Good news. We weathered the hurricane quite comfortably tucked away in our well-protected marina. Since the storm was to hit around 2am, we napped early as we knew we might be awake most of the night. However, it passed without a hitch. It blew and rained hard, but that was it. The morning dawned sunny and warm as if nothing had happened. Pretty surprising.

Putting things back though has been very difficult. We go slow, especially since we have several days here in the marina (they have a minimum stay of 5 nights when there's a hurricane.) Getting the top piece of canvas across the flybridge on has been a real challenge. Finally, this morning we got the last piece to fit. Now on to the rest.

Our radio stopped working Wednesday morning. So that must be repaired or replaced before we can move on, and as luck would have it, the exact same radio is not available. The next best one is not available at the local West Marine store until noon Monday. After getting it, Mike has to install it. So it's a good thing that this marina allows two free days once one has paid for five. We'll need it.

A lot has happened in the month since we last posted. As we looked ahead to our summer, we realized going on to Maine or up the Hudson River were really not going to be the kind of boating we enjoy. Although we usually anchor out, there seemed to be few appealing anchorages, and marinas were becoming quite expensive. JB Frog is not a particularly good ocean boat and going up the ICW has been tough. Hurricane Sandy created some difficult, shallow areas that demand constant attention as well as skill. Turn around? Yes. We decided to get back south and set our sites on the Bahamas after the hurricane season.

We also bought a new anchor (Rocna) in Cape May to replace the Delta. So far so good. We have not dragged since we've had it!

Had the good fortune in Annapolis to visit with a friend from last September when a storm blew us into his new boat in the middle of the night. Very cool to be able to say he's a friend. Not everyone would feel so kindly toward wayward boaters like us. Then we hotfooted it down to Portsmouth where other friends were there for a brief visit. Then on to our trek south with a long-awaited stop at Coinjock Marina on the Virginia Cut routen of the ICW. We've always gone through the Dismal Swamp which is fraught with peril--lots of stumps, logs, etc. in the water. Actually the Virginia Cut had many stumps and branches as well but seemed a bit better. Just as we were preparing to leave Monday morning we learned that a hurricane was actually developing where we were heading. By Tuesday we decided we should find a place to hang out for the next few days. However, no phone coverage for T-Mobile, our phone carrier, was available and had not been since Sunday, making it a little difficult to call marinas for a reservation. Towboat US came to our rescue by making a call to a marina on the Neuse River in Oriental, but that marina kicks people out if a hurricane hits. That would not work for us. As we headed south to Morehead City where we felt fortunate to get a reservation, we decided we'd like to check in to a marina sooner rather than later. A fellow boater heard us and recommended a place nearby: River Dunes. In we went. And glad to do so. Spent the rest of the afternoon as well as this morning stripping our boat of all canvas and other loose objects--or things that could come loose. No mean feat. We are both exhausted. The bad news is that the probability of the hurricane gaining strength as it approaches here is greater and greater. So we're hunkering down and preparing for the worst. Hope my next post will be a more cheerful one.

Here we are just five days into our trip and not enjoying it as much as we had hoped. Mike has had to drive the boat very slowly in many places because of the extreme shoaling on the ICW. We aren't keen on taking the boat on the outside, although we will have to for part of the trip. However, Mike is exhausted at the end of each day from the strain of keeping the boat going in very shallow water. We are now in a marina on the Forked River for a day or two waiting out cold, gray, rainy weather. IS it really June???

As we left our anchorage yesterday near Atlantic City, a local boater befriended us guiding us through some tough spots. Amazing! They are joining us tonight for dinner. They are quite interested in the cruising lifestyle--and we have lots to share.

We left Florida on April 23 arriving in Solomons where JB Frog spent the winter two days later. We spent about a week getting her ready for the season. Then proceeded to Annapolis, one of our favorite haunts. Couldn't wait to revisit our favorite restaurants, Dockside for THE best crabcakes, and Davis' Pub, for casual fare including rueben sandwiches and Maryland crab soup. Our friends Jeff and Donna came for the weekend. Good to see them. Mother's Day occurred while we were there and my brother and his extended family were celebrating it there in Annapolis. So after seeing Jeff and Donna off, we caught up with the family for some drinks.

We took off a couple of days later for the northern Chesapeake where we were planning to have the boat hauled for some routine maintenance. With some rainy cold weather predicted we decided to go into the Havre de Grace boatyard a few days early. Fortunately, that was not a problem although they still couldn't haul us until Tuesday, May 20. In the meantime, we visited my brother and sister-in-law with whom we were planning to stay when the boat got hauled. However, Mike's brother and sister-in-law talked us into taking a week and going to Mexico City with them. Good timing, as Cindy and Carter (my brother and his wife) were going to Myrtle Beach for a long-scheduled vacation.

When we got back from Mexico City, naturally, the boat was not ready. Surprise! Surprise! However, by June 5, it we could move back aboard and on the 6th set off for Maine. We should say that although it took a little more time than planned, the Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace, MD, did an excellent job and were great to work with.

The end of our boating season came a little earlier than we had anticipated. The chill was in the air and some bad weather expected. So we made our way back to Calvert Marina in Solomons, MD, where we planned to leave the boat for the winter. Of course, it was a somewhat grueling task winterizing the boat, but we got through it. We even took time out to visit my brother, his wife and our cousin in Delta, PA his wife as well as a dear friend in Ellicott City, MD. On October we finished loading our already chock full car and headed to Florida. Winterizing our boat not only meant readying the systems on the boat such as putting anti-freeze--gallons of it--into the water lines, but emptying the boat of all foodstuffs and liquids that might burst in freezing weather. Big Job! Then we had to pack as much as we could take in our car. End result: crammed to the gills. Anyhow after visiting an elderly favorite aunt in Roanoke Rapids, NC, on our way to Florida, we finally arrived on Oct. 17. Although our boating has paused for the season, we will travel to the Pacific mid-December to mid-March. Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand are on our horizon. Look for more of our posts next May.

We spent several days in Solomons in our slip, fondly referred to as the Cave. That's because it's very dark in our covered slip providing good protection from the sun and the rain and perhaps snow in the winter. A brief stop in Ridge, MD, at the Corinthian Yacht Club, proved a very enjoyable stop. There was a visiting virtual yacht club from Occoquan, Virginia, with whom we partied by the beautiful pool and later shared a great potluck dinner in the clubhouse. It was a nice port in the storm with some nasty weather predicted, but by Sunday, we were able to get on to Solomons. As it turned out, our batteries were dying. So it was imperative that we get somewhere where they could be replaced as soon as possible. Fortunately, we were able to get the batteries as well as custom-made screens for our doors within the week. By Wednesday, we were off and up the Chesapeake. We spent one night in Oxford, then on to Annapolis where we could secure JB to a mooring in time for a spate of bad weather.
Hopefully, we'll rendezvous with friends while here.