Morning Run; Laundry; Harry gets crabs in Cambridge, MD

Before leaving in the morning, we took advantage of the marina’s laundry facility for a quick load to wash while we took a 30 minute minute run through Solomon’s Island. After French toast for breakfast in the cockpit, we retrieved the laundry and set off under sail for the Choptank River to Cambridge , MD on the eastern shore. The wind died around 1 pm so we had to motor the rest of the way, finally dropping anchor around 6 pm. We tried to get onto the free dock inside the harbor but it was full so we anchored right off the  municipal marina leaving a short dinghy ride to town. Harry had found that Cambridge was host to one of the best crab restaurants so we set off to find the place - Ocean Odyssey.  We took the dinghy up the creek, tied up to a sketchy pier, then walked about 10 minutes to the restaurant on Route 50. Ocean Odyssey had been in business for many years and was a no frills kind of place, very popular with locals. Harry ordered four jumbo crabs and got a quick lesson in how to extract the meat using a sharp knife and a mallet. It was a lot of work, taking Harry much more time to get through three crabs than it took Sarah to eat her crab cake, but according to Harry, they were worth the effort. Dairy Queen was right next door and we couldn’t resist an ice cream for our walk back.

Heading into Cambridge in search of steamed crabs

Exhausting work but worth it

Swimming Pool Cool Down; Gas Tank Repairs; Biking at Solomon’s Island

Little to no wind, sunshine and another 90 degree day meant we motored nearly the entire way north to the town of Solomons and Solomon Island.  Solomons is hardly an island as a small creek about 3 feet wide separates it from the rest of Maryland.  We arrived around 3 pm and decided to take a mooring at Zahniser’s Marina in part because they had a pool and we were very hot. While the water of the Chesapeake is warm enough for swimming, we've been spoiled by the Bahamas so the water isn’t so appealing for swimming.  As soon as we were secured tot he mooring we wasted no time cooling off in the clear, clean swimming pool.  Unfortunately on our dinghy trip back to Juno Harry found a problem with our dinghy gas tank that required immediate attention. After a short while, Harry deduced that the gas line wasn’t picking up any gas from the tank because the pickup tube had fallen off the hose fitting. So Harry set out to fix the tank problem while Sarah tried to save a baby bird that had fallen out of a nest.  Repairs and bird rescue attempt complete, we took advantage of free bikes at the marina to enjoy a ride through the town, then on to the Charles Street Brasserie where we ate a few tapas while a fellow played songs on the piano.

Well, it at least looks like water in the Bahamas

The pick-up tube on the dinghy gas tank just fell off

A quick MacGyver fix with a spare hose clamp

An evening cruise in Solomons

History Comes Alive at the Historical St Mary’s City - A Living Museum

This trip has been a great history lesson and today we learned more American History from 1600 to the revolutionary war.  We learned that St. Mary’s was the fourth English permanent settlement in North America- the others being Mass Bay/Plymouth, MA, Jamestown, VA and Charlestown, SC.  St Mary’s was settled by the Calvert brothers and became the capital of Maryland for a short while.  St. Mary’s was to be a place where church and state were to be separate.  But when a new king of England decided he wanted less religious tolerance in the colony and wanted church and state to be one, the state capital was moved to Annapolis.  Historic St. Mary’s is an archaeologist’s dream as the old city is still being unearthed in search of artifacts. This outdoor museum also had an Indian long house and a recreation of a boat characteristic of one that would have brought the first settlers called - “the Dove”.  It was a hot but informative day in the old city before sailing back down the St. Mary’s River to Smith Creek where we’d anchored the previous night.

This Osprey needs put a little more effort into her nest

A young indentured servant that showed us around the tobacco farm

If it Smells Fishy, it Must be Reedville; Crossed the Potomac into Maryland

In the morning we motored about 5 miles north to Reedville arriving just as the sky was growing dark around 9:30 am and a brief shower fell on us.  Reedville was founded by a Maine fisherman that recognized the abundance of fish in the Chesapeake. At its peak it was home to seven menhaden fish processing facilities and now has but one still in operation.  What is a menhaden you ask?  It is a type of herring.  Today, they extract the alpha-3-omega fatty acids from the menhaden and put it in a pill, making cat food, or even some Pepperidge Farm cookies.  We were warned that when the wind is out of the south, the town smells fishy and we experienced just this.  However, it didn’t deter us from popping to the post office and then to a The Fisherman's Museum where the art of wooden boat building continues and we learned all about oystering and menhaden fishing once very popular here.  Also, Reedville was a stop on the steamboat route and the musical “Showboat” was based on historical groups that would travel by steamboat from town to town to perform shows.  We needed to push on so we left around 2 pm after fueling up. We headed north, crossing the Potomac that separates Virginia from Maryland, dropping anchor in quiet Smith Creek close to the mouth of St Mary’s River.

Classic Skipjack at the Reedville museum

Another hitch hiker

A modern menhaden fishing trawler returning to Reedville

Memorial Day. A little more Urbanna then to Mill Creek near Reedville

We felt guilty after last nights pint of ice cream, so we took a little jog through the neighborhoods of Urbanna and ended up at the visitor center (closed) that formerly was a tobacco house used in the 1700’s to sell then move barrels of tobacco down the street to the awaiting boats in the harbor for transport to England. It turns out Urbanna is known as having one of the oldest streets in America - the one where the tobacco was moved to the awaiting ships.  We raised anchor around 9:30 am and the wind was light as we headed down the Rappahannock River. The wind finally built to about 12 knots out of the north for our upwind sail (yes, we do sail upwind sometimes). We had to dodge many crab pots and fish traps along the way.   We chose to drop anchor in Mill Creek just south of Reedville and were the only boat around.  We watched several Osprey and a Bald Eagle soar all around, and listened to the many birds in the nearby trees.

One of many Dragonfles that hitched a ride up the Chesapeake

Motored up to Urbanna, VA; Heatwave Continues

We left the anchorage at 7 am taking advantage of the light breeze until it died around 10:00 am.  We motored the rest of the day until we arrived in Urbanna on the Rappahannock River around 4:30 pm. We dropped anchor adjacent to an offsprey nest in the cozy little harbor which had room for just two or three boats on anchor. We decided to hang out on Juno as the skies grew threatening so we sipped our gin and tonics and enjoyed cedar planked salmon for dinner. Afterwards, we dinghied ashore and walked through the small town to the grocery store. It was the only store open but we bought a pint of ice cream, baked beans, and zucchini with the $10 we had.  We then went next door to a bench while we ate our ice cream before it melted. It was still about 85 degrees at 8:30 pm with no wind so Harry rigged an air scoop and we turned in early at 9:30 pm.

Every Chesapeake lighthouse is unique

Anchored in Urbanna near an Osprey nest

East River in Mobjack Bay; Robinson’s Vintage Soda Fountain in Matthews, VA

We had a great breeze out of the east for our sail north to Mobjack Bay where we chose to move up the East River and dropped anchor with about 20 other boats around 3:30 pm.  As it was high tide, we knew we could not delay if we wanted to take the dinghy further up the creek to Mathews town because the water becomes too shallow at anything but an hour or so either side of high tide to reach this town. So off we went and about 1 mile later, we arrived at the end of the creek - Mathews town.  There we found an old General Store dating to 1870 and across the street, Robinsons - where we each got an ice cream from their old soda fountain. Back on Juno, we sat down and tried our best to relax in this most scenic area as jet skis and motorboats went zipping by - hardly the peace and quiet we were hoping for but then this is Memorial Day weekend.

The creek to Mathews

Shore Day Exploring Portsmouth and Norfolk, VA

Since the winds were forecast to be out of the north today, and making way towards the direction of the wind isn't always the most productive, we decided to spend the day onshore while awaiting a more favorable wind forecast for tomorrow. While it was about 90 degrees, we walked through the Old Town Portsmouth that had many beautiful homes and then took the $2 ferry to Norfolk where we walked the waterfront and saw a Boston Harbor Cruise boat tied up - presumably awaiting repairs.  We found a nice bookstore where we enjoyed the air conditioning, then grabbed a drink on the waterfront before taking the ferry back to Portsmouth. There we checked out an outdoor celebration showcasing African American heritage and celebrating unity.  Then it was back to the marina for a shower then to Juno for a late dinner concluding with strawberries and Trader Joe’s boxed whipped cream for dessert.

Portsmouth preserved architecture ranges from charming ...

... to more functional

Cooling down in a park fountain

View from Juno on anchor in Portsmouth

Preparations for Travels Up the Chesapeake; Anchored in Portsmouth, VA

We drove the rental car from NYC back to Chesapeake, VA arriving around 11:30 pm and relished being back aboard our cozy floating home. We used our last few hours of the rental car to do some grocery shopping and to obtain a cruising guide for the Chesapeake as we knew we wanted to spend two weeks exploring it but we didn’t know where to begin.  Our errands took us a little longer than planned and by the time we were ready to cast off, it was 2:30 pm but because ICW bridge schedules between us and Norfolk are such that we’d have to circle around for an hour until their next opening, we waited until 4 pm to depart Atlantic Yacht Basin.  We traveled through the lock adjacent to Great Bridge and then under several bridges and anchored at hospital point in Portsmouth, VA just opposite downtown Norfolk around 6:30 pm. We enjoyed our store cooked bbq ribs, cornbread, and baked beans while watching tugs and barges pass close by in this busy port.

Waiting for the "normally open" RR bridge to open

New York City for Sally and Luis’ NYU Graduation

Sally successfully defended her PhD in April and Luis completed his MD/PhD. We were returning to NYC for the official ceremonies.  Sunday we grabbed some oysters at Dock’s for happy hour then out for dinner with Sally, Luis, and Luis’ parents Enid and Luis, who were also in town for graduation. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet Sally’s future in-laws and we had a tasty Peruvian dinner at Pio Pio.   Katie arrived from Boston just in time for dessert.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences that awards PhD’s had their ceremony Monday morning at the Beacon Theater on the upper west side so the Levinsons and Luis watched eagerly as each student was awarded their PhD. (Luis’ already had received his PhD a year earlier). This was the first of two ceremonies we attended -  the second was the all university graduation ceremony Wednesday morning at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. We had a beautiful sunny day for this open air ceremony and while we waited for the event to begin, Harry managed to get a personalized congratulatory message on the Yankee jumbotron for all to see. We were so proud of both graduates and so happy for them at having completed their respective programs of study. We celebrated Sally and Luis’s achievements with a bar-b-que on the roof of their apartment building along with other friends and fellow graduates.

Its official

Celebrating with Sally and Luis on their roof deck

Road Trip to Valley Forge and Spring City Pennsylvania

We made plans to stop by for a brief visit to Harry’s sister, Ani and her friend Joe en route to NYC so we drove north stopping en route for more Revolutionary War history at Valley Forge.  We arrived just in time to tour the home General Washington used as his headquarters for the winter’s encampment.  We drove through the park seeing several of the locations of various troop encampments, and redoubts - much as we’d seen just the day before at Yorktown.  We arrived at Ani and Joe’s around 6:30 pm, enjoyed a cocktail and some conversation poolside then headed to the rejuvenated former foundry town of Pheonixville for a nice dinner outside.

Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge

Guards' quarters were a bit less opulent

Secured Juno at the Atlantic Yacht Basin; Yorktown History

By noon we’d refueled and washed Juno’s decks from all the bugs on the ICW then took her around back of the Atlantic Yacht Basin where she’d berth the next several nights while we’d be in NYC. We planned on arriving in NYC on Sunday so we had a day and a half to spare so we used a rental car to take in the history of Yorktown Friday afternoon.  It was hot and sunny but the National Park Service does a good job of retelling the story of how the French navy commanded by De Grasse made it possible for the continental army under George Washington and the French led by LaFayette to defeat British General Cornwallis at Yorktown.  It was all the more meaningful to us as we’d both read Nathanial Philbrick’s book, "In the Eye of the Hurricane" describing the battle of Yorktown.  We capped the day off with a drink at a bar on the York river before returning to Chesapeake for a $1 Dairy Queen cone and bed.

Juno tied up on a creek off the ICW

The view LaFayette had from a French redoubt of the British Army at Yorktown

Cannons were pushed up the wall of the redoubt to increase their range

Day 3 on the ICW Slow Going For Bridge Repairs and Closures; Dinner at the Lockside Bar and Grill in Chesapeake, VA

In the morning the 100's of insects we heard the night before were mostly dead but left little green droppings where they died. Yuck.  Our cleaning efforts had little effect. Hopefully the sun will naturally bleach away the stains.

We heard on the radio that the North Landing Bridge (at mile marker 20) was being worked on and wouldn’t open until after 6 pm. This was unfortunate as we were hoping to make it to Norfolk (mile marker 0) today and it would thus make for a very late arrival. But the winds were out of the SW at 10 and we had blue skies so we calculated our distance to the North Landing Bridge and realized we only needed to average about 4 knots (not the 6-7 we did yesterday while motoring) so we sailed and at times drifted along as the winds got light. The wind shifted to the NW at 12 and we continued sailing until around 2:30 pm when another boat informed us that the North Landing Bridge repairs were completed ahead of schedule so we picked up our pace and motored through the North Landing bridge around 3:45 pm only to discover that the next bridge about 5 miles along- the Centerville Turnpike bridge - remains closed between 4-6 pm. So, we slowed down our pace again, sailing along and caught the 6 pm opening along with about 7 other boats.  Once through the Centerville Turnpike bridge, it was a mad dash to the free town dock in Chesapeake adjacent to what was once the Great Bridge a site of historical significance during the revolutionary war. We decided to enjoy a dinner out at the Lockside Bar and Grill (great spareribs) just a short walk away and to leave Juno at the Atlantic Yacht Basin on the opposite bank of the ICW for the time we’ll be in New York City attending Sally’s graduation.

Lazy sail past Coinjock Marina

Secure on the free dock ready for the Great Bridge and Lock tomorrow

Eating on the back dec k of the Lockside Bar and Grill

Day 2 on the ICW and Bugs Everywhere

Wed. May 15th  Day 2 on the ICW and Bugs Everywhere
In getting ready to haul anchor around 7:30 am, we opened the hatch and the boat was covered with insects - many still alive. They look like a mosquito but they didn’t bite (thankfully) and would fall apart when brushing them off so we found a bucket of water to be the best way to get rid of them. We set off under a bright sunny day with strong winds out of the north at about 15 knots, motored all day through the long straight Alligator-Pongo Canal where we heard that a bear had been spotted at the end of the canal but we never saw it. Upon exiting the canal, the winds diminished making our transit north on the Alligator River pleasant as it can get very choppy.  It is long, wide and shallow, and runs north-south which can make for a lot of short but steep waves in the wrong conditions.  We then crossed the Albemarle Sound and dropped anchor just inside the North River around 7 pm with no one around. Deployed our bug screens and just after sunset, we retreated into the cabin when we heard a sound droning sound and realized that it was from the swamp bugs swarming outside.  So as not to attract any, we kept the lights off and turned in early.

Day 1 on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)

Since we were feeling pretty good and as we were anxious to make up time, we continued moving northwards on the ICW stopping around 10:00 am at Oriental.  We were fortunate to be there early in the day and found a spot at the public dock to tie up. Once secured, Harry asked how deep it was under the keel. As the depth sounder indicated 2 inches less than our keel, we moved Juno to another public dock which had a bit more water and went ashore in search of shrimp.  We found the office and the owner manager who was sitting amongst numerous game he’d shot - deer, bear, buffalo, ducks, geese, mountain lion all the while he was getting a pedicure and informed us that they only sell shrimp retail onThursdays. This being Tuesday we were out of luck so we got a bagel and coffee and stopped in a nice marine supply shop before departing about an hour later.  We then had a nice sail up the ICW and stopped in Slade Creek off the Neuse River near mile marker 140 having travelled 60 miles on the ICW. We were close to one other power boat on anchor but never saw anyone, only several duck blinds and a few homes as we entered the creek.

Juno back on the Intracoastal Waterway

Another stunning sky

Quaint Oriental North Carolina

Frying Pan Shoals Turn Up the Heat en Route from Cape Fear to Beaufort, NC

We set off from the marina around10:30 am with the current flowing out of the Cape Fear river which made exiting rather treacherous as the winds were blowing opposite (out of the SW at 15 knots) across shallow water such that waves were short and about 5-7 feet. Harry did his best to minimize the pounding but there were a few waves that we took that made the clothes line we have tied to the mast in the cabin fall down and the which shook the entire boat.  Because the Frying Pan Shoals adjacent to Cape Fear extend about 11 miles offshore, we had to head SE - almost in the opposite direction of where we wanted to head - for about two hours just to get around them. But once we through the shoals, we had a nice SW wind pushing us NE around 7 knots with just a jib until around 8 pm when a line of squalls came through to the north.  This caused the wind to die and eventually fill in from the northeast (worst direction when we want to go NE). We sailed a bit heading around 100 degrees then tacked and headed due north until another wind shift arrived and we were able to tack and head northeast arriving at the entrance to Beaufort around 6:00 am as the sun rose.

No more blue water for a while

To our left, interesting but non-threatening

To our right, a nicely developed line squall

Offshore Atlantic Passagemaking; Cape Fear Lives up to its Name

Friday May 10th - Sunday May 12th
The hours passed by watching waves, wind, clouds, and stars always changing, doing evenings watches changing every two hours through the night. Early Friday, the easterly winds dropped and we found ourselves motoring 3 am until dawn, then sailed until 2 pm and motored once again and enjoyed a game of chess. Harry won. Travelled 180 miles in the first 20 hours. Spent most of Saturday day motoring as the winds shifted to the SE and the ocean swells shook all the wind out of the sails. In taking down the main, Harry noticed the boom vang had lost a pin and did some necessary repairs in very lumpy seas to avoid a future catastrophe. We entered into the gulf stream on Saturday morning around 9 am, finding about 2-3 knots of current pushing us NE. With all the unanticipated motoring, Harry was concerned that we didn’t have enough fuel to make Beaufort so around 4 pm, we decided to change course and head for Cape Fear, NC. Soon afterwards, around 9 pm on Saturday, a nice SW breeze blowing 10 knots filled in and pushed us along all night. By 9 am Sunday morning, we were off pan-handle shoals just south of Cape Fear when a nasty looking line of storms were spotted to the west. We decided to ride out the storm at sea, delaying our arrival to Southport (Cape Fear) by an hour. We tied up at the Southport marina, gased up and refilled our water tanks and considered moving north on the ICW until more storms were spotted on the radar causing us to decide to stay put and we tied up for the night at the marina.  We both enjoyed a shower, did a load of laundry and attended a talk at the marina on traversing the ICW between Southport and Beaufort which gave us both pause as there were some tricky currents to contend with that we hadn’t known about. As it was 8 pm by the time the seminar was over, we were both to tired to go out for Mother’s Day dinner so we ate leftovers and turned in early after considering the many options we had for moving northwards, ultimately deciding our best would be to go “outside” to Beaufort, NC exiting via Cape Fear in the morning.

One night down. Greeted by a beautiful sunrise

The great winds previously forecast left us

Repairs complete, now time to reassemble.

Our navigation station at night

Welcome to Cape Fear

Our primary use for the microwave is storage and protection electronics during lightning storm..

Good-Bye Bahamas; 450 Miles to Landfall in the USA

Today marked the end of Harry consulting multiple weather models for an optimal window of favorable winds and weather in order for us to sail offshore (due north) until we reached land near Beaufort, NC. We woke early and secured the dinghy on Juno’s bow for the crossing and while a rain shower came through, we ate breakfast and made our final preparations, putting things away.  We said our good-byes to the Bahamas and to Desperado II that happened to be setting off at the same time (but they heading to the Double Breasted Cays) and we set off through Morraine Cay Cut.  We had a single reef in the main and a semi-furled jib with winds ENE at 15 knots, seas about 5 feet, and water temperature 80 degrees, moving along at 7.5 knots. We figured it should take us about three and a half days to reach Beaufort, North Carolina and if the weather forecast was still favorable upon reaching Beaufort, then we’d consider sailing northwards to Norfolk, VA.  We hardly saw or heard anyone most of the day save two tankers around dinnertime. As seas were fairly large, it was hard to do any reading so we just watched the ocean go by.

Headed north

Skies cleared and deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean

Ready for our first overnight in three months