October 26

Today we moved from St. Michaels to Solomon's Island. The morning was nasty with predictions of 30 knot winds which fortunately did not materialize on our route. We started one half hour after Eagle's Wings. On the trip, there was a following sea which generally guarantees that Annette will be sick. She took some medicine and followed some other strategies she has learned to help her. A while after we made a turn that put the wind and waves on our stern, our speed dropped significantly. We should have been going very fast but we were about a knot slow. I looked back and saw that the dinghy had taken a few waves and was about half full of water. It was like we were dragging an anchor. We slowed the boat and I was able to pull the dinghy close and turn it so I could reach the stern where there is a one-way plug that allows it to drain. It had been so long since we had towed a dinghy that I had forgotten that little detail. Although it took more waves on the trip, the dinghy quickly drained itself. After a day of bouncing around, we made the anchorage at Mill Creek in Solomon's Island. We actually beat Eagle's Wings to the anchorage despite our late start. The rain continued so we stayed on the boat and spent a quiet night.

October 25

We had to shorten our anchor rode when the wind changed and our rudder began to bump on the bottom. The winds were still blowing out of the northeast and our anchorage is completely exposed to them. Later Walt and I both decided to put out a second anchor to keep the boats more stable and make sleeping with confidence more likely. Walt had his dinghy down with his motor on and did a good job. Don, from Might As Well V came over and offered to help put my second anchor out. It made a great difference, with the boat stablizing and not sailing around on its anchor. The wind continued the rest of the day and night but we felt much more secure. Don told us he had had to reanchor also and he never drags his anchor.

October 24

Today we remained anchored at St. Michaels with high winds clocking around to the northeast. The area is getting some much needed rainfall. We spent the afternoon at Eagles Wings playing board games and cards and eating Pat's freshly baked cookies. The wind and rain kept Don and Anne Marie from going to the museum today. They will try again tomorrow. We made tentative plans to go on our way tomorrow with a call scheduled at 6:30 A.M. to make the decision. The weather doesn't look like it will be good but we want to give it a chance.

October 23

Last night we had a beautiful sunset. This is one of many pictures capturing its changes. Shortly before turning in for the night, I listened to the weather radio. It informed us that there were small craft warnings up and they would continue until Wednesday. I called Eagle's Wings and asked them to listen and verify. They called back and we decided to postpone our departure for at least another day. So today we are still at anchor at St. Michaels. We can see the flags flying up high yet we are escaping the wind here at anchor.
Early this morning (4:30), I was awakened by motor noises and talking. Looking out, I saw a tall ship coming in to dock next to the museum. In the light of day we could see that it was the Virginia. We don't know anything more about the ship, but it certainly is a great looking vessel.
This afternoon I looked out again and saw a Kady Krogen trawler coming in. With the binoculars I could verify that it was our friends who had convinced us to do the Loop last year-Might As Well V. I got on the radio and they said they had a slip at the marina. Very shortly after that I saw them turn back and come to the anchorage. They decided to come anchor next to us. We dinghied over and began laughing and telling stories to catch up with what has happened since we last saw them. Tonight we will have supper with them. We tentatively plan to leave late tomorrow as the wind is forecast to abate during the day.

October 22

We decided to up anchor and go for fuel and water and a pumpout at the marina since we were leaving tomorrow and had begun to touch bottom with a shift in the wind. Walt followed with Eagle's Wings after we finished and both boats reanchored in the small harbor off the channel.
In the afternoon, we went to tour the museum. It is well worth a visit, having several buildings loaded with authentic artifacts and beautiful displays. We learned a great deal about the history of the Bay and the lives of the people who have lived, worked, and played here. This picture shows an aspect of the "play" that I had never heard about. These big guns are fowling pieces that were mounted on a low punt or scow. They were loaded with a half pound of shot and another half pound of powder on land and then quietly floated and paddled with very short paddles to about thirty yards away from a group of ducks or geese. A good shot was one that killed thirty ducks or ten geese. The birds were gathered up and the gun taken back to shore to reload. Weapons were also used to protect leases that Virginia gave to certain oystermen for areas of the bottom of the bay. These watermen lived close by and kept watch for interlopers with guns loaded. A small war was fought among competing watermen using different techniques to harvest oysters and an oyster navy was created to enforce the laws and stop the war. Of course, then the navy became the enemy. In the early 1700's, oysters here were huge-ten inches + across. Today a four inch one is good size.

October 21

We left Annapolis at 0830 for St. Michaels across the Chesapeake on Maryland's Eastern Shore. This is the most photgraphed Chesapeake lighthouse, Thomas Point Shoal. Annette added many images to its total as we detoured to get closer. Chesapeake lighthouses were kept low because they were very numerous and, if they could be seen from too far away, mariners could become confused. As we motored up the Eastern Bay, we met sailboat after sailboat headed the other way. We began to wonder if there was something we ought to know. It was Sunday and the winds were very light. Many of the boats were headed to the more open part of the Chesapeake to find more wind and, in some cases, to participate in organizing racing. We anchored at St. Michaels by 1245 after a trip of nearly 29 miles. St. Michaels is a great stop. It has many shops and some wonderful museums. A national magazine rated it as the eighth most romantic place in America.
This is a screwpile lighthouse that was moved to become part of the Chesapeake Bay Museum here at St. Michaels. It is called this because the pilings supporting it had cast iron screws that were twisted twenty-odd feet down into the soft mud bottom to keep the lighthouse in place. Families were generally not allowed to live with the lightkeepers, who got five days off per month. The lights had Fresnel lenses which were made in France and were nearly as expensive as the whole rest of the lighthouse. This museum is an active boat restoration site with major activities centered on saving boats unique to the Chesapeake. One of the interesting facts about the Chesapeake is that it is really a flooded river, the Susquehanna, and drains land as far away as Cooperstown, NY.

October 20

Today we paid our bill for the mooring ball when the Harbormaster came around in his boat. He was very helpful answering our questions. We moved off the ball and put the anchor down as the winds were predicted to be light. Annette and I decided to take a bus and do some long range shopping at a mall outside of town. For a buck, we could both ride the ten mile trip. The mall was disappointing as it didn't really have the stores we would have liked. It did have a Borders though and we were able to pick up some books we wanted to find. We took the long way back, going as far north as the stadium where we could see a top corner filled with the Homecoming crowd. (Navy lost to Wake Forest.) Then the bus went through downtown but the driver apparently had run out of drive time and dropped everyone off at the next stop and told us the next bus would continue us on our way. We rode back to the Giant grocery store where we had walked to get the bus. There we bought some items to restock the boat and walked the mile plus back to the boat. We had a great cocktail hour with the Washers on Sabbatical reprising our separate days and making plans for the trip.

October 19

It is easy to see that Annapolis is a sailor's Mecca. There are literally hundreds of masts in this creek and it is only one of many in the area. We are actually in Eastport within walking distance of Annapolis. Today we rode with Walt and Pat to a dock at the end of Fourth Street and walked to town. We had to wait for the bascule bridge to close at Spa Creek. My objective was to locate and purchase a Honda generator for the boat to keep our batteries charged and use some of our A.C. powered appliances. Fawcett Boat Supplies had a great selection and was able to answer my questions about the use of the generator on the boat. We got a 2000 watt generator which will power any of our A.C. devices including high wattage items like the water heater. We have only spent one night in a marina since we began the trip and keeping the batteries charged when we are without shore power and not leaving an anchorage every day means running the boat motor. That is not a great option for the generation of electricity.
After some more shopping in the downtown area and a crabcake sandwich, we headed for a tour of the Naval Academy. One of the highlights was the chapel on campus. It is a beautiful building with Tiffany-designed stained glass windows, many of which celebrate the exploits of Naval heroes.
In the basement of the chapel is the crypt containing the remains of John Paul Jones. He was born John Paul in Scotland and was a ship master before he was 21 years old. Of course, he began many of the traditions of the Navy. His remains were found in the early 1900's buried in Paris where he had died. They were returned to the U.S. and this tomb created for interment.
It was Homecoming Weekend at the Academy and, even though it was a Friday, there were already many people on campus. We saw many people with badges identifying them as members of a class having a reunion year. One of the traditions on campus is the decoration of this statue. It is called Tecumseh after a famous Indian chief. Actually, the statue is copied from a figurehead from the bow of an old sailing vessel, the Delaware and portrayed a Delaware Indian chief, not Tecumseh.
I am certain we have all seen old goats but just in case I include this picture of two examples. This is a statue of "Billy", the Navy mascot. The story about how it came to be the mascot is interesting. The first game with Army was at West Point and midshipmen attending were climbing the slopes up to the game site when they spotted a goat in front of some living quarters. Having no mascot, they decided to appropriate the goat and take it to the game as the Navy mascot and the tradition was begun.

October 18

While we made our way from Still Pond to Annapolis, we spotted this "John Deere" barge. We thought of Jacob at home with his tractors.
We aren't certain if this is "The Pride of Baltimore II", but we certainly enjoyed watching it as it tacked into the wind before us getting itself set up for this run through the twin bridges that span the Chesapeake just north of Annapolis. The wind was blowing about 20 knots and she was heeled over beautifully.
This shot Annette felt looked just like a painting. We turned for Annapolis just after this picture and the ship continued on south. We made our way into Back Creek in Eastport and found a mooring ball to tie to for the night. Annapolis was busy as usual but even more so with Homecoming Weekend at the Naval Academy.

October 17

We moved from Chesapeake City to Still Pond on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake today. The anchorage was a quiet one, but just a pull-off from the Bay. Still Pond proper is through a narrow and shallow channel which because we were to have light winds that night we preferred not to enter. We did take the dinghy through though and discovered that there were mooring balls in Still Pond and that it extended several miles to the East. With the Washers aboard, we explored all the way to the eastern extent of the waters. On the way back, Pat spotted a deer on the shore. We dinghied quietly toward it with our backs to the sun and the wind quartering our scent away from the deer. It was a truly magnificent buck with a trophy rack. As we got very close to it, it appeared to either be ill or wounded or very old. We could not definitely determine the cause of its somewhat peculiar behavior. Our return to the anchorage found us with many new neighbors. Most of the boats were Canadian, but one was a boat we had seen before that was American. As the young couple rowed past us to visit some friends, I engaged them in conversation. They are from the same place that one of our friends, Gerry Senecal, has his sailboat and they said they knew him. Another amazing coincidence of the kind that one encounters on these trips.

October 16

Today we moved from our anchorage to a free town dock that became available. From there it was easier to take our bikes off and go for a ride. In the morning, we joined the Washers for breakfast though I had already eaten some breakfast on the boat. I limited myself to a juice and an English muffin.
We then toured the village on our bikes, spent some time reading in the public library while waiting for the post office to reopen after lunch, and visited the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Museum. The museum was small but well-done. The most impressive display was a large wheel that could move 20,000 gallons an hour. It had been used to move water from natural sources to maintain the water level in the canal.

October 15

After a profitable stay at Cape May (for those who live and work in Cape May), we left early and watched the sun rise as we did so. We needed to leave two hours after low tide at Cape May in order to ride the tidal current all the way to our next destination up the Delaware and into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. We saved a lot time because of our good fortune and early start. Two knots of current adds to our nominal 6.5 knot speed. If it were against us, we would only do 4.5 knots. Delaware Bay is busy with traffic going to Philadelphia. Ocean-going ships and barges were present in the main channel as we traveled up the bay.
Grandma took pictures of the bridges across the canal for Cailean who is working on a bridge building project. We are at a very crowded anchorage in Chesapeake City on the canal. Thankfully, the wind is light and variable tonight and we should be able to hold on a short anchor rode. Tomorrow we anticipate remaining here to plan our trip down the Chesapeake and explore the town.

October 14

We left Atlantic City on Sunday morning by ourselves. Our friends from Eagle's Wings dinghied behind us as we left the anchorage and went to church. We wanted to get to our first marina stop on the trip at Utsch's in Cape May, NJ, with time enough to reprovision and do laundry and rinse the salt off Sabbatical. As we left the harbor, we captured the sun's reflection in the windows of homes along the way.
Mr. Trump did not attract us to leave any money at one of his establishments here. We shot pictures of the night lights of Atlantic City from Sabbatical as we sat last night laughing and enjoying the evening with our boating friends. But you'll have to see the slide show to see them. The trip to Cape May was fairly straight forward. We motorsailed as the wind was nearly on the nose. Utsch's marina is a nice place, though it charges $2/boat foot for parking the boat overnight. For that we get water, electricity, cable, clean showers, access to laundry facilities, a well-stocked marine supply store, and a great restaurant across the parking lot. We had a nice meal with the Washers at the Lobster House. Annette and I split an entree and I got to enjoy my number one ranked lobster bisgue.

October 13

The Karen L was still in the water as we left Barnegat Inlet. The TowboatUS people were removing somethings from inside the vessel. We heard that attempts to get it back on its feet might start on Monday. One of the old hands on the beach said that if they don't do it fairly soon the waves and movement of the sand in the current will simply swallow the ship down. We wish them well.
It was a great day for us to be out there. The winds were just about as good as they could be for most of the sail. They got too much on the nose later and we motored which we needed to do anyway as we need to charge our batteries. Here Eagle's Wings shows her style and the sailing skills of her helmsman.
We arrived safely at Abescon Inlet (Atlantic City) and found a wonderful anchorage with lots of room and no traffic. We are here now with three boats having traveled today with Stray Cat and Eagle's Wings. I changed the oil rather than go ashore and the others volunteered to pick up some bread and milk for us. We'll reprovision at the next stop which is a marina at Cape May, NJ, Utsch's. This photo was taken because we are always finding little reminders waiting in the places we go of home. Here the boat's name, Grace Sea, is a version of what Gonnie (Annette)calls her little granddaughter at home.

October 12

This picture gives one an idea of the kind of weather we were seeking to avoid by staying here in Barnegat. Had we moved on we would have either been out on the ocean or at an anchorage instead of a more secure mooring ball or staying a $70+ a day slip getting bounced around. This was the best choice.
We were treated to this rainbow trying vainly (like all rainbows) to hold together after the heavy rain. This is a deceptive picture in that it doesn't show the wind. The wind had been blowing hard but today it had some extra kick with one boat registering 50+ mph gusts. We were rocking and rolling all day and all night. Annette found her hiding place in the forward berth and spent most of the day hunkered down there. She managed to avoid all but a slight feeling of motion sickness on occasion. I spent the day working on navigation and timing of tides for the trip up the Delaware in a few days.

October 11

This morning we awoke early to call our grandson, Jacob, as he was headed to school. It is his seventh birthday today and we sang the birthday song over the phone. Later I looked out the window and saw a boat obviously aground at the head of the inlet. It was a large fishing trawler. I got the radio on and heard someone calling the Coast Guard station here in Barnegat and saying that the boat was about to roll over. It did roll over as we watched. The two people on board went into the water and were taken on board by a small fishing boat that had been trolling the waters nearby. The boat is still there guarded by the Coasties and TowboatUS. It should be an interesting project to get it back afloat as it was near high tide when it rolled.

October 10

With the dinghy down and the weather temporarily improved, we decided to go ashore. Barnegat is obviously a seasonal place, since everything including the grocery store was closed. We went to the State Park at the Barnegat Light. Although the offices were closed, one could walk to the top of the light and around the park. The current was rushing out at the time, opposed by a sea breeze that kicked up some considerable waves in the channel. After walking a few miles, we concluded that bread was not available but we did find milk and eggs (and a small purchase of gin and beer). Before we went ashore, Annette and I were meandering through the anchorage when a woman on a small catamaran, Stray Cat, said, "Look at the dolphin." We went over and saw a dolphin throwing a fish into the air repeatedly and diving after it. This was repeated several times over the next fifteen minutes or so, much to our delight. We had never seen this behavior before.
We grabbed the stern of Stray Cat and became acquainted with the couple on board, Bev and Rob. They told a story of their experience yesterday on the outside. They lost their dinghy off the back of their boat, despite their considerable efforts to avoid its loss. The waves were up to ten feet and the dinghy kept filling with water and dragging off the davits and the lines holding it chaffed through quickly. A 62 foot circumnavigating sailboat had also come in with a blown out spinnaker sail draped over the side. They had been cruising along in modest conditions when the sudden wind change and increase in velocity hit them. They could not get the sail down and it was ripped apart. All this reinforced the wisdom of our decision to remain safely on the mooring.
In the evening, we invited Walt and Pat and Rob and Bev over for munchies and drinks. Rob and Bev are from Canada and are headed for the Bahamas. This is their first time this way. We had a lot of laughs and made the usual promises to keep in touch along the way. They had an appointment at the West Marine store on the Toms River for the next morning to get a replacement dinghy. Fortunately, they are small enough to go on the inside of the barrier islands and avoid the continuing small craft warnings off the coast. Here Pat Washer and Rob enjoy the company and the home-brewed wines brought to Sabbatical by both couples. We truly hope to see this couple again as they are a lot of fun.

October 9

That sun that went down red last night, came up this morning even redder. This time we believed the truth of the sign. We elected to stay here today. At precisely 1105, the wind suddenly shifted to the east and rose in velocity to 20+ knots. A cold front was moving southward down the coast of New Jersey at 20 MPH. Very shortly thereafter, many of the little fishing boats came scurrying into the inlet. It was obviously not a good day to be out there. Small craft warnings were issued for coastal waters and we were quite happy to be sitting on a mooring in Barneget Inlet. We had lunch on board Eagle's Wings-tube steaks and baked beans with Annette's homemade applesauce. Since we were staying at least today and, from the look of things, through the end of the weekend, it was worth getting the dinghy down and visiting the neighbors. While we were there, this large catamaran came into moor. It's from Point Judith, RI. The guys on board said it was blowing 25-30 knots out there, definitely not where we would want to be.

October 8

Columbus never got so far north as New York, but we left the city on the day we celebrate his achievements. The morning was probably not as busy in the harbor as a non-holiday Monday, but the Staten Island Ferry was still running and big ships ran by us in the Ambrose Channnel in the lower bay. We turned south for our run along the Jersey coast, hoping that the wind and waves would not be beyond our comfort levels. It was a long slog, close hauled into a southwest wind that while at reasonable levels was a bit gusty. While we did sail for two hours, most of the time we motorsailed as the waves were slowing us considerably and Barnegat Inlet is a good haul. There are only a few good inlets along this coast, so one must pick a good day for traveling. It was great to see the Barnegat Light after 70+miles.
One nice surprise was the availability of mooring balls that make life so much easier than having to set an anchor. Here Eagle's Wings comes forward to pick up the line attached to the float of the mooring. A helpful sailor on another boat had indicated that the moorings were provided for free for transients like us. We got the last two. I spent the time before supper retuning the rig which the sail had demonstrated was obviously too loose.
One reward of Barnegat is the nice sunsets that can be seen here. This one was of the fireball sort going down right above the catamaran sail on the beach behind us. While it should have promised good weather (Red sun at night, ...), we had reason to believe otherwise.

October 7

This morning we began with a radio call to our friends at 0700. We quickly concluded that there was no fog and we should move on the New York City. We had a following wind that wasn't blowing hard and the current against us as the tide was rising. We were soon through World's End and sailing past West Point. It is an impressive sight sitting at this choke point of the Hudson River where our forefathers fought to keep the British from dominating the area by controlling the river.
Later we pulled into Haverstraw Marina and filled our water and fuel tanks and emptied our holding tank. The wind had picked up so we put up our genoa and continued motorsailing. We began to benefit from an ebbing tide and reached over 7 knots through the water and even faster over the ground. We still had time to oogle the beautiful scenery along this stretch of the river.
Almost before we knew it we were past the Tappan Zee Bridge and under the George Washington Bridge. The western shore became New Jersey and the tall buildings of the city became individually recognizable. Here the Empire State Building dominates the scene.
New York wouldn't be New York without a few crazy sights. As we neared the Statue of Liberty, we passed this representative group crossing a very busy harbor on some sort of pedal boat vehicles. They were flying various flags-Giants, Jets, Marines, etc. What they were attempting to do we could not determine but they certainly were having a ball.
No matter how many times we pass the Statue of Liberty, we still stare in awe. It is truly an inspiraton. Our anchorage tonight in on the Jersey shore behind the Statue of Liberty. It is a good spot, which is helpful since the wind increased tonight shortly after we put the hook down. I am writing this and listening to the Yankees losing a third game against the Indians. Annette has just finished talking on the phone with our friend Yasmine. Tomorrow we start down the Atlantic.

October 6

Today we spent our time cleaning and rerigging the boat. We were glad that we weren't moving because the fog was back again. This anchorage is just at the northern beginning of the Highlands, where the Hudson cuts a deep path through the mountains. While the fog cleared in the wider area where we were, we could see it lying thick south of us in the narrow gap between the mountains. West Point is in sight from here and is the most beautiful part of the Hudson River.

We put on the genoa (foresail) and tuned the rigging. The day provided us time to do that and to relax a little. We watched a police dive boat work just behind us. We don't know what they were looking for or if it was just a practice. Eagle's Wings called to tell us that they would be coming in late, possibly after dark. We told them we would leave the light on for them (and stand by the radio). They did a great job of working their way into the anchorage and setting their hook. The sunset was just as nice as the night before.

October 5

On Friday, we had plans to meet my college roommate, Jeff Jones, whom I hadn't seen for many, many years. Because he was flying out extremely early the next morning for New Mexico, we wanted to get to Newburg for lunch in the early afternoon. We left the anchorage in fog with fair visibility but ran into a variety of visibility after that. The picture above is an example (exaggerated by the camera) of some of the poorest conditions we faced.
In places the visibility was great and we were able to enjoy scenes like this along the way. We got to see Jeff at Torches Restaurant on the waterfront at Newburg. We had a nice time catching up on each other's lives since we last saw each other. Neither of us have done a good job of keeping track of our friends from Brown. Annette and I are kicking ourselves because we both forgot to get a picture of Jeff taken. But, for those who know him, just remember what he looked like when you last saw him all those years ago and add a little grey hair. He looks just the same.
After leaving Jeff, we motored to Bannerman's Island, also know as Pollepel Island. Here are the ruins of a castle and and arsenal, similar to Boldt Castle but far less beautiful and in very poor shape. It was here that we would spend the night and the next day and night as we waited for our friends on Eagle's Wings to rejoin us.
Waiting was not hard to do as we enjoyed sunsets like this one.

October 4

Thursday was our day to get our mast put up. We left Waterford and the Erie for the Troy Lock and the salty water of the Hudson River. From this lock to New York, we are at sea level and subject to tides and tidal currents. The river flows fresh water south on the ebb and the sea returns its salt water on the flood. As we passed Albany, we saw this replica of the Half Moon, Henry Hudson's ship. Notice the crescent moon on the stern.
Along the Hudson, antique lighthouses still stand but have been replaced by channel markers and automated lights. Efforts to save many of them are continuing.
After we had the mast put up at Hop-O-Nose Marina in Catskill Creek, we decided to move down river to Saugerties and an anchorage at Esopus Creek. We believed that our traveling companions on Eagle's Wings were not going to get their mast put up until first thing on Friday. We went ahead to be in position to get to our planned meeting with Jeff Jones in Newburg for lunch on Friday. They called us after we anchored in Esopus Creek and told us they did get the mast up and would either join us or stop at an anchorage above us. It turns out that they did decide that they would not have time to get to Esopus Creek before nightfall. Esopus Creek provided one of the most tranquil nights at anchor we have spent. We did not even set the anchor and Sabbatical just floated on a limp anchor rode all night.

October 3

Today started early again, in the dark. We needed to make the first locking at the next lock and it was about five miles away. We were also still in the lock on the hour eastbound area of the canal and that cost us some time. But all's well that ends well. Here we are getting our first look at Waterford and its visitor center. The wall looks full and it was. There was room for one of us. Sabbatical was offered a raft off the barge that had just arrived as we came out of the lock. We took on the offer. Eagle's Wings got into the open area on the wall.
There was a nice meal at our favorite local pub here in Waterford and then a game of marbles with our boat buddies, the Washers. Here is Sabbatical tied up to the tow from the Troy area. We had washed the grime of the locks off before going to dinner. Just the federal lock tomorrow and we are done with locks for many miles. A rendezvous with Jeff Jones, one of my college roommates, is still in play. It all depends on how fast we can get the mast up tommorow at Catskill Creek and get to a place close enough for him to drive from Fishkill.