10/25/2009, Georgetown Yacht Basin,MD
First things first. Happy Birthday Mary Magin. You're officially a teenager, congratulations.
I've heard some sailors say that their plans are written in sand and others claim their plans are written in jello. Well, today our plans seem to have been written in water. Actually, our initial plan, last night, was to spend another day in Chesapeake City. We hoped to move from the anchorage over to the free town dock. The plan was to charge our batteries while waiting out some gusty weather conditions. This plan would allow George time to catch up on both boat and real work while I finished the last two curtains for the cockpit and Ben did some extra school work. It would also give our friends on Trefoil a chance to catch up, now that they're back in the water.
It seemed like a good plan so when a space opened up at the dock just before 8:00 this morning we jumped at the chance. In fact, some of us were still in our pjs. While we motored over to the dock two other boats left. This was great. The whole dock was open. As we made our first approach George ran aground in water that was supposed to have a MLW of 5 feet. We still had 2+ hours until low tide and we don't quite draw 5 feet in brackish water. So we backed off, the benefit of approaching slowly, and tried a second attempt from a completely different angle. Again we ran aground. Again we backed off, this time right into the C & D. At that point, we were not interested in heading back into the anchorage, a little too crowded for us, so we headed down river with out any plan.
Very quickly we broke out the cruising guides and got the GPS system running. Once we did that we decided that we would go to Bohemia River to an anchorage near the mouth. It was only a few miles and we could still keep most of our plan in tack. Well as we started our approach the water started disappearing and you know what they say about once bitten, twice shy. Well we had already been bitten twice by the river's bottom so we headed back for the channel and dove back into the cruising guides.
Our second choice, or is that the third choice, was somewhere on the Sassafras River, a further 10 miles down the bay. So off we went. Shortly after leaving the Bohmeia River mouth we looked behind us and realized that we were being followed by what looked like "The Pirates of the Chesapeake." (Picctured aboved.) Once we realized that they had no attention of using their, very much present, cannons on us, we started to thank our lucky stars the NOAA was wrong again and the weather was absolutely perfect.
Once we reached the Sassafras River we went to looke at the first of two anchorages that looked like they had good potential. It was located at the mouth of Turner Creek. When we arrived there we watched a ketch, about our size, trying to come out of the anchorage area. He was having difficulty trying to maneuver in the very tight entrance and the many boats trying to get around him didn't help the situation. So we turned around and headed further up the Sassafras to Back Creek.
At Back Creek we dropped the anchor and got a pretty good hold. And it wasn't any too early. When George went to check the engine after shutting down, something he always does, he found leaks in the cooling water hose and in an anti-siphon valve. So he broke out his tools and Ben and I took Kooper to the nearby deserted beach. Did I mention that we had left in such a hurry this morning that Kooper had missed out on his morning walk. (We figured we would just take him once we tied to the dock.)
After Kooper ripped and tore up and down the beach for a half hour or so Ben and I headed back to the boat. George was just finishing up on engine repairs. As we sat in the cockpit taking in the natural beauty of this anchorage, George got more and more nervous about spending the night there. Although we were well off of the main channel the boats were flying past us. George figured with our anchorage light so high off the water there was the potential of having some boater under the influence come by tonight and not see Ishmael until it was too late.
Plan, whatever. I got on the phone and started calling marinas in Georgetown, another 4 or 5 miles down the Sassafras. The first marina I called didn't even answer, but Georgetown Yacht Basin answered and were happy to give us a place for the night. So we hauled the anchor up and headed up river. We figured we would take the opportunity to use the laundry facilities as well as picking up much needed bread and milk at the store. Not to mention a hot, real shower sounded pretty good. We got in just before 4:00 and while Ben and George got us tied up and got the power hooked up, I went and got us checked in for the evening. On the plus side the price was $0.50 a foot less than the advertised price. On the negative side the store was already closed and the nearest store was a mile away. (Yeah right!)
So I picked up some ice at the dock and George, Kooper and I headed off on our one mile walk. Two miles later we found the small grocery store and the post office. Then we headed back. We managed to get back just as the sun was setting. We unloaded our few groceries and while George started dinner I went to get a load of laundry started. Now we are finishing up a few things and then we're going to figure out tomorrow's plans. Although, not having a plan today eventually worked out pretty well.
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Comments [2]
10/23/2009, Chesapeake City MD
Yesterday, after purchasing a new Honday gernerator, we headed out the Cape May Inlet and back into the Atlantic Ocean. On the way out we past a pod of dolphins fishing. We got a chance to see them much better than last time but still not worth taking a picture.
We arrived in Cohansey River just before sunset and by the time we wound our way up to Greenwich to anchor it was dark. We fought the falling tide all the way up the river. Once we were settled on the hook George and Ben headed to shore to let Kooper do his business and get some exercise. When they got back they all smelled like raw sewage and soon the whole area started to smell. Wind shift I guess. Even this morning that was all we could smeel in the cockpit. I hope that's not a permanent situation.
We left this morning just after sunup with the hope of getting into the C & D before 11:00. That was the time the small craft warning went into effect. We almost made it and this time NOAA got it right. We went from almost no wind to 15 knot at 11:03. But it wasn't a big problem and the waves never got more than a foot or two.
We're now in Chesapeake City on the C & D and we will likelly be here until the storm being called for tomorrow blows over. That will be Sunday or Monday morning. Our only concern is if our anchor will hold. we had a bit of a problem getting it to set. If it doesn't there is a marina in the same little back bay.
I also want to tell my younger brother Jim Happy Birthday. It was actually yesterday but we didn't have much of a internet connection last night and the phone connection was even worse. Very spotted.
The above picture was taken on the Cohansey River this morning. Looks much better than it smells. lol
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10/21/2009, Cape May, NJ
Tonight something is happening on Ishmael that we never would have expected. Kooper is having a sleepover. That's right we have two dogs on board. Our friends, Karen and Richard from s/v Trefoil, are having problems with their centerboard. The only way they could get it fixed was to have Trefoil hauled out of the water. The problem is that Colby, their 96 pound black Labrador doesn't climb ladders. And at his size nobody is excited to carry him up the ladder. Since the two dogs seem to get along we offered to take Colby for the night. It seems to be going well.
After spending 6 nights in Atlantic City we headed to Cape May, NJ on Tuesday morning. We left early thinking it would be a much shorter day than the trip from Manasquan to Atlantic City. In terms of distance it definitely is shorter but with the winds on the nose and the waves coming towards us most of the day we made poor time. We were almost ten hours going the 40ish miles to Utsch's Marina. (This is a great marina and they have a really customer focused staff.) On our way here we were past by friends on their boat Scenic Route. We first met them in Erie, PA and they are also from Michigan. Lon made his boat. That is picture of it up above.
Cape May has a relatively shallow entrance but it is well worth the visit. It is a beautiful town with a very quaint downtown area. It is full of unique and one-of-a-kind shops. Karen and I went for a stroll through the area before heading to the hardware store and then to the grocery store. We had to do some major provisioning or Ben was going to start a mutiny. We don't ever seem to have enough food on board to keep him full.
If you ever get the opportunity to stop in Cape May, whether on a boat or by car, do so. I certainly wish that we had been storm stayed here rather than Atlantic City. Not only is Cape May a much more comfortable place to be docked, but if we had been here we could have done all of our provisioning and laundry before today. That way we could have spent this beautiful day heading up the Delaware Bay. It was in the 79's here today and the sun was shining with light winds (not so good) and flat seas. As it is we will give Colby back to his parents early tomorrow and head out the inlet in the morning. We do hope that Karen, Richard and Colby get Trefoil back in the water tomorrow and maybe they will catch up in a little while.
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10/17/2009, Atlantic City, NJ
Well, we're still in Atlantic City waiting for the weather to improve. It looks like we'll be here until at least Tuesday. Yesterday, after Ben had finished his schoolwork, he and I went to the Atlantic City Aquarium. It's small, but if was very well done. It's a three story building and they have made the top floor an observation area. From there we could see the ocean and the entrance, Absecon Inlet, to the Atlantic City area. Even with the winds being lighter the water between the jetties was like a huge white water rapids. Not some place I'd want to be in a boat.
The part of Atlantic City where we are is very quiet and quaint. We can see all of the casinos and the lights from the buildings are so bright at night that the sky never gets dark, even where we are docked. But right by our marina, which runs $1.50 a foot instead of the $3.00 a foot at Trump's Marina, everything is more like a small fishing village. It's actually kind of funny looking across the water and seeing pretty beach styled homes lining the shores of the bay with great looming casino hotels in the background.
From the boat we can see the pretty white and red buildings of the Coast Guard across the bay and the tops of the fishing fleet, which is docked further down the bay. We are only a block or two from several small restaurants that have great food and a real neighbourhood quality about them. There is also a small grocery store/deli, a pizzeria, a Chinese food restaurant and a liquor store all within easy walking distance. The aquarium, which is associated with the marina, is a stones throw away and the admission is part of the docking fees. Plus today, if the weather co-operates even a little, the aquarium is hosting an Octoberfest weekend and they will host a craft sale.
On the down side; there are not any showering facilities (although George is setting our shower up today), the restrooms are only open during the day, there are not any local laundromats, there isn't a full sized supermarket anywhere in Atlantic City and parts for boat repairs are not readily available. However you can reach most of those things by taxi or you can wait and find them in Cape May. We have been told that Cape May is the place to provision and prepare for the trip up Delaware Bay and down the Chesapeake Bay. So we'll wait.
The picture above is one I took while entering Absecon Inlet.
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Harvey
