Oh Say Can You See -- The Star Spangled Spectacular

PM's Perspective

Back in early August we learned that 2014 was the 200th anniversary of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner and to celebrate, the city of Baltimore was having a blow out celebration high lighted by an incomparable fireworks display on Saturday, September 13th.  Anticipating that we would be in Chesapeake Bay about that time we decided to attend the fete.  Bob and I called every marina in the area only to hear laughter at the other end saying the marina has been fully booked for months.  We asked to be put on the waiting list and were told we were at least the 40th in line, so we pretty much gave up on the idea.  Then, on Monday September 8th, we received a call from the Baltimore Marine Centers at Lighthouse Point saying they had a slip and did we want to reserve it for the minimum stay of three days.  Absolutely!  This particular marina is directly across the harbor from Fort McHenry where the Battle of Baltimore took place that inspired the writing of our national anthem,

At that point, we were getting ready to drive back to Maine on business but figured we could return on Friday, cruise to Baltimore leaving early in the morning on Saturday and arrive in time for the fireworks extravaganza that night.  On Tuesday, we drove to Maine, took care of business, and returned to Velomer Friday afternoon to prepare for a Saturday morning departure.  The weather reports were a bit sketchy with a forecast of rain most of the day.  This was the first time we needed to be someplace on a specific day via boat.  Usually, we would not travel on such a rainy day, but Baltimore beckoned.  Due to the flight show by the Blue Angels, Baltimore Harbor was closed between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM on Saturday, so we scheduled our departure for 9:30 AM which would get us to the Harbor just as the restrictions were lifted.

The water was eerily calm.  The sky was darkening.  I thought, maybe even prayed, "I don't mind getting wet, but I would prefer not to get fried! Please don't let there be lightning!"  The rain started about an hour out of Oxford.  Fortunately, the seas remained calm despite the rain.  We rounded Tilghman Island, cruised up the bay and under the Bay Bridge.  The rain was lessening, and we could even see patches of blue sky above.  By the time we came to the entrance of Baltimore Harbor  the rain had stopped.  We could even see several of the Blue Angels in formation as they flew overhead.  At 4:20 PM the Coast Guard collapsed the restrictions on outgoing boat traffic and half hour later all restrictions were lifted.  Bob handily helmed Velomer under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, through busy harbor boat traffic, and once again expertly maneuvered Velomer into slip J8 at Lighthouse Marina.  Velomer was safely docked well before dark.

We had made plans for our long time friend Susan Williams to spend the next several days with us beginning with dinner on the boat and fireworks viewing.   Susan was driving up from Virginia and was unable to get to the marina before city streets were blocked to traffic to ensure security.  As darkness descended the excitement of the crowd at the marina became palpable with anticipation.  Shortly after 9:30 PM the first rocket was fired -- a brilliant red star burst followed by many others.  Baltimore City really outdid any fireworks I have ever seen.  The city had four barges strategically located throughout the harbor each setting off simultaneous identical displays, 90,000 rockets total in all.  The firework displays included a replica of the American flag of 1814 and the letters USA -- amazing accomplishments for fireworks, indeed. The noise was deafening and gave me pause as to what the sound of battle must be like.

The city really knows how to celebrate.  Activities were scheduled throughout the week throughout the city.  Multiple tall ships and war ships from US allies were in the harbor and available to tour.  Museums had special exhibits.  Fort McHenry, now a national park with a museum dedicated to the Star Spangled Banner, was the centerpiece of festivities.  On Sunday, Bob, Susan and I took the water taxi to the fort and fell in with a guided tour about the War of 1812, the burning of Washington DC, and the Battle of Baltimore which took place over a 25 hour period September 13-14, 1814.  The British sent a fleet of warships to capture Baltimore which from the British point of view was a den of pirates that disrupted British merchant ships.  The Americans honored these so-called pirates as privateers that aided the war effort.  The British had superior fire power and weaponry that included rockets that didn't do a great deal of damage but created a great deal of fear and trepidation from the deafening sound and red glare.  The Americans fought back as best they could with French made cannons fired from the ramparts of the fort.  The American cannon balls could travel about 1.5 miles, but the British cannons could shoot 2 miles.

The 1814 American flag at Fort McHenry in Baltimore

Francis Scott Key who penned the Star Spangled Banner was an American lawyer on a ship in the harbor engaged in working out a prisoner swap when the battle began.  He watched from his ship all day on the 13th and that night not knowing who was winning the battle.  After all, this was in the days before cell phones and You-tube.  On the morning of the 14th he awaited the raising of the flag at Fort McHenry to see which flag was raised -- British or American.  To his delight and amazement, a huge American flag was raised.  At the end of our guided tour, we got to roll out a flag that is a replica of the original 30' by 42' flag that was raised that day.  It actually was a very moving moment.

At the end of the tour, we saw a huge crowd congregating on the fort grounds and decided to investigate.  We had inadvertently stumbled upon the gathering to watch the second day of the Blue Angels air show and helicopter rescue demonstrations.  Another serendipitous spectacular!  The following day we toured the Argyle, a British drug busting ship equipped with two helicopters and boarding speed boats.  Our visit continued with a trip to the National Aquarium on the Baltimore waterfront.

Baltimore Fire Boat

The week long celebration ended on Tuesday with the departure of the ships.  As each of the major war ships passed by Fort McHenry, a cannon was fired in salute.  At the end of the departures, the city's fire boat spouted in honor of the departing flotilla. We stayed another three days at the Inner Harbor Marina enjoying a visit with Ed and Carol Jackson and seeing what there is to see in beautiful downtown Baltimore.

Baltimore is my kind of place -- vibrant, wonderful public spaces, an active waterfront, inner city residences and neighborhoods, public transportation (much of it free), some wonderful museums (I highly recommend the Museum of Visionary Art which displays works by self-taught artists).  I definitely want to spend more time here.

Chesapeake Bay At Long Last!

PM's Perspective

In the weeks before we actually left on our current adventure, Bob and I would discuss our anticipated schedule.  We both thought for sure that we would cruise into Chesapeake Bay by mid August and here it was August 29, the start of the Labor Day weekend ending the summer, and we have only made it as far as Atlantic City!  Expectations can be a dangerous thing in life, particularly on a boat, so we have adopted the attitude of Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine fame of, "What, me worry?"  We have a general plan and we are moving forward!  So what if we aren't where we thought we would be?

Having no regrets about leaving Atlantic City after two nights and one full day in the Las Vegas of the east, we motored through the channel of Absecon Inlet and into the open ocean.  Sun flickered off the gilded onion top domes of Trump's Taj Mahal as we bid good riddance to this fair city.  I just don't get the attraction of the gambling lifestyle.  The six hour, 38 nautical mile trip to South Jersey Marina in Cape May went delightfully uneventfully.  Bob skillfully glided Velomer's stern into our slip where we stayed for Friday and Saturday nights.  During the day on Saturday we biked into town to get a taste of the flavor of Cape May and to re-provision at Acme supermarket right in downtown.  It was a typical tourist-town-at-the-height-of-the-Labor-Day-weekend event with heavy traffic and wall-to-wall people, not my idea of a good time.  On our return trip next spring as we start the Great Loop, I will make a point to revisit this charming town when less traffic is afoot.

On Sunday, we awoke early and got underway shortly after dawn on our journey heading north up Delaware Bay toward Delaware City on the east side of the C&D Canal, our gateway to Chesapeake Bay.  Dawn on the water is magical.  The rising sun kisses your face, the birds greet the day, and the surface of the water mirrors the sky above.  This Sunday was no different.  As we progressed, the day got cloudy and haze decreased visibility so that land disappeared from sight.  I initially found this a bit unsettling but was confident that the land was still there.  A few presses on the zoom-out button on the GPS unit confirmed my belief.  Seven hours and 54 nautical miles later, we maneuvered onto the face dock at Delaware City Marina expertly guided by the capable directions of Tim, the dock master who intimately knows the tricky tides and currents that haunt his docks.

We spent the next two full days and three nights in Delaware City enjoying the local flavor including the crab imperial at Crabby Dick's restaurant which I wasn't particularly fond of (why ruin perfectly fine crab with breadcrumbs and cheese?),  Cordelia's Bakery serving the best chicken salad imaginable, reading up on the history of Pea Patch Island, visiting the old C&D Canal and catching up on laundry.  Delaware City's reason for existence was the construction of the original C&D Canal which began in fits and starts and was finally completed in 1829 at the astronomical cost at the time of $3.5 million.  The purpose of the canal was to shorten the travel distance between Chesapeake Bay and the city of Philadelphia by some 300 miles.  The original canal, privately constructed, was 14 miles long, 10 feet deep and 66 feet wide and included four locks.  Teams of mules and horses provided the power to tow freight and passengers.  Steamships replaced the mules and horses.  In 1919, the canal was purchased by the federal government.  In the mid 1920s, the eastern entrance to the canal was moved from Delaware City to Reedy Point, its current location.  Delaware City has never quite regained the predominance it once enjoyed as the eastern terminus of the canal.  Over the years, the canal was been widened, deepened and otherwise improved to its current 450 feet wide and 35 feet deep, plenty of berth for passing barges and Velomer.

Blue bridge over the C&D Canal

Tim was extremely helpful with information on places to visit and marinas to stay while cruising in the Chesapeake.  We felt ready to roll.  On Wednesday, September 3, we planned to leave at 7 AM during slack tide to broach the C&D Canal and finally enter Chesapeake Bay.  The day before, Tim said he would be at the dock to help us shove off.  Sure enough, Tim came by a little after 7 AM to untie our lines as we bade farewell to Delaware City.  We glided out of the old canal into the Delaware River heading for Reedy Point where we entered the breakwater to the canal.  I took the helm and headed west toward the Chesapeake.  Commercial traffic was almost non-existent as this was Labor Day weekend.  The most memorable event was passing under the blue bridge that spans the canal near the Delaware-Maryland border.  As we neared the western terminus of the canal at Chesapeake City in Maryland both Bob and I felt a sense of accomplishment.

Ospreys nesting on channel markers

We eased Velomer into the mouth of the Elk River at the head of Chesapeake Bay.  We made it!  Several things have impressed us about the Chesapeake.  First is how shallow the upper bay area is.  We have had to be very vigilant about staying within the marked channels as any major deviation could send us aground.  Second is the abundance of bird life.  Almost every channel marker is a nesting ground for osprey.  Long necked blue herons fly overhead and feed on the river banks.  A wide variety of ducks and gulls grace the waters.

We have spent the last two weeks exploring the eastern shore of the bay spending time in Georgetown on the Sassafras River, Rock Hall on the Swan River and Oxford on the Tred Avon River interrupted by a trip back to Maine on business.  We could easily spend months exploring the nooks and crannies of this wonderful area.  We look forward to more exploration.

Smooth Cruising to Baltimore

 Bob's View:

As we slowly made our way east passing Sandy Hook at the entrance to New York Harbor and then south to Cape May, I began to realize I had been worried unnecessarily about the passage along the New Jersey Coast.  I calculated it would take us three days of off shore cruising down a coast with very limited access to safe harbors and I also was acutely aware that the entire cost would be a lee shore as the prevailing seas were always on shore.  What I did not know was how shallow the sea was along this 150 mile stretch.  We were 2-3 miles offshore the entire way and saw 12-40 foot depths.  We had waited for a weather window and when Wind Alert, the website we like to show predicted winds and wave heights, showed seas of less than 2 feet and winds out of the south less than 10 knots, we made the commitment to transit this forbidding coastline.  The seas were relatively calm for the days we cruised south along the coast.  The sea life was a surprise, as we were surrounded by schools of baitfish, myriad seabirds circling and follow us, breaching humpback whales off our port quarter bow, dolphin gamboling around us and some very large fish swimming just below the surface off our bow at times.  And while we did experience some periods of 2-3 foot seas , the passage along this homogeneous (and boring) portion of New Jersey was for the most part a gentle ride.  The courses we had charted each day over 3 days varied from 45 miles to 55 miles, however one day we did log over 65 miles due to an unfortunate and never to be repeated decision to plot our course after several rum and tonics, ooops! 

Day one was an exit from New York Harbor, into new water for us, past the iconic Manhattan skyline at dawn, the majestic statue of Liberty and passing several very large tankers entering the harbor.  They stayed on their side of the channel and we stayed on ours.  Sandy Hook is about 10 miles from Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City (its still in New Jersey, PM) where we had stayed a few days to visit New York, catch up with Bob and Essie Schlegel, our son's soon to be official in-laws (he's been 12 years with an unofficial status but a glowing friendship), and enjoying, under Essie's exceptional tutelage, the unique flavors and nuances of Cuban food while planning a never to be forgotten wedding event.  We took the fastest cab ride of my life, hitting over 50 MPH on city streets, to meet with Essie and Bob at Victor's Café on 57'th street in The City for a memorable evening. 

VELOMER's Perkins engine hummed smoothly along at a cruising speed of 1625 RPMs for days on end as we made for Cape May and a turn west along a short canal and then north into Delaware Bay towards the entrance of the C & D Canal, which would finally get VELOMER into Chesapeake Bay.  I still do an engine room check about an hour after starting the engine each day and again every few hours to confirm fuel pressure within norms at the Racor filter, confirm charging voltage by the alternator on the smart charge panel and spot check temperatures at various places on the engine and alternator.  The alternator belt is just a bit too large and as the new one I put on in Connecticut wears, the tension changes due to wear and it has a tendency to slip, causing an uncomfortably loud squeal and allowing the temperature of the unit to rise.   The Balmar Marine Alternator is extremely well suited for marine use and is designed to cool the unit as the belt spins the blades, but if the belt slips, the cooling effect is diminished.  As the temperature of the alternator rises, the efficiency of the charging circuits change and at around 140 degrees the unit stops charging to protect its circuitry.  I have solved this issue temporarily with Belt Ease as the spray increases the stickiness of the belt and prevents the slippage  I also discovered the first time I used this spray while the engine was running so the stream of Belt Ease was atomized throughout the engine room atmosphere, that the smoke detector in the engine room senses the chemical odor or the mist in the air and activates a loud alarm to warn of fire.  Another lesson learned and I now detach the smoke alarm for a few minutes if I use the spray on the belt while underway. The better solution of course is to change the belt to a smaller one that will allow me to tighten it to a greater tension.  The one currently on the unit is so long that the maximum adjustment for tension is just barely enough to remove enough slack.  I will wait for this belt to stretch a bit and when the Belt Ease solution no longer solves the issue will make the change to the smaller belt.  I also have discovered that if I do not run the inverter while underway the demand on the alternator seems to be such that the belt does not slip. 

Finding out about the systems on VELOMER has been a learning curve.  PM and I  are getting to know all the ways things can fail or need adjustment.  From heads to alternator belts, to maintenance and routine cleaning of sump drains, thru hull screens, pulleys, fenders, hull and deck, standing and running rigging, bright work, ball valves, sump pumps, water lines, fueling, pump outs, dockage, setting fenders for the various docking options, maneuvering VELOMER into tight spaces by backing into slips against wind and current, setting up the chart plotter for our daily courses and navigation at sea, observing sea conditions, especially at inlets, planning daily passages with respect to tides, wind and sea conditions and generally making life aboard a 36 foot craft with 1/10 the living space of our former home in Maine a pleasant adventure every day while continually learning the fascination of the sea and each other.  We learn something every day. We are loving this life afloat.

We made Manisquan Inlet the first day, 45 nautical miles (Hoffman's Marina), Atlantic City the second, 55 miles (Farley State Marina), and Cape May the third, 50 miles (South Jersey Marina).  Each time we made port, we had a welcoming marina staff great us with help attaching dock lines and power, information about local sights (and especially breakfast options) and tips on the courses to follow and places to visit along our intended route to Chesapeake Bay, a destination we had been trying to reach since mid July and expected to make by early August.  Leaving Cape May, we passed through a short three mile canal into Delaware Bay.  That day we were occupied watching the depth sounder very attentively as the depths were deceptively shallow in places and we had to avoid several shipwrecks noted on the chart.  Delaware Bay was unlike the waters we were used to, where further distance from land equates to deeper water.  The wide bay became narrower and more like a river as we moved north.  If we were to continue up the Delaware River we would reach Wilmington, Delaware in 20 miles beyond Delaware City and then, in another 40 miles, Philadelphia, a city we intend to visit on our passage north next spring or perhaps in 2016 as we return to our home port in Maine after completing the loop.  At least that is the plan.

After resting a few days at Delaware City Marina, a sweet little dockage with low key energy, just our speed, and enjoying local characters, visiting the state park offices at Fort DuPont to learn about the history of the city as a major seaport of the last century, the development of the canal from a private venture in the early 18th century to the current canal managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and consuming crab for the first and, according to PM, the last time, in Delaware City, we departed Delaware for Maryland and cruised at our normal sped of 7 miles an hour west along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal ( C & D) into Chesapeake Bay.  We were passed by two other motor yacht along the 13 miles of the canal.  Only when we were in Chesapeake Bay beyond the western entrance, did we see a tanker coming towards us.  The canal is wide enough at 450 feet and deep enough at 35 feet to allow two of these ocean going tankers to pass each other safely, so we were not concerned about the meeting.  In fact, PM was handling the helm at the tine as I was in the engine room and she was calm as ever.  Her helming has become competently routine as we share time there each day, roughly splitting the day equally.

Transiting the C & D Canal on 9/3/14, we made it to Georgetown Yacht Basin on the Sassafras River in Chesapeake Bay (at long last); we thereby became travelers with a major accomplishment behind us.  It had taken VELOMER 19 days of cruising over 6 weeks, 624 miles (N), 108 engine hours, memories of harbors and memories of people we will not forget behind us with many more in our future travels.

There is a tendency to have certain expectations when we visit new places.  Both PM and I try not to have expectations and we have found this to be a better way to experience our time in exploring the waters and cities and villages during our travel on VELOMER.  Each place we find ourselves has interesting people to meet, new adventures to experience while playing tourist, and we become students of history in the same towns and waters whose first history was written during the formative periods of this country. As we went north towards Delaware City at the entrance to the C &D Canal, we were in historic waters.  We are entering harbors and crossing bays and cruising rivers that John Smith travelled in 1620, George Washington occupied in 1776, Commodore Perry sailed through in 1812, and on which Francis Scott Key, aboard a small sailing vessel retained by the British on September 13 (200 hundred years prior to our arrival on the same water on the same day), was witness to the shelling of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore and from whose decks he penned the words to the Star-Spangled Banner.  We learned that the reason the British retired from Baltimore Harbor and eventually the American Territories after bombarding Fort McHenry for 25 hours, was that they ran out of ammunition.  The English Admiral had hoped to destroy the fort and thus gain entrance to the city and destroy it as they had Washington just a few weeks before in August of 1814.  Of the 1,000 American defenders in Fort McHenry during the shelling, many of whom were untrained citizens of the city, only 5 were killed.  One patriot later penned "it felt like we were pigeons tied to a stake and used for target practice", a frightening experience but one that did not result in abandoning the defenses.  The fort's French long guns, on loan from our allies at the time, had a range of barely 1 1/2 miles while the British ship's cannons were able to fire rockets, mostly to intimidate, and canon shells from 2 miles away.  When the British ships left on the morning of September 14, we declared victory.   This event was widely publicized and was the first real victory against the professional British armies and navy during the three year conflict.  The "victory" inspired American resolve, which was lackluster at best prior to this event, during this war fought primarily over economic control of the agricultural wealth of the Americas. It's strange how and why history plays out. 

After stopping in Georgetown on the Sassafras River, we cruised south to Rock Hall and then Oxford, Maryland along the eastern shore.  Arriving at the Brewer's Boat Yard in Oxford, we were surprised to find ourselves directed to a slip 4 removed from a Northaven 55 named JOURNEY.  How many vessels of this make and size are named JOURNEY?  It evolves that this boat is John and Bobbee's vessel, which they have left in long tern dockage after bringing it up the coast from Florida this summer.  It's a small world.

After spending several weeks on board, PM had a business appointment in Portland so we rented a car from Enterprise in Easton and drove back to Maine.  It took just over 8 hours to cover the distance we had traveled over water in 6 weeks.  Going home to Maine was strange.  We had been on a boat travelling 7 miles an hour, now we sped along I-95 at 70 miles an hour.  The pace of life on land is equally fast.  Anyway, we had to make this trip so we made the best of it, stopping at Rine's Deli in Vernon, Connecticut for a scrumptious meal of matzo ball soup and the best corned beef sandwich I have eaten in years.  Five days later we were back on VELOMER.  It was strange to be on land, it was wonderful to back on the water.

Now for Baltimore Harbor and the 200'th anniversary celebration of the penning of our national anthem, a party we had desired to be invited to but had been told there was no room at any marina and had not been for months.  Five days prior to Saturday September 13, and the day before we left for Portland, we got a call from one of the marinas where I had asked to be put on a wait list, never expecting to be able to get a slip.  The Baltimore Marine Center at Lighthouse Point had a space open at the last minute and if we wished we could have it.  Well, yes we would, thank you.  Our passage up Chesapeake Bay 50 miles from Oxford was on a day that we would not have normally chosen to travel, as Wind Alert had wind and consequent seas of 3-4 feet predicted and also rain for the better portion of the day.  The day was wet at times but not unpleasant, the seas were less than predicted and we made the entrance to the harbor at Francis Scott Key Bridge about 20 minutes after the security zone blocking all boat traffic due to the afternoon air show was lifted.  Great timing!

We arrived a few hours before the fireworks were scheduled to begin at 9:30.  The harbor was closed again to boat traffic as five barges were lined up along the inner harbor, one of which was directly in front of our slip.  The fireworks display had to be seen to be believed.  I was told they fired 90,000 rockets during the show. The amount of bursting pyrotechnics was as dense as any I have ever witnessed.  Typically fireworks shows save a few minutes of intense display for the beginning and end of the event.  This one was dense in number of bursting displays of color and sound for a full half hour.  As we watched from the fly bridge, we saw the large garrison American flag flying over Fort McHenry through the smoke about a mile across the harbor from our dockage location.  Francis Scott Key likely witnessed much  the same, from about the same distance but for 25 hours.  It is no wonder the British ran out of ball and powder and rockets. We could not have chosen a better location to view the display. The Universe provides for us again.  I suspect this number of bursting rockets exceeded those used by the British exactly 200 years prior.

Our dear friend Susan Meyer had hoped to be with us for the show in the sky, but just missed the closing of the road by 5 minutes so she saw the glare of the bursting rockets from the streets behind buildings close to the harbor.  Her visit was not without memorable times though, as we witnessed the air show from Fort McHenry the next day from the perfect location.  Watching the demonstration by the Coast Guard of Search and Rescue techniques in the water off our vantage point on shore, and the skill of the pilots of the Blue Angels naval aerobatic team over our heads were events we will forever recall with awe.

After she returned to her teaching work in Charlottesville, Virginia , we relocated to another marina across from the National Aquarium to be near Johns Hopkins Hospital, where other friends were to be seen for some routine tests two days later.  Carol and Ed were only on board for a few hours for an early delicious dinner of orange chicken over rice, salad and chocolate before departing for Richmond, three hours drive by car, but we did have a fine afternoon visit with their sweet labradoddle, Paddy.

VELOMER departs Baltimore with the morning tide for Rock Hall, Maryland on the eastern shore.  Our adventure continues.

Tooth 19 and Atlantic City

PM's Perspective

The fully developed human has a total of 32 teeth with 16 teeth on the upper jaw, 16 on the lower jaw.  The dental community cleverly numbered each tooth starting with Tooth #1 as the wisdom tooth on the right upper jaw continuing to Tooth #16 as the wisdom tooth on the left upper jaw.  Tooth #17 is the wisdom tooth on the left lower jaw concluding with Tooth #32 identifying the wisdom tooth on the right lower jaw.  With this labeling system the sum of the number of the tooth on the upper jaw plus the corresponding number of the tooth on the lower jaw always adds up to 33.  This labeling system allows for quick referencing.  Every person in the dental field knows that Teeth #8 and #9 refers to someone's front teeth, etc.

I had my wisdom teeth removed as a young adult as they were growing in at an angle crowding out my other teeth, so my mouth contains no Tooth #1, #16, #17 or #32.  I am fortunate in that I have very strong teeth.  I attribute this to genetics on my mother's side and probably diet.  My teeth are also fairly straight so I never needed braces.  The only time braces were recommended to me was the time Bob and I took our daughter Phoebe who was 10 at the time in to the orthodontist.  As we sat down in his office, the orthodontist took my chin in his hand, moved my head gently back and forth and said, "I could make you a beautiful woman."  I replied, "I'm already a beautiful woman.  Let's take about my daughter."  As a friend said after I told him this story, "That orthodontist would put braces on a dog."

I never had a dental issue other than minor cavities until my mid 40s.  Tooth #19 developed a hair line crack and started to ache.  After several years of just dealing with this and at the recommendation of my dentist, I decided to get a crown.  Everything worked really well for just over 15 years.  Then, while eating pistachio nuts, my crown popped off for no apparent reason.  Of course I was far from my dentist and used drug store dental cement almost on a daily basis to keep the crown in place until I was able to get to my dentist a few months later.  He fashioned a temporary crown until a more permanent one could be made.  That temporary crown also popped off a few times but this was understandable because, after all, it was temporary.  The first attempt at the permanent crown was a misfit and had to be remade.  The second attempt worked quite well.  In fact, I liked the fit better than the original crown.  Then less than a year later, while flossing my teeth, the crown popped off again.  Again, I was away from my usual dentist but was able to find another dentist to re-cement the crown.  This is probably more information than you need, but you have the background story.

After our two days in Jersey City at Liberty Landing Marina, we headed down the Jersey coast toward our destination of Chesapeake Bay, the body of water we thought for sure we would be cruising in by now.  The distance along the Jersey shore from Jersey City to Cape May is roughly 140 miles.  This leg of our

adventure would be mostly open ocean so we needed to watch the weather rather carefully, particularly wind speed and wave height and period. We decided to make the trip in three segments with our first stop in Manasquan Bay, the second in Atlantic City, and the third at Cape May.  We departed Jersey City on Tuesday, August 26, at 6:30 AM just as the sun was rising over New York City.  Lady Liberty bade us farewell as we headed south toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.  Seas were calm, the swells long and gently -- a perfect cruising day.  The Jersey shore is mile after mile of lovely sandy beaches.  The damage from Hurricane Sandy (aka Superstorm Sandy), a category 3 hurricane that occurred in October 2012, was not as evident off shore although we did see several still boarded up buildings through the binoculars.

Our trip seemed to be taking longer than we anticipated when we realized we had traveled 12 nm beyond our turnoff.  How embarrassing!  How did this happen with GPS, the chart plotter, and all our charts?  Once we realized our error, we made an about face and headed toward Manasquan Bay.  Our total distance that day was 63.5 nm, 24 nm more than necessary.  Upon review that evening we realized our error was an accumulation of multiple events.  First, Bob charted the course the night before after three glasses of wine.  Mistake #1.  Second, we didn't pay close attention to the paper charts comparing the paper charts with the chart plotter.  Mistake #2.  Third, we didn't check the chart plotter and paper charts with the GPS on our phones.  Mistake #3.  Lesson learned.  We have changed standard operating procedure so that the same mistakes don't happen again.  I'm sure others will be made, but not these!

Up with the sun the next day and on our way to Atlantic City to Farley State Marina in front of the Golden Nugget Casino.  We got underway by 7:00 AM and silently slipped out onto the open ocean from the inlet.  The journey from Manasquan Bay to Atlantic City was one of the most memorable for us in terms of sea life viewing.  Bob noticed a water spout about a quarter mile off the port.  "Did you see that?"  We both looked in that direction in time to witness two humpback whales breaching.  This event was followed by spotting several pods of porpoise.  Throughout the day, we could see schools of fish just below the surface of the water, water roiling with jumping fish, moon jellies, and to my delight, skates flying through the water.  Much of this activity is not obvious to the casual observer.  You have to be willing to carefully watch the water looking for signs such as the water moving in a slightly different manner and to patiently look into the water for ghostly shapes moving below the surface but oh so rewarding!

Trump's Taj Mahal seen from the board walk

Atlantic City loomed in the distance.  In our conversations with other boaters, no one has had glowing reports of the city.  The outline of the Revel Casino and Hotel could be seen from many miles away.  I wasn't sure of what to expect from Atlantic City.  The only thing I knew for sure was the board walk and the Donald Trump edifice complex monuments.  I went to Las Vegas about ten years ago for an Appraisal Institute conference and actually enjoyed it but have no intention of returning.  Glitz and gambling just aren't my thing.  Entering into Atlantic City was a bit tricky.  Bob once again showed his muster as he guided Velomer through the surf and into the marina slip.  We checked in, walked around the Golden Nugget and weren't impressed.  I just don't get the attraction of gambling.  As I found out, Atlantic City is a seedy and garish version of Las Vegas without any of the class.

Due to weather conditions, we would be staying two nights in Atlantic City.  I wondered what we would do the one full day we had in town.  That night provided the answer.  Remember Tooth #19?  That night while flossing, the crown of Tooth #19 popped right out again!  Note to self:  when flossing around a crown, gently pull the floss down to the gum line then pull it through the teeth, don't pull it up!  Fortunately, I rescued the crown before it danced down the drain.  The next morning Bob got on his I-phone and was able to get an appointment for me at the dental clinic of Southern Jersey Medical Center on Atlantic Avenue.  The clinic was in easy biking distance from the marina.  The actual procedure took no more than 15 minutes if that long.

The appointment took more than two hours, most of which was waiting and filling out forms.  Step 1, sign in with the receptionist.  Step 2, wait to be called.  Step 3, when called go to the registration station, give lots of medical history, financial information and sign a minimum of four permission/privacy statements.  Step 4, go back to the waiting room and wait.  Step 5, get called in and ushered to the dental exam room and fill out even more forms.  Step 6, wait some more.  Step 7, meet and greet the dentist and hand him the crown.  I tell the good doctor that we are traveling on our boat starting out in Maine.  He gets to talking about his visit to Maine while he was in dental school back in the 1950s.  Step 8, wait some more while the dentist sees another patient. During this time I realize that this guy was in dental school about the time I was born and I'm no spring chicken.  How old is this guy?  Should I just walk out now?  Step 9, too late to walk out.

The dentist comes back in and starts rambling about dental cement and that this clinic doesn't carry the cement that he prefers.  He puts the crown back on the stub of Tooth #19 without any cement and can't get it off.  He asks his assistant for some dental tool that looks like a bent needle nose pliers.  I'm not liking this one bit.  He gets the crown off, gives it back to his assistant who then leaves the room with the crown to apply the cement.  The dentist rambles some more about his Maine adventures and a '54 Chevy.  The assistant returns with the crown, the dentist installs it and asks me to gently bite down.  It doesn't feel right.  Cement oozes out from around the crown.  The dentist looks a bit concerned.  My already low confidence level sinks even lower.  He scales off the excess cement and has me bite down on a dark blue colored dental paper that indicates the high spots on the crown.  He takes this tool that looks like a mini sander and says he is going to "polish" my crown.  I hear this grinding sound.  The roots of Tooth #19 are letting me know that they are not happy about this situation.  I bite down on that blue paper again.  The dentist then starts to grind on Tooth #14 directly above the crown.  My bite feels better, not perfect, but I am done.  I am out of there.

Surf at the Atlantic City beach from the boardwalk

Even with my dental appointment we still had some time to explore Atlantic City.  We walked a portion of the boardwalk, visited the Atlantic City Aquarium (a real gem in an otherwise awful place) and viewed the beach.  Ironically as I write this, a news item came to my newsfeed that the Revel Casino and Hotel that open just over two years ago closed its doors last night.  This facility that cost $2.4 billion to construct was originally billed as the project that was to inject new life into a declining Atlantic City.  Showboat, the mardi gras themed casino and hotel that opened 27 years ago has also closed its doors.  Trump Plaza is due to close September 16.  These closings are certainly a blow to the employees and the area's economy.  With so many casinos coming on line in the last decade in so many locations, I think we have reached our saturation point of gambling establishments.