Cape May - at anchor

At anchor, waiting for a weather window

It was a wild ride today. It started out with great help from the marina crew in getting off. The entertainment was finding the path out over the bar without getting stuck. Naturally our departure was at dead low tide (what else?) but I made it out after seeing 5.4 ft on the depth sounder. Our traveling companion found a 7 ft path with his 6.5 ft keel so he did better than I did. Evidently, the path out is very narrow, stray just a little and you find the bottom.

Once out in Delaware Bay, we found visibility out to about 1/4 mile, better than we expected. We had to leave at 6:00 am (!!) in order to catch the outgoing tide before it turned against us. It runs up to 4 kts in flood mode and we needed an ebb tide to get down the bay. So we had the ebb tide long enough to get by the pinch points of maximum flood and started off down the bay in good measure.

However, the further down the bay we went, the rougher it got. The wind picked up higher than predicted (with a gust to 30 kts, what else is new?) but we had enough of an angle that we put up the sails and turned off the engine and still made 8.2 kts through the water. Our joy lasted 2.5 hours before the wind died some and we had to turn on the iron genny again. At least we got some good sailing in!

We are now at the most popular anchorage in Cape May by the Coast Guard Station. The holding is excellent, one of those places that's impossible to drag, especially with our anchor. We plan on leaving at 8:00 am Thursday morning, a more civilized hour for the crew and get into Atlantic City by 1:00 pm hopefully. If the predictions hold, we'll make the trip up the coast on Sunday and ride the tide up to PYC on Monday. John Kwak is with us and we plan to make the trip as a two boat fleet. 

Delaware City Marina - at a dock

John Kwak's boat - we have traveled together the last couple of days

We had intended anchoring in Chesapeake City but as we progressed and the weather continued to moderate and the storms stayed away, we decided to push on through the Delaware-Chesapeake Canal to a marina near the end, the Delaware City Marina. It's a marina built in the old part of the canal that's no longer used for traffic. It's one long dock with a waterway that's very narrow. Once you're docked, they turn the boat manually, using the strong current in the canal to rotate the boat so it's facing towards the entrance and ready to go in the morning.

You really have to pass one of these closely to appreciate their size!

However, on the way through the entrance, we had our first contact with Mother Earth this year. The channel in is very narrow and the sideways current strong. We were pushed off to one side and came to a halt. I rev'ed up the diesel and pointed the boat to what I thought was deeper water and eventually we made it in but not before plowing a pretty good furrow, churning up a lot of muddy water in the process, whew!

John Kwak took us all out to dinner to celebrate Michelle's birthday so we found Crabby Dick's. It had an excellent reputation and we found that it was well deserved. Many of their offerings are family recipes.

There's bad weather coming and the tides are not favorable for a normal, morning start down the Delaware Bay. So, we plan on pushing off Wednesday morning around 6::00 am. Unfortunately, that's also low tide, even lower than when we got stuck on the way in. Hopefully, we'll have a better idea of where the channel is when leaving, we ought to make it. On the other hand, Kwak made it in after us tonight and he draws 6' 6" so there's at least a 6' and better way in (John plowed through mud too). It ought to be stimulating, a good way to wake yourself up.

Annapolis - at a mooring

A fish trap, you see them all over the Chesapeake, not just by the shore but out aways

We got off at a good time, around 7:15 and headed north. We had yet again good traveling weather with winds out of the south at about 10 kts, not enough to really propel up but enough to add a few tenths along with the iron genny. By and by we reached the Annapolis mooring field and that's when the fun started.

The mooring balls are marked with either a yellow cover (for boats larger than 45 ft) or no cover (white ball) for other boats. So we called and was told to pick up a white mooring ball which we did. After tied up we were asked the mooring ball number. Oh no, said the office, pick up a white ball, we said it is white! Whereupon, nothing more was said. We went into town.

We explored downtown Annapolis, well kept, many small shops but no supermarket

Upon returning, we were told we had to move.The ball we selected was supposed to have a yellow cover and was for boats longer than 45 ft. I said you only had four boats in the entire mooring field and none on the 11 yellow balls, why can't I just stay here for the night? Oh no, rules are rules, you've got to move.

A call to the supervisor got no further so we moved and would have left but we had friends in the mooring field we wanted to visit tonight. So I gave a review on Active Captain concerning bureaucratic stupidity and a copy of the review to the Harbormaster - for all the good it will do. We'll never come back. Besides, they have once again raised their mooring ball price and now it's $35/night. By the way, the mooring field is about 10% occupied and if that continues, they'll get even less revenue than projected from the price increase. You can write the next chapter - they'll find out that the revenue is down below target so their fix will be to raise prices once again to make up the difference which will drive even more business away, you get the picture - that's bureaucracy for you - not what a privately owned  business would do since they actually have to make a profit.

Enough of that. We met up again with John and Michelle for dinner on their boat. John has just done a fabulous job on the rebuild of his boat, it looks terrific.They gave us dinner and wine, hard to beat. We're  both looking at the weather window to reach Atlantic City and it still looks like we can make it by Thursday noon. The weather turns sour by then and it looks like another waiting period in Atlantic City. We're not keen on going out in 6 to 8 ft waves which is what's predicted for Friday and later.

Solomons - at anchor

It seems like every marker has its osprey nest

We had 54 miles to travel today so we left uncharacteristically early (at least for us) at 7:00 am. For the most part we had winds around 10 kts and little wave action. Of course the wind was on the nose, certainly to be expected when you're in a sailboat. So we cranked up the iron genny and headed out.

Eventually there'll be nothing left...

Along the way we saw the eerie sight of the battleship used by the Navy for target practice. It's placed with its own forbidden area around it in the middle of the Chesapeake so nobody gets too close, marked right on the charts. The Navy will periodically close the entire eastern half of the Chesapeake when they have live target practice - but not today.

It's always fun to meet in a far away harbor

Arriving in Solomons, we saw John Kwak's boat, he had arrived several days earlier and took the time to rent a car and visit Washington, D.C. He has Michelle with him for crew and they are headed north on Monday for Annapolis, just like us. It looks like we have good weather for going north for the next few days and we'll take full advantage of it. We hope to reach Atlantic City by Thursday. Then the weather game will start and we'll look for a good day to go the 85 miles to Atlantic Highlands. 

Onancock - at the town dock

We're the second boat, very secure docks. That's Johnny Mo's restaurant to the right

Onancock is a small town but has the look of a typical New England town with its white houses and black shutters along with neatly kept lawns. It's a nice town to walk through. This morning we took advantage of the Farmers' Market which is held every Saturday morning and Ann stocked up on fresh vegetables, the rarest of commodities when cruising. Next door was a bakery so we bought donuts and pastries for our early departure Sunday morning.

These guys were going all day Friday, pounding in pilings with the attachment

Unfortunately, there's no supermarket within walking distance so we're still short of grapefruit. Ann got a call today from John Kwak, another member of the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, and he's in Solomons after renting a car to explore Washington, D.C. We plan on reaching Solomons on Sunday afternoon and we'll join up with John there. On Monday, both of us will continue our trip north.

Today was a day of rain and storms with small craft advisories issued by the Coast Guard. Most cruisers are holed up waiting for  better weather - of which we are one. We've never found the Chesapeake particularity inviting, perhaps it's since we seem to hit at at the wrong time of the year.We'll shove off around 7:00, it's 54 miles to Solomons, a long day.

Onancock - at the city dock

Johnny Mo's Mallard's Restaurant in Onancock - Not to be missed!!

We were going to take on fuel this morning but when we called we found out that they were out of fuel! They were expecting a refill by noon but that was too late for us. So off we ventured and we ran into a dense fog about a mile out from the anchorage. We had our radar working as well as our AIS so we knew where the large ships were, handy since we had to cross several shipping channels.

However, when I took the wheel after a break I noticed that we were only making about 5.5 kts, much too slow for our 2300 rpm at which we normally run 7.3 kts. We were obviously dragging something. I slowed the boat down and then put it in reverse and I then saw a crab buoy float up beside the boat. We had been dragging a crab pot along with us to the east coast. Once free of the crab pot, we once again reached our 7.3 kts cruising speed. Neither one of us saw us catch the crab pot in the beginning.

Sushi Tuna, delicious

Eventually the fog lifted and we entered the long channel into Onancock, about 6 miles long. We had to take on fuel but we received no answer over the VHF and nobody answered the phone. On well, we docked by the fuel dock anyway and waited for someone to appear - about 1/2 hour later - they were out to lunch.

Eventually we docked for the night and then went to Mallard's for dinner, a restaurant not to be missed if you're even in the Onancock area! Johnny Mo is the owner and chef and he has extraordinary meals with our favorite being the crab cakes (only crab meat, no fillers!) with an appetizer of sushi tuna and a chocolate tort for dessert, yum.

It looks like we'll sit out Saturday here due to high winds and waves on the Chesapeake but Sunday looks  better and we hope to make it all the way to Chesapeake City by Tuesday if the weather forecasts hold (a forecast is not a promise, it's only a suggestion...)

Fishing Bay YC at Deltaville - at a free dock

The back side of the yacht club, facing the river

 For once reality met the forecast and they agreed! The water was smooth and the winds light out of the south so we headed north. We chose our usual first stop up the Chesapeake at the Fishing Bay YC. They offer a free dock for one night to any recognized yacht club and Poughkeepsie YC is one of those clubs. With the free dock comes electric and water as well as the use of the showers and heads and a place to walk Hoolie. They also have 15 Mbps WiFi for free, what's not to like?

Across the Atlantic and back - want to come?

The last time we here, we talked to one of the members who was planning to sail across the Atlantic in a rather small sailboat (pictured) and was proud of the fact that he did not have a motor - and furthermore - didn't want one. You can't even stand up in his boat, benches only, a traditionalist I guess. Well, he made the trip across the Atlantic successfully, was dismasted once and then returned, all in one piece. He had a crew of one for a total of two on board. Now I heard that he's going off again, this time to the Caribbean and back. The other members seem to think he's very good at sailing but I wouldn't want to go with him!

In full bloom down here

This is our fourth year of return visits so we know the dockmaster and he recognized the boat so we never have a problem coming in for a stay. If you do want to stay an extra day it's $1.50/ft. The yacht club has both a north and south exposure to water, rather unique. It's just a gorgeous place.

What a great day! (and priced right...)

We'll be here for just one day and on Friday head out for Onancock and a dinner at Johnny Mo's Dockside restaurant, our favorite restaurant in the Chesapeake. The marina there was just renovated last year and we'll probably stay two days since Saturday is not predicted to be very good with high winds and 2 to 3 ft waves, not good for the Chesapeake.