10/12/2009, Annapolis, MD
But here we are!!
We had a very nice visit in Baltimore - the weather was great, we met some wonderful cruising families (s/v Stolen Hour from Maine (and a Dartmouth '90!!) and s/v Sea Walk from Holland); caught up with some old friends from college days, and had a field trip to Washington, DC. for 3 days!
Baltimore was full of sailing vessels making their way south or at least to the Annapolis boat show. We also saw a trickling in of schooners preparing for the start of the Chesapeake schooner race this week. We managed to fit in visits to the Science museum, the Aquarium, a fall festival in Fells Point, as well as our normal routing of boat projects and school work!
We took the train into Washington, D.C. and stayed at the W Hotel, right next to the White House. It was great to be able to walk everywhere we wanted to go - and we fit in a lot during our visit. We went up the Washington Monument, managed to lose our mascot, Bubby, (see Bubby's photo album in our gallery) at the Lincoln Memorial, visited the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum, and went to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving where we saw millions of dollars being created - the kids were quite impressed!
An old friend from high school, Darin Bartram, managed to hook us up for a tour of the White House and of the Capitol building while we were there. We caught up with Darin as well for lunch one day, this trip allows us to catch up with so many people!!
The kids were disappointed to not meet President Obama, or even Bo, but it was neat to see where so much history has taken place. We had a nearly private tour of the Capitol building - it was beautiful and full of interesting sculptures and stories - we all loved it!
After returning to Baltimore, it was time to move on. Laundry was done, showers on shore were had, and we were off towards Annapolis.
We made one stop on the way, at the lovely Gibson Island in the Magaroth River. Our anchorage was opposite a horse farm, and was very quiet and warm. The kids and Scott even went for a swim! We were amused our second night there as about 10 boats had a terrible time anchoring and rafting up - some collided, some went aground, and most had to try several times in several different locations to find a place where their anchor would hold. I'm not sure what was happening, but it was certainly entertaining for us.
Our second morning was calm enough to send Scott up the mast again to try and fix a loose connection with our anchor light and tri-color. He seemed to get it working, I think it just likes having company way up there!
We made our way towards Annapolis on a beautiful crisp fall day. It seemed like every boat in the area was out racing on this perfect Sunday (apart from very light winds). It was boat show weekend, and we did everything we could to avoid being here, but alas, here we are.
Our friends on STOLEN HOUR are also here, and we managed to anchor in a very tight spot nearly next to them as they prepare to join the Caribbean 1500 in a few weeks. We met up for an impromptu pizza dinner last night with games for the kids - a good time was had by all! Hopefully our paths will cross down in the Caribbean!!
Today has been WAY TO COLD for us - I'm not prepared to stay north for much longer. Baking and school have been my activities for the day, while Scott runs around trying to tie up all our loose ends before we make our way south in a few short weeks.
We are blessed to have our good friend Noel join us for our crossing to the Caribbean - he is an experienced sailor who had done many boat deliveries and has sailed his whole life. We are thrilled that he is taking time away from his wonderful family to help us with our journey south - can't imagine a better person to help us!!
Stay tuned for more updates as they happen!
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Comments [3]
cheers, heather
We find ourselves finally at rest in Baltimore Harbor. We had a lively sail from our anchorage in the Sassafrass River. The winds had been pretty high, so we waited out the weather with our trusty anchor in a fairly sheltered location. Our sail over to Baltimore elicited more high winds, and our boat speed actually passed 9 knots at one point. In no time at all, we made a safe anchorage inside another river on the Chesapeake, just outside Baltimore Harbor. This morning, we had another quick sail under the Francis Scott Key bridge into the Inner Harbor, where many other boats were already anchored. We anchored along with them temporarily, adjacent to ASTA member vessels Pride of Baltimore and the USS Constellation.
However, the Harbor Master deemed that we were outside of the designated anchorage, and sent us packing. Ah, well. Luckily, Scott had seen an ad for a marina just close by with offers for FREE transient berths during the week. OK. So, we've signed up for a week of sightseeing in both Baltimore and DC, while knowing that our trusty Safari Tu will be safe. Next update will include our escapades in and around these cities!
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09/28/2009, Near Fredicktown, MD
In the cruising life we are now living, there really is no such thing
as a typical day, but here's what we've been up to recently...
Cape May, NJ, evening before departure to Maryland: Stow everything
away; fill water tanks; do safety check on deck of all lines and make
sure the dinghy (Matatu) is securely fastened; study the charts and
enter waypoints into the GPS; triangulate the weather forecast using
multiple websites and a check of NOAA radio; since we have good
wireless connection at the marina, reward children for good behavior
with episode of "America's Got Talent."
Passage around Cape May, NJ: After much debate and study, we figure
out how to back out of a very tight slip in windy conditions without
touching any of the nearby megayachts; Jen helms us out of the channel
at 0830 into the roughest conditions we have seen yet, with 10-12 foot
swells and 20+ knots of wind; we keep on our course with the winds
just about on the beam (very uncomfortable and rolly) because we want
to stay well south of the shoals near Cape May; everyone has
lifejackets on and is clipped onto the boat, Jen and Scott are
slightly nervous; the kids love the waves and want more rolling.
Up the Delaware Bay: Now that we can turn into the bay out of the
swells, the seas flatten and we begin zooming up the bay on a broad
reach; Safari Tu genuinely seems to be happy to be off the dock after
4 days and is rewarding us with a fast, fun ride; the kids do a little
bit of home schooling but spend most of the day reading, playing
Nintendo and games on the internet (when we have a connection); giant
tankers steam past us headed towards Philadelphia and we spot half a
dozen cruising boats making the same pilgrimage south that we are on.
Through the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal: After consulting the tide
tables multiple times, we alter our original plan to stop at the
entrance and decide instead to head through the canal (can only be
done with the current going in the right direction); kids not happy to
hear that we have another 4-5 hours of sailing/motoring; Jen goes
below to make dinner and Matthew volunteers to cook (pasta with cheese
and garlic spice - very tasty).
Chesapeake Bay: After transiting the canal and going under 5 big
bridges, it is now quite dark; the channel is thankfully well marked
with flashing greens/reds and the night is clear; Jen remembers to
turn on the radar which gives us even greater confidence in our
position; the kids are allowed to watch more Gilligan's Island DVDs
since the passage plans have changed; we finally anchor in the dark in
a well protected cove at 2030; after a hot shower we toast our safe
passage (6 hours of sailing, 6 hours of motoring, 77 nautical miles).
Now that we are in the Chesapeake, we should be able to make shorter
passages between anchorages. There is lots to see here, right now we
are still trying to figure out how we want to spend our time before
dashing further south. Thanks for checking in on us - more later...
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09/24/2009, Cape May, NJ
I do not know how I survived this trip but I did. This trip was A little harder because we were all sick from New York city. To start off the trip we motored for half an hour then we were sailing for the rest of the way there. When we were just started me and Anna started to paint. We painted a lot of pictures and designs. Sleeping on a moving boat you get tossed around a lot. When I went to bed I put my watch next to me and when I woke up at 4:00 in the morning my watch was on the other side of me! When we got closer we saw a theme park which we might go to.
(Now from Jen)
This was Matthew's insight into our 30 hour passage from Sandy Hook, NJ to Cape May, NJ... our first attempt at an overnight passage. The winds were OK, but they were not coming from an ideal direction, which caused us to have to tack quite a bit. We had hoped to be underway for about 24 hours, but this IS sailing. We've been recovering from some head colds and the long passage here in lovely Cape May for a few days. It looks a bit like fall here, with the leaves falling, but it has been quite warm - in the 80's yesterday and today. Stay tuned for updates on our next passage - it's beginning to feel a bit like we actually WILL end up in the Caribbean!!
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xo, Monique, Tom, Cammi and Cole on s/v Zen (currently in Vava'u, Tonga looking for a weather window to NZ)
Our friends Jenn, Mia and Ella joined us on our journey down the East River past New York City - on a beautiful day! We left City Island under clear blue skies, and a favorable current to send us down the river. We managed to not have any trouble going under the 6 or so bridges, so we appear to have no lasting bridge phobias to contend with.
As promised, the current was very strong going through Hell's Gate, and we managed to move faster than the cars on their morning commute at some points! The Coast Guard was busy doing it's job keeping boaters at a certain distance away from the U.N. building, including us - there was certainly never a dull moment on this passage!
We ended up at the lower end of Manhattan heading towards the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The views were stunning!
We pulled into Liberty Landing Marina to enjoy the beautiful day and rest up for our next passage down the New Jersey Coast.
At this writing, we have sailed to Sandy Hook, NJ after sailing under the Verrazano Bridge, leaving New York City behind. We are at anchor, hoping that the minor head colds that Anna and Scott and I have developed go away quickly, as we plan to do our first overnight passage down to Cape May tonight.
Stay tuned!
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After waiting out some heavy weather in Westbrook, CT for a few days (spending some time catching up on schoolwork, and getting some minor repairs done), we did our longest passage yet to Greenwich, CT - about 50 miles. This took us nearly 11 hours to sail. We did manage to sail most of the day, with wind that fluctuated between 5 and 20+ knots.
Our very good friends and neighbors from London - The Herdes, live in New Canaan, and belong to the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich Harbor. They arranged for a mooring for us there, and we arrived with laundry in hand for a lovely 2 day visit with the family. They have 4 kids varying in ages from 10-17, so our kids were EXTREMELY happy to see them and have some peers to hang out with. The fact that they have an enormous St. Bernard named Queenie only added to the happiness.
We did a little sightseeing, and Scott and Matthew went out on one of the Indian Harbor daysailors with Michael, while the girls gossiped on board Safari Tu. Thank you Herde's for a most generous visit - we'll be sure to return and stay longer on our return trip North!!
Today we left that idyllic harbor with less than 5 knots of wind to motor to City Island, NY for our next meeting with friends! ASTA board member Bob Frost arranged for a slip for us at his marina here, where he keeps his boat, Sea Note - Safari Tu's twin! We hosted Bob and his wife Lois on board, and the kids were able to go tour their boat just a few slips down - they are the exact same boat, only 2 years apart! I found out that our boat was production boat number 54, while theirs was the last boat produced by Gulfstar, number 78.
We plan to use this as our base to explore a bit of NYC for a few days and get caught up with some more schoolwork!!
Stay tuned as our next passage will take us down the East River past NYC! Last time we sailed past NYC was on our trip back to the US on the Queen Mary II 4 years ago!
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Enjoy!
Fran
