July 8
Today I did some serious thinking about our plans from here. We are headed to Maine, but how to get there is the question. The choices are to go offshore from here to Block Island, about four days and three nights offshore, some smaller chunks off offshore, or up through the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays stopping every night. After figuring times, potential stopping points, and looking at the weather forecast, we decided to take the inside route through the bays. This was primarily because the offshore weather forecast looked a little sloppy and we have had enough of ugly passages lately. OK, we're wimps. I admit it.
That decision made, we plotted a course. We should get to Cape May, NJ in six days, stopping every night.
We filled the water tanks and started getting things ready to travel again.
GPS N 36-49.949 W 076-17.758 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5350.
July 9
Today will be a very short day of only thirteen miles. By making the short hop from Portsmouth to Hampton, that will allow us to leave about noon and get through the congested part of Norfolk where all the commercial and military traffic may be. We borrowed the marina courtesy car again and made a grocery store run. We stocked up on produce and fresh things, since we plan to anchor and eat aboard for the next several days. While out with the car, we also got our propane tank filled. We have two tanks, and one ran out in the Bahamas. We waited until being back in the States to refill it since it's about half the cost here.
We were underway by noon, traveling up the Elizabeth River to the mouth of the Chesapeake. This takes us past several container ship facilities and the large Navy yard. We did not encounter any big ship traffic, nor have any issues with passing the Navy yard. Sometimes if a Navy ship is coming or going, you have to wait for it, or go way across to the other side of the river to stay away from them. But today, nothing was moving around there.
The town of Hampton is on the north shore of the river, just before it empties into Chesapeake Bay. There are several marinas in the Hampton River, and there is supposed to be a place to anchor also. We proceeded up the river to just before a fixed bridge that blocked our way. This is where the alleged anchorage is. However, there is no room for more than maybe one boat with very short swinging room. And, there was already one boat anchored. We looked at it and slowly poked our nose around checking the depths, and then decided to go back to the first marina we passed as we entered town.
Bluewater Yachting Center is on the corner of the Hampton River, and Sunset Creek. I called them on the radio and they had slips available, so back we went. We tied up about 14:00 and relaxed. Although it had been a short day, we were back on the road. We ate an early dinner at the on-premise restaurant. I had the perfect seafood dinner. Steamed shrimp, crab, and scallops. No fancy sauces or anything, just drawn butter and cocktail sauce. What made it so good was I didn't have to work at it. The shrimp and crab was just the meat. No shell removal required.
GPS N 37-01.058 W 076-20.483 Nautical miles traveled today 13. Total miles 5363.
July 10
Unlike yesterday, we have a very long day planned today. We were up about 06:00, took showers in the nice, new facilities at the marina, and were underway a little after 07:00. We left the Hampton River, went out the Thimble Shoals Channel into the southern end of the Chesapeake, and turned north. The wind is blowing about ten to fifteen knots from the south, so it is directly on the stern. The water was pretty choppy too. We motorsailed with the main up for stability. Why not just sail you ask? Well, we are trying to make about sixty miles today, so we need to keep the speed up over six knots. Also, having the wind dead behind us is not the best point of sail.
The trip was pretty uneventful until we got near our planned anchorage. As we entered the Great Wicomico River, a large menhaden fishing boat caught up with us. He caught us just before the split of the Great Wicomico River, and Cockrell Creek. He will want to go up the creek to Reedville where the fish processing plant is, while we want to continue up the river to Sandy Point where we will anchor. I slowed down and waved him on by so we weren't in his way to turn into the creek. Just after he passed, we were getting set to furl the sail. We were just about to turn around into the wind so I could roll it up, when there was a loud tearing sound that neither of us had ever heard before. It was the sail. It tore from the leech (the back edge) parallel with the boom, about eighteen inches from the bottom. So the top eighty percent of the sail was now pinned forward against the rigging, while the bottom half laid on top of the bimini. I stared at it thinking, ok, what do I do now? You can't just drop a furling sail like one that is hauled up each time you use it. It is fed into a track on the furling tube inside the mast, and bolted to the mechanism at both ends. My first thought was to furl the remains and figure it out later, but fortunately I did not do that. It occurred to me later that if I had done that, I would never have been able to get it out again. So, while Barb idled us along on our general course up the river towards the anchorage, I went below for tools. First, I needed a regular screwdriver to remove six screws and three small inspection plates which gives you access to the bottom of the furler. Inside these plates is a shackle where the bottom corner of the sail attaches to the base of the furler. It is held by an Allen head screw. I went back below and got my Allen wrenches. Back on deck, I found that it is a metric Allen screw. Back for the metric wrenches. With the correct wrench in hand, I couldn't turn it. Back below for a pair of pliers to give me more leverage. I got the screw out and the shackle off the sail with considerable finger contortions. Did I mention that the holes they give you to do this are not very big? Once the bottom of the sail was free, I could have Barb release the halyard and pull the sail down and out of the furling tube slot. To do this, she had to turn the boat back into the wind so the sail was no longer pinned to the rigging. This meant that now we were bashing into the waves while I was standing on deck trying to wrestle the sail down. Thankfully, it came down pretty easy, and I was able to stuff it through the front of the windshield, which had been open. I got it all the way down and found the top attached to the halyard with a Phillips screw. No consistency in this job. I left it attached for now and got back in the cockpit. I stuffed the sail down the companionway into the cabin so it would be out of the way for now. We motored on up the river and around to the northern shore of Sandy Point. There was one other boat anchored here already, but there are room for dozens. We got back in the southwestern corner of the deep water, a few hundred feet from shore. Once secure, I got the sail detached and managed to ball it up into a manageable sized blob and get several bungee cords around it. I then put it on deck in front of the windshield and tied it to the boom for the ride to Annapolis.
We had a nice quiet night. The wind died down, so the night was quiet and the water smooth. Good thing because the slightest movement of the boat makes the furling tube slap around inside the mast without the sail in there. It is quite annoying. But, since the water smoothed out overnight, it didn't bother us.
GPS N 37-49.344 W 076-18.988 Nautical miles traveled today 60. Total miles 5423.
July 11
We were underway by 08:00 after a cup of coffee. Today we are headed for Solomon's Island near the mouth of the Patuxent River. We motorsailed again, with similar conditions to yesterday. Today though we had to use the jib since we no longer have a mainsail. It still adds the necessary stability to counteract the rolling motion from the waves. The wind was blowing between five and ten knots from the west, and we were going north, so it was an ok ride. On the way north we passed three places where somebody had a sense of humor when coming up with names. At the mouth of the Potomac, on the northern shore is Point Lookout. A little north of there is Point Look-in, and a little north of there is Point No Point.
Once at the Patuxent River, Solomon's Island is about five miles west of the western shore of the Chesapeake. You turn north into Back Creek and go along the eastern edge of Solomon's Island. There are many marinas here and at least three areas where anchoring is allowed. We went all the way up Back Creek to near the Holiday Inn and dropped the hook. There was a nice breeze, the holding was good, and we can pick up free wireless from the Holiday Inn. We were thinking about dropping the dinghy and checking out the maritime museum they have here, but decided to be lazy and just relax onboard.
A little after we got there, a trawler named Sailor came past us and anchored a little ways behind us. I had heard them on the radio before hailing a boat named Sol Y Mar. We have friends on a Sol Y Mar who are still in the Bahamas, so I just figured there must be another boat by the same name, although I never heard anybody answer him. When they came past us and I saw that Sailor was not a sailboat, I had to talk to them. After they got anchored I hailed them on the radio and asked them what kind of boat the Sol Y Mar they were looking for was. Turns out they were looking for the same boat we know. I told him they were still in the Bahamas. Turned out they had heard somebody with a similarly named boat the day before, and thought it might have been them. Dennis and Bettye came over to share a drink and chat a little later. Turns out they used to be sailors, so when they switched to a trawler, they named it Sailor. They knew several other couples that we met this year in the Bahamas. Turned out they were down there last year.
We enjoyed a nice dinner aboard tonight. We dined on some Mahi Mahi that Gordon & Leslie from Synchronicity had given us back in Florida. Even having been frozen for awhile, it was still delicious.
GPS N 38-20.238 W 076-27.599 Nautical miles traveled today 43. Total miles 5466.
July 12
On to Annapolis today. We got started about 07:30. After the five miles back to the Chesapeake, we turned north for the forty miles or so to Annapolis. Just north of the Patuxent is Cove Point. Cove Point is significant because there is a Liquid Natural Gas depot there. We had been passed by a huge ship yesterday that caught our eye even though it was a couple miles from us. It was as big as any tanker I have ever seen, but it looked like it was carrying four giant orange basketballs. You only saw the top half of the round tanks above the deck line. In case you didn't recognize the cargo by the style of the ship, they printed LNG in huge letters on the side of the ship. I guess that's so if you are about to run into it with another ship large enough to damage it, you know to kiss your ass goodbye before you collide. Well, back to Cove Point, there was the ship, being unloaded. Onshore, up in the woods you could see the tops of half a dozen tanks that receive the LNG. The dock itself is built out in the water about a half mile offshore. I guess that was easier than dredging the water deep enough to get the ship near shore. There are four white buoys that mark the security zone around the whole place, and a Coast Guard boat with big guns on it constantly patrolling the area just in case you don't get the message on your own. We had heard the Coast Guard boat warn somebody to move further away from them yesterday as they were coming up the bay.
The ride today was a little bouncier than yesterday. The wind blew about fifteen knots all morning and then dropped off to almost nothing in the early afternoon. For the last two hours of the trip, the wind was directly behind us at exactly the same speed we were motoring. The net result of that is the impression of no wind at all. Given it is over ninety degrees and so humid that the haze reduces visibility to a couple of miles, we were dripping with sweat and chasing all nature of flying bugs around.
When we got into Annapolis we had to dodge swarms of little bitty sailboats with kids in them. They would come in herds of ten or fifteen and pay no attention to whether they were in the deep water that a large boat has to stay in or not. It's always frowned upon to run over another boat, and I suspect it would be even more so if you drowned a kid in the process. So it was a little nerve wracking. Last year when we were here, we tried to anchor in Back Creek but couldn't find good holding and went into a marina instead. That was a few days before the annual huge boat show and all the city moorings were full. This time, nothing special is going on, so there are plenty of moorings in the downtown harbor in Spa Creek available. We picked one up and called the harbormaster to report which one we were on. Shortly thereafter a harbormaster boat pulled up to collect our $25 and welcome us to Annapolis. The mooring fee includes use of the pumpout boat if you need it, and bathrooms, laundry, showers and a dinghy dock ashore.
I immediately got on the phone once we were settled. I first called Toby & Donna my old dock neighbors from TX that we reconnected with in the Bahamas. I wanted to see if they had a recommendation on a sail maker. They didn't, so I called the guy whom the harbormaster recommended, Scott at UK Sails. Their office is right behind the place where I bought MoonSail in 1998. We threw the sail in a bag, launched the dinghy, and buzzed to shore. I toted the sail down the street a block or so and left it with Scott. They will let me know tomorrow if it has to be replaced or might be salvageable.
We went back to the dinghy and on the way back to the boat stopped at one of the local fuel docks and scored a bag of ice. There are some pretty good sized thunderstorms in the area, so we hustled back to MoonSail just before one hit. I spoke to Toby again and we decided not to try to get together tonight since the rain is supposed to continue. The storms cooled things off nicely, and between showers we opened the boat up and got it cooled off pretty good below.
GPS N 38-58.553 W 076-28.931 Nautical miles traveled today 43. Total miles 5509.
July 13
This morning we dinghied ashore and took showers at the harbormaster's office. We then walked across the street to Fawcett's Marine Supply. Fawcett's is like a West Marine, but local. I have always heard it is a good store, but we didn't go in last year when we were here. I had a few things on a list to get. We got a couple of the things, but two of them I need to come back with my old parts to make sure I get the right sizes.
We went back to the boat to await the news about the sail. Whether it can be repaired or has to be replaced will dictate how long we stay here and what our future plan will be. It is overcast and showering off and on again today. There is barely any wind either. No wind for the wind generator, and no sun for the solar panels. So here we are on a mooring, dripping with sweat without moving, and there are several marinas within stone skipping distance. The city manages the moorings and also has slips and side ties in a small channel right in the heart of downtown. This is referred to as Ego Alley because lots of big powerboats will tie up here to be seen. Since it is mid-week and raining, there are only a few boats in the city facility. I check the prices of the other regular marinas in the harbor, and they all have the same price as the one right on the main street, so I decided to go plug in and have air conditioning.
Once in a slip, we started the a/c and then went to eat lunch. We went to Pusser's Landing. Pusser's is famous in the BVI, and this is their only US store. I had a couple of Painkillers, their signature drink, and a great burger.
After lunch we stopped at Fawcett's again and I got the other two parts I needed. Once back at the boat, I made the couple of small repairs I had on the list, and then waited for the call from UK Sails. It finally came and the news wasn't good. They could fix my sail for about $600, but he estimated that it would probably only last another year before tearing again. Since we plan to be in the Caribbean in a year, that didn't sound like a very good prospect. They can make me a new sail for about $2500, but it will take about three weeks to make. Well, it doesn't make sense to me to spend $600 now and $2500 in a year anyway, so we told him we'd go with the new one. He also told me how to stop the annoying noise the furler makes without the sail in place, so we can keep motorsailing north and they will ship the sail to wherever we are in three weeks.
We ate dinner aboard and then went for a walk later in the evening. This part of Annapolis is where everything is and there are lots of people on the streets, lots of restaurants and bars, and most of the shops stay open until 20:00 or 21:00. We did discover a disproportionate number of ice cream shops and sushi bars though, given that this isn't a huge town. There were six or seven of each in a three or four block area. Guess you can't have too many of either.
The Pusser's Dock Bar, right across the fairway from us has a live band and a large crowd for a Thursday night. They were partying until late, but didn't keep us awake once we hit the sack.
GPS N 38-58.553 W 076-28.931 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5509.
July 14
We went out to breakfast this morning. We walked a few blocks to Chick & Ruth Delly (yes that's how it's spelled) which had been recommended to us last year. It is a typical NY-style deli and reminded me of the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan. It was however almost as hot inside as it was outside, and it was noisy and packed with people. We had good omelets for breakfast, but I couldn't wait to get back out in the fresh air, even if it was hot.
After breakfast we took the dinghy across the harbor to take a check over to UK Sails. We chatted a bit with Scott Allen, the owner of this loft, and made sure we were all on the same page as far as what we were getting, when, and how he would get it to us. While there he told me that he got a call the same day as ours from somebody else with the same kind of boat who had torn their main the same way on the same day as we did. What are the odds of that?
We left there and as long as we were out in the dinghy, we tooled up Spa Creek to it's end to see what was above the bridge. There are lots more moorings up there, as well as houses and condos with lots of private slips. There is also minimal space for a few boats to anchor. I'm sure I'd be astounded to see how many can pack in during boat show week in October.
Scott had lent me a measuring tape and asked me to run it up the mast furler to make sure that the measurements from the book were correct. Since the original sail was either too big or had stretched, I have never been able to really tension the luff properly. So, back at the boat, I hook the tape to the furler and hoisted it to get the exact measurement. I then dinghied back across the harbor to give Scott the measurement and return his tape.
We have decided to leave in the morning and continue to move north. We will motorsail with just the jib. The new sail will take about three weeks to make, and we don't want to just sit here that long. They will ship the new sail to us wherever we are when it's done. I think we are going to alter our plan some. Instead of heading all the way to Maine, I think we may just go as far as Boston or New Hampshire, and take more time to see things instead of being so pushed for time. We'll go from here to Cape May, NJ, the up the coast to NY, then into Long Island Sound. Mystic, CT was one of the places on our list to see, and we'll probably stop there for a few days.
GPS N 38-58.553 W 076-28.931 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5509.