Annapolis, MD to Solomon’s Island, MD to Tangier Island, VA

October 16-20 (way before Sandy)

“An electrician, a rigger, and a mechanic walk onto a boat…..”

Reese earns some allowance while we take care of boat projects

We spent another two days in Annapolis, getting some work done.  This time we stayed on Back Creek, at a marina.  We were able to borrow a car to get supplies from West Marine and the supermarket, which was great.  The electrician came and inspected all the electrical systems on the boat, especially the batteries.  We were concerned about how they were charging, but he gave us the “all clear” on everything and we breathed a sigh of relief.

Reese works on her October book report.

Next came the rigger.  We had a new halyard installed for our mainsail, fixed the inner forestay, re-spliced the halyard that broke, and moved the spare jib halyard to the port wing halyard (for the spinnaker or to pull the dinghy out).  He was up the mast for hours but all went smoothly, except when a bird flew right into him, 62’ up in the air and he started screaming.  I flew up top in a panic, thinking that his harness had broken and he was about to plummet to the deck.  Even the dockmaster came running over and was worried.  It was kind of funny after we all calmed down.

Finally, Karl the Mechanic came.  He is an expert on Fisher-Panda generators and walked us through changing the oil and the maintenance schedule.  He also pointed out some installation errors that had been made.  More items for Chris’ project list…

Jeff and Mary from s/v Echo

Meanwhile, the kids and I were busy with schoolwork.  I also did laundry and started plugging away at paperwork that has to be done before we leave the states.  We found some time to paddle board over to s/v Echo to see Jeff and Mary before we left.  They were also getting work done on their Beneteau 473.  I enjoyed sharing storage and outfitting ideas with them, since our boats are so similar.  We applied the name of our website to our boom as well, which was a difficult project.  It took four of us to put it on evenly without any air bubbles.  Chris and I worked late into the night, installing our new Manson Supreme anchor, cutting our anchor chain and marking it with depths to make it easier to deploy.

I’m told that if two boats are sailing in the same direction, they’re racing.

We left Annapolis on Thursday, October 18^th and are seriously “headin’ south” as the cruisers we meet like to say.  Seems you don’t have to be any more specific than that when conversing, probably because most of us haven’t completely solidified our plans. Hurricane Season officially ends in less than two weeks, which means that all of us who are “heading south” are gearing up, provisioning with food and other staples, doing last minute boat projects, and checking the weather forecasts.  What we are NOT doing is actually deciding where to go and how exactly to get there.  There is no right answer and too many viable options, none of which are without challenges.

Son of a son of a sailor

Cruisers are holing up in places like Hampton, VA; Beaufort, NC; and Morehead City, NC.  Some will go to Bermuda, some to the British Virgin Islands, some to the Bahamas, and some will head straight down the coast to Florida.  Our plan is to stay in Aurora, NC, where my mother and stepfather live, until October 30^th.  We will complete a number of boat projects and provision with food, school supplies, and anything else we might not be able to get outside the U.S.  On October 30^th, we will move the boat to nearby Beaufort, NC, where we will go Trick-or-Treating with our friends from the Full Monty and maybe even Anything Goes.  My dad should arrive shortly thereafter so that we will be able to leave for the British Virgin Islands as soon as we are given the okay by our weather guru, Chris Parker.

One project checked off: new boom lettering for our website.

Projects to complete by November 1 include, but are definitely not limited to the following: fix the aft head ASAP; install our new watermaker; change the oil in the engine and outboard; make an additional bookshelf; complete Satellite phone setup; install new WiFi system; seal forward hatches for passage; install new magazine racks; install shelving in the aft starboard locker; clean and tape the stantions and railings; polish and buff hull and transom; fill propane tanks; buy replacement PFD cartridges; practice EPIRB drill; practice emergency engine start and shutdown; sew canvas storage bags for aft starboard cabin; buy storage bin for freezer and bins for bilge; and thoroughly clean the boat while we have free and easy water.

Reprise pic of my new boots from FB

We have started plowing through some of these items, focusing on ordering any parts and supplies we need from the internet so they are delivered to my mother’s house before October 30^th.  Meanwhile, we still have to get to Aurora.  We left Annapolis on Thursday, October 18^th with dim prospects for a decent trip.  Sure enough, the wind was on our nose and the seas were 3-4’ and growing.  There was a small craft advisory in effect.  It was a slow, bouncy ride and we didn’t get to Solomon’s Island, MD until sunset.  After borrowing Chris’ Dubarry seaboots on our last passage, I finally broke down and bought a pair at the Annapolis Boat Show.  The only thing that made this trip bearable was that I had the perfect excuse to bust out my new boots.  Oh my.  They are sublime.  Warm, dry, and comfortable all day.  I even slept in them for a bit while snuggling with my tired little Porter.

Staying up on deck feels better in the swells

We had a tough time docking the boat because the wind was pushing us onto the dock.  I had to set all four dock lines and line up the fenders perfectly to the pilings after jumping off a moving boat, onto a wet and slippery dock, in heavy winds.  It wasn’t pretty, but we managed.

I can assure you that a beer never tasted this good.

A short walk up the dock brought us to the clubhouse of the Solomon’s Island Yacht Club.  What a nice and homey setup they had.  The main floor was one open room with a bar on one end.  There were about 15 people there, talking, drinking, and laughing.  The crowd was older and they were all very nice to us.  We each had a well-deserved beer to celebrate the long trip and to warm our insides.  The bartender gave us three Shirley Temples to bring back to the kids on the boat.

I brought the drinks to the kids, who were still on the boat, and they decided to go up to the clubhouse to thank the bartender and collect Chris, who was still schmoozing with the folks at the bar.  Apparently, they don’t get many kids around, because they fell in love with Bryson, Reese, and Porter and had them telling our whole saga.  They came back to the boat with gigantic smiles on their faces as they plopped down a bag of Halloween candy that the ladies had insisted they take back.  Super.  But now they had to go back with our boat cards (business cards with our names, email address, website, and cell numbers.  All the cool cruisers have them:)  They handed out half a dozen and met the Commodore of the club while they were at it.  We fell asleep after eating a quick dinner of sausages and spaghetti with salad.

Chris splices ropes, following instructions on YouTube, while “driving” the boat in the middle of the Chesapeake. You know, hard core, old school style.

By 0730 the next morning, we were getting under way again.  It would have been fun to spend more time on Solomon’s Island, but our project list and that departure date are making Chris and I pretty antsy.  The sooner we get to Aurora and get started, the better. There were more small craft advisories in the forecast for Friday, but when we got up, the waves were quiet and the wind was still at bay.  We got fuel and a pumpout and raced out of the harbor, following another sailboat and a large powerboat.

Union Lunch Break.

It was raining, but the radar showed that we would sail out of it pretty quickly.  We sailed out of the rain, and into the fog.  Heavy fog stayed with us for a few hours but then it cleared and the sun came out.  It was another long day at sea, but it makes such a difference when you aren’t smashing into the waves.  We were able to do our schoolwork without a problem and Chris even worked on small projects up in the cockpit, such as splicing lines (braiding the end of a rope back onto itself).  I got to catch up on the phone with my friend Christine and Reese texted her friend Kelli.

entering Tangier Island’s harbor

When we finally saw land again (that’s right.  The Chesapeake Bay is so large that you can’t see across it at this latitude.), we were thrilled.  Tangier Island, VA  was our next stop.  The Chesapeake guidebook didn’t make it sound too promising, but we went in anyway and yelled over to the dockmaster that we wanted a slip for the night.  He told us to take slip number 8 and pointed to the right.  We made our approach and both Chris and I agreed that the pilings were a little too close together for a boat of our size.  The cross wind would make it an extra-tricky to back into the slip.  The dockmaster walked over to assist us and Chris yelled over the wind, “How wide are the pilings?”  He deadpanned back, “Wide ‘nuff.”  We decided we liked him right then and there.  Hilarious.  But he took pity on us and found a dock space for us to pull alongside, which was marginally easier.

We were told ahead of time that the accent of the locals is heavy and laborious but that it is getting weaker now that they have television.  Now that they have television?  But the dockmaster was very pleasant and great to talk to.  I asked him what we should see in town and he said, “Weeeellll, I don’t really know.  I just moved here.  Eighty years ago noooowww.”

The tide is high, but I’m holding on…

He then went on to tell us all about the place, starting with his house, which was conveniently located at the end of the dock.  He told us all about the 17 cats he owns.  He also suggested that we wait a bit till the tide goes down before exploring town.  I wasn’t sure what that meant until the kids and I walked to the end of the dock and discovered not only the 17 cats, but that, sure enough, the high tide was up and over his lawn, the “road”, and pretty much everywhere else we could see.  Yup.  Might want to wait apiece…

Porter climbs over the wreckage of a fish shack since the road (left) is under water. No, not from Hurricane Sandy. Just “high tide”.

Tangier Island is a small place and feels a little lost in time and kind of down on its luck.  There is no internet or cell phone coverage, which seems to be my new barometer of a place.  I’ve definitely been living in suburban NJ too long!  There is one tiny grocery store, two closed gift shops, and two restaurants.  A church, a post office and a school round out the town.  People drive around in golf carts, though we did see one car.  The houses were sadly run down and some were even falling apart, left in a pile of rubble.  We were told that the island was so remote for so long that a large number of inhabitants share one of only three surnames.  The water table is so high that the cemeteries are “New Orleans” style, with the concrete crypts above ground.  What is a little more unusual is that some graves are placed right in people’s front and backyards.  I have never seen that before.

We spent the afternoon on boat projects, chatting with the two other boats that came in just before us, and playing with the kids.   One of the boats was called “Cool Change”, which is the name of my favorite song about sailing.

Porter pulls the kids up the mast (sort of. he’s just tailing the line.)

Bryson and Reese got a huge treat in the late afternoon.  They have been wanting to go up the mast on our bowson’s chair so we set it up and offered them the chance.  They loved it!  Be sure to check out the videos we took on YouTube once I post them. Bryson wore our GoPro Hero video camera on his head and the views are really cool.  How many of you would try it?  If you said “yes”, how about if Porter was in charge of tailing the line????  We suddenly realized that it was getting late, so we ran up the road to the restaurant for dinner. Thank goodness it was low tide!

Bryson on his way up…

Reese and Porter waving to Bryson

proud and happy

62 feet above the deck…

all smiles

When can I do it again?????!!!!

They can probably untie the dock lines at this point…

Sunset on Tangier Island

Flat Mema and Flat Bestefar drive the boat for awhile so we can have a rest…

Note in “realtime”: To all our northeast coast friends and family, we are so concerned about all of you and hope you get power restored quickly and repairs done safely.  We love and miss you all and hope that reading about our adventures will provide a moment of relief and pause during this stressful time.  Stay tuned for our own saga of surviving the storm in North Carolina…

Pecking Order

October 13-16

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Baltimore.  When you look at our Floatplan, it doesn’t stand out as the most exotic, the most remote, the most picturesque, or the quaintest stop.  We were in for a pleasant surprise after an uneventful and quick trip from Annapolis to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore.

Winning Drive leaving us in her wake

On the way, we were passed by “Winning Drive”, the yacht owned by Steve Bisciotti, the owner of the Ravens football team.  “Winning Drive” was docked in Annapolis while we were there.  As we pulled into the harbor, we discovered that we would be docked right across from this megayacht.  Alas, we didn’t spot the owner over the weekend.  We did, however, see his full-time crew, who were busy washing the boat, walking two dogs several times a day, and scurrying hither and tither from sun-up till sundown.  I can’t imagine what goes into maintaining a yacht like that.  We can barely keep the Chesapeake mud off of our decks.

A pair of Beneteau 473s and their happy skippers

The Inner Harbor Marina was really nice.  It was gated for security and had good showers and a laundry room, which I made use of right away, of course.  We were docked right next to another Beneteau 473, s/v La Vida.  We enjoyed meeting Rob and Nancy and having a few beers together aboard their boat after the kids went to bed.  This is what marina life is like, I guess.  Not bad.  It was like one giant party all weekend.  Everyone just sat on the backs of their boats, having a grand old time and talking to each other as people walked down the docks.  The Ravens game was on Sunday, so a lot of boats were there for that reason. As were we.

nighttime on our dock

Chris had made plans months ago to go to the game with our Cornell friend, Mark, when they realized that the Cowboys-Ravens game would be around when we were passing through the Chesapeake.  Mark is originally from Baltimore and has season tickets to the Ravens, even though he lives up in New Jersey, like us.  We learned that EVERYONE in Baltimore is a serious Ravens fan.  I kid you not when I say that every single person I saw on Sunday was wearing purple (the Ravens’ color).  It was kind of cute, because I love purple.

my new sneakers, in Caribbean blues:)

I woke up “early” on Sunday and had a nice, short run to the nearby Royal Sonesta hotel.  The marina has an agreement with the hotel allowing marina guests to use their fitness room, pool, and other facilities.  I jumped at the chance to swim in clear water and enjoyed the pool all to myself.  I surprised myself by swimming 50 lengths in the 14 meter pool.  I haven’t been able to swim in awhile so I was worried that I’d have no stamina (not that this is a long swim by an actual swimmer’s standards) but I was happy with it and I wasn’t struggling at all.  I just felt at home, enjoying the soft feeling of the water flowing past me.

view of the marina and harbor

When I got back to the boat, Mark had arrived from New Jersey.  We hung out on the boat for a bit and then another Cornell friend, Christina, got there.  Christina was my maid of honor a hundred and thirteen years ago and now lives outside of D.C.  We planned on spending the day together with Porter and Reese while Chris, Mark, and Bryson went to the game.  It was a beautiful day, so the boys had fun at the game.  Mark was all smiles when they returned and Chris was keeping quiet, so I figured out all by myself what the outcome was.

science experiments on the waterfront

Christina, the kids, and I enjoyed walking around the Inner Harbor.  There is a huge Science Center on the waterfront.  As we walked past, a “scientist” was outside and had us take part in an experiment on air pressure.  We got to pump up a Coke bottle and send it flying into the sky.  We all enjoyed the experience, especially when one of the bottles ended up landing on the roof of the center!

Reese’s Reese’s

We took Christina to the candy store, where we looked at some of the fun giant-sized candies.  Next up was Barnes and Noble, where we purchased a few brandy-new books for the kids.  Christina even surprised the kids with a new book for Reese and a cool Harry Potter badge for Porter.  We had lunch at Noodles and Co. and slowly made our way back to the boat.  I really enjoyed just sitting in the cockpit with Christina, looking out over the harbor and talking about everything going on in our lives.

My chocolate milk boy

Lounging with Christina in the cockpit

When the boys got back from the game, the kids all played nicely down below while the four Cornell alums  caught up, hung out, and had some wine and appetizers. (We all also married Cornellians, so we spent a lot of time doing the secret handshake, etc. Just kidding.) It was a really nice night and none of us wanted it to end.  Mark stayed until the last train was leaving for New Jersey and Christina stayed for dinner before driving home to get ready to take 25 pre-schoolers on a field trip the next day!

The marina is right in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, which was clean, pretty, and full of attractions.  “Full” as in you couldn’t possibly see all the museums, shops, sculptures, fountains, and restaurants in this one little area if you were there for a whole week!  The list of museums went on and on, from the Museum of Industry to the B&O Railroad Museum.  On Monday, we chose to hit the National Aquarium, even though the ticket price does not match a cruiser’s budget.  I opted to let Chris take the kids while I got a massage (which was more expensive than the aquarium, but somehow I made an argument that made sense at the time.  Connect Four!  Where? Diagonally!  Pretty sneaky, sis!)

Chris and the kids had a great time at the aquarium.  They stayed all day and loved the dolphins, the jellyfish, and the puffins.  I washed the boat down in the pouring rain, did more laundry, and had my lovely massage.

on one of our many walks through the area

By the time we were all done, my mom and Sal had arrived.  They have a summer cottage in Alexandria Bay, NY (on the Canadian border).  They were driving home for the winter to North Carolina and were able to stop for a visit.  We had dinner together and talked about our plans for the next few weeks.  We will be staying at the dock behind their house for about 10 days to provision the boat for our passage to the British Virgin Islands.

Oh, and Chris spent 9 hours working on the head leak.

The next morning, we left for Annapolis.  We had appointments with a rigger (the person who deals with the rigging on a boat: the mast, stays, halyards, etc.) and an electrician.  Our trip to Baltimore was short, but it was enough to make us realize that a much longer visit will be planned once we get back to New Jersey.  It’s only a few hours away and has so much to offer.

Bonus! From Bryson, Reese, and Porter:

National Aquarium: October 15, 2012

We went to the Baltimore National Aquarium.  Here are our favorite exhibits and fun facts.

This is for you, Drew:)

Reese:Jellyfish were eating all the food and young fish were dying.Jellyfish eat algae and plankton.

There are jellyfish in Australia that are deadly to people.

Male seahorses give birth.

95% of the ocean is undiscovered.

Parrotfish can change their gender male to female.

Sweethearts

Bryson:

A Megalodon shark’s tooth is the size of a human hand.

An Australian skink, a type of lizard, can drop its tail to protect itself.

Moon jellyfish give birth to polyps that keep copying jellyfish forever, until they run out of food.

Octopi have three hearts.

White cod is endangered.

Kookaburras are aggressive (when they aren’t sitting in an old gum tree?).

Porter:

Jellyfish have tentacles that sting people.

Turtles eat jellyfish.

Some jellyfish sting, some don’t and some are deadly.

Lizards can drop their tails.

One lizard has a blue tongue.

Lizards show their tongue and other animals think they are poisonous.