Annapolis to St. Michaels

This sea of masts gives you a little idea of
how many sailboats are packed into Back Creek

Back Creek in Annapolis was a frustrating place to try to anchor.  The cruising guides warn about not blocking access to the docks and not anchoring in any city mooring areas.  That leaves precious little room for an anchor - especially one like ours with only 20 feet of chain.  Most boats we saw used all chain.  One cruiser told us he had been anchored in Back Creek for 4 days and had to re-anchor 4 times.  Reluctantly, we parted with $30  for a city mooring.  Annapolis has more beautiful sailboats per square foot than any other port we have ever seen.

We took off too late in the afternoon for a hair-raising tandem ride on a very busy 4 lane  road to the Giant Supermarket.  Waiting behind a bus at a red light in a turn lane for 2 lanes of traffic was unnerving - but we survived.  We managed to fit quite a few groceries into our panniers with a dozen eggs bungeed on top of our trunk rack.  Our real challenge was getting the bike folded up and carrying it down a ladder to our dinghy that was no longer at the bottom  of the ladder.  The dinghy had been displaced by other dinghys.  Luckily one of the owners came by and not only moved his dinghy but he waited around to receive the bike as I lowered it to him.  Maryanne is training to be an acrobat.  She climbed down the ladder and almost jumped into the dinghy.

We debated where to spend the next several days of bad weather. To the Solomons or to St. Michaels - that was the question.  We decided after hearing rave reviews of St. Michaels that we would head there.  After we started we began debating.  Do we go the direct route by way of the Miles River to the harbor in St. Michaels or do we go the long way and take the back door through a canal in Tilghman Island and travel through a labyrinth of creeks off the Choptank River.  The cruising guides told us that anchoring room in St. Michaels was limited and that the holding isn't good.  Further it was explained that if you drifted across the channel on your anchor you would get a ticket from the police.  The advantage of the creek was - no tickets and good protection from bad weather.  NOAA  which has been reliably inaccurate in its forecast of winds this week has predicted possible gale warnings within the next couple days.  The creek made sense not only for the protection but it will offer us a more direct route south when we decide to finally go.  I did push the limits of the creek as far as I could.  I went to the last spot on the creek that was marked at 7 feet.  My depth finder read 4 feet.   I'm guessing that the depth finder is off by about 2 feet so that should give me about 6 inches of clearance over the bottom.  I hope that's enough.

Which side of this bridge would you like to fit
your 62 foot mast under?  I wanted to push the concrete wall
further to the left!  This is the "back door" through Tilghman Island
(Setting for Michner's Cheasapeake) 

We managed a quick walk into town to see where we might want go when the forecast rain lets up.

This is one of the many Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks that call
Tilghman Island home.

Sasafrass River to Annapolis by way of Worton Creek

Our plan to sail from the Sassafras River about 30 or so miles to Annapolis was changed by 25 knots of wind on our nose.  We decided to go only about 6 miles to Worton Creek.  We were a little anxious about finding a place to anchor because the water is spread pretty thin throughout the creek.  We decided to top off our tanks at the Green Point Marina before anchoring.  After a longish (2 hour) wait we left a message for the Marina owner that we would be off riding our bike but would return in an hour.  Off we went down the scarcely traveled back road through the woods and past large open fields.  This area of the Eastern Shore is undeveloped and beautiful.

Having been told what car the marina owner drove - we were able to identify him heading back toward the Marina.  We turned around and met him about 10 minutes later.  We filled the tanks.  He said that right after we paid he was leaving and that we were welcome to spend the night on the dock.  OK!  All was good until the wind shifted at 3 am pushing the boat against the dock.  I awoke to the loud creaking of our rub rail rubbing against a piling.  I set up a fenderboard to protect us.  With a few adjustments of our lines on the pilings I was able to get back into bed.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridges
 we passed under them about 12:30
shortly before entering Back Creek

The next morning we finally headed toward Annapolis with a fair wind.  We are currently sitting on a city mooring in Back Creek.  With rough weather forecast later in the week we plan to head to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore tomorrow.

Havre de Grace to the Sassafras River

We became impatient to make progress south today.    It makes me think of how I feel when I'm waiting a long time at an intersection to make a turn.  After a while my idea of what a safe distance is begins to change.  I think I need less space to turn with ongoing traffic.  Today there were small craft warnings to be posted late morning.  We left Havre de Grace at about 9 a.m. and motored up the very narrow 5 mile channel to get into position to cross the Chesapeake.  I figured how bad could a few miles across the Chesapeake be?  It was slow and uncomfortable with our speed slowing to 2 knots when we hit a big wave and increasing to 4 knots in lulls between big waves.  The highest gust we saw on the anemometer was 41 knots.  I will try to post a short video that doesn't quite do justice to the motion but will give you some idea of what it was like.  Right now I'm sitting in the dark cockpit enjoying the stars just off Turner Creek on the Sassafras River.  We're both glad that we chose a destination that was near by.  Tomorrow we will wait until the wind is much better.

Thunderstorms in Havre de Grace

Today was a day for thunderstorms in Havre de Grace.  Nothing really big but torrential rain for a few minutes a couple of times.  One of the cloud bursts took place during my 3 mile run on a trail up the Susquehanna.  I had to walk part of the trail because the river had recently covered the trail.  Parts of the trail had turned to muck.  The rising river creates some serious problems from time to time.  The staff at Tidewater said that Hurricane Irene had put their store 2-3 feet underwater.  They were up to their knees moving stock out of the store at the end of the dock and back to their flood proof store on Market St.

Living aboard has changed Maryanne.  She seems to be enjoying the accomplishment of cooking in a challenging environment.  She is cooking meal after meal.  Not just simple stuff - really delicious meals.  Even though she is a vegetarian I get pork chops with apple raisin stuffing.  Today she baked lasagna with sausages at one end for me - hearts of artichokes on her end.  Also today she baked brownies.

Maryanne at work in our less-than-spacious galley

We brought some brownies and her special cheese spread to share with Norm and Jan aboard S/V Bandersnatch.  Norm designed and built the 63' ferrocement boat himself.  The boat seemed enormous to us with its 18' beam and large cabin windows.  The tour of the engine room was an overwhelming experience.  Jan is talented jewelry designer who actually creates jewelry in her workshop aboard their floating home.  We enjoyed our visit with them.

This poor little guy joined us in the middle of Delaware Bay.  The Bay is wide enough that you can't see land in any direction.  I think he was pretty tired.  We were motoring along when we heard a metallic sound.  Maryanne thought is was related to our engine or autopilot.  It turned out to be this tiny bird.  Is it a goldfinch?  Compare his size to the clothespins next to him.

Foggy Day in Havre de Grace

The weather has not been cooperating with us.  Yesterday and last night's rains have been followed by drizzle and fog today.  Tomorrow will be rainy also.  Maryanne is practicing with her "Pro Chopper Plus," a manual Cuisinart   She is whipping up a cheese spread with hard boiled eggs, mayo, grated cheddar cheese, grated pepper, onion, black olives, and tabasco.  The bad news is it's hard to stop eating once you dig into one of her creations.

We decided to give up our $30 mooring tonight to anchor for free.  The only cost - unsettled sleep.   A neighboring cruiser told us it is not good holding ground here.  He had some trouble setting his anchor.  Our Manson Supreme anchor seems set OK but it's stretched out under our boat.  There are changing currents here on the Susquehanna River.  I hope the anchor holds.  Amtrak will keep me on my toes -- it thunders across the bridge near us on a regular basis.

Havre de Grace

Havre de Grace has been an excellent spot to wait out bad weather.  It was raining this morning and pouring buckets this evening.  Our $30 mooring at the Tidewater Marina gave us access to their courtesy van which we used to go to ShopRite, Home Depot, and the local "Fluff & Fold" laundromat.  We should have taken a picture of all the goodies we loaded the dinghy with.  We barely fit.  I hoped that I had put enough gas in the engine because it was blowing hard, the water was choppy and the current was strong. Even if I could reach the oars, I couldn't row fast enough to reach our nearby boat.  We made it without a problem but the dinghy was pretty bouncey on the stern of Symphony.  We have a unique locking device made from Weaver Brackets that locks the side of our dinghy to the back of our boat.  It means that Maryanne can stand on a relatively stable platform - the side of the dinghy - as she climbs up the transom.  Our set up on the transom was conceived and crafted by Jay, the owner of Merri-Mar Yacht Basin, Inc.  We have a number of modifications to our boat that make it much more comfortable thanks to Jay, his son, and the staff at Merri-Mar.

I have been very frustrated with the poor reception of my FM radio.  The trip to Radio Shack gave me the last items I needed to connect the radio to the antenna splitter that is used for my VHF and AIS.  Now the antenna on the top of the mast is my FM antenna as long as I am not using my AIS or VHF.  We can once again enjoy NPR at anchor.

3 States in one day

We were feeling a little chill on the Delaware River but were warmed
by the sight of this nuclear plant

Our neighbor in Havre-de-Grace

Nice spinnaker headed south
past us in the narrow channel
into Havre-de-Grace

So we escaped the Cohansey river just before dawn and just before the flies were up for the day.  We had the good fortune to follow out two other sailboats.  They led me through deeper water than I had traveled into the river last night.  We were able to keep up with the other boats by motor-sailing up the Delaware.  For some reason we can't seem to motor as fast as any other boat our size.  The river was not exactly scenic as we approached the C&D canal.  The canal was a nice contrast with trees that were beginning to turn.  We were passed by a number of mega-yachts usually with homeports like West Palm Beach or Kingston.  We had an 8 hour day of motoring from NJ through Delaware to Havre-de-Grace, MD.  We had one heart-stopping moment motoring up a narrow channel a few miles south of Havre-de-Grace.  As the motor  ran smoothly - as smoothly as marine diesels run - we heard a loud (very loud) BOOM!  I thought the motor had blown up - but it was still running - then I was sure it was a big log we had run into.  Maryanne said no - she felt it in her chest.  OK - she was right again.  She read the cruising guide that mentioned that the Aberdeen Proving Ground was used for testing weapons and that occasionally there were explosions that could be heard across the bay.  Phew!  It was realllly loud!  We decided to take a mooring tonight with 25 knot winds - small craft warnings - and rain predicted for tomorrow.