THE Chesapeake Bay – Boy was this a social part of our trip so far. We made it to Annapolis after visiting Chesapeake City, Havre De Grace, Chester River, Annapolis, St. Michaels, Wye River, Solomons, Historic St. Mary’s City, Yeocomico River (Alberg 37 Gathering), Yorktown/Colonial Williamsburg/Busch Gardens Halloscreem with sister Theresa visit and finally Norfolk, VA where we enter the Dismal Swamp or Virginia Cut and then continue down ICW. Another ditch but different in cautions and experience. The Dismal Swamp is another destination with mixed reviews due to depth, sites, issues, etc. So you again have to gather the data, make your own decision and hope the sea spirits bless your journey.
Thoughts:
– Its getting colder and we used the solid fuel fireplace tonight for the first time since June in Bayfield, WI.
– I still haven’t seen any dolphins but have noticed the migration of birds more and have seen flocks of pelicans diving for fish. In fact, one cold foggy day a wren? took respite on our boat as it ate bugs until it gained enough energy to venture on. Reminds me of us at times!
– Have figured out how to eat crab and get full along with learning about marine life. Also learning how to eat mussels and oysters. Speaking of marine – as I sit and write in quiet I hear some clicking noise on my hull. I believe someone told me it is something eating the algae? There is a benefit in these rust colored water in that (unlike Lake Superior) you can’t tell how bad the growth is on your hull. J But sitting in Annapolis warm river water for 2 weeks – our speedometer stopped working until days later when we started moving again. We just didn’t get the nerve to pull the plug and clean it – something about all the salt water that comes gushing inside the boat….. I guess this is a common maintenance item people on the east coast perform.
– I have noticed that a lot of east coast people use cockpit anchor lights for both telling which boat is there’s on those late nights but also for its protection against other late comers. I think the best solution is a plastic garden yard light with chargeable battery from solar power and photo cell so it comes on at dusk. So I hope that hardware stores on the east coast don’t put away their summer merchandise like MN would. Otherwise, I will have to wait on this until next year. Others also use reflective tape that makes it visible.
– The Alberg 37 gathering was loads of fun with probably 60% of the attendees from Canada. It was hosted at TJ/Kay’s home in Kinsale, VA off Yeocomico River. We made many new friends/cruisers and hope to continue to see them as we journey this coast and Bahamas. Matter of fact, Tom/I and sister Theresa/Larry were guests of Lin/Joran (Alberg 37 owners and Anhauser Busch retiree) to attend Busch Gardens Halloscreem. It was fun to see my sister and hang out for the day while we toured Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg. There is so much history here and were fortunate to participate in the 225th anniversary of Colonial George Washington’s (and French) defeat of British in controlling this area. The fireworks alone were worth this stop. I have never seen so much money get blown up in such a short time! But it was amazingly beautiful and saw so many new designs. I never thought that while cruising we would see so many firework displays (around 10).
We also visited with MN sailors (Superior Cruisers or Northern Lights Sailing Club) that came to the Annapolis Sail Show. It was great to hear about their summer tails and future adventures.
– We have a head start on fitting in with the Bahamian cruisers. We learned the dice game “Farcle” with some Canadian cruisers we met at the Alberg 37 gathering. Its lots of fun but by then we probably will forgot the rules.
– Its amazing how it seemed easy today to just pull up in this busy harbor of Norfolk and just anchor like it was Bayfield. Maybe we are starting to become cruisers after all! But then we did get chased out of the main channel as a submarine was being towed out to sea. Quite interesting.