09/07/2009, Corsica River, Queenstown and Bodkin Creek
We are in our fourth and final anchorage before we return to Baltimore tomorrow. We have been extremely fortunate to have had three beautiful sailing days, and five days of great weather, relaxation, good food, good friends and much laughter.
When we left Baltimore we sailed to the eastern shore of the Chesapeake to Swan Creek, near Rock Hall. On Friday we had a nice sail up the Chester River, to the Corsica River, to anchor in a relatively quiet anchorage. We rafted up with our friends Lisa and Kirk. Thierry had brought along the sailing dinghy, and it didn't take him long to get her into the water and take her for a sail. On Saturday we left the anchorage and motored down the Chester to an anchorage near Queenstown. I understand there really isn't much of a town in Queenstown, but there is a nice anchorage. There we met up with two other couples and we all rafted together. It was great fun - to see folks we haven't seen in a while and to just talk and laugh. We celebrated Kirk's birthday with a wonderful carrot cake made by Lisa.
One of our party left on Sunday and three of us remained. Kirk donned a wet suit and tank and went into the water and checked the bottom of all of our boats - cleaning off barnacles that had attached themselves to our prop. Thierry noticed a big difference today when we left the Chester River to head back to the eastern shore. By evening, our somewhat quiet anchorage became quite crowded with both sailors and power-boaters. I think we made enough noise to drown out whatever sounds were coming from the others around us.
We are currently at an anchorage about two hours from Baltimore (our home port), after a great sail across the Bay - we were sailing at a speed over 7 knots. On our trip down the Chester River and out to the Bay we joined what looked like hundreds of sailboats on their way to (I assume) their respective home ports. It was quite a site.
We picked up some crabs from a couple of fellows selling steamed crabs from their skiff last night. We'll eat them tonight along with left over pasta. Although it is cloudy outside and there is a threat of rain, it is still comfortable and we are savoring our last evening aboard.
Since we've come south, I finished one book, read two (albeit somewhat short) and am almost finished a third. The one I finished, "Casa Rossa" by Francesca Marciano was a story about three generations of women who spent a portion of their life at a farmhouse (Casa Rossa) in Puglia, and the events (men) that shaped their lives. I really enjoyed this book. There are frequent references to food, with many of the key ingredients (not recipes per se) in Italian. So, I'll have to take the book home and ask Dad what they are talking about. The book makes me want to go to Italy - and to try some new pasta dishes! Because of the book I bought a magazine, Cucina Italiana, that I have never seen before hoping to get inspired... it was only okay.
Lisa loaned me a book, "The Madonnas of Leningrad", which was wonderful. This book took you from past to present, in the memories of a woman who suffers from Alzheimer's. Her past memories take her back to Leningrad in the winter of 1941, when the city was under siege by the Germans. Some 2000 people lived in the basement of the Hermitage during that winter, where our main character resided. She had worked as a docent in the museum before the war, and during her stay, she memorized the original placement of the artwork that was removed to protect it from damage or theft.
I also read Iain Pears' "The Bernini Bust," a detective story that brings an art dealer to Los Angeles where two murders occur relating to some stolen artwork from Italy, which required the assistance of a female detective from Rome who solves the case along with her art dealer boyfriend. An okay, easy read. I am now almost finished reading "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett. I believe this was one of the books selected by our reading group when we were away. This is about a group of people, including a famous opera singer, who are held captive by a group of South American militants. I a,m enjoying the book so far, being about 2/3 the way through.
So, as you can tell, we've been getting lots of R&R. Water, sun, friends, wind, music, laughter, a good book, and an amazing Skipper; what more could one ask for! It's been a great couple of days!
(This post was taken from Mary's blog "A Day in Mary's Life").
| Summer 2009 |
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Comments [1]
09/02/2009
We did it! Arrived in Baltimore around 12:30, just the right time to go to Mama's on the Half Shell for lunch. Curlew looks beautiful, albeit a bit dirty on the outside from the weather and sitting in the slip. Thierry has a spring in his step that I haven't seen in a while. Even the moon will be full for us when we take Curlew out for a few days on the Bay. We picked up wine and beer, will get food on board tomorrow (you see we have our priorities straight), and hope to head out by noon. We'll join friends in Swan Creek (Rock Hall area) that evening then see where the wind takes us. During the weekend, we hope to raft up with two other boats - it should be a fun time.
This morning I went for another Neupogen shot (to build the white blood cells). It was a good thing I telephoned the oncologist office yesterday to ask if a) they got the results of my blood work and b) if I needed to come in. When I later spoke with the PA she did confirm that running a fever is a side effect of the drug. So, I have been popping Tylenol all day - so far (at 9:55 p.m.) I am still feeling pretty good, and report a normal temperature. I also learned that three shots of Neupogen is a standard regimen.
My wonderful neighbors, Barbara and Doris, both brought over care packages on Monday. Barbara makes the most incredible chicken soup which will feed us for a couple of days. Doris made egg parm (one of my favorites) and included some fresh veggies. All this after my sister and our friend Joan brought dinner (and my parents) over on Sunday. The Sunday dinner at mom's came to our house. Lauren and Mike pitched in - it was great to have everyone around.
Well, Thierry is hoping that the boat isn't too fouled with barnacles and the prop isn't too clogged up so we can get the boat out of the slip tomorrow. I'm off to get a good night's rest and am looking forward to a great couple of days. I hope you all enjoy as well.
(This post was taken from Mary's blog "A Day in Mary's Life".)
| Summer 2009 |
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06/17/2009, Baltimore, MD
CURLEW and her equipment needed some TLC after our trip to the Bahamas. I went back to Baltimore on Monday, with a long list of things to do. It so happened that Wilbert Quesada, who used to work for the Cabo Rico factory in Costa Rica, was in the US, and I "invited" him to spend some time on CURLEW to take care of the woodwork below decks, and some gel coat crazing on deck. Here is a picture of Wilbert at work.
Tuesday I prepared the caprail to touch-up some minor scratches that we incurred since I "cetoled" the caprail in Beaufort, SC.
Next I put a new tire on my folding bike,
and put another patch on the air floor of the Avon dinghy. We'll see how long this lasts. This dinghy has given me more grief than any of the Avons I've owned before. I firmly believe that the quality has suffered since Avon was bought by Zodiac.
I also was going to end-for-end the anchor chain. One section starts to rust, and I was going to treat this section with Ospho, to remove or bind the rust, and then reverse the chain. Unfortunately it is raining today, and this project has to be postponed to a later date.
| Summer 2009 |
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