Washington Bound

PM's Perspective

The 1st of October greeted us with fair skies and an irresistible warmth, a perfect day to start our meandering toward Washington, DC.  Our goal was to tie up to the Gangplank Marina in Washington several days before Thursday, October 9 when we were to take the 6:00 AM train to New York City for Phil and Bettina's wedding. The destination the first leg of this trip was Solomons Island at the mouth of the Patuxent River just north of the entrance to the Potomac River.  We pulled away from the Oxford Boatyard dock at a leisurely 11:00 AM carefully making our way through the marked channel around fish traps and crab pots and into Chesapeake Bay proper.  After five very short hours enjoying the natural beauty and wildlife of the Chesapeake as we cruised, we landed at Zahnizer's Marina.

We calculated the cruising days between Oxford and Washington, DC at four and we gave ourselves seven leaving a few days' wiggle room for weather issues and serendipity in the event we found an area we wanted to explore.  Solomons Island was one of those places.  Connected to the mainland by only one bridge, the town has no through traffic, an unhurried pace, is very welcoming to mariners, and an ideal area for exploring by bicycle. In addition, the Calvert Marine Museum provides a multi-faceted approach to the uniqueness of Chesapeake Bay and is not to be missed by anyone at all interested in this type of information.  The most intriguing aspects of the museum for me were the

Drum Point Lighthouse

Boats of the Bay exhibit as well as the octagonal Drum Point Lighthouse that dominates the waterfront of the museum.  The lighthouse, one of only three surviving Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses, was moved from Drum Point at the mouth of the Patuxent River to the museum in 1974.  Originally installed at Drum Point in 1882, the lighthouse was fabricated off-site and took 30-days to construct the eight footings and assemble the pre-fabricated components of the lighthouse proper.  The lighthouse includes not only the beacon, located at the very top of the lighthouse, to warn mariners of the shoals at Drum Point but also includes living quarters for the keeper and his family on the lower two levels.  The octagonal shape of the structure created some interesting design challenges.  The center of the lighthouse contains a circular stairwell to all three enclosed levels and all rooms have at least two ingress/egress doors.

After two days we bid farewell to Solomons Island heading south to the mouth of the Potomac River, then northwest toward the capital.  Marinas are relatively sparse in the lower Potomac, so this travel day was lengthy.  The most logical waypoint was Cobb's Island where we had a choice of two marinas.  I, being the more miserly of the two of us, chose the less expensive one.  We called ahead and made a reservation.  As we approached, we tried hailing the marina on the radio but got no response at all.  The closer we came, the more disheartening the scene.  The marina sign was faded and askew, and the fixed docks and pilings were in disrepair and covered with copious amounts of seagull poop.  Another bad sign was the low number of vessels, many of which were in the same condition as the rest of the facility, tied up to the docks.  A short distance from the docks was a commercial building (in similar condition as the docks and boats) containing a restaurant specializing in fried fare and a general store with dust covered merchandise.  We tied Velomer up on the dock closest to the shore trying to avoid the guano as much as possible (it wasn't possible) and went into the store to inquire where we should dock, who we should pay, where the showers were and the like. The woman behind the counter told Bob she didn't know how to use the radio so she doesn't even turn it on when she is working.  That explained why we couldn't hail the marina.  As anticipated, the showers mirrored the rest of the facility in terms of the overall upkeep.  This being said, there is a silver lining to this place.  The restaurant bar had ice-cold Pinot Grigio and wonderful welcoming patrons, and the showers had the best water pressure we have experienced on the east coast (which was slightly offset by the fact that the drain was very slow).

That night was wet and very windy.  We had to get up at 3:00 AM to retie the boat to the pilings as we are still learning how to best tie up to fixed docks.  Needless to say, we left at first light and were happy to be on our way.  Not to be a negative Nellie, whenever Bob and I refer to this particular marina we say "that marina with the great water pressure."

As Washington, DC is approximately 70 nm from Cobb's Island and more than one day's comfortable cruise for Velomer, we decided to find a marina less than 30 nm from Washington.  Again, marinas are relatively sparse in this area, so our one option was Hampton Marina in Woodbridge, VA.  Most boats would anchor on this portion of the Potomac as many good anchorage spots exist.  However, we had a very bad anchoring experience the first year we owned Velomer and have been extremely reluctant to anchor since.  The three times we have anchored in the past three years, Bob has not slept as he gets up to make sure the boat hasn't dragged.

Access to Hampton Marina is via a very narrow, shallow channel and all vessels must pass under a fixed railroad bridge which eliminates most masted sailboats.  The wind is the primary determinant of water depth in the Potomac River, more than tide and current and phase of the moon.  When the wind is from the southeast, it pushes the water northwest and the water levels in the Potomac tend to be higher.  When the wind is from the opposite direction, water levels tend to be lower.  With a four foot draft and Bob's piloting skills, Velomer was able to negotiate the channel with relative ease.  Our slip assignment was at a dock within a boat garage.  Hampton Marina was the opposite of the prior night's facility much to our delight.  Our only concern was water depth.  The next morning Bob noticed that water depth was falling due to tidal action as well as a full moon and that if we were to depart we had to depart sooner than later.  We left with 0.2 feet of water under our keel (much too low for comfort) and kicked up a great deal of mud as we left the slip but made it to center channel without going aground.  Phew!

View from Velomer at Gangplank!

Approaching Washington, DC from the water is a very different experience than any other means of transport.  Cruising the 25 nm from Woodbridge to Washington took us past Mt. Vernon and Fort Washington.  Around the bend from Fort Washington, the capital dome and Washington Monument came into view.  Our excitement intensified as we tried to identify various landmarks. Within three hours we were safely docked at Gangplank Marina on floating docks, our preferred situation. Best of all, we had a view of the Washington Monument from our fly bridge.  Washington is a tourist's paradise -- so much to see and experience, so much is free and reasonably priced. The city is very walkable and bikable.  The icing on the cake was the welcoming live aboard community at the Gangplank Marina and helpfulness of the marina staff.  We played in Washington for the next several days and prepared for our trip to New York.

The Good Life Continues

PM's Perspective -- Now for Something Completely Different!

The good life has been so fine that this blog has taken a back seat!  After Baltimore's star spangled spectacular we headed back to Oxford Boatyard where we docked Velomer for a time, rented a car, and headed to Jamestown, RI where we met up with Captain Erik Larsson to help sail the vessel Swiftwater, a 39' Najad, to Norfolk, VA.  The offshore journey was to be my first trip well outside the sight of land and beyond cell phone coverage.  I wasn't sure how I would emotionally respond to the situation but was ready to take the leap.  We arrived in Jamestown on Monday, September 22 with a planned boat departure on Wednesday when the fourth crew member arrived from Colorado.

The next two days were spent provisioning supplies including food, water, fuel, spare parts, tools, gadgets and the like.  The galley had very limited staples.  Salt, pepper, basic spices, flour, can opener, wooden spoons and the essential cork screw all needed to be purchased and stowed on board. I gladly assumed the food provisioning while Bob and Erik focused on the mechanical and electrical aspects of the preparation process. By Wednesday when Andraya arrived, we were ready to roll.  However, the weather was very uncooperative.  Howling wind and uncomfortably choppy seas kept Swiftwater firmly tied to the mooring pennant.  By Friday afternoon the skies cleared enough to make the passage to Block Island, a three hour sail to the south, where we picked up one of the many public moorings available for a reasonable fee.

Bob at Ferry Landing on Block Island

We arrived early enough to walk into town and see the aftermath of the summer season on the area. Many storefronts were closed until the next season, some were opened for another week with limited steeply discounted merchandise, and a few others stayed open year-round catering mainly to the full time residents.  The few tourists on the island enjoyed the less than crowded sidewalks and the shopkeepers donned an apparent attitude of sweet relief that the peak season ended with the Labor Day weekend.  While in town we bought some wine and chocolate to round out our provisioning.  After all, we were to be offshore for at least two full days!

Captain Erik Larsson aboard Swiftwater

Just before dawn we motored out through the inner harbor cut and were treated to a promising sunrise.  The wind was too calm to sail -- a perfect situation for my first offshore stint.  The weather was totally delightful the entire day -- a warm sun, not too hot, a very mild breeze, cloudless sky, mirror like water.  These ideal conditions were punctuated by the occasional pod of dolphins breaking the surface in the distance and bait balls just off the bow. With a crew of four, we divided up the watches for the trip.  Everyone was on during the day from 9 AM to 6 PM.  From 6 PM to 3 AM Erik and Andraya were on watch and from 3 AM to 9 AM Bob and I were on watch.  This schedule worked well for all of us.  The younger crew were much better at staying up late, and the older mariners were much better at getting up early!

Sunrise aboard Swiftwater

Three events stand out providing lasting memories of this particular journey.  The most notable was the bioluminescence, the emission of light by living organisms through chemical reactions, caused by the algae Noctiluca scintillans in the ocean whenever the water is disturbed.  This is primarily a colder clime phenomena.  Due to the motion of the boat through the water, the bioluminescence accentuated Swiftwater's wake on the sides and to the rear of the vessel.  It was magical to stare down into the water and watch as the waves lit up and faded as the boat moved past.  Second was the nighttime sky totally undiluted by city lights.  The milky way was clearly discernible as were the constellations, the big dipper, little dipper and North Star.  The third was the sighting of several dozen solo leatherback turtles sunning themselves at water's surface on our second day out.  They first appeared as floating barrels on the surface, but when we got closer, they would extend their heads up to see what was approaching and then quickly dove down to escape our scrutiny.

We powered into Norfolk Harbor safe and sound on Monday afternoon, September 29.  With Swiftwater safely docked at the marina where she will stay for the next several weeks, we headed northerly by rental car back to Oxford Boatyard and Velomer. We spent the next several days decompressing by doing laundry, restocking the larder on Velomer, enjoying the dock community and the company of fellow cruisers/sailors, biking to St. Michael's, and generally getting organized to head for Washington, DC by boat where we will leave Velomer while we travel to New York for Phil and Bettina's wedding.

The fact that I could not see land or get cell phone reception these few offshore days was quite freeing.  I had the utmost faith in the rest of the crew, particularly the captain who instilled a great deal of confidence, and I knew the boat was safe and seaworthy.  The idyllic weather was a big plus.  This is all giving me the confidence as well as desire to venture to the Bahamas, something that Bob really wants to do this January or February.  Time will tell.  Stay tuned!