Adventures at Solomon's

We spent a few days in the Solomon’s Island. We were able to explore the town and nearby areas. Sal and I borrowed bikes from a marina and were able to bike down along the waterfront. It was pretty dead this time of year, but that was ok for me because my biking skills were not very impressive. There were no hand brakes on the bikes and you had to pedal backwards to stop.

We had 2 warm but windy days here, and I was in shorts and a t-shirt for a lot of the time. We also did some walking around to the West Marine and the grocery stores. Sal and I took a bus across the bridge into St. Mary’s County, where we did some shopping at their local Target (which is like an American version of Zellers). The bus cost 1$ each way, but their route was rather confusing to us. It took us about 10 minutes to get to the Target stop, but then to get back we went all the way down this road, then backtracked almost to the target and then across the bridge, stopping a few times here and there to pick up people, or to meet another bus so that people could get from one bus to the other. It took us about 40 minutes to get back. It was a great way to see the country side, which is gorgeous this time of year as the leaves are turning rich reds, yellows and oranges.

There are about 20 other cruising boats anchored in various spots in this creek. We are getting to know names and boats and some very interesting stories. The other night we invited this couple over to Chautauqua for cocktail time. This couple had been cruising for 15 years and had almost completed a circumnavigation. They have worked all over the world in various jobs as they lived on their boat and cruised to foreign ports. It’s so amazing to hear all the stories and adventures other people have had. Hopefully one day I’ll have interesting stories to tell others and be someone else’s’ inspiration.

We have also treated ourselves to some seafood this week. Mom and Dad bought some local crabs and we had an evening of breaking them open and trying to delicately extract the tiny but succulent meat. The following night Sal had bought some large shrimp that we cooked up in some oil and garlic and ate with garlic bread and pasta. I can’t believe that we have hardly eaten any seafood on this trip other than can tuna. It’s always quite expensive and never very abundant in the grocery stores. Maybe as we head further south we’ll find more local fish markets.

Today (Oct 27) we are going to get fuel, water, last minute groceries and a pump out in preparation for an early morning depart tomorrow as the winds are supposed to die down a little and shift into a more favourable direction.

Solomon's Island

After 2 nights in Annapolis, we decided we should head out before we spent too much money. Both mom and dad and Sal and I got some much needed boat supplies and some time in civilization. Before we could head out though, we had to do something…replace the bolt on the rudder with a shorter one, because we were not able to tighten it enough so it was banging back and forth. Sal and I were not looking forward getting into the water AGAIN. It had to be done, so we donned our wet suits and water shoes, found a shallow beach to place the boat and we took the plunge (quite literally). It didn’t seem to be as cold, and we felt that we would be able to do it without too many problems as we had just messed around with it a few days ago. Because the water is so murky, we had to lift the rudder up and align it so that the bolt will go through the rudderpost and the rudder. What we predicted would take about 15 minutes, ended up taking close to an hour and a half. We were so thankful when we finally lined it up correctly. Freezing, we took the dinghy to shore and had a very hot shower. We left shortly after noon, to a quite anchorage a few miles away.

After another cold night, we moved southwards the next day and across the river to Oxford. We encountered strong winds and surprisingly high seas. We got tossed around a lot. A layover on Friday due to strong winds allowed us a chance to clean up the boat… which was much needed. Saturday we planned to get to the Solomon’s but what was supposed to be 5-10 knot winds and 1 foot seas actually was 15-20 knot winds and 3-5 foot seas (and coming from the direction we were heading). We turned into the next river and anchored up a quiet creek. After a rough day, it was even more depressing to find that we had gotten water all under our bunks… ie our food got wet, all of Sal’s clothing and the foam under our water tank was drenched. This happened because water comes up from the motor well into our cockpit, gets into the bilge and when we go on a lean it get splashed up into the boat as we climb and crash down the waves. I had tried to seal off under the bunks a while ago, but apparently not good enough. After some threats that we needed a bigger boat, and having the decks and cockpit strewn with food and clothes to dry, we headed over to the mother ship for a hot dinner.

(one of the many sunrises we have seen lately)

This morning, we were prepared for winds and waves. We put on our wet gear, had a reef already in the main, and pumped the bilge every ½ hour or so. We planned our route so that we would cross the bay and sail behind the protection of the land. It was still windy, but the waves were more tolerable, and we made it to the Solomon’s Island fairly dry. We plan to stay a couple days to do laundry, reprovision and wait out windy weather.

(Miniature sailboats racing in harbour at Solomon's Island)

Annapolis

We spent 3 days in Still Pond Creek, waiting out the winds. The anchorage was quite protected so we only got a few gusts of wind, but could hear and see the wind blowing the trees around us. The first day it poured rain all day, so we spent the day inside reading, playing scrabble and crib. The rain let up in the evening so we were able to go to our favourite restaurant, chez Chautauqua for dinner.

So we have been talking about catching crabs ever since we entered the Chesapeake. We read up on it, and you are allowed to catch a certain amount for your own consumption, and with all the crab pots around we decided to give it a shot. We had some leftover chicken and tied it to a string with a small weight on the end to keep it at the bottom of the river. We took the dinghy out with our makeshift net and dropped the line. I kept thinking a crab had taken hold but no luck. We tried a few spots and eventually gave up. I dropped the line of our boat and left it while we went over to my parents boat for lunch. When I got back, I checked the line and a crab was hanging on to it… of course at the time I had no net and was unprepared, so did not actually get it, but for the rest of the afternoon we tried. At evening time, we pulled up the line and there was a crab on it, and this time we were prepared and caught it into our net! It was very exciting, but unfortunately the crab was only small and so we threw it back. We caught another one but suspect it was the same one. We hope to try again further down the bay, as we’re told that they prefer saltier waters.

The only other excitement was when Second Wind went aground! Yes, with our 1 foot 7 inch draft, we went aground on a sand bar in Still Pond Creek, and had a hell of a time getting off. We tried reversing, going forward, tilting the boat over with our body weight…ahh the embarrassment… Dad came over with the dinghy and helped us tilt the boat over further and we reversed hard and were able to get off the bar…. Lesson learned: do not cut corners in the marked channel especially on in a shallow creek

So Sunday September 17, the winds had settled and we were to head out towards Annapolis and anchor in a creek just to the north of the city. We set out early and were looking forward to a great day of sailing as the wind was supposed to be 5-10 knots from the NW which was directly behind us… but when we got out of the creek, it was directly in the direction we were heading (of course) and so we had to motor out a bit way, and had plans to raise the sails when we noticed that the boat was not going the way Sal was steering. I looked behind the boat and there was our RUDDER! Dragging behind us. (thank goodness that the line was still attached to it) The bolt must have come off somehow. So Sal and I pulled the rudder onboard and our parents came back and towed us into the next creek. They anchored and dinghy us to shore, where we anchored in about 3 feet of water. Sal and I put on our wet suits and water shoes and waded into the very cold water!!! We struggled for about 30 minutes in the murkey water trying to get a spare bolt to keep the rudder attached. Boy were we cold afterwards. A hot coffee and multiple layers warmed us up to stop the shivering. We decided to continue on, not as far as originally planned but so that we were closer to Annapolis. We made it to Swan Creek without any further incidences. Exhausted, we slept like babies.

Yesterday we made it to Annapolis. We were hoping to anchor, but with all the development, and a million or so mooring balls, there was hardly any room left so we took up a mooring ball for $25/night. We went ashore and explored. What a neat town. The downtown has many boutique type shops and lots of restaurants and ice cream places. We explored a bit and decided that we would stay another day in order to see more and also my parents had to get some replacement parts for their dinghy (they lost an oar). Today we walked uptown and went to a mall and bookstore and marine stores…needless to say we spent a lot of money, but had a lot of fun. We took the bus back and went to a restaurant with ½ price appetizers and drinks! I even got a long awaited ice cream – strawberry Oreo, delicious! Tomorrow we have a bit of work to do on the boat, my dad has to pick up a few more things from the marine store, and we should be on our way…destination: to be determined tomorrow.

C&D Canal and Chesapeake City

Tuesday October 12^th, we left the Cohansey River and continued up the Delaware to the C&D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal. We had very light winds and it was on our nose, so we had to motor. We left at 8am, entered the canal at 1pm and arrived at Chesapeake City at 3pm. They have city docks where you can spend 1 night for free, so we tied up. Mom and dad anchored in the bay. Along the dock were three single handers, which we talked with for a while. 2 were Americans who were very experienced and have had many offshore adventures and the other was a Canadian who just recently bought a 39 footer and was going down to the Florida keys with his adorable dog Kelly. We were offered and could not refuse a few cold beer. What a treat!

The next day we arranged for a ride to a grocery store with the dockmaster. He picked us up at 10am and drove us across the canal to a HUGE grocery store! Mom and I were in awe and could have probably spent all day there look at all the brands and different foods. We had to hurry because the gentleman insisted on waiting for us and driving us back! We rushed through and finished in about 1 hour, and then had to try to find a place in the boat for all our food. It was good that we stocked up because we are told that there isn’t good place until Norfolk, Virginia. We left Chesapeake city just after 12 and headed into the Chesapeake Bay. We have heard so many great things about the Chesapeake so I was particularly excited to be going there. We are going to spend a little time exploring a few of its many rivers and creeks. We anchored in Still Pond Creek, which is very protected, peaceful, but quite shallow…so my parents happened to go aground a few times until a local advised them on a better place in the creek to anchor. We might be here for a couple days, as strong winds are forecasted until Sunday. Our next destination will be Annapolis.

Our Atlantic Ocean Adventure

(picture: last night at Atlantic Highlands)

So Friday was the day. Sal and I had our anchor up and out of Atlantic Highlands by 7:15 am. The winds were good and the skies clear. We rounded Sandy Hook and were in the Atlantic Ocean. We had all three of our sails up with a reefed mainsail. We had our motor on because we wanted to make the trip as short as possible so that we would be in Cape May in about 24 hours. We had a great sail and were making excellent progress. No one was seasick or queasy. We even saw a pair of dolphins and some jellyfish. We thought we saw a shark!! But it could have been a large fish of some sort. Both our parents and us had a little birdie that hitched a ride for an hour or so. By hour 12 we had passed the half way point. As the sun started to go down, it seemed to get windier and windier and the waves seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. I thought that maybe this was just an evening blow and that as soon as the sun went down it would settle….. however this was not the case. The next 6 hours were a wild ride of climbing the waves and belly flopping into them with the spray of salt water getting us wet in the cockpit. I was sure that our rudder would not make it as it slammed every time we went over a large wave. As Atlantic City approached we were desperately contemplating seeking refuge within the city, but it being dark and the currents and the waves strong, we decided to keep going. Regular calls to mom and dad on the hour kept us in touch. At 1 am, just as we were passing Atlantic city they caught up with us and followed us the rest of the way to ensure that we were safe. After we passed Atlantic city, the wind and waves seemed to subside a bit, allowing us to breathe a little easier. Everyone was freezing, tired and impatiently waiting for the sun to come up. For a while I swear our clock was broken because every time I looked at it, it said 3:50. Sal and I took turns steering and would change up about every hour. The sun rose at 7:03 am and none of us could have been happier. Cape May was in sight.

Just when we thought the wild ride was over, we were very wrong. At the inlet to the canal the waves were HUGE! And coming in from ever which direction… We revved the engine and slowly inched forward hanging on for dear life. We were getting pushed and rocked and rolled and all we could do was hang on and hope for the best. We finally made it into the safety of the breakwater. We let out a giant sigh of relief as we pulled up to the anchorage, so glad to have made it. We felt the smallness of our boat during that trip, but even my parents agreed that it was a rough ride. We anchored, made a celebratory omelette and crashed. Saturday we just recuperated, and dried out a few items that got wet on the journey.

We left Cape May Sunday morning and motored out into the Delaware Bay. It was completely the opposite, very calm seas and the winds eventually dying, so that after having a good sail for about an hour and a half, we had to motor to make it to our destination. We stopped in the Cohansee River and docked at a marina at $1/foot. As soon as we were settled, we made reservations with a car rental place so that we could drive to Annapolis the next day and visit the boat show (Monday was the last day it was open). Then we got to SHOWER!!!

This morning, Sal and I were up at 7, and called the car company at 8 like planned. Unfortunately when we finally got a hold of the company at 8:15, they told us that they had no cars available until around 10. We called every other car company in the area without luck, and since it was a 2 ½ hour drive to Annapolis, we gave up when the car company did not pick us up by 11. Very disappointed, we spent the day cleaning and making minor repairs to the boat. We had a very picturesque walk to the village of Greenwich but other than that had no excitements.

Tomorrow we are departing with the tides in our favour and going through the C&D canal to Chesapeake City. We are ready to continue on after a day of rest.

(picture: Bald Eagle)

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

We arrived at Atlantic Highlands September 29^th, and have been here ever since. This has not been by choice but because there have been strong winds and large waves in the ocean that has prevented us from leaving to go out into the Atlantic Ocean and around to Cape May. September 30^th and October 1^st, a tropical depression hit the area with wind gusts as high as 40 knots. We had both our anchors out and could hear the wind howling constantly. We did not have the best nights sleep those two days. We had one nice afternoon on the 2^nd of October but it has been windy (15-20 knots) ever since, and it seems to always increase in the night. Yesterday the wind switched around to the West. A lot of boats left this morning, but we stayed put as the winds are going to increase tonight and tomorrow again. Friday is the day. We have talked to a bunch of other sailboats making the trip and we seem to agree that Friday is the best window (as the winds will be 5-10 knots and seas predicted at 2-4 feet) It is to remain like that for the entire weekend. The plan for Sal and I will be to leave as early as possible Friday morning and see how things go. If we find that the waves are too much to handle, then we will go into the Mannasquan Inlet and along the intercoastal route all the way to Cape May. If things are going well and the weather stays calm, we will make the 24+ hour trip all the way along the outside.

We reprovisioned with food yesterday, and will be filling up with fuel and water today. Tomorrow we will have everything ready to go, deflate the dinghy and prepare our food and all our equipment we might need. Then Friday will be go time.