Yes, we are finally sailing!

We bid Annapolis adieu Sunday morning. Decent wind finally came on Monday and increased Tuesday allowing us to be powered only by sails for about half the day.  It’s hard to take a picture of your own boat under sail, but by far the most fun location to try to do that is lying on my back on the trampoline rocking and rolling with the waves at 7 to 8 knots.

Under engine power we were averaging 5 to 6 knots, so 8K, with about an 18mph wind pushing, felt fast. Having only the sound of the water and wind is wonderful!

Tuesday afternoon brought us to Norfolk where we anchored in Willoughby Bay right next to the Naval Base. The afternoon entertainment was the Navy Seals training about a quarter mile off our anchorage. A helicopter hovered over the water and eight Seals bailed out. A line was sent down to pick up one and then that person was lowered and “rescued” another. When all were collected they flew off and then returned and did it all over again…six or seven times!

Leaving Norfolk was quite exciting with all the Navy and Coast Guard craft including aircraft carriers, warships and tugs.

 Hope you can see the gun mounted on the front of this boat!

Little tug pushing this disabled ship

We passed by shipyards for an hour or so before entering the Intercoastal Watersay (ICW) which goes all the way down to Florida. The lCW comes with the warning that if you say you never went aground in the ICW then you are either lying or you didn’t do the ICW. So far so good on that!  

entrance to the Dismal Swamp

Five miles down the ICW we take a detour down the Dismal Swamp which, despite the name, is the scenic route.  And it is indeed lovely. Much more narrow than we’ve seen for awhile, tree lined banks, a few homes but also very rural and fairly shallow water.  

Not far down the Dismal Swamp we came to our first lock, Deep Creek. We were the only boat going through the lock this afternoon and we had a nice chat with lock keeper Robert who was also very helpful in instructing us on how to maneuver the lock. Robert has been here for 20 years and is the newest keeper on the canal.

 the lock doors close

 almost full of water now

open gates and on our way

A little history is worthwhile at this point. Dismal Swamp Canal was first proposed in 1728 by Colonel William Byrd after he surveyed the Virginia-North Carolina border for the English. He and his party had to go through the dense undergrowth of the swamp and he made some comment on how repulsive and dismal it was giving it its name. The canal was completed in 1805 making it the oldest operating canal in America today. 

                                      

office of the lock keeper

Lock keeper Robert blowing his conch shell

Robert is a historian as well as lock keeper, bridge keeper and general maintenance man in the area. He invited us to dock immediately after the lock passage and told us to come by the next morning when he arrived before 8am and he'd have the coffee on! There is a small park behind the lock also, so we had a nice evening walk in the park and then had the biggest calzone I've even seen delivered to the boat for dinner.

yes, we have a basil plant now and it is surviving nicely

Thursday, June 26

After OJ, coffee and more stories of the Dismal Swamp from Robert we shoved off, went through Dismal Canal Pontoon Bridge (which Robert runs down to in his pickup to open for us) and proceeded down the canal. The passage is narrow and occasionally you have to watch out for tree tops hanging over that might hit the top of the mast. 

It was hot and humid and it seems we are in the middle of a 4-6 week invasion of deer flies. Sure glad we bought that package of 3 fly swatters back in Annapolis!

the bridge at South Mills

welcome to North Carolina

Forty miles, one more lock and a couple bridges later we came into Elizabeth City, NC. We anchored out and then had the treat of meeting friends Joan and Howard who live nearby. 

Joan brought a fantastic taco casserole, salad and blueberry cobbler with blueberries from their farm. We really enjoyed the visit with them and may even get to hook up again further south. 

Today we'll enter the Abermarle Sound with more open waters and possibly a chance to sail again.

    Anchoring: A process during which the anchor is lowered, and rancor is heightened.  from the Dictionary for Landlubbers, Old Salts, & Armchair Drifters”

    Truer words were never ……  no, really, anchoring is going fine now!

Friday, June 6

We have finally left Annapolis. We’ll be returning in 10 days to have the standing rigging replaced, but in the meantime we’re cruising nearby. Before pulling out though we watched twenty or so sailboats circle around twice in preparation for a race to Bermuda. The parade was led by this boat which, if you look closely or magnify to see, included a bagpiper complete with kilt.

Two hours later we cruised into the Rhode River and anchored.

our first view of Double Life out in the open

Within easy reach of the dinghy is a Smithsonian Environmental Research Center that studies all facets of the ecosystem.  The 2600 acres includes the historic Java Plantation and the Contee Watershed Trail.

 Contee house ruins

John Contee was an officer on the USS Constitution when it captured the British frigate HMS Java in the War of 1812. Legend has it he used prize money from the battle to purchase the plantation he renamed it “Java,” a tobacco plantation. By 1869, after several absentee owners, Contee’s children sold the property and in 1890 the house burned and was rebuilt with less stability. Sold again in 1915 to Robert Lee Forrest, it was a dairy farm until he died in 1962. He bequeathed the farm and two million dollars to the Smithsonian Institution who now use it as a multi-disciplined environmental research center with 17 senior scientists.

view from the old house; SERC has a corn field in front 

                             Contee Watershed Trail with white blazes reminiscent of the AT.

Saturday, June 7

Next morning after more exploration of SERC, I had my first solo experience raising the anchor. It went fine and we had barely begun to move when we came to a sudden halt. Where did that shallow water come from? OK, this is our first (last?) running aground – in about 6 inches of mud! Half an hour later we broke lose with nothing damaged but our pride.

Three-hour cruise to the Wye River; another nice anchorage; a still and lovely afternoon. 

                                                                lunch time 

Sunday, June 8

A short hop took us over to St. Michael’s and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. This is a premiere museum and easily spent three hours seeing the boatyard, displays of oystering history, a historic crab picking plant; the cabin Frederick Douglass’s sister and family lived in with an heirloom garden; and, perhaps the best of all, the 1875 Hooper Strait Lighthouse. This lighthouse is set in period display and you can access every bit from the living quarters to the Frasnell Lens and walkway on the top. The interpretation in the entire museum is some of the best I’ve ever seen.

                                                unique road entrance to the museum

                                             antique replicas are commissioned here

                                              have you ever seen a bigger bandsaw?

                                                            Hooper Strait Lighthouse

                          the figure is writing a letter home and audio tells you what he writes

                                                                    Fresnell Lens

After poking around town we moved on to Leeds Creek in anticipation of possible wind gusts which, happily, never developed.  At every anchorage so far there are enormous mansions visible. 

 Our view is just as good as theirs and from the lack of people in yards, I’d say we are enjoying the views much more than they are!

What do we do for entertainment while anchored and not in a place we choose to go into with the dinghy?

Yoga on the hardtop has become a favorite in the morning and some afternoons. This can be tricky, but balance is getting better and we are very watchful of wakes from passing vessels.

Some evenings we also enjoy a game of Scrabble and we’ve learned a useful new word for those pesky letters “x” and “z.” 

Xebec (also zebec): A small, three-masted Mediterranean sailing vessel, used primarily in commerce in the Middle East, and in Scrabble in North American waters.”   (thanks to the dictionary for landlubbers again.)

Wednesday, June 11

We are anchored in Solomons, MD. Arrived last night and had a brief thunderstorm this morning with quite a bit of rain, then came into town enjoying a zero day. Stopped by a Leopard 42 on the way in to chat with the folks on it and, if the weather holds, we'll be headed back this afternoon to their boat for cocktails. 

I got my sea legs quickly; now I need my land legs!  Amazing how firm ground sways and the boat feels fine.

We pulled into Annapolis on Thursday, May 29, about noon after a very chilly, cloudy, drizzly four hours. Docked in Eastport, a small town just across from Annapolis, where the Harbor Boat Yard will be inspecting the rigging. Seems they are backed up some though and we will be here for a few days. 

There is still plenty to do to on the boat including cleaning every nook. The galley and salon are looking good!

Craig painted white links on the anchor chain every 25 feet so we’ll know how much chain is going out;  

But there’s also plenty of sightseeing to be done and Annapolis is charming and full of history. Lafayette had an encampment just down the street from us in 1783; George Washington resigned his commission before the Continental Congress in the State House; and of course, this is the home of the Naval Academy.  

Plebes have arrived for summer orientation and we saw several very young looking newbies arriving with their parents.  A Visitor Center video introduces you to the structured four-year education awaiting these arrivals. The Maritime Museum has wonderful exhibits of the history of the Navy. This museum is also houses a wonderful collection of antique model ships many of which were built in the late 1600s and 1700s. The craftsmanship and attention to details was spectacular.

A walk down the row of officers’ housing brought us to the main Chapel.  

Beautiful stained glass windows made by Tiffany and Gorham follow both a nautical and biblical theme. In the back you can see a ship model which, to give you an idea of the size of this room, is as long as one of the pews! The organist sometimes does play during the day but is unfortunately on a two week vacation so we missed that. There are both Protestant and Catholic services on Sundays and mass every day, but no longer is attendance required. A volunteer said that about 50% of the cadets participate in some sort of religious activity now.  

Also in the church is the impressive crypt of John Paul Jones who actually died and was buried in France and was later exhumed and brought here.   

Back into town is the State House, the first peacetime capital of the U.S. where Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War.

Much of the street is still brick and the layout of the city was done following styles in England.

Another church in town worth a visit is St. Mary’s.  A small garden leads you to the entrance.   

The best view of St. Mary’s is from the bridge over Spa Creek.

Back at the boat, a rigger went up the mast to inspect it and we are going to be replacing all the rigging. Fortunately he can do it without taking the mast down; unfortunately he can’t get to it for two weeks.   So we'll go cruise nearby for a few days and then return for the rigging.

Sadly, due to these delays, Craig and Sue had to leave on June 4th. We could not possibly have come as far as we have without their help and I would not feel as confident as I do (or hope to!) anchoring and docking without Craig's patient guidance. We very much regret that they didn't get more time on the water, but promise to make it up next winter in Florida!