Through the C&D canal to await the Deleware Bay transit

We filled with diesel and water in Havre de Grace, and sailed (motored) back out into the Chesapeake, heading for the C&D canal. More usual bay traffic en route - a tug pushing a heavily laden barge. BTW, barges are just containers - they need a tug to push (usual in restricted waters) or tow them (usual in open ocean waters).

The C&D is the canal that connects the northern end of the Chesapeake with the northern end of the Delaware Bay. Because it is a canal, it is narrow and the waters going back and forth between the two bays are swift, the maximum current at least 2 knots.  That isn't fun to sail against, so boaters (except ones with huge engines that cause huge wakes that rock our boat...) chose to transit the canal WITH the current instead of against.  Luke timed it perfectly, and Latitudes and Best of Times scooted down the canal, occasionally hitting 9 knots.

Through the canal and to our favorite anchorage in the area, behind Reedy Island.  The current in HERE is no slouch - it runs more than 2 knots. In fact, at anchor we were doing almost 1 knot just sitting in the water.  We will have a great push tomorrow morning when we leave for Cape May, NJ. 

The anchorage is just across the bay from the nuclear plant.  Always impressive. 

Reedy island itself (see above rocks and grasses) isn't that high, but it does provide some protection from the wakes and current.  Here is another picture of the island and the muddy brown water.

That sun didn't last much longer.  The skies clouded over, rain poured, and it did rain most of the night.  We awoke this morning to calm seas (up here...) and milky sun.  The remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie are pounding the lower half of the Delaware Bay and the coast.  We are safe and happy here.  Tomorrow - if the weather doesn't change - we will travel with  Best of Times to Cape May. We expect to sit there for a few days waiting out north easterly winds.

Flat water and no wind en route to Have de Grace, MD

The night was WINDY!  But Friday morning dawned calm and with flat water. So, we dropped our mooring line, said good-bye to Annapolis, and motored northward to catch up with friends Mimi and Otto.  Just outside of the Annapolis inlet is the Annapolis Bay Bridge, a double bridge that is always neat to see from beneath.

So, what do you do on a flat, boring boat ride?  Well, in some cases, you have maintenance such as defrosting the freezer.  Think it needed it?

Much better!

 

We snaked up the Susquehanna River, finding our mooring next to buddies Otto and Mimi.  It was tough trying to pick up the mooring, as there were no "pennants" on them - lines that make it easier to catch and attach to our line.  Otto dinghied over and gave me a hand.

 

 

Havre de Grace is a nice little town, but this is by far the roughest, bumpiest mooring we've ever had.  We are exposed to a large mass of water and fishing boats, cigarette boats, and all others zip past without a care in the least about their wake.  The 4 of us did make use of the marina's courtesy car and spent a big part of the day shopping.  Our chart plotter is here and Luke has successfully reinstalled it.  He is checking the weather, tides, and currents now.  With some help from the currents, we hope to leave here tomorrow and make it through the C&D canal to the Delaware River. I am pretty sure we'll leave here no matter what!

 

 

Onward to Annapolis

We're making progress now! :-)

Left Solomons, heading north.  You have to pay attention when heading in that direction.  First you make sure you aren't in the shallow water in the inlet.  That shallow water butts up to the Cliffs of Calvert.  There is a nice state park here, and the cliffs are renowned for the many fossils found here, such as magalodon teeth.  Here is an excerpt from a webpage about fossil hunting in the area, plus the link to the webpage.

"Around this time in the early to middle Miocene, the Salisbury Embayment was a shallow sea. It is thought to have been used as a calving ground for many species of early dolphins and whales. Since there were so many marine mammals here, the largest of prehistoric sharks, the Megatooth sharks (including C. megalodon), spent a lot of time feeding here. The climate was warmer than it is now, so on the shore, a diversity of plants grew here, from Cyprus trees to Oak trees."

http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/calvert/

Once past the shallow waters, you next see the beautiful Cove Point Lighthouse.  That is NOT a hazard!

But the multiple fish pound nets in the area are.  The water looks safe and clear until you notice the many groups of poles (pounded into the bay floor --- i.e. "pound nets").  The poles are joined by fish nets.  The design is to allow fish to swim up into the nets but not out again.  With time, the poles deteriorate and break below the water, creating a hazard.  The channel markers will keep you out of this hazard - if you obey them!  We do - not everyone does.

We aren't through yet.  Just past the Cliffs is a LNG (liquid natural gas) terminal, set in the bay to accommodate the large ships that  deliver the fuel.  This has a really wide "restricted area" to boaters. Have to admit, though, we have never seen any sign of life there.

And then there are the barges, being pushed by tugs.  They generally stay in the main channel, but sometimes we have to get in the channel too.  We were "sandwiched" by two of them at one time today.

 Ahhh...approaching Annapolis!  You can tell by the beautiful schooners, taking paying passengers out for cruises.  That is the Annapolis Bay Bridge behind her.  We will be sailing under the bridge tomorrow.

Annapolis is a charming town. Tucked in tiny streets surrounded by shops and the US Naval Academy, you'll find narrow streets with narrow row houses.

Annapolis is also the capital of Maryland.  Her lovely capital building is in the middle of the old waterfront part of town.

Running straight into town is a finger of water called "ego alley".  This is where you slowly cruise your boat,  turn around, and cruise back out again, giving all of the land bound tourists a chance to watch and admire.  I have to admit, we did it once and darn near didn't get turned around again. This was meant for smaller or more maneuverable boats.  There are slips all along the alley, available for those who want to pay the cost.

 

 

And here are two tourists.  No, that isn't Latitudes behind us; just happened to be in the background.

 

 

Dusk, and a beautiful view of the capital building from our mooring.

 

 

ok, not the best day....

Morning dawned waaay too early -  the Chesapeake gets light about 5:15.....VERY early!

We had a good night, calm after the workboats settled in for the night.  This morning I pulled up the anchor only to find the expected, but dreaded, Chesapeake black mud.  It embeds itself in everything - chain links, anchor, etc, etc.  But that was ok - we have an anchor wash down pump and it did the job.

No wind, but that was ok, too.  We will just motor the 42 miles to The Solomons.  Smokey again howled as the engine started, but when she realized that we weren't rocking and rolling, all was ok. Well, sorta....You judge that face...

She eventually gave up and just hung out.

So now, all is ok, right? We are the only sailboat out there, crossing the northern entrance of the Potomac River into the Chesapeake.  I said "look at that boat - sorta looks like the Coast Guard"
Luke - "it DOES look like the Coast Guard.  Surely they aren't after us..."
Me - Is that blue flashing lights ....?"
Luke -  (^*)^!!

Sure, enough, in an admitted effort to satisfy their quota, they came scooting out after us to do an "under way" boarding for a "safety check". That means we kept sailing while they kept inspecting.

The did ask if we would permit them to board and do the inspection, but you know, there really isn't a lot of option then! LOL  The men were very professional and polite, and we were fully compliant. To further fill their quota, they asked if they could inspect our dinghy! We said "sure".  As they left, they thanked us for letting them board us. In his inimitable way, Luke asked if we really had any choice -- and got somewhat of an ambivalent answer. Smoke was terrified.  This isn't THE boat, but very similar. Didn't think to ask if we could take pictures..... AND now we are good for 6 months!

A barge pushing TONS of gravel crossed out path, heading south.  Not sure why anyone would carry this much gravel south, but it is a lot of gravel and it must be worth it. Not a good process for a windy day!

We passed the Smith Point Light. First built in 1897, this caisson lighthouse is still an active light.  Here is the history. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Point_Light

Want to buy it? 4 bedrooms, quite a view...she was for sale.  Not sure now.

A big dragonfly caught a ride with us.

Into the Solomons, MD, we motored.  Grabbed a really nice anchorage after getting gas for the dingy.
The Solomons is FULL of all sorts of boats.  Friends Joe and Ret keep their identical boat here, but they are on a lovely riverboat cruise in Eastern Europe right now.

The dingy was finally lowered into the water and did a fine job of taking us the couple of miles to the ice cream shop.  When we left to come home, the dinghy outboard motor was not so cooperative. She sputtered, died, and everything else.  Luke nursed the motor into getting us back to the boat.  By the time we got home, she seemed to be running ok again. Turpentine smell -- maybe remnants of old gas.

Then one final bit of fun - one of the bottles in a bin of 13 miscellaneous boat potions leaked into a storage bin.  Fortunately, they were all IN a bin and it wasn't too hard to find the empty bottle and clean everything else.  But it was a game of guess.

Back on the boat now,  dinner over with, the air is cooling down, and it really is almost time for a good nights sleep.  Tomorrow mild winds from the south, Annapolis here we come!

We have set sail at last!

Today dawned with beautiful, sunny skies and gentle winds.  Perfect!  By 9:30, we had gathered our shore lines off the dock and onto the boat, and slowly drifted down the creek, towards the Chesapeake.  Ruarks Marina and her sailboats began to disappear.

Smokey howled in protest when the engine started, but then just watched woefully.

Captain Luke was delighted!  And I was certainly ready to begin the adventure.

The navigation chart in my tablet worked fine.  I DO miss the chart plotter, as that is what I am accustomed to using, but we had no trouble at all with the tablet. In fact, the newer system has several features that are easier to use. The temporarily taped on "Raymarine" cover is a place holder for our soon to be returned chart plotter.

We SAILED!  The wind was from the right direction and not too strong.  We sailed about 3 hours of the 5 hour trip.  It was wonderful to glide silently across the water.  Even Smoke resigned herself and watched the watery world go by.

The wind did die down later and we had to motor the rest of the way, but it was a great way to start the trip.

As we left the Rappahannock River area, the menhaden boats were working.  There were at least 5, probably 7 of them.

The large "mother boats" carry small boats that take out the nets to encircle the schools of menhaden.  Usually a small airplane scouts the area for the schools of fish.  This was happening in shallow water, maybe 25 feet deep. This is a Menhaden mother ship speeding to the right spot. Note the small boats for net deployment on its stern.

At anchor at last, my loyal and somewhat trusty cat always helps me set the anchor.  After the anchoring is done, a good tummy rub and undivided attention is expected.

Our view from the boat is water and a bit of scrubby bushes on a spit of land. Quite lovely, actually.

We have all 3 been relaxing in the gentle motion of the anchored boat.  Recently, the gentle motion has become a bit more rolling.  We think work boats are coming home from their day of fishing and we are catching their wakes after they pass.  I am sitting below to do my blog and I can hear the deep rumble of a big motor now. Hopefully, they will all return home soon!  The night will be calm.

Mariners Museum in Newport News VA - Civil War naval history

Ok, it was a no-go for Latitudes today.  And a good decision, as the winds in the bay were reported at 18 - 22 knots, directly from the direction we need to go. Noooo.....

So, we headed the hour to Newport News, home of the Mariners Museum.  This is a wonderful museum that we visited once before, in about 2009 or so.  She is the home of the "recently" raised turret of the Civil War Federal ironclad warship, the Monitor.  Sunk in the mid 1860's the turret was discovered off the Hatteras coast of NC in the early 1970's.  Raised in about 2002, the turret is in a special water bath to remove salt and keep it from decaying further at this time.

You know you're going to a maritime museum by the waaaay big ship's propeller at the entrance.  I've left the car in the picture for size perspective. 

It is all an interesting story that I will make quite short.  If you are interested, I suggest you visit one of the two (or both) websites. It's really pretty interesting.

http://www.americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_war/Navy_Ships/CSS_Virginia.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hampton_Roads

The USS Merrimac had been burned and left behind when Virginia authorities took over the Norfolk Navy Yard after its evacuatuation by Federal forces.  The Confederate States raised and remade the steam frigate into an ironclad war ship and renamed her The CSS Virginia.  She was a mighty force that was able to take down and sink the Federal wooden ships.  The only part of the CSS Virginia that was above water was the slopped iron top 1/3 of the ship.  A huge battle - the Battle of Hampton Roads - ended in a draw after the CSS Virginia sunk several large Union ships but was unable to defeat the ironside Union ship, the Monitor.










Eventually, as the war was ending, the  CSS Virginia was blown up and sunk by the Confederate army to keep the Union from taking possession of her.  This depiction and...um...description of the "Rebel Monster Merrimac" was posted in Union newspapers.

The fate of the Monitor was much worse - out to sea off Cape Hatteras when a sudden, severe storm hit, she sunk, taking many lives with her.  When her turret was raised and cleaned, the remains of  2 sailors were found in the turret.

The turret is now in a salt water bath - perhaps for another 10 years - as she is carefully cleaned and examined.  Here is the actual top of the turret.

One of her cannons is also in water, as she is carefully preserved.

One fact that I didn't know was that during the Civil War, aerial reconnaissance was common. Both Union and Confederate hot air balloons were sent up to give information to each side.  Drawings of the conditions below, of course, was all they could do.  Here is an example of a drawing done from a hot air balloon on one of the information gathering missions.

I enjoyed the museum; Luke found many areas of interest, especially those events or inventions that significantly influenced the course of history.  He was particularly interested in the late 1700's/early 1800's Napoleonic era naval history, including Admiral Nelson's famous battles, about which he's read a number of books. This large panorama is of the Battle of Trafalgar.  Sorry, but I managed to take the picture and place Luke over Admiral Nelson being wounded in the battle,

It was a nice day.  TOMMOROW looks like a good day to finally head north!

Missed approach....or is it "missed departure"...

There is an old nautical saying "gentlemen don't sail to windward".  That means they don't sail the boat directly into the wind, resulting in a pounding, miserable ride.  Well, they don't and neither do gentlewomen.  And gentle cats don't sail at all if they can just live on the boat at the dock, watching the water and such.

The winds didn't die down as predicted.  It will be blowing about 14 - 20 knots from the north (the direction we are going) in the Chesapeake.  Definitely not a time to go to windward.

We will uncover the car and go sight seeing around Norfolk, cover her again this evening, and make another try tomorrow.  Such is sailing....

Still here

Rained almost all day.  It's still raining now.  BUT! we had pancakes this morning!

And the car is moved to a safe spot and covered for the summer.

Everything else is pretty much done, even the optional maintenance items, stuff is stowed, and we are ready to go.  The weather looks good enough tomorrow so we plan to cast off around noon.  We may go to Reedville instead of Tangier.  Not sure yet.  Both routes are in our temporary chart plotter (aka my tablet). But we do plan to be somewhere tomorrow night other than this dock!

more #$@*&)#! rain

oh, yes, rain. Lots of it.

But we still got some indoor projects done, like putting a grate over the bilge pump intake to prevent debris from entering the pump.

 

It  slacked off to a drizzle mid afternoon. We took a couple of hours off and drove to the cute Colonial port town of Urbanna.  Sitting at a deserted dock, in the gray drizzle, sat a buy boat.  These are classic Chesapeake work boats.  They didn't actually fish or oyster, etc, but they literally bought the daily haul from the fishing boats and took it all to a market on shore.  It was nice to see her. In this modern world, there aren't many of them on the Chesapeake waters now.  We have seen a few working ones in Maine, though.  They collect LOBSTERS! YUM!

Still raining.  We don't know our plans for tomorrow, but I will post if possible.  If we do go to Tangier, we almost certainly won't have internet, so if I don't write, you'll know we left out dock at Deltaville!

Still more prep

Whisk! First thing to the post office with the evil chart plotter.  Hopefully, we will get a kinder, more cooperative repaired one back in a couple of weeks.

Smokie is having a wonderful time -she has found a new toy.  A tiny little 3" long piece of stiff string.  I have no idea where it came from.  She kills it repeatedly, pounces on it like a stuffed mousie, throws it into the air, and rabbit-foot's it.  Here is the string toy, the only thing in focus in this photo.  The rest is a blur of excited cat.

And a fine toy it is, being thrown in the air!  That is neglected Mousie at her feet.

We had less fun.  Well, everyone has less fun than a cat with a bit of string...

We decided to put new depth markers on our anchor chain.  This markers are set every 25 feet - they let me know how much I've let out when we are anchoring.  Here is all 200 feet of chain plus anchor, stretched out on the dock.

Looking at the chain, we noticed that the first 125 feet or so - the length we use most - was looking a bit rusty.  The remaining 75 feet looked better.  So, Luke reversed the chain, putting the more used section at the end of the 200 feet, giving us 75 feet of "newer" chain to use when we anchor.  Of course, that meant changing all of the markers!  Silver - new, brown - rusty

Luke also washed Latitudes.  It was badly needed.  He did a good job washing, I sprayed down and rinsed off.  Smoke helped by sleeping in the cockpit (worn out from killing String, I guess).  Here's Luke, all but finished, scrubbing down the last bit of the stern of the boat.

Solid rain is called for tomorrow, plus a small craft advisory.  We will be staying put here at Ruarks.  If the forecast holds, Latitudes will be back in business on Sunday, en route to Tangier Island!