04/07/2008, Weems Creek, Annapolis Md
Well, we are settled in Annapolis with lots of things happening. We are currently on a Naval Mooring in Weems Creek. It is only three miles from West Marine so I can ride my bike if I need to. We bought a car, a 1996 Oldsmobile with only 38,000 miles on it. It was driven by a little old lady. Really!
Carl has started detailing boats in Baltimore and we both are doing the Kent Island Boat Show this month. Carl will then work for the boat show over the summer fixing and cleaning tents and floors.
Most of you know that Carl is a graduate of the Naval Academy, a fact I am very proud of. So I thought it appropriate to show a picture of part of the academy.
We will work the spring and summer here and then once again start our trip back to the south with the hopes of doing the Bahamas.
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03/28/2008, Annapolis MD (Back Creek)
We had a good travel day up the Chesapeake today and anchored in Back Creek near downtown Annapolis, MD today, a full 3 days ahead of schedule. Imagine that!!
Both Carrie and I have several work opportunities to pursue while we're here to replenish a severely strained Cruising "Kitty". As such our updates to the Web Log may not be as often as in the past, but we're looking forward to some interesting events this spring and summer and will add entries to the Blog as we can.
We appreciate all of the great comments and feedback on the Blog over the past few months and look forward to making a track south once again soon.
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03/27/2008, Solomons, MD
After waiting out some poor weather in Norfolk we headed north on Wednesday and still had some rough seas out of the Norfolk area.
After an overnight stay on the Great Wicomico River north of the Rappahanock we've arrived in Solomons a little early in the afternoon to grab a few provisions. When we pulled in to the harbor we were surprised to find absolutely no boats at anchor or on the transient moorings anywhere!
I told Carrie just to pick the spot she wanted and I'd drop the hook.
Tomorrow we head for Annapolis, and although we're anxious to get there and see our friends there we've pledged not to bring the boat this way this early again. The weather is still too cold!
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03/24/2008, Ft. Munroe, VA
We anchored early today near Ft. Munroe, a soon-to-be-closed army base, at the sourthern end of the Chesapeake Bay and had Skip Zobel, my good buddy and classmate from USNA, aboard for lunch and some catching up.
Skip has lived for many years in the Norfolk area where he finished out his 26 year Navy career. He and I did our Navy service on opposite coasts and lost touch for many years, but as I've returned to the East Coast and reconnected with him and other classmates it feels kinda like I never left.
Now we'll wait out the North winds tonight and part of tomorrow in hopes of doing some sailing along with the motoring up the bay to Annapolis.
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03/24/2008, Norfolk/Elizabeth River
Maybe everyone was waiting out the weekend or the Easter holiday, but this morning in the Elizabeth River leading through Norfolk was the busiest stretch of the ICW that we've seen on this trip.
Between the barges being worked along the shoreline to the barge being pushed by a tug on his final leg of a journey from Charleston SC; then the lift barge crossing the channel and the enormous cargo ship being escorted by 3 tugs to her berth; then the train crossing the waterway.
We spent the morning just trying to stay out of the business vessels' way and squeak through the maze of draw and lift bridges to get back into the Chesapeake Bay for the final leg of our journey to Annapolis.
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03/23/2008, Chesapeake Virginia
Located on Battlefield Boulevard in Great Bridge this is just one of the many bridges that cross the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It is a Twin bascule span, five lane bridge operated by the City of Chesapeake. It was constructed in 2004 and carries about 35,000 cars across it on a daily basis.
I was interested in the name of the road that the bridge was built on so I did some research and found that the Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War. The victory by the Continental Army was responsible for removing Lord Dunmore and any other vestige of English Government for the Colony of Virginia during the early days of the Revolution. Shortly thereafter, Norfolk, was captured and destroyed, cementing Continental hold on Virginia.
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03/22/2008, Coinjock North Carolina
Coinjock is a unique little place along the ICW at mile marker 50. It is a day's run from the Alligator River through Pungo River Canal...if the weather is good. Today it was not! The winds were about 20 to 25 knots, the waves were on the stern at about 4 to 6 feet! This does not make for a pleasant ride. However, it does make Norfolk a 50-mile cruise the following day and we are looking forward to Norfolk. Coinjock is a remote area. Facilities are few and far between, however it does have a restaurant and a ships store but when I went in to "grab a few things" I was told they hadn't stocked up yet. After all, it's not season!
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03/20/2008, Oriental NC
Back in 1886, a post office was established in what was then known as Smith's Creek. Louis B. Midyette was named postmaster. Legend says that "Uncle Lou", as he was known, anchored his sailboat in the protected waters of Oriental to escape a gale. Kind of like we did when we pulled into Oriental two days ago. He was sailing from New Bern back to his home in Dare County where he was a farmer and a fisherman. Apparently Lou was captured by the beautiful landscape and the entire waterfront created by the many creeks. He returned home to persuade others to join his family in moving to the area. Lou's wife, Rebecca, thought the village needed a better name. Rebecca had found the nameplate from the sunken ship "Oriental" on the beaches of the Outer Banks (some stories say she just saw it in a Manteo home - but either way the name "Oriental" made an impression on her).
The sailing steamer Oriental was built in 1861 in Philadelphia, and was used as a Federal transport ship in the Civil War. She met her fate in May of 1862, shipwrecked off Bodie Island 33 miles north of Cape Hatteras. The passengers and crew were saved. Today, one of the Oriental's portholes is on display at the Oriental History Museum. The fate of the "Oriental" nameplate is unknown.
The village became known as Oriental a few years after the post office was established, and was incorporated in 1899.
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03/19/2008, Oriental, NC
We normally anchor out from the marinas and docks to save money. Without a steady income to feed our cruising "habit" we are always looking for ways to conserve our funds, and not running up dock fees at marinas is usually the first place we look by anchoring out, which costs nothing (well no money anyway).
Protection from bad weather while at anchor can be achieved in various ways, whether it's from natural shelters along the shoreline or from the big heavy anchor and the scope of (i.e. how much) anchor chain we put out.
Last night we pulled into Oriental for some provisions and rest while finding safe harbor from some potentially very damaging wind gusts that would accompany the passage of a cold front. Our first choice was to anchor off from the marina, but the protection from the winds wasn't there and other vessels in the area wouldn't allow us to extend our scope. In short, not a good spot to anchor with the prevailing conditions.
As winds began gusting over 35 (maybe 40) mph in the afternoon we decided that we needed a better place to hole up for the upcoming weather, and fortunately found a slip available at the nearby marina. But even getting into the slip in the prevailing winds was not easy, but with some help from the marina Dockmaster we were able to maneuver the boat into the slip and are tucked in for the night.
The only question now: Will we be able to get back out of the slip and underway tomorrow to continue our journey north? While we certainly hope so, if we can't do it safely then what's the point?
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03/18/2008, Along the ICW near Camp LeJeune NC
The constant ebb and flow of the waters from the sea into the ICW pushes the sand and mud around on the bottom, causing changes in the depths which make it a challenge for vessels with deeper draft (i.e. Sanctuary!) to get through.
This is particularly true around the inlets to the Atlantic and we will testify that we hold our breath each time we pass an inlet because invariably the depth do not correspond to those on the charts.
We have nudged up on the mud on a few occasions and are normally able to get ourselves off only because we don't travel fast enough to really ground ourselves hard on the bottom.
Conditions like this keep some companies in business like this one going. This is the Dredge "Richmond" which was hard at work as we passed this morning digging the bottom deeper along the waterway near Camp LeJeune NC.
Your tax dollars at work!
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