Dunmore Town - by Elsie

“Let’s go on an adventure” announces the skipper on a bright and sunny morning. I thought this whole thing was THE adventure but I listened closely. My definition of “adventure” and his is sometimes very different. It turned out he was suggesting a “good” adventure. I have to be very careful when the skipper suggests things, look where it got me!!!!

One of the places I had wanted to see was Harbour Island, more specifically Dunmore Town, where the rich and famous allegedly holiday far away from the maddening crowds. Harbour Island is a mere hop, skip and jump from Spanish Wells so it should be easy to get there. However, mother nature has been sneaky and put a reef in the way, Devil’s Backbone, and all Water guides and reference books do not recommend the sailing trip from one island to the next unless you are local or got a local pilot on board which costs upwards of $300 dollars. The fast ferry costs about $50 dollars per person one way and on our budget that was a no no. Lionel had looked carefully at the charts and tides and was 90% sure we could do it but there was always going to be that 10% so we gave it a miss and sailed (or drifted) gallantly onwards.

Now today we were anchored off the Glass Bridge. The Bridge used to be a stone arch that linked the narrow north part of Eleuthera to the fatter southern part. A long ago hurricane had blown the arch away and now a bridge stood in its place. It is very impressive. The calm Bahamian Sea on one side and the rough turbulent Atlantic Ocean on the other. All shades of blue you could think of and even more you have never seen. The proposed adventure was to hitchhike to Harbour Island, just a mere 6 or 7 miles away. Ah, my kind of adventure! So, a picnic lunch was made and a bottle of water stowed away in the backpack. We made sure we had money and a camera, how many times have we set off and forgotten these two essential items?

The first part of the journey was easy, dingy ashore and carry the dingy up the beach, past high water and secure it to a rock with a hole in it. Done. We climbed the shore up to the road, Queen’s Highway, no less. Then came a discussion on how best to hitchhike. My thoughts were to walk along the road and stick your thumb out when you hear a car coming from the appropriate direction. The reasoning being, If you kept on walking you get nearer your destination if you don’t get a lift and it makes you look energetic and positive to the would be lifter. Lionel wanted to stay at a safe spot for drivers to stop so we wouldn’t cause an accident. We compromised. We found a safe place for drivers to stop and when we heard a car we started walking and stuck our thumb out. After three minutes of this technique a car stopped. WOW! They were going to the ferry terminal and yes they would take us. We got in and the two ladies regaled us with stories about their lives and the islands. They worked in one of the luxury hotels on Harbour Island and were very busy with Christmas coming up. We were dropped off at the pier while they went to park. The “ferries” were really only water taxis which held a dozen passengers. At $5 dollars a head a very tidy business but we did muse how much they had to pay to actually run the route. The water taxi only took a matter of minutes to gulf the expanse between the islands and before we knew it we were on Harbour Island.

Looking towards the Devil's Backbone.

Lovely tree lined leafy main thoroughfare with posh shops, houses and hotels on one side and a beautiful views over to Eleuthera on the other. Huge motor boats parked at docks. There wasn’t a shortage of money here. We strolled along the street making comments about house prices, house colours and shaded and sunny gardens. I decided my multi million dollar house would be painted sunshine yellow while Lionel favoured light blue. Now, we were down to one working snorkelling mask we were on the lookout for a dive shop which we found. A nice lady sold us a snorkel and mask and we had a conversation with the owner who assured us there was not a jellyfish problem in these waters even though we sailed through a huge quiver (I so want that to be the collective noun for a lot of jellyfish) of them offshore. She also told us we would very unlikely see any hammerhead sharks. If you want to see them head for the Bimimi Islands.

Continuing our stroll we passed the library, the hospital and the graveyard. The skipper looked for a lawyers office on the other corner but the population were not as cynical as he is. Going towards the back streets the houses became smaller and instead of a gardener tending a beautiful garden there were chickens running around the back yards and ladies sitting on the front steps gossiping with their neighbours and passers by, little shacks for shops and men riding old rickety bikes with no brakes. Ah Bahamas, the contrast. We walked down to the northern shore and speculated on where the Devils Backbone was and what entrance an intrepid sailor would use to sail back to Spanish Wells. The skipper got out his Nav App and we were soon informed of all facts we needed to sail back but we didn’t need to. I short stroll back along to the ferry pier and we had seen Dunmore Town. It only took just over a hour. My sole purpose for being here was to get an ice cream, a lovely home made creamy ice. We had only passed one ice cream parlour, we knew what street it was on but if we walked up one of the cross streets we didn’t know which way to turn when we got to the junction. It was hot. It was sunny. It was sticky and really I didn’t have the energy to do it so instead we got the water taxi back.

Dunmore town

My greatest fear was that hitch hiking would not work on the way home. Lionel had estimated the distance to be about 6 miles from Ruby to the ferry pier but the pier was not in the place we thought it was. It was round the corner and beyond the “International” airport. It was International, planes flew to Miami from here! So, add on another 5 maybe 6 miles to our homeward journey. As we got off the water taxi a gentleman in a suit and tie approached us asking if we wanted a taxi. We answered in the negative but I did look longingly at the clean, air conditioned mode of transport he was pointing at. No. We are made of sterner stuff than that. On we went. We didn’t even get to the exit of the car park when our first lift stopped, a man going home to Lower Bogue. He wasn’t very talkative but dropped us off at the corner five miles down the road. Our next lift turned the corner while we were still waving the first off, a young guy who texted and spoke on his mobile phone for the 3 miles he took us. It was a bit unnerving but I don’t think I was in a position to point out that he was endangering his as well as our lives by not paying attention to where he was going. The next and last lift was a dotting grandfather on his way to Hatchett bay to deliver Christmas presents to his 5 year old grand daughter. He dropped us off at Glass Bridge where we wanted to take some pictures of the bridge and others of Ruby in the distance. After another short walk and dingy ride we were home, three hours after we left to have an adventure. We know how to have an adventure AND be home in time for lunch and some serious sun bathing in the afternoon.

The adventure highlighted a few things I have become to take for granted on our travels. The first is never believe what the guide books tell you. Dunmore Town was supposed to be the loveliest town you will ever see in The Bahamas. Nonsense. It was nice. It was tidy in some places. It was ramshackle in others but I have seen lovelier. The most important thing it highlighted tome was human kindness. I am weekly overwhelmed with the kindness strangers show to us. Hitch-hiking on a strange island. Complete strangers, but four people stopped to help us along the way. They showed interest in where we were going and what we are doing and what we had done and shared stories about their lives and islands in a quiet and generous manner.

November 2017

In which we finish our summer sojourn in the United States and head back to the Bahamas for the winter.

November opened with us on a mooring buoy in Annapolis, still waiting for the final fit of our new mainsail. We got a call at 08:30, to say it was ready and could we collect it from the dock – yes. Back on board, it took us an hour or so to fit, including the battens, which seem to be a much better system than our old sail. Apart from it being about 10 cm short in the foot (and nothing can be done about that), all appears now to be in order so Rubette was hoisted aboard, buoy let go and we set off south. Of course, the great sailing winds of the previous days had gone but, once out in the river, there was sufficient breeze for us to hoist the new sail and, with full genoa, sail the 10, miles or so down to Rhode river and another lovely anchorage. Thursday, 2^nd, brought southerly winds. We set off, with full sail, close hauled across the Chesapeake then back, putting a reef in as the wind increased to F4. To make time, we motor sailed for a couple of hours with just the main up but then, with 10 miles to go, we could sail properly again past Solomons Island and back to Cuckold Creek which we had visited a few before. More southerly winds on Friday had us sailing, motor sailing or just motoring as the shape of the bay dictated, but finished in style with 1 reef in at the entrance to Reedville. Here, we took the first right to anchor in Cockrell Creek. The view through 270 degrees was idyllic, so we ignored the direction of the huge fish processing plant. It wasn’t so easy to ignore the following morning as the wind had shifted to the north and it made its presence known. Another early-ish start on Saturday but this time with northerly winds and we broad reached across the bay and back, covering nearly 60 miles to enter the York River and anchor in Sarah Creek, where we had last been back in May.

Now it was decision time. We had hoped to make an off-shore passage round Cape Hatteras and had been rushing down as there appeared to be a window for us to do this. Now, however, the forecast winds has increased to 40 knots and, with no realistic window showing for at least the next 10 days, we decided to sample ‘the Ditch’. We though we deserved a day off so Sunday was taken fairly easy, with just an oil change on the main engine and a little trip to fill up with fuel and water. It was then into the books for Elsie to plan the first few day’s stops. On Monday, we transited down to Norfolk, managing to sail most of the way in a SSW4. Of course, the timing of the tides was atrocious, with a flood up the York River and Chesapeake turning to an ebb down the Elizabeth River. Norfolk is, of course, a huge Naval base. The first section we passed had 3 aircraft carriers and half a dozen destroyers just parked and a large helicopter / troop carrier pulled out as we approached, propelled by 6 tugs. It proceeded up river, pushing us into the margins, so we slowed and followed. Of course its destination was just beyond ours but its deceleration zone rather larger

so we had to dodge back round it to berth at a private dock owned by the local OCC Port Officer. The was a U.S. style slip, with six piles to tie up to and a tiny finger jetty. On advice, we entered bow first and didn’t make too bad a hash of it but it did make access rather difficult, especially for Elsie who doesn't go in for pier head leaps. It was very nice to find old friends here though – Venture Lady, last met in Bequia and Livingstone not seen since La Graciosa.

Glass chess set

Tuesday we spent mostly at the Chrysler museum, which has a huge glassware exhibition and an associated workshop with a lunchtime demonstration of glass blowing. This was unintentionally entertaining as the two demonstrators appeared to have personal issues, possibly regarding whose turn it was to be the star. Somewhat edgy with red hot glass being played with (and the audience being largely made up of a group of ‘learning challenged’ adults) and the denouement of the workpiece being dropped was almost predictable. We finished the day with a provisioning trip with the expectation of an early start. Wednesday was, however, horrible – cold, windy and very wet. We decided that we didn’t need to spend hours in the cockpit so hunkered down to read books and catch up on a few internetty things, blessing the decision to install central heating.

Thursday started not a lot better but there was a forecast of a dry patch in the middle so planned a 10:15 departure to catch the first bridge, 6 miles up, which opens hourly on the half hour. We had a couple of incompetent tugs to dodge (managed to get a floating walkway wrapped round an open bridge support) and a normally open rail bridge closed for no apparent reason but we made our target and transited at 11:30. From here, the industrial and Naval landscape turned rural and it was like being back in an oversize version of the Caledonian Canal. One more timed bridge opening neatly achieved and then on to the only lock on the ICW at Great Bridge. This easily accommodated the 8 yachts of varying sizes and we exited at 13:00 with the intention of just passing the bridge itself and tying up on a free wharf for the night. While we were 3^rd into the lock, we were 7^th out, as the lead boat on our side decided to giver way to the other side. We formed an orderly queue down the ¼ mile stretch to the bridge, with 3 knot speed limit. The bridge opened, told us to hurry up, then closed, leaving us on the wrong side and with an hour to wait for the next opening. We cut our losses and tied up where we were. As the rain was holding off, we took a 3 mile round trip walk to top up provisions.

Sailing down the ICW

The next morning, we were ready at 8 for the bridge and joined a little flotilla heading south. The first 15 miles were along a narrow cut but then the banks opened out. The canal was still only usable for a width of about 120 feet but the wind steadied and increased. With 20+ knots from nearly astern, it seemed a shame not to take advantage so we put out 2/3rds genoa and throttled back; then full genoa and stopped the engine. We were making over 7 knots down the narrow channel and hand steering was required but it felt good to do a bit of sailing. The wind increased to 30 knots and we had to put a bit of sail away and, after 13 miles, we were back to a narrow cut so had to put it all away and motor again. Tonight’s stop was tucked up at the north end of a large shallow lake. We were both frozen and the heating was turned on full blast to th;w us out. Suddenly we remembered our padded suits, not used since we left Ireland so we dug them out and gave them a good airing. Saturday again had a good Northerly, though a little less brisk. We managed to motor-sail with full genoa across Albermarle Sound and the Alligator River, with just the one bridge to negotiate. 4 miles motoring at the end of the day took us to Winn Bay, the start of the next cut and a comfortable anchorage, where we were joined by a few others.

ICW on a calm morning

 The wind died on Sunday, so it was motoring all the way across to the Pungo River, across the Pamlico River and through another cut to the Bay river. 52 miles in 8 ½ hours and we were glad to settle for the night. Monday started wet but we only had 18 miles to go to Oriental, where there was the possibility of a free dock and provisioning for our next leg offshore. We had to hang around for 20 minutes while someone vacated one of the two that we would fit on but tied up at 10:50. The plan was to spend 2 nights here but, on checking the weather, showed that we could depart the following morning and, maybe, get 3 days of good sailing down the coast. Once the rain stopped, we did a little exploring. It seemed a very friendly village with a good little chandler, a fish merchant who sold us a pound of shrimps (king prawns) for $14; a dragon in a pond and a marina which allowed Elsie to use their laundry facilities. There was also, a mile out of town, a Piggly Wiggly supermarket which caters for passing boaters by delivering to the dock. So we shopped, laundered and got quietly exited about doing some real sailing.

Time to find somewhere warmer

Up at first light on the 14^th and motored down Adams Creek (pausing to top up fuel) to Morehead and out to sea. Our weather planning showed us that the offshore trip to St Augustine should take about 2.5 – 2.8 days so we expected to arrive A.M. on the 17^th. We had had a look at the predicted path of the Gulf Stream, which seemed to limit us to no more than 60 miles offshore. The wind was predicted to decrease within 30 miles of the coast so we had an ideal track of 40 – 50 miles offshore a curving coast. We started Goose winged, with 2 reefs in the main and one in the genoa with a N4 blowing us along at 7 – 8 knots. That night, after reefing more of the genoa, we put a 3^rd reef in the main as the wind was up to F6-7, sending us surfing down the building swell at speeds of up to 12 knots. By 0500 on the 15^th, we were 60 miles offshore and changed to a broad reach with 3 reefs in both sails. Calculations at noon showed that, on current rate of progress, we should arrive St Augustine late evening the following day. This was not ideal as the entrance is subject to change and, with a recent hurricane could be tricky to negotiate so a change of plan was made. Jacksonville was both 20 miles closer and, being a major port, has a well maintained channel so seemed a better target. The wind decreased again to F4 so we shook out the 3^nd and, later, the 2^nd reef. The second night was crystal clear with beautiful stars, the moon just rising 2 hours before the sun and showing as a bright thin crescent and paler complete disc of reflected earthlight.

We managed to sail at an average of over 7 knots until within 10 miles of Jacksonville, where the wind dropped and we had to complete using motor, arriving at the channel just as the tide turned to give us a gentle push. 6 miles up the Johns River, we turned to starboard into Sisters Creek and found a deserted free dock to tie up to. This was next to a public ramp, which was well used by small fishing boats the next day. We spent Friday relaxing and doing a bit of tidying up. A stroll ashore was a disappointment as, although we were in a park, the only path lead to a busy highway. We had a dilemma as to how to complete the trip to St Augustine: Offshore was 30 miles but, to do it in daylight, we would be battling a flood current leaving Jacksonville and an ebb on arrival. The wind was light, so we would have to motor all the way. The ICW was reasonably straight, with no locks or opening bridges and the currents would work in our favour. So, although we would rather have gone outside, we decided to do another 30 miles of the ditch. Up at first light and let go at 0730.

The bridge

All the fixed bridges on the ICW have a nominal clearance of 65 ft and have marker boards at water level showing actual clearance. We had never seen less than 65 and most had 66 ft+. I had calculated the top of our VHF aerial at just under 61 ft and we had had no problem. As we approached the first bridge today, the marker board showed 61 ft. The combination of spring tide, easterly winds and rain must have raised the water level. We had 3 knots of current behind us; the tide was still rising, so the clearance would decrease and, if we waited 3 hours, we would have adverse currents all the way. 10 seconds to decide – go for it. Ting, ting, ting, ting, as the aerial hit each of the girders of the bridge deck. Damn. But it was still in place and apparently unharmed.

The rest of the journey down was uneventful, though you may be sure that we checked the clearance on each bridge very carefully – none was less than 65 ft. We arrived at St Augustine at 14:00 and anchored just south of the Vilano bridge. There is a public dock, with free mooring for 4 hours ans a 3 block walk to a Publix supermarket. We needed to do a big provisioning trip to stock up on basics for the winter and considered going at once but decided to leave it until the following morning. So, on Sunday, we were at the dock by 10:00 and, having enlisted the aid of Ian, my local friend, we grabbed 2 trolleys (+1 for the beer) and proceeded to empty shelves. 2 hours and $666 later, we had almost everything on the list: loads of UHT milk, fruit juice, wine, and loads beside, including tissue which is 4 times the price in the Bahamas. Having loaded this all aboard (if we had done it the day before, we might have cleared the bridge!), we headed through the Bridge of Lions to a mooring ball at the municipal marina. The offshore weather did not look inviting for our voyage to the Bahamas, so we paid for a week and settled in for the wait. Ian picked us that afternoon and took us to an open house at a neighbours’. The main theme was an oyster bake. I enjoyed the half dozen that I had but others were gorging. I later discovered that over 1500 were consumed through the afternoon. On Monday, I repaid some of Ian’s kindness by helping him with building a new deck, while Elsie got into some deep cleaning. Tuesday, we went ashore to meet some of the cruising locals and visitors at an informal wings supper. The music was loud but we managed to work out ‘our’ group by the clothing and introduced ourselves. Another couple, similarly attired, arrived, looked lost and were shepherded to a neighbouring table by a ‘local’. At the next music break, I introduced myself to them. ‘What kind of cruisers were we’? Sail boat. ‘O boaters’. Poor people, they must have presumed that we were cruising for quite another purpose but, if they were relieved or disappointed, I didn’t discover. Wednesday, we dingied a couple of miles south and walked to an Aldi and a Walmart to try to fill the gaps in our provisioning. No success at the first but some at the second, including our favourite tea and coffee, but no Weetabix to be found anywhere.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and we were invited to Ian and Lauren’s for an excellent turkey dinner and traditional puddings. The weather was foul and we stayed the night. On return to Ruby on Friday, we found Rubette flooded. As 3” of rain had been forecast overnight, I suppose that we should not have been surprised at the amount of water in the dinghy but it took quite a bit of baling. We had been surprised, on arrival in the U.S., if we were serving burgers. There is a restaurant chain called Ruby Tuesday and we had intended to try it out but failed to find a franchise. The internet located one for us so we invited Ian and Lauren to join us for a meal out. Nice, but we probably won’t make a habit of it.

The other Ruby Tuesday

We had been watching the weather and, all week, it had looked that we could leave Saturday afternoon to go direct to the Bahamas or Sunday morning to go down the Florida coast. A decision was made to go direct and, on Saturday morning, we made our final supermarket trip, to buy fresh food and let go our mooring at 12:30. The plan was to head out to the Gulf Stream, cross it at right angles and then head for the Abacos Islands. We knew that we would have to motor for a few hours and, in fact, light winds were best to cross the stream: southerlies would head us and strong northerlies would kick up a nasty chop. Of our 4 weather models, 2 gave the wind remaining light, but useable and the others gave good beam winds most of the way down. In fact we had to motor for almost all of the first 24 hours. I became concerned that, if we continued to do so, we could arrive low on fuel so decided that, if we were making any progress, we would sail and, for the next 24 hours moved very slowly and achieved less than 75 miles, possibly our slowest ever. One benefit was very calm seas and clear skies. On my morning watch, I was not only able to watch Venus rise, but observe a ‘path’ of its reflection in the water. Finally, on Monday afternoon, a sailing north-easterly sprang up. We needed to arrive in daylight and, having travelled so slowly, we now had the frustration of wasting good wind to try to limit our speed to about 4 ½ knots. We still arrived early and, at 0300 on Tuesday, Elsie heaved to 10 miles north of Moraine Cay Channel and we killed a couple of hours, making our entrance in good light at 08:00. We still had nearly 30 miles to go, just too close to the wind to be able to sail so motor-sailed and dropped anchor off New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay, at 13:20. Ashore, to clear in and pay the $300 for our cruising permit. Unfortunately, the Bahamas TeleCom office only opens on Thursdays, so we were unable to re-activate our local number but we did find a nice bar with internet and conch fritters so were able to contact the wider world.

50 kinds of rum.  Elsie's heaven

We had a very lazy day on Wednesday, with just a little wander ashore and then over to ‘Lady Rebel’ for sun-downers with couples from 3 other boats. Thursday, we had a slightly longer walk, round Black Sound and got a new BTC SIM so that we could contact the world over the coming months. We also had our first sea dips for several months in crystal clear water – bliss. So ended November.

Monthly stats:

Logged 1125

Over Ground 1057

America - by Elsie

 Happy Thanks Giving

I think that’s the correct greeting on this day of celebration in USA. We are now days away from sailing back south to the Bahamas after spending six months in USA. It can’t come soon enough for me, not that I want to leave this country but I do want to escape the weather. I left Scotland to sail to sunnier climes but even in Florida it’s cold enough for long trousers and fleeces.

Well, what are my lasting impressions of the land of the free? First of all I am not going to make political or social statements, enough is said on both these issues. All I will say is like Europe, UK and most of the rest of the world America has problems which are not going to be easily fixed. Enough said.

I came here with press and media ringing in my ears. We have sailed from St Augustine in Florida to Seguin Island in Maine and have loved every minute. OK, the sailing could have been better, the sailing could have been much better. The winds were not kind to us and we reckon 50% of our time was spent motoring instead of sailing or sitting on the hook waiting for sailing winds. We did not make it to our target of Halifax in Nova Scotia. The main reason was the weather was very favourable for going there but we thought we might get stuck coming south again and have to spend the winter, not good, so we turned just North of Seguin Island.

Going north we managed to sail the complete way offshore, visiting some iconic places on the way, and some not so iconic but still great. St Augustine in Florida was a good introduction. Lots of history but a bit too touristy for my liking. The next stop was Charleston, South Carolina. I loved everything about this place, the beautiful houses, the wide tree lined streets, the parks, the people and most of all their honesty. They showed off their huge houses, the opulence, their beautiful city but they also admitted how this huge wealth came about. How their ancestors not only kept slaves they also traded slaves, they actively encouraged ships to bring them more captured Africans so that they could sell them and make more money. Their honesty was refreshing. It was out in the open and not hidden. We visited a former slave market which is now a museum and nothing was held back. The conditions and lives of the inhabitants were well documented. The guide talked about her ancestors with pride. She talked about their work, their faith and the strength it took to endure what life and white people threw at them. It was an enthralling but harrowing morning. How could human beings do that to each other? And of course it’s still happening.

Service with a smile

Our next stop was Chesapeake. This bay was amazing and what made it even more “awesome” was the people. Everywhere we went we were greeted like long last family. We shared our history and they shared theirs. The great excitement for us was the Ospreys. They are a very rare bird in Scotland. In the Chesapeake they nest on every navigation beacon. They fish yards away from the boat. They eat their dinner in trees over hanging the anchorage. It was wonderful for us to see them up close. In one anchorage I even saw a racoon on the muddy river bank at low tide.

From Chesapeake we sailed up to Atlantic Highlands and New York. This was a high light of my sailing life, sailing into the Hudson, past Liberty and Ellis Island, seeing that skyline for the first time. I’m a country girl at heart. I love open spaces and rural scenes but I defy anyone not to be impressed by New York. There was a lump in my throat as we sailed past Ellis Island knowing the millions of people who were processed in these buildings and walked out into a new life in the USA. We were told the Northerners are not as friendly and open as the Southerners. They have busy lives and no time to stop and watch the sun set. These people could not do enough for us. Even in rush hour a couple of ladies helped us find the correct train back to Ruby in Penn Station AND waited until we were safely on it before they went back to their busy lives. In New York we did everything that a tourist does in the Big Apple – Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building, Wall Street, Met Art museum, Twin Tours Memorial, Yankee Stadium – everything!! But we also took time to walk around this busy, bustling city and watch everyday life, sit in a park and watch the world go by.

Iconic Skyline

 It was good but exhausting and I must say after a week I was glad to head up Long Island Sound back to our normal quiet life. There were some beautiful anchorages between New York and Rhode Island. We took time to recuperate before we hit “the sailing capital of America”, Newport, Rhode Island. This was a great place. A fantastic mixture of boats and people. I could have spent hours just sitting on deck and watching all the different boats coming and going. A real nautical place and the Clam Chowder was to die for. Great mix of boats and recent history, beautiful restored summer mansions of the rich and famous of another era and lots and lots of boats. Boats to “ah” at. Boats that made your eyes water knowing what speeds they could get up to and of course annoying boats that went too fast through the anchorage. Lots of restored wooden boats that just shone with the owners pride, tall ships giving the tourists a taste of nautical life and a fleet of 120 foot racing boats that proudly went out every morning anticipating the trophies to be won that day and every night slunk back into the bay with hard luck stories. We loved it.

Eleonora ready to race

Next was Block island and Marthas Vineyard then round to Cape Cod and up to Portland in Maine meeting great people on the way and seeing lots of the east coast. Maine was the country of crab pots, crab pots everywhere, a sea of crab pots, so many navigation was about how we got through them. The decision was made if we were sailing we just went over them. It meant we got some scraped paint on the hull sometimes but it came off easily. Motoring was another story. We do have a rope cutter on the prop but one thing we are always aware of is that it is somebodies livelihood and we didn’t want to make it more expensive than it was already so we tried to avoid them. The people in Maine were a different breed. They worked hard for their living. I’m not saying everyone doesn’t work in their own way but these fishermen are out in all weathers and live remote and solitary lives. The people were friendly enough but more wary of strangers. Maybe the difference is they do not depend on the tourist dollar or they are more independent and view strangers as a threat to their way of life. We respected them. I saw how hard they worked in all weathers and how much they valued family.

Seguin Island was our turning point. I wanted to visit because we seriously were thinking applying for the summer lighthouse keeper volunteer position next summer. I had talked to Tara on messenger who with her husband Brian was doing the job this summer but I wanted to see for myself. It was a great location and it still appealed to me but after talking to Tara and Brian for a considerable amount of time we decided it wasn’t for us. Lots of factors for and against but the main one was the commitment. I suppose we had got so used to hauling up the hook and moving onto new adventures when we got fed up.

Seguin Island

The decision was made and we turned South to escape the ever increasing temperature drop. Salem was a must but it was a disappointment, everything was set up with tourists in mind. A local told us to take a stroll down Chestnut Street where each side was lined with beautiful period houses. The street had featured in many films and dramas and we played spot the house. Next was Plymouth, the second landing of The Pilgrims happened here. See, I have been paying attention. This was a very interesting area with lots of history. It’s funny how the Americans have a different definition of old than we do. Next we sailed over to Province Town, the first landing site of The Pilgrims. This must rank as one of my favourite offbeat places we have ever visited. I’m not saying any more. Go yourself. Grab a coffee and sit and watch the world go by!

Proviencetown

 Through the Cape Cod canal, where we got beat up a bit with current and wind opposing, back to Rhode Island where we got hauled out for a bottom and paint scrub in a lovely little marina near Providence. This was an eye opener. Usually once your lifted out your on your own. The staff ignore you and if questions are asked or help requested you are treated like an inconvenience. Not here. The boss popped round every couple of hours checking we had everything we needed. The paint we had stored had gone solid. This guy dug out buckets, stirring devices, basically anything he thought might help. The staff moved the stands so Lionel could paint under them without a moan or a groan. Nothing was an effort to these people. Great place, great people.

Once Ruby was a spic and span again we set sail down Long Island Sound and back into Port Washington where we thought we would spend some more time visiting New York. It was not to be. After a couple of days friends messenger that there was to be a closure on route because the United Nations were meeting and the building is right next to the river. So, on the one hand we had to get through here to continue our way south. On the other hand there were two, yes two, hurricanes lurking threatening to come up this way and we would be much safer in Port Washington. We made the decision to go for it and find a lovely scenic anchorage beside the New York sanitation department building to wait out the bad weather. The best laid plans of mice and men. It so happened the friends who had alerted us to the closure stayed in Port Washington but ended up only a day behind us gaining Cape May.

Bye Bye

This time instead of sailing round to Chesapeake we decided to go up Delaware bay, through the C and D Canal and down Chesapeake. Delaware Bay must have been my least favourite of my travels this summer. Nothing to do with the people, more to do with weather, fishing pots and general bad manners. There is no speed limit on the C and D canal but it would be nice to think all boaters would be courteous of each other. No. We watched as large and small speed boats raced around swamping sailing boats and smaller speed boats. It was a lesson in selfishness as I watched a small boat trying to right itself as it took the full force of a huge speed boats wake. Not a coast guard in sight. Once we were out of the mayhem and had time to think it made sense. Boaters buy these fast boats but the open sea is far to rough for them to go at any speed so they go inland and race around on the still water.

At last we were back in Chesapeake. These people must be some of the friendliest we have ever met. Examples are, lifts back from the grocery store to the dingy, bus drivers making unscheduled stops so you get on the correct bus and just genuine friendly people. At this point we had decided we are going back to the UK for six months next summer. As we do not have a home to go to we were looking into the possibility of house and pet sitting. Lionel had registered on a site and two sits came up in Washington. The people were lovely. Susanne, our fist host, eventually decided to take Ben with her to Canada but still let us stay in her apartment when she was away. Starla and Fred took us round the aviation and space museums and had us for dinner so we could meet the puppies. We hope to meet them back in Scotland next September and show them some Scottish hospitality as a thank you. I think the reader will have got the message by now, the Chesapeake must be one of the friendliest places on earth. Reluctantly we kept on heading south to Norfolk and made the decision to go down the ditch as far as Morehead City. A new concept to us. It was four days of motoring and a bit of sailing with the head sail on some of the open water. Four days too long for me. I was so glad when we could get back out offshore from Morehead City to Jacksonville. But yet again great people were met, stories were exchanged and friends were made. There’s going to be one helluva party in the Bahamas at some point if we all meet up at once.

Here we are back where it all began. Officer Terry has been telephoned to make sure we have the check out procedure. We have yet again stocked up with food and drink for the five months we will be away and we are waiting for a break in the rain to go ashore and spend Thanksgiving with old friends. Back to my original question, what have a thought of my six months in the USA?

It has been

awesome.

October 2017

In which we do not stray very far from Annapolis. 

We started October anchored in Harness Creek, Maryland. A very pleasant spot and, as there was no wind, we sat enjoying the view just having a daily walk through Quiet Waters Park for a little light shopping or laundry. On Wednesday 3^rd, we picked up anchor and motored the few miles up the South River to Liberty Yacht Club to take water (and a little diesel for politeness sake) then into Crab Creek. We had recently joined the Ocean Cruising Club, one of the benefits of which is that some kind members permit the use of their private facilities by others so, in this very sheltered spot we had a good landing spot for the dinghy, courtesy of Port Officer Gemma Nachbar. On Wednesday, we visited the Naval Academy – the primary training ground for U.S. navy officers officers. All very impressive and with an interesting museum attached. In the evening, we attended a dinner for OCC members and met several cruisers with whom we had previously only had electronic contact. Unfortunately our lift-giver wanted an early departure so even we, not noted for our sociability or late hours, left earlier than we would have chosen.

Elsie dreaming of an Oyster

It was boat show time in Annapolis and we decided to attend 2 days – preview Thursday and public day Friday. First priority was getting replacement batteries for our exhausted house bank and we found a probable supplier just inside the gate. After that, we had a grand day wandering round the pontoons and looking round the boats. Some, genuine interest for if we decide to upgrade: New Dufour, Elan, Halsberg Rassey) or go ‘flat’ (Leopard, Lagoon). Others, just to drool (Gunfleet, Oyster, Swan). Friday was more spent looking at possible bits of kit: dinghies; outboards, including electric; water makers etc. I also splashed out on towing insurance with BoatUS. It seems universal to have coverage here and, as we are expecting to go down the ICW and mudbanks may have moved with recent hurricanes it seemed worth $99 for the re-assurance. At the end of the day, having looked at every other supplier of batteries, we returned to our first stop and ordered 3 AGMs.

One of the smaller exhibits at the Air and Space

Saturday, we headed to D.C. for a long weekend at Susanne’s condo. Public transport is not great in this country, outside cities and the nearest bus stop for Washington was a long walk so we took an Uber. $11. The bus was 20 minutes late, giving us concern that we had missed it and then took a further hour to New Carrolton, the nearest Metro stop. $10 pp = $20. A further hour on 2 metro trains brought us to Bethesda and an easy walk to our accommodation. Elsie was going to pet sit for a few days while I made my periodic visit to Scotland and her hosts had offered us a day out. Fred is a docent (voluntary guide) at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which was one of my must-sees so we met him and Starla there at 10:00 on Sunday for a ‘highlights’ tour, then over the Potomac for an excellent Thai lunch and a further couple of hours at the A&S at Dulles. They then took us home, on the southern side of the city for Elsie to meet their poodles and provide us with another great meal and, finally a lift back to the Metro where we, by the skin of our teeth, caught the last train home. Monday we took a bus tour of Washington, spending a couple of hours at the Capitol (very slick tour of basement, rotunda and statues), an hour at Arlington (including, of course JFK’s eternal flame and a wreath laying at the unknown soldiers) and 20 minute stops at the Washington monument and Lincoln memorial as well as a good look round the city. We continued this into the evening, stopping at the Vietnam memorial. I hadn’t previously realised quite how this was sited. Are the tapered ends acknowledging Washington and Lincoln or are they accusing fingers?

We were exhausted after 2 days activity and had a late start back to Ruby on Tuesday. Rather than take the bus back from New Carrolton, we took an Uber direct to our dock ($30), saving $1 and over an hour. It was a hot afternoon so we waited until 17:00 to go on a provisioning walk as we were planning on having a few days sailing. On Wednesday, we exchanged our old batteries for new ones and then, as winds were light, decided to just relax.

After 9 days in the same spot, Ruby’s anchor was lifted just before 09:00 on Thursday 12^th and, with 2 reefs in we had a great sail down the Chesapeake in 20 – 25 knots, just behind the beam to the Patuxent River, anchoring in Cuchold Creek just as the rain, which had been threatening all day, started. We intended to continue, on Friday, down to St Mary’s at the mouth of the Potomac. On rising, however, the promised southerlies for the following week had disappeared so, as we needed to get back to Annapolis, we decided to stay locally and just make the little trip to Solomons Island. Engine start and a check on the charging current for our new house bank – 30 amps. Not good, it should be about 70. Investigation of smart charger and battery area showed that I had failed to connect one of the alternator leads. Connected, re-start, still 30 amps and a check of the smart charger -still nothing from auxiliary alternator. Eventually found that, in my earlier investigation, I had broken one of the control wires and, once that was connected all was well. This only delayed us by 2 hours and we got to our new anchorage with an hour of daylight remaining, half of which was taken up by 3 attempts to anchor in the soupy mud. Saturday morning was spent on a little provisioning trip and a couple of water runs. I was not overly happy with our anchor position as the wind was forecast to change to southerly overnight and I was concerned that we might swing a little close to a private dock. The hope was, that with the prevailing northerly, some of our neighbours might decide to head off but they didn’t so, later in the afternoon, we headed ½ a mile downstream to another anchorage.

On Sunday, we started back north, heading across the bay towards Cambridge on the Choptank river. Wind was forecast to gust up to 20 knots, so we left 1 reef in. As we had 10-12 knots most of the way, it was not rapid but we got to our destination, Lecompte Bay, in time for afternoon tea. We had chosen this for its wide space and shelter from the 30 knot southerly gusts expected overnight. I knew that the wind was forecast to change back to northerly the following day but had failed to appreciate how soon this was going to happen and how strong. I woke at 0400 to appreciable wind and wave noise and a glance outside showed that we were facing the other way. The wind was gusting to 25 knots and had a 5 mile fetch to build up swell. We were only ¼ mile from a lee shore and anchored in soupy mud. Time for a swift exit so Elsie got a rude awakening and we heaved up and headed into the weather (it was, by now, also raining). There was a small, snug anchorage about 1 ½ miles away but I didn’t fancy going there in the dark, not knowing if others might already be there so instead we moved from Cambridge to Oxford, 7 miles away, to anchor in another huge bay, this time sheltered from the North. Back to bed at 6 feeling somewhat chastened. The wind continued to blow strongly from the north and we rued that we were forced to return to Annapolis rather than continue our voyage south. We sat Monday out and then continued back north, with lighter winds, on Tuesday. Back down the Choptank, then a slow beat up the Chesapeake, under full sail, into Eastern Bay then a motor up to Shipping Creek on Kent Island for the night. Another lovely suburban anchorage. Wednesday, we motored anti-clockwise to, finally, complete our circumnavigation of Kent Island, timing our passage of the bascule bridge to make the 12:30 opening. Once past the shallows, we hoisted full sail and had a good beat back down to Annapolis, anchoring just outside the harbour for the night.

We were here to finally collect our new mainsail, ordered back in August. Ever since the measurements were taken in Salem, I had been trying to find out exactly what dimensions had been ordered. I eventually got a response, after it had been manufactured and shipped, with all of the main dimensions being slightly out: both luff and foot 10 cms too short; leech 20 cms too long. The local service manager, Jeff, had agreed to bring it out for a fitting, so we were here in hope, if not in expectation. Jeff brought the sail out on Thursday and, as we had feared, the boom hung too low. There were also other discrepancies with the fittings for reefs and the batten cars. We took our old sail back to his loft for re-measuring and it bore out my figures. Not unreasonably, Jeff sloped his shoulders and our original salesman in Rhode Island agreed to take charge of the adjustments. The anchorage was pretty rolly, being exposed both to weather from the east and all the traffic in and out of the harbour so, with no great plans for the next few days, we elected to motor the 10 miles back to Harness Creek, just going up ‘Ego Alley’ to top up the water before departure. Harness Creek was even more peaceful than before, with the inner anchorage completely deserted so we anchored right next to the dinghy dock and scuttled ashore for a little provisioning.

Obligatory monthly sunset shot.

On Friday, we did our laundry and re-filled the cooking propane bottle; Saturday, decided to take advantage of the big machines in the Laundrette and also washed our thicker duvet (a bit smelly, having been in a locker for the last year) and the cushion covers from the salon. We were a bit concerned that these might not stand up to a machine wash but some of them were distinctly grubby. Our fears proved groundless and they came up well. Other little jobs done: replacing the tell-tales on the genoa and fitting a step on the mast to make fitting the sail cover easier. The Creek filled up during the day with many individual boats and a couple of rafts: 5 Motor boats swinging on one hook and 7 sailing boats together next to us. We assumed that this was just for the afternoon but the beers were broken out and the settled in for the night. They obviously had great faith in the weather forecast, which gave light airs overnight and it proved to be just so. Sunday, we motored back up to Annapolis, this time taking a mooring buoy in the main harbour. We chose one close to the dock for ease of access, figuring that it was worth putting up with the Sunday afternoon traffic.

It was now time for my periodic trip back to Scotland so, on Sunday afternoon, Elsie gave me a lift to the dock and an Uber ride to Baltimore airport. I spent the week seeing various medical people and visiting my children; Elsie spent most of hers in Washington, dog sitting, visiting galleries and socialising.

I returned on Monday 30^th, with the news that our mainsail had been modified to fit so we waited with bated breath on Tuesday for Jeff to arrive with it. It was a better fit but still lacked a couple of reefing blocks, a luff slide and a couple of other things so away it went again, leaving us sitting on a buoy with a perfect wind to take us down the Chesapeake blowing through the rigging. Obviously, the forecast gave us no hope of further such wind for the foreseeable future. Frustration!

Monthly distance: 185

September 2017

In which we make our way slowly, and with some trepidation, back to the Chesapeake.

September opened with Ruby and Lionel in Newport, Rhode Island and Elsie in Scotland.

On the 1^st, I did my first ever solo voyage with Ruby. We had anchored at the edge of the mooring field but, with our scope of 35 metres, we were swinging to within 10 metres of a long-term resident (even though the harbour rules state a maximum stay of 2 weeks). Stronger winds were forecast for later in the week so I took the opportunity of a quiet spell to pick up, move the anchor 20 metres and re-lay it with 45 metres out. Sounds easy but, as the navigation and driving is done from one end of the boat and the anchor handling from the other, it was an interesting little challenge and I was pleased when it went smoothly. I then looked at the longer range forecast and was alarmed to see that, in 10 days’ time, hurricane Jose was predicted to come close, giving 70 knot gusts. Weather watch was going to be an obsession for the next few weeks.

Schooner in Newport.

I did a longer solo voyage on the 4^th, taking Ruby 15 miles up Narrangasett Bay to Apponaug, taking a marina berth for the night as Elsie was flying back into Providence airport and late night trips in the dinghy didn’t seem like a good idea. All went well though, with variable winds, I motored most of the way. I took a taxi to the Airport, arriving at the scheduled ETA of the flight and was just settling down for the 2 hour wait expected for U.S. border procedures when Elsie appeared. The flight had been 30 minutes early and immigration had been a breeze. This gave us time to discuss other breezes and think about our medium term plans. Ruby still hadn’t had had her haul out and was slowing down with barnacles on her bottom; if strong winds were forecast, Newport would be a good place to sit them out; we were at a friendly, affordable marina / boatyard. In the morning, I had a word with the manager and yes, they could fit us in; we could stay on board and do our own work. They were busy today, Tuesday; Wednesday looked wet but Thursday had high tide (needed for shallow water at the boat lift) at 09:00 with fine weather so we made it a plan to lift her then, putting her back on Friday or Saturday.

Elsie had, by this time, not sailed for 10 days and was getting withdrawal symptoms so we left Apponaug and headed back to Newport. It was calm in the marina but our forecast said it was F4 – 5 outside so we put in 2 reefs. The forecast was correct and we had a spirited beat down river. With 4 miles to go, the wind increased to F6, so we put in the 3^rd reef. The tide also turned against us so it was a slow (over the ground) finish but it blew away the cobwebs. Back into our now familiar anchorage and a quick dinghy ashore to top up on food essentials and some supplies for the work on Ruby’s bottom, getting back on board 30 minutes before a thunderstorm hit. Having had 5 – 10 knots more wind than ideal on the way down the river, the following day going the other way had 5- 10 knots too little and we ghosted up in a F3 to anchor off Goddard Memorial State Park. A wide open anchorage and we took the opportunity to reverse roles and let Elsie do the driving. The anchor failed to bite, first time, so she had a second shot.

Out she comes

We arrived at the boat-lift on the dot of 9 on Thursday to find them ready for us. The lift went smoothly but, as it was a small hoist, we had to reverse in to clear the forestay. This left our wind generator the wrong side of the cross beam and, once in position, it had to come down. An easy job using an ancient, wheezing, scissor lift. The yard pressure washed the bottom and it was then down to us. We anticipate coming out again next summer and were using paint that was well over its shelf life so I didn’t go mad on the rubbing down, just making sure that it was clean where the lifting slings had been, there were no rough spots and no barnacle remains. Now for the paint. If you look back 27 months, you will see that we had had to buy a 25 litre tin in Rhu and had been carrying 10 litres with us ever since. This was stored in 2 fuel cans in a plastic box in our big locker and I had inverted them a couple of times over the last few weeks hoping to unsettle any sediment. On opening the first can, I poured out a litre of light brown fluid, then a litre of dark brown sludge, leaving 3 litres of solids in the bottom. Please, Mr yard manager, where can I buy some more paint? At any other yard I have visited, this would have been answered with: I can get you paint, at a price or a shrug of ‘not my problem’ but Barry, bless him, not only said that mine was probably recoverable but produced an electric stirrer and bucket and then proceeded to help me, both with the initial stir and the inevitable clean up. It took an hour of slicing open cans, scraping them out and stirring, using up 90% of my cleaning up fluid as thinners but, by 13:00, I had 10 litres of what looked like suitable paint. 6 hours, and 1½ coats later, I was down to 2 litres, well spattered and aching so called it a night. Elsie, meanwhile, had been attacking the waterline, which had a brown stain from our stay in Long Island Sound. This reacted well to her ministrations and, with a coat of wax the following morning came up almost like new. The team came round early on Friday, to move the props, so that I could paint where they had rested against the hull. That done, new anodes on the propeller and a couple of other minor bits and pieces and we were ready to go. We needed at least half tide for re-launch but, even with re-fitting the wind generator, we made it with 30 minutes to spare and headed back down the river to Newport, this time with a civilised 10-15 knots of wind, to anchor once again in our, by now, familiar spot.

Bottom painting

We were still actively monitoring hurricanes. Irma was now battering the Caribbean and heading towards mainland America. Jose was circling Bermuda and looked like being a bigger problem for us. Newport would be a very safe place to sit it out but all models showed that it was unlikely to come ashore in the New York area so we decided to proceed with caution. On Saturday, there was forecast to be a NW’ly F3, so we had a prompt start and headed down to Block Island. The wind started as forecast and we made good progress under main and Cruising Chute but it died with 5 miles to go so we finished up motoring. The anchorage was much less crowded than it had been a couple of months earlier so we found a good spot and only afterwards noticed that we were close to ‘Ocean Diamond’ FB friends of Elsie. We caught up with them later, on going ashore in the dinghy. The island itself was a so-so tourist place, but we enjoyed a walk and a little top-up on provisions. Sunday morning looked promising, so another 07:00 call and off we went back towards Long Island Sound, with multiple options. The first, at Stonington, would have given us 15 miles of progress, but, for once, the wind was better than forecast so this was quickly rejected and we adjusted course to pass south of Fishers Island. We managed to catch full flood at the race and, for a while were touching 10 knots over the ground. By 12:00, we had rejected New London; 14:00 Connecticut River and, with the wind finally dying, made it to Duck Island having Achieved 43 miles. Monday, again, was kind to us. On the forecast, we thought that we would not make it past New Haven but a few knots more of wind and a following current helped us back to Port Jefferson. Our luck ran out on Tuesday and, after sitting out a morning calm, we had a very slow sail on port tack up to the Norwalk Islands then starboard back to within 3 miles of Huntington harbour. 24 miles through the water in 6 hours but only 15 achieved over the ground. Wednesday morning was also calm and I decided to change the fuel filters on the main engine, an overdue job which I had only done once before myself. It all went better than expected until I tried to re-prime the lines and found that I was unable to in the approved fashion. After an hour of struggle, I gave up and tried an unapproved method (cranking the engine until it fired) which, fortunately, worked. Wind still failed to materialise, so we upped anchor and moved to within easy dinghy reach of Northport for a walk and a little light shopping, including a very nice gelato.

Sunset, Block Island

Wind was forecast to be better on Thursday afternoon so we picked up and headed out at 11:00. It turned out to be light and variable, giving us very slow progress until Elsie gave up, put the genoa away and started the engine, at which point a steady SW3 sprang up and gave us a very pleasant sail back to Port Washington. ‘Hurricane watch’ suggested that we were unlikely to be heading south of New York for at least a week, giving us the prospect of a relaxed few days. Friday was spent on domestics: Elsie did the laundry and, while it was washing, we stocked up on heavy stuff: beer, fruit juice, milk etc. as the supermarket is close to the dinghy dock. I ran that back back to Ruby while she looked after the drying. On return, I took a slightly more direct route and found a rock with the propeller of the dinghy’s outboard. This sheared the drive pin. We carry a spare but the toolkit was with Elsie, so I had to row back to the dock. On removing the prop, I discovered that both ends of the shear pin had been bent and couldn’t remove it and after half an hour of struggling gave up and started a long row back. Passing a marina, I tried their workshop. With proper tools (big hammer) it took them about 2 minutes for the job – hurrah! We still had more shopping to do: fresh food, a couple of bits from the chandler and maybe a new saucepan or two from a home-wear store, but we were going to be here for days so didn’t bother with the 3^rd run.

Freedom tower

On Saturday, we took the train into NY City and did a self-guided tour of lower Manhattan – the financial district and World Trade Centre. This latter has been very well made over – all the more impressive for being understated, (apart, of course, from the ‘Freedom Tower) not something you necessarily associate with NYC. On the train home, looking forward to a few relaxing days, we discovered that our route through New York was going to be blocked for most of the week, as it passes by the United Nations building and the annual General Assembly was happening. On rising, on Sunday, there looked like a window to travel further south on Wednesday or Thursday which we would miss if we stayed where we were. The worst winds on Tuesday would be 30-35 knots and there were anchorages where we could sit that out. The currents on the East river (important, as the reach over 5 knots) were good for an immediate departure, so a rapid decision was made to go. 5 hours later, we were at anchor near Sandy Hook, poised for a southern transit. Ashore, for provisions, and back. Check on the weather and… all change. Jose was now forecast to come closer, then wander about for a week before returning, closely followed by Maria. No realistic prospect of heading south for at least a week, our current anchorage was not suitable for forecast winds and we we hadn’t got our new saucepans. Up on Monday to re-trace 12 miles we had done the day before and anchor off Coney Island. Not scenic and no facilities but giving good protection. For the exercise, we laid out 2 anchors with plenty of scope – enough for 3 times the wind expected.

Anchorage secure, not scenic.

The wind never rose above 25 knots and we were very comfortable, though the sanitation department upwind of us made it’s presence known. Jose behaved himself and by Wednesday 20^th, we could see a chance to sail down the coast to Delaware bay. We wanted a daylight arrival but it was only about 120 miles so an afternoon departure was planned. We started picking up at 14:00 but our new Fortress anchor had buried itself deeply into heavy mud and, with 20 knots of wind still blowing, lifting it by hand was a tough job, taking the best part of an hour. and not doing my back any favours. We were eventually under way at 15:00 and headed out past Sandy Hook, with just the genoa set as we expected to be downwind all the way. The wind continued Northerly, easing from F5 to F4, giving us 5 – 6 knots, with just more swell than we had become accustomed to in our sheltered sailing over the last few months. We arrived at Cape May at 14:00 on the 21^st and proceeded into the anchorage, only to find it occupied by dredging equipment and made a rapid decision to exit and cross the mouth of the Delaware to the breakwater anchorage at Cape Henlopen. This took another couple of hours but did provide complete shelter just in time for 6 O’Clock drinks.  We wsh to return to the Caribbean for the winter and the wind was perfect for the next leg down to Norfolk, Va but our insurance provides no named storm cover south of 35 North until 1st November so we have another month + to spend in the Chesapeake area. 

Delaware bay is not very yacht friendly and the wind was going to blow straight down it for the next few days so, on the 22^nd, we had a day of motoring. Probably foolishly, we took advantage of the current to travel up in the morning but this gave us wind against tide and an uncomfortable passage. Much of the way we were accompanied by Ocean Diamond 2, who had sat out Jose in Port Washington and then made the journey in one go. By lunchtime, we were fed up and diverted into one of the few available anchorages at Cohansey cove. We had to weave our way in past shallow patches and a profusion of crab pot markers but found a good spot and a comfortable night. The next morning, we left near low water, which made the initial navigation even more interesting but the wind was lighter and we had a much more comfortable motor-sail up to Delaware City. By now, having missed a planned provisioning at Cape May, and not taken water since our haul-out we were running a little short of supplies, so anchored at Delaware and took a cab 8 miles to the nearest supermarket. Back on board and immediately transited the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, stopping halfway through for fuel and water. The D & C is a full ship sized canal and I was pleased to enter ahead of a tug and tow which had come down the river at 5 knots. Not so pleased once he entered the canal and increased to 9 knots. We pulled over to the side and slowed to let him through. Once clear of the canal, we planned to anchor at Bohemia river. The depth on the chart looked adequate, though there was a warning of shoaling reported over 30 years earlier. These reports proved accurate and we couldn’t find a way to our chosen spot, so had to anchor closer to the main channel than we would have chosen but, once the weekend power boaters had put their toys away, it was quiet enough.

Look behind you!

No wind on Sunday, so a leisurely breakfast then a motor down the Elk river, left hand down a bit and up the Sassafras to Frederick Town. Here we anchored next to Ocean Diamond and settled down for a few days of calm. Monday morning, we took the dinghy ashore and, eventually, found somewhere to leave it at the nearest marina. The lad at the dock was very helpful and pointed out the wash-rooms, laundry, etc. We checked these out on our way and popped into the office, hoping to make friends and, maybe, get an internet key. We wee successful on both counts, the dragon lady informing us clearly that facilities were for marina guests only (not unreasonable for the showers, but the laundry was at commercial rates). As her window overlooked said facilities we had snookered ourselves. So it goes. We did manage to get the internet key from the lad on the dock but it was super-slow. Much of the afternoon was spent assisting Derek, on OD2, cutting a replacement bow-roller to size and re-fitting it. The remainder was spent socially. On Tuesday, we joined Derek and Leanne on a walk to the village of Galena for a little shopping. Since the supermarket owner offered to transport our purchases back to the dinghy, I took the opportunity to buy a couple of cases of beer for the locker. The afternoon was spent in rectifying dinghy propulsion problems. A pip pin had popped out of one of the oars a few weeks earlier, (steel pin corroding aluminium tube). I had found that one and re-fitted it in a new hole. The same now happened with the other oar (failed stitch-in-time) and this time the pin got lost. Derek offered to make a new one, using a suitable bolt but, while running it over to him, the outboard failed. Failure was traced to water in fuel so a gallon of petrol, bought in the Bahamas, was condemned. Elsie gallantly tested the repair by dinghying ashore to dump rubbish and get a couple of cans of water.

Wednesday promised a sailing wind so we lifted anchor at 0850 and managed to sail back down the Sassafras and south down the Elk, to anchor in Worton Creek, finding a large bay to sunbathe in for the warm afternoon. Thursday, we continued towards Kent island. The plan was to pass round the eastern side of this and anchor in prospect bay. Just as we were about to commit to this, I noticed that, at well as a fixed bridge, with 65 ft clearance, there was a bascule bridge with 18 ft. Not knowing opening procedure for this, we shied away and re-planned for somewhere with no access problems. Within 10 minutes, Elsie discovered that the problem bridge opened every 30 minutes but we were now committed the other way. Our new anchorage was in Whitehall bay, in a very up-market suburb of Annapolis. Very scenic and peaceful.

Time for a bit of planning. We are hoping to spend several months in the U.K. next summer and, not having a home there, are thinking of house/pet sitting. To trial this, Elsie had looked to see if anyone wanted this service in the Washington area while I made my periodic trip to Scotland at the end of October. They did! A very nice looking condo, with black lab in Bethesda, 5 miles north of the centre. We got a prompt reply and contacted the owner by phone. It transpired that she had already got someone to cover these dates but would we be available for an earlier weekend? Yes, it would fit nicely with our visit to the Annapolis boat show. She now contacted us again, saying that she had decided to take her dog with her, but would honour her offer to ’fellow sailors’. It didn’t take much thinking to realise that the obvious quid pro quo was an offer of some sailing. We quickly agreed that Saturday looked like a good day and we managed to find a park with a usable dinghy dock for her to join us. Another leisurely sail brought us 5 miles up the South River to Harness Creek, arriving early, to make sure that the arrangement would work. A pleasant walk through the park took us to shops for a little provisioning.

Sussane joined us promptly at 09:00 on Saturday. The wind was light in the creek but forecast to be stronger in the main river, so we put 2 reefs in the main before departure. This proved wise, as it was 20 gusting 25 outside. I was a little concerned, at first, that it might prove a little strong for our guest but she was obviously enjoying it so we sailed close hauled up past the main channel bridges, then broad reached back down to Whitehall bay for lunch. Lunch over, we broad reached back down to the South River, with Susanne hand steering most of the way. A very enjoyable day. And so the month ended with us snug in Harness Creek, with only about 5 miles to go to our next planned spot for the boat show and our trip to Washington D.C.

The wind offshore continues to be from the north, which would give us a good passage down, but we are still limited by insurance cover for another month.

Monthly distance: 564