Keep Calm and Sail On. 

That’s the saying on the shirt I wore leaving Avalon and a motto I should just adopt for the trip. Sunday morning, May 25, was blue sky and beautiful, the perfect day to begin our journey south. Sue has left us for a couple days to deliver their car to a sister in Baltimore and we’ll pick her up there.

Passing the Cape May lighthouse

We all take turns at the helm, learning the navigation system.

Tom makes it look as easy as it sometimes is with auto on. 

Several large ships passed us one of which created swells that were about 10-foot high making an exhilarating experience for the crew! 

The Wilhelmsen was flying a Swedish flag

We left the Atlantic and entered the Delaware River after about 30 miles where we saw New Jersey on the right - oops, that would be starboard – and Delaware on the port side. 

   

Passed under several bridges which often appear just a little too low as our mast goes under.

Nearing our anchorage in the late afternoon we passed by a nuclear plant, a prominent feature for miles.

I love knowing that we will be seeing sunrise and sunsets every day.

Next morning, after doing yoga on the hardtop and having a practice session for me learning to raise and lower the anchor, we set out for Baltimore. 

Osprey build their nests on buoys

Passing under the Francis Scott Key Bridge we got a good view of Fort McHenry where Key wrote the “Star Spangled Banner” during the War of 1812.

 Fort McHenry in the distance

We docked in Baltimore. 

Storms were brewing and this roller awesome roller cloud brought wind but not much rain.

We had plenty of time here to play tourist.  Downtown four historic ships are displayed: the “Constellation” from the Civil War; the submarine Torsk which sank the last enemy vessel of WWII; the Chesapeake from the 1930s; and Coast Guard Cutter Taney, the only warship still afloat that saw action in Pearl Harbor. 

We also toured Fort McHenry. It is quite an experience to be able to imagine what it would have been like to be in the fort during the fighting and then also to have seen the fort from the water, imagining what Francis Scott Key would have seen from that vantage point when he began to write the first words to the National Anthem. In fact, when we pulled out Thursday morning, the weather was much like it was on that fateful day – cloudy, drizzly and chilly.

Another summer, another adventure, this one on the water in Double Life.

The boat was out on the hard for the winter and we knew there was some work that had to be done on it before putting it in the water, but I don't think anyone realized just how much was needed.  The boat was our home at Avalon Marina for a week. The marina did have showers but the solar showers came in handy for other clean ups!

Projects other than general cleaning included resealing two windows that leaked )we knew about one, the other was a surprise).

The hulls had to be sanded and painted

There were seemingly endless hours of removing and reapplying caulk!

   A new anchor was installed and Tom disappeared most days in the engine compartments doing things only he could do.

  

A composting toilet now replaces one of the heads - sorry, no pictures of that but it works fine!

We worked most days from dawn to dusk, but did take time off on the 21st to go to Cape May to see town and celebrate my birthday.  Unfortunately rains came so we didn't get to walk around town much, but we did enjoy seeing many of the homes with wonderful classic seaside architecture. 

The long anticipated day finally arrived and on Saturday, May24, the boat was lifted onto slings, moved a few hundred yards and put into the water for launching, an exciting process to witness.

The captain was first aboard followed by the crew, the surveyor and the previous owner all of whom went out for the sea trial that lasted about an hour.   

All went well and Sunday morning at 7:30 we set off toward Baltimore. I'd say we set sail, but we'll actually be under motor power until Annapolis where the mast has to be taken down so to make life simpler, no sails till after that.  

So, the voyage has begun and captain and crew are all in high spirits!