Wednesday, July 3, 2002
Tangier Island, Virginia
We arrived at Tangier Island yesterday, our first stop. It was a glorious trip across the Chesapeake Bay, with blue skies and little wind. I asked Ray to keep on going while the seas were so calm, and we arrived in Tangier eight hours later to a sultry, steamy afternoon. The Bay was peaceful, but the heat did us both in, and we sat on the sundeck unable to generate enthusiasm for even a quick sightseeing tour.
Taylor found a couple of boys to play with on a nearby boat, and he spent the afternoon fishing and crabbing. He discovered the hard way that Tangier?any marshes breed mosquitoes; his legs and back were covered with itchy bites.
The marshes must be a haven for blue crabs, too. If this morning?our is any indication, crabs are the mainstay of Tangier Island. Our slip provided a perfect view of the island?ndustry. A large crab boat called ?bs R Us??cked across three slips near our boat. A parade of smaller crab boats lined up to unload their day?atch. One by one, the crabbers rafted their boats to ?bs R Us??d hauled bushel baskets of crabs over to the waiting crew. Just watching them load up those bushels made my mouth water, and I started thinking about picking a few crabs. Since Ray and Taylor don?at crabmeat, though, I settled for a crabcake sandwich at lunch.
It seems that every square inch of land here is covered with a home, store, crab pot or marsh. We found a number of homes that boasted cemeteries in their front or back yards. The houses are a mix of 1920?nd ?s clapboards and newer ranches.
Friday, July 05, 2002
On the Potomac near Colonial Beach, Virginia
Bart and Caroline Peacher have allowed us to store our two cars on their farm in Gloucester, Virginia. We drove them over on Monday night, and they took us back tor the marina in Norfolk. Bart?ousins throw a big 4th of July bash each year at their home on the shores of the Potomac River near Colonial Beach, and Bart invited us to join in the fun.
Taylor and I took our showers on the bow of the boat while cruising across the Chesapeake Bay from Tangier. What fun! I washed my hair and let the Bay breezes blow it dry. (Our inverter would probably croak if I cranked up the blow dryer.)
I put on makeup for the first time since Monday, changed clothes, and peered over the stern down to the dinghy where Ray and Taylor were sitting to announce that I was ready. Ray darkly glared up at me, his body dripping with sweat in the 100 degree sun. He continued yanking on the outboard motor cord??r and over again?? it would not start. Not even a spark. Our first chance to anchor out and dinghy to shore was fouled. Bart?ousins came to the rescue, and took a break from pulling water tubing teens to ferry us to shore.
The party was wonderful. There was lots and lots of great food, and my hankering for crab picking was satisfied??re was a couple of bushels of steamed crabs with lots of Old Bay. Yum! Taylor swam on their beach, and they even hired a band. As the sun began to set, we headed back to the boat. Our doggies would be terrified to be alone once the fireworks started. And what a fireworks display they had! It went on for probably 45 minutes, and Ray and Taylor honked the boat horn in approval. Each time the horn blew, the crowd on shore yelled in approval.
July 8-13
Baltimore, MD
We anchored out without incident the first night after arriving in Baltimore. First priority the next day was to find someone to repair the outboard. Without a motor, we were stuck on the boat, and decided once again we pulled into a marina.
After a few phone calls, it was apparent that we would be better off purchasing a new one rather than repairing the old. Ray bought the new motor to ? family car??e next day.
We took the water taxis to Inner Harbor toured the Aquarium and Science Museum. Taylor swam in the marina pool, and we all really enjoyed Baltimore. The money seemed to be flying out of our wallets, though, and after John drove in from Norfolk to ?ak??e electrical system, we were anxious to be on our way.
Entrance to C & D Canal
July 13, 2002
Our cruise books advise us to cruise during the week to avoid sharing the waterways with weekend sailors. It?dvice we will have to try to live by. After cruising all day in the wake of speedboats, we found all the anchorages and free docks full at Chesapeake City, the entrance to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Should we backtrack a half hour to find a suitable anchorage, or pull into that convenient marina? The marina was an easy choice. There is a LOT of traffic and strong current on this river. The marina has provided little shelter, however, and the wakes from inconsiderate boaters roaring by rock our boat dreadfully. To add to our discomfort, the marina restaurant has a loud band that has been playing for almost five hours now. The dock seems to be a local favorite, and there has been a parade of sightseers strolling by. I?oing to have to go to bed to try to escape the serenade of moldy oldies from the band.
After spending one night at the marina, we pulled into the anchorage basin across the river. What a relief from the currents of the river! I called Amy Morris to tell her we were now in Delaware. Turns out their new home is only three miles from the anchorage. Amy and Tara joined us for dinner on a sultry Monday night, and they made a mercy trip to pick up marine supplies and Utz potato chips for Ray.
Barnegat Bay, New Jersey
July 16-20, 2002
We put in a really long day cruising from C & D deciding to bypass Atlantic City?igh priced marinas. The autopilot had been working beautifully, but as we approached the inlet to Barnegat Bay we lost power to steer the rudder from the flying bridge. Ray dashed down to the lower helm to steer. I had my eye on an anchorage a mile or so into Barnegat Bay, but after winding through a narrow channel and nearly running aground twice, we turned around and anchored within sight of the Barnegat Lighthouse.
The next day, Ray called around to see if anyone would be able to repair a small piece of leaky copper tubing that caused the steering problem. We made a three mile dinghy ride to Mike?obile Marine repair where they squeezed us into a very busy afternoon. Before we had dinghied even halfway back, I came to the conclusion that my bottom?imit for dinghy rides is about two miles total. It was a worthy effort, though, as Ray thinks the long-standing leaking steering fluid problem is finally fixed.
The flies here are abominable, and they pierce the skin with unrelenting force. I?offered a ten cents bounty to Taylor for killing the miserable insects, but if the bounty were not capped at two dollars per day, Taylor would be a millionaire in no time.
New York City
July 21, 2002
It's been almost three weeks since we began our journey, but we've just begun to sample the rich diversity of our country's coastal landscapes. We've watched crabbers unload bushel after bushel of writhing crabs in Tangier Island, enjoyed the serenity of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, slept at the foot of Barnegat Lighthouse in New Jersey, and gazed at the splendor of Lady Liberty against a Manhattan backdrop. Our seamanship has improved by default. Ray has nursed our boat through a churning channel with an ailing rudder, and I have gotten pretty good at hauling anchors and handling lines.
We've gotten a LOT more casual than "Casual Friday." T-shirts and gym shorts are the order of the day in 100 degree heat, and Ray and I have expanded our limits to what we consider acceptable levels of cleanliness. Access to freshly laundered shirts is more easily accomplished in the comfort of your laundry room at home; from the boat it is an ordeal. We lower laundry baskets down the ladder to the swim platform, transfer them into a gyrating dinghy, motor over to the dock, haul them across a 600 foot pier, and trudge four city blocks to the nearest laundry. Perhaps we can put it off a few more days...
We love anchoring out, but conservation of water and electricity becomes critical. I am really glad we made the conversion from house to boat last year in the relative comfort of a marina where the boat is plugged into marina water, electricity, and even cable. I've had the opportunity to adjust to life "on the hook" gradually. We have enough water capacity to last six days, and we run the generator twice a day to charge the batteries for refrigeration, lights, electric toilet, and toys (TVs, CD player, coffee maker, and microwave.) Our electric stove uses much too much current, so I've been cooking on a camp stove up on the sundeck. Every burning light bulb becomes an issue.
As we were strolling the streets of New York yesterday, we talked about the choices people make in their lifestyles. It would be a huge adjustment to move to Manhattan where people hike to the grocery, walk their dogs on sidewalks without a blade of grass, tip the bellmen at their apartments, and get around town without benefit of a car. It takes an adjustment in lifestyle to live here, but New York's residents reap the city's benefits in return.
It's the same sort of adjustment in lifestyle with the boat--you sacrifice some things in order to enjoy the benefits. Yes, the boat jerking against 2 MPH currents woke me up at 4:00 AM this morning, but I got to watch the sun rise over a Manhattan skyline. It's miserable in the heat with no air conditioning, but there is an unbelievable sense of freedom when you are cruising across the Bay with dolphins skimming the surface around your boat. It's irritating when the refrigerator is empty and the nearest grocery a half-mile away turns out to be a deli. But our dining room has an ever-changing vista with the best view in town.
We found a Manhattan marina that offers mooring balls for $15 a night. Only the Union Mission could offer a better rate here in New York. So we'll stay here for a few days and then continue our journey up the Hudson to the Erie Canal. Perhaps to a marina with a Laundromat.
July 29, 2002
Waterford, NY
Summertime on the Erie Canal and the livin? easy??t;br>
We arrived at the first lock of our trip at Troy, New York. It was a beautiful ride up the Hudson River??ceful and relaxing with wide channels and great scenery. We have a tendency to cruise longer than we should when it?asy going. Ray was bushed by the time we hit Troy, and he really did not want to attempt our first lock. There was a marina RIGHT THERE, and we could pay the price and relax for the evening. There was no answer from the dockmaster, though, so we headed for the lock and got through successfully by default. It was an easy ride a mile or so down the river to Waterford.
Waterford is great! They have a new welcome center just for boaters with free tie-ups for two nights. We stayed two nights at the first wall and then moved into a vacant space with electric hookups. We were able to fire up our electric fans just in time for a heat wave. AHHHHHHH! And Ray hooked up the satellite dish??ble AHHHHHHHHH! And we were able to watch TV as long as we wanted without the boat battery going dead??ple AHHHHHH!
We have easy access to laundry and groceries. In fact, Waterford has made arrangements with the grocery stores to retrieve shopping carts. Translation: I can shop, bring home groceries in the store?hopping cart, and leave the cart here at the Welcome Center. It doesn?et any better than that. The Waterford citizens are extra nice, too. One lady offered me a ride to the grocery, and told me to stop by her house when I was ready to go.
Waterford has a pool open to boaters, too, and we plan to check it out this afternoon. If Taylor weren?n such a hurry to see the Great Lakes, we might not ever leave.
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