properties with docks sticking out into the ICW
When you see the sand this close, it makes you a little nervous
I wonder what they did here for hurricane preparation
Back into some swamp waters. the water depth in the center of the channel is 25' here.
Good turnout for the kids early Trick or Treat in Georgetown SC
Along the ICW on the Virginia Cut route there are some very remote areas that are like swamps and there is not a great deal of room for passing at times. You end up seeing and hearing on the radio a lot of the same boats, the you end up meeting them at anchorages or in a marina along the way somewhere. The next couple of nights we anchored in coves or some other out of the way spot then stopped in at Belhaven NC and anchored in the bay in front of town. The place reminded me of Mayberry from the TV show. There were some beautiful houses here but a lot of the business' were closed, I guess from the economy.
On to Oriental NC where we stayed at the city marina. Here we met a very friendly couple that lived here and they drove us to the grocery store. This is another beautiful town that has a solid marine background. The next morning we were on our way to Morehead City, which was only 20 odd miles away. We ended up staying at a working boat yard instead of anchoring. The anchorage area the we were looking at has a lot of mooring balls and was crowded with 6 or 7 anchored boats and there just wasn't enough room for us to swing. We moved on to an anchorage the next day on a Marine Corp Base, Camp Lejeune, Mile Hammock Bay. They were flying operations for most of the evening, it was very cool to see the Cobras and other helicopters taking off and landing so close. When we left Mile Hammock Bay we went to Wrightsville Beach and along the way we ran aground twice. The second time 2 other boats ran aground at the same place as us. I couldn't believe our bad luck, but we were able to get ourselves freed without the assistance of Tow-Boat US. Later at the anchorage in Wrightsville Beach, we were talking to one of the guys that ran aground and he said that he ran aground 3 times that day. We chilled out at anchor in Wrightsville for 3 days then moved on to the Cape Fear River and stopped at Southport, then the Calabash River and on to Georgetown SC.
Hurricane Sandy was moving up from the Caribbean and it was going to have some kind of an effect along the US east coast. Some areas are going to get hit harder than others. With the forecast that we were looking at, we decided to take a slip at Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown for a week. We have floating docks and that makes a big difference for securing the boat. Saturday, October 27th has passed and we experienced about 10 - 15 kts of wind with gusts to about 20kts and some rain off and on. There are 13 boats here in this one small marina alone waiting out Sandy. In the next couple of days we will be doing some tourist stuff ashore. This area has a lot to offer in that regard.
On Friday night, Oct.26th, all of the local merchants along Front St. in Georgetown put on an early Halloween for the area kids and we couldn't beleive the turn out they had. Kids of all ages came out for the treats and they were all dressed for the occasion as well as quite a few of their parents. There must have been about 400 of them along with their pets. It was a nice small town feel.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Two Bays and two Canals and a layover in the Solomons
Once again we are underway. We are leaving Great Kills Staten Is. NY under sunny skies and fair winds. We have to arrange our departure time so that it will be in our favour to arrive in Cape May NJ just after noon tomorrow which will allow for the current and tide. That means we will be sailing overnight when the winds will be about 5 knots so it will mean a motor sail again. We have done a lot of this type on sailing on this trip as the winds are usually against us most of the way but it's okay as long as we can sail once we get south.
Jack and I have been taking turns at the helm and the coastline of New Jersey looks quite sandy. We were sailing about four miles off shore and there in the distance was Atlantic City. Looking back at NYC after it got dark, you could see the Empire State Building lit up for thirty five miles. The night was very clear , no cloud cover at all and I ( Jack ), thought that there was a lot of stars out until I looked at them with the binoculars, there was millions of them. I've never seen so many.
We were told by several people if we were going to go into Atlantic City to watch for the shifting sandbars. Marinas in the area could be reasonable but you would have a ways to go to get to the action. The marinas to access Atlantic City with no commute run about $6.00 per foot. Whoops there goes my gambling money. As we had great sea conditions, we continued on to Cape May and saved ourselves a few dollars. In the early morning I took a picture of Atlantic City as the sun was rising. It looked like it was coming out of the water and following us down the coastline as we passed it. When Jack got up he said it`s still here. You have it in view for about 14 hours or more.
Finally Atlantic City disappears and Cape May comes into view. Well I held my breath for a bit as I can here Ron`s voice telling me how terrible it was for him and Meg when they arrived here. Fortunately the wind was down the tide was right and once again we came in without any problems. Ron it must be the time of year. We found a nice place and got some much needed sleep.
The next morning we went through the Cape May Canal and headed up Delaware Bay. Well stayed in the channel and saw lots of water but had to fight a bit of current against us. When we got to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, we anchored outside of the shipping lanes for the night. I was a little uneasy about anchoring here as we seemed to be in the open and too close too the shipping channel. Right after we anchored, a rather large tugboat and barge anchored about 400 yards away from us and they were lit up like a small city. That, and Jack's assurances that we were in a good spot eased my mind. Needless to say he had no problem through out the night, even with the tides changing direction. In the morning our time for a favourable tide to help us through the C & D Canal was 1000, so we had a little bit of a sleep in until 0700.
It was uneventful, no large ships or tugs with barges, just a few bridges that were about 135 feet high to go under but that was about all. We have been very surprised that we have not run into more commercial traffic, although we did have our fair share of it in Delaware Bay.
The C & D Canal took us to the Chesapeake Bay. The first night we went up the Sassafras River and found a nice spot to anchor. We stayed there for two days just to chill out and wait out a bit of weather. Our next stop was Annapolis and sent three days there on a mooring ball as the weather was going to be stormy for a day or two. We also met up with a Dave and Lisa aboard Ki Ola Ki who we first met in Quebec and then again in Halifax.
I must say the perspective coming into Annapolis was quite different than from shore. From shore it looked huge but coming into the bay it seemed quite small but it was a nice spot to send a few days.
We had to get some groceries and beer so we thought that we would go ashore and grab a bite. Of course football rules in these parts, so we stayed and watched a half game and had a couple. Each different bar around here supports different teams. The locals go to their team bar to watch the game.
One day we went ashore and did the Annapolis Naval Academy Tour. It was quite an interesting place to visit. On our way back to the boat we went for a walk and did some site seeing and started looking for a place to stop for a coffee and tea but took a look at the sky and thought better of it and headed back to the dinghy. When we got to the dinghy we had to wade through three inches of water that was over the city sidewalk to get to it. That was surge water from the high winds that day and the high tide. When we left it there it was up against a wall, now it was floating above it and it hadn't rained yet. As soon as we stepped on our boat the heavens let loose. We were lucky again with the timing.
After three days in Annapolis we went to St. Michaels MD. It was a cute spot but we anchored and were not too comfortable with the site we anchored at so the next day we moved on to the Solomons Is. MD. That is where are now. We went up to the top of the river and found a nice spot for anchoring in shallow water but it was quiet and pretty. We heard that some bad weather was coming in and swells were going to be 3 to 4 feet and we were in less than 8 feet of water so we decided to move up to where there were some mooring balls in about 11 feet of water.
We met a very nice couple, Mike & Willie (Wilma) McCarey, that have been keeping a boat in the Solomons Island area for forty years. They drove us to the grocery store and picked us up when we were finished, then took us to dinner where we exchanged sailing stories of our trip getting here and of their favourite places along the Chesapeake. The Chesapeake is such a great place to sail and gunkhole.
The answer to the question in the blog, "what's wrong with this picture?"
There is a golf cart on the dock.
Jack and I have been taking turns at the helm and the coastline of New Jersey looks quite sandy. We were sailing about four miles off shore and there in the distance was Atlantic City. Looking back at NYC after it got dark, you could see the Empire State Building lit up for thirty five miles. The night was very clear , no cloud cover at all and I ( Jack ), thought that there was a lot of stars out until I looked at them with the binoculars, there was millions of them. I've never seen so many.
We were told by several people if we were going to go into Atlantic City to watch for the shifting sandbars. Marinas in the area could be reasonable but you would have a ways to go to get to the action. The marinas to access Atlantic City with no commute run about $6.00 per foot. Whoops there goes my gambling money. As we had great sea conditions, we continued on to Cape May and saved ourselves a few dollars. In the early morning I took a picture of Atlantic City as the sun was rising. It looked like it was coming out of the water and following us down the coastline as we passed it. When Jack got up he said it`s still here. You have it in view for about 14 hours or more.
Atlantic City at Sunrise
Finally Atlantic City disappears and Cape May comes into view. Well I held my breath for a bit as I can here Ron`s voice telling me how terrible it was for him and Meg when they arrived here. Fortunately the wind was down the tide was right and once again we came in without any problems. Ron it must be the time of year. We found a nice place and got some much needed sleep.
The next morning we went through the Cape May Canal and headed up Delaware Bay. Well stayed in the channel and saw lots of water but had to fight a bit of current against us. When we got to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, we anchored outside of the shipping lanes for the night. I was a little uneasy about anchoring here as we seemed to be in the open and too close too the shipping channel. Right after we anchored, a rather large tugboat and barge anchored about 400 yards away from us and they were lit up like a small city. That, and Jack's assurances that we were in a good spot eased my mind. Needless to say he had no problem through out the night, even with the tides changing direction. In the morning our time for a favourable tide to help us through the C & D Canal was 1000, so we had a little bit of a sleep in until 0700.
Cape May
C & D Canal What is wrong with this picture? Answer at bottom.
Bald Eagle in the C&D Canal
The C & D Canal took us to the Chesapeake Bay. The first night we went up the Sassafras River and found a nice spot to anchor. We stayed there for two days just to chill out and wait out a bit of weather. Our next stop was Annapolis and sent three days there on a mooring ball as the weather was going to be stormy for a day or two. We also met up with a Dave and Lisa aboard Ki Ola Ki who we first met in Quebec and then again in Halifax.
I must say the perspective coming into Annapolis was quite different than from shore. From shore it looked huge but coming into the bay it seemed quite small but it was a nice spot to send a few days.
Approaches to Annapolis
Moorings at Annapolis
We had to get some groceries and beer so we thought that we would go ashore and grab a bite. Of course football rules in these parts, so we stayed and watched a half game and had a couple. Each different bar around here supports different teams. The locals go to their team bar to watch the game.
One day we went ashore and did the Annapolis Naval Academy Tour. It was quite an interesting place to visit. On our way back to the boat we went for a walk and did some site seeing and started looking for a place to stop for a coffee and tea but took a look at the sky and thought better of it and headed back to the dinghy. When we got to the dinghy we had to wade through three inches of water that was over the city sidewalk to get to it. That was surge water from the high winds that day and the high tide. When we left it there it was up against a wall, now it was floating above it and it hadn't rained yet. As soon as we stepped on our boat the heavens let loose. We were lucky again with the timing.
General Meeting Area at Naval Academy
Cadets Residence
Inside Cadets Residence
Cadets at lunch. By the way girls they are all single, no married men or women allowed.
Dome inside of on site church. Everything is on site.
Solomons Bay
View of Solomons from Bridge
Tiki Bar or Easter Island?
The answer to the question in the blog, "what's wrong with this picture?"
There is a golf cart on the dock.
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