Days 56-66: July 24 through August 3, 2018

July 24 through August 3, 2018, Days 56-66

Havre de Grace waterfront

Thank goodness Ed and Carol came through for us with the three cases of our favorite wine, Sauvignon Republic from Trader Joe’s, on July 24!  At the time we were docked at Tidewater Marina in the charming village of Havre de Grace on the Susquehanna River in the northern reaches of Chesapeake Bay.  The marina has only fixed docks which are not my favorite as the boat moves up and down with the tide rubbing against stationary pilings.  To protect Velomer, we have to set up fender boards to prevent damage from the rubbing.  I find fixed docks a royal pain in the butt!  When the tide is up we need to step way down to disembark and when the tide is out we need to step way up to do the same.  As someone with short stubby legs, this is not easy and more of an athletic event rather than simply stepping off the boat.  Offsetting this, the marina does have nice bathrooms and a courtesy car that we made full use of.

That night, after a full day of intermittent torrential downpours, Ed and Carol, Bob and I and two of Carol’s cousins and their wives went out for dinner at the Tidewater Grill (not associated with the marina) in Havre de Grace.  The food was fabulous and the company even better.  After many libations, ingestions, and conversations, Bob and I bid a farewell to our dining companions and walked back the short distance to Velomer. 

Barge traffic on Chesapeake Bay

The next morning we untied Velomer from the fixed docks and got underway shortly after dawn.  Our destination was Galesville, a small community with a great anchorage south of Annapolis on the west shore of the Chesapeake.  We were very vigilant about debris in the water as we had heard the night before at dinner that with all the rain in the area, the 18 dams on the Susquehanna River were scheduled to open to release some of the runoff.  With runoff comes debris such as tree branches and even large tree trunks.  Fortunately, our relatively early departure avoided much of the debris problem.  

The day’s cruise started smoothly, and then became a bit bumpy when we entered larger bay water. Velomer hobby horsed with the oncoming waves.  The waters calmed again once we entered Galesville Harbor.  We found a spot in between two anchored sail boats and dropped the Rocna anchor.  It was Wednesday evening and just as we sat down for our night glass of Sauvignon Blanc, sail boats began to amass in the harbor – it was Wednesday night races!  A real treat for us. 

That evening and after the races, I resorted to making Trader Joe’s frozen entre of lamb marsala for dinner – it’s quick, it’s easy and very tasty.  After heating in a 350 degree oven for the designated time, I put the steaming hot individual trays of food on our plates and we sat down to eat.  Bob picked up his tray, not realizing that it had just came out of the oven and was very hot, to put the lamb, rice and gravy  on his plate.  He dropped the tray and the hot contents spilled on to his right thigh causing severe pain and as we found out later, second degree burns with huge blisters. Ouch!

The following morning at 0830 hours, Bob retracted the anchor and I helmed guiding Velomer out of Galesville Harbor.  The low water alarm sounded several times on departure most likely as a result of sea grass as the alarm quickly ceased and we were once again in 10 feet of depth.  The bay’s water was unusually smooth with waves of less than one foot.  The cruise was punctuated by sightings of the occasional dolphin and pelican.  Our destination was Solomons Island also on the west side of Chesapeake Bay and on the north side of the mouth of the Patuxent River.  

While underway, we looked at the charts and reviewed the Active Captain web site before deciding on an anchorage along Mill Creek not too far from Molly’s Leg, a small island at the mouth of the harbor.  When we arrived at our anchorage, the area looked much too civilized with an abundance of waterfront houses, private docks and too busy for our liking.  We decided to move up the creek and found a lovely relatively secluded and protected anchorage just beyond green can “7”.  Velomer was secured by 1530 hours giving Bob and me time to chill, clean up from the day’s cruise, catch up on the log book and enjoy our bucolic surroundings for the evening.  We opted for a cold dinner that night.

We pulled up anchor at 0800 hours with me at the helm and headed south for Deltaville.  Ever watchful Nervous Nellie Bob began commenting on how close to the channel markers I was steering Velomer as I guided her away from Solomons.  I don’t mind constructive comments but enough was enough.  A few hairy eyeballs later, he backed off, especially after I said, “Hey, I wasn’t the one who hit the channel marker in Portland Harbor so shutta you mouth.”  Such is our dance.

The waters were calm as we started out but the seas built up to wave heights of 2 to 3 feet with sustained winds in the vicinity of 10 mph.  Fortunately, the day was mostly sunny with few clouds and absolutely no rain.  Once again we were delighted by marine life consisting of multiple fish balls, migrating Canada geese, blue herons, and best of all, a brief sighting of a large sea turtle that popped up by the starboard bow and quickly submerged.  Of concern was the new auto pilot that was operational but beginning to squeal again.  Will the auto pilot ever get fixed properly?

Initially we planned on anchoring out by Dozier’s Marina on the northern portion of the Deltaville peninsula.  We wanted to arrive in Portsmouth, VA, the following day (July 28) in a timely manner, so we decided to go the extra distance to the south side of the peninsula into Jackson Creek by Deltaville Boatyard.  We have stayed at Deltaville Boatyard several times in years past and knew the area fairly well.  The approach to Jackson Creek requires attention because a long sand bar blocks much of the entrance but is only visible at low tide.  This again is a critical place to follow the channel.  We delicately made our entry and found a great spot to drop the anchor and spent a restful night.

On the morning of July 28 we left our anchorage by 0730 hours heading south to Portsmouth, VA where we had reservations at Tidewater Marina (not to be confused with Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace at the north end of the Chesapeake).  The last time we were at Tidewater was in April 2016 where we met Patty Johnstone, a dynamite personality, a tour de force and overall fantastic person who lives on her boat Sweet November.  The last two years have had their shitty aspects for both of us.  Me with the Amidon Appraisal debacle whereby my business partners turned out to be crooks who put me in significant financial debt and Patty with a husband who turned out to be a bigamist who has another family in Germany.  Both Bob and I were looking forward to seeing her and catching up on the gory details.

Our cruising day was longer than we had anticipated.  Our travels down the bay went smoothly.  I did observe a baby sea turtle surface briefly.  What a thrilling treat! We also got visits from several dolphins.  Once we came to the mouth of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, vessel traffic picked up considerably with container ships, tows with barges, warships, tug boats, ferries, sailboats, and other pleasure crafts.  Lots of commercial vessels moving about.  We glided into the fuel dock for a fill and pump out.  While fueling, we saw a familiar figure walk up to us.  What a pleasant sight! It was Patty with her arms wide open and a big smile on her face.  So great to see her and to give and receive hugs!  Life is good!

Bob guided Velomer to the slip next to Sweet November and backed her in.  After three days of anchoring out, Velomer was ready to be washed down and Bob and I were ready to take a shower with relatively unlimited hot water at the marina bathhouse.  The next few days were spent tending to Velomer, getting information about auto pilot repair opportunities, catching up with Patty, doing laundry, shopping, reacquainting ourselves with Portsmouth, going to our favorite coffee shop, going to the Children’s Museum to get gifts for the twins.  We are on our way to Colorado on August 4 to visit with Phoebe, Erik and the twins.  We are so looking forward to our visit as we haven’t seen them since May!