July 2024
Tuesday July 2nd
Greeted this morning by a bluebird on one of the deck planters.
Headed to Tidewater by noon, after dance class and packing. Chores done: Laz installed a water filter under the head sink, I cut off some of the hose and the shower handle from the outside shower by the swim platform. Laz tried to sort out the speed gauge but realized the wiring was more of a challenge than anticipated. Listened to the Netherlands v Romania game while we were doing things. Headed out around 1615 for Still Pond. Thought we were going to have to motor the whole way, but a nice North wind of about 5kts was blowing, so we raised the main and unfurled the jib for a little while. Breeze softened to 2-3kts so we furled the jib, dropped the main and headed to Still Pond.
Had a little passenger. We have been lucky to have the dragonflies and damselflies join us.
Panera's cheddar broccoli soup and Talula's pepperoni pizza baguette for dinner while under way as the seas were calm and flat.
There was already a sailboat, Galaxy, in our usual spot on the north side of Still Pond. 3 sailboats and a few motorboats on the south side, with another sailboat joining later. Anchored between the 2nd and 3rd docks. Watched the fish roil come around to us, with the occasional jump. Thought I saw a cow nose or two fishing a little ways out from us. Looked more like a fin flap than a fish jump.
Laz adjusted the battens so they were not so tight to the mast. The main was inverted and we had trouble getting that resolved in the light wind.
I took the painter off the tow line for Boji, unthreaded it and made it a painter again.
Another gorgeous sunset. Not sure where we are heading tomorrow but certainly another night out.
Wednesday July 3rd
Slept in, as we weren't going far. Good winds predicted.
Heated up the burrata quiche with tomato and basil from Talula's plus strawberries. It's definitely strawberry season with sweet berries in abundance.
Great breeze from the S once we cleared land. We headed across the Bay.
Saw this tugboat towing a barge full of scrap and some tree branches. Wondering if that was from continued dredging of the Patapsco under the Key Bridge collapse. We would have kept going to the other shore, but we saw the patrol boats out. Earlier we saw a large puff of dark smoke with a much belated boom. A working day at Aberdeen.
Gybed to the other side, passing the sailing club off Betterton.
Played with the jib car to affect the shape of the jib and got it tuned nicely. The new jib is good in moderate air. Still don't know what is wrong with the speed display or sensor. Laz ordered a new one from Amazon and we should have it on Friday. He did try calling to order from West Marine in NorthEast first. Headed into the Sassafras. Had to gybe due to a wind shift.
Saw this lovely yawl heading out as we headed in. Squirrelly winds, but to be expected due to the land. Headed in to anchor around Knight Island, technically called Back Creek. There were two other boats already anchored. One motorboat left shortly after we got there. The red Nordic Tug Fringe Benefits stayed a while. A woman was in the water cleaning their hull, so we decided to try that. Good news, the brush floats. However, it was a chore to clean by hand, even in the swim saddle. Ended up with both of us in Boji, one scrubbing and one walking Boji along the toe rail. Got baji-naji nicely scrubbed. I had scrubbed Boji’s hull from the swim saddle.
A view of the hut we are anchored off of. Seems to be our spot and glad the other boats let us have it.
I had smelled a whiff of propane while sitting in the back, so we got the soapy water spray and found a leak at the fitting of the new hose and the pressure regulator. Laz got his tool box out, unscrewed the fitting, used the plumber's tape and put it back on. Sadly, still a leak. Slow, but there. Will have to turn on and off the propane for now. Turned it back on later, so I could make dinner.
Love this view of the dock and the point behind it, especially as the sun starts to set.
Dinner of pan seared garlic encrusted steak, roasted asparagus with lemon shavings (no zester), garlic, salt and pepper and sourdough rolls. Dessert was Talula's chocolate cake and a sunset.
Sunset colors in both directions. Back to HdG tomorrow. Ran the generator to charge the battery, then for the AC to cool down the cabins.
Thursday July 4th, Independence Day 🇺🇸🎆
Awakened by the low battery alarm at 0746. Weird, as we topped it off last night. Laz did some troubleshooting and found that the generator did not charge the battery. Luckily it will still charge off the engine, so we ran the engine for an hour. Since that works, we decided to get back to dock to do further troubleshooting.
Breakfasted on yogurt, blueberries and granola, plus a chorizo manchego scone for Laz and we split the last 2/3 of the sour cherry chocolate scone. Had to turn on and off the propane to boil water for coffee and heat scones. Hoping to fix that at Tidewater as well. Motored out of Back Creek and the twisty part of the Sassafras before putting up sail. Wind was nice 5+ kts from the NW and we were able to sail the rest of the Sassafras and over past the Yellow L marker.
Insert flag video here
Took a short video of our ensign flag to wish everyone a Happy Independence Day.
The wind softened coming past Aberdeen, and there was a predicted thunderstorm coming in the evening, so we put the engine on and motor sailed the rest of the way into HdG. Saw the Byng out in the swimming area but Johnny did not answer on VHF. Texted Tina, and they will be around til Sunday. Got into dock a little bit forward so we could bring Boji to the swim platform. Plugged in the shore power and got the AC going, however the battery charger from shore power was not working. Laz needs to look at the electrical systems blueprints on his laptop at the house before we sort next steps. It could be a blown fuse, or worse case, a dead charger. It worked when we were at Still Pond, so not sure what happened. Nothing was going to be solved on an empty stomach, so I made lunch: smoked turkey, goat cheese and spinach roll ups with sweet gherkins for Laz and dill pickle chips for me. After lunch, Laz went to the marina store to see if they had an O ring or something better than the plumber's tape for the stove gasket, but they did not. While he was gone, I brought Boji to the swim platform, took off the 30lb bag of marble chips and stowed under the starboard back deck area, and brought her back up front, so we could put her on the foredeck. Filled the forward water tank. Laz got Boji on the foredeck while I topped off the aft tank. We put some water in the holding tank to hopefully thin out some of the sludge that is messing with the sensors on the Purasan. Since there wasn't anything more we could do, we packed up and headed home.
Made a cucumber, grape tomato, onion and dill salad using John Knauer’s apple cider vinegar and our Coastal Lemon Avocado Oil. Laz grilled Usingers knackwurst and I finish baked some of the brioche loaf from Wildgrain to use as a hot dog bun. Apple pie bites for dessert. “American as apple pie.“ Back to Tidewater tomorrow with better plumbing tape or goo, and hopefully a solution for the battery charger. The last open item, the funky speed sensor/display, is awaiting a new unit so Laz can test if it's the sensor or the display unit. There is always something to work on!
Friday July 5th
Got a call from Chuck O’Malley around 0900 that he was on his way from Annapolis to replace the slides on the main. Did a quick pack of breakfast and lunch items and headed to Brandywine Ace to get a replacement fitting for the outdoor shower head. Ed at Ace pointed us in the right direction for gas tape, for the propane stove fitting, but thought we'd need to go to Stoltzfus RV for the shower head fitting. We filled the boat propane tank while we were there, then off to Tidewater. Chuck called while we were on our way and said that with the replaced slides, the sail is coming down exactly as it's supposed to. We discussed the wear spots on the main, which he said is delamination, and that if we put sail tape on now, we could address the rest in the off season. When we got to Tidewater, turned on the AC first thing, as it's in the upper 80s/low 90s and started the engine to recharge the batteries. Laz put on the newly taped propane hose and voila, no leak! The wind was from the S, just enough to make it difficult to raise the main, so we decided to take baji-naji out, anchor, them raise the main to put sail tape on the wear spots. I went to the store and got both sail and rigging tape. Headed out after putting Boji back in the water with her marble chips. After anchoring well off the channel, we raised the main enough to put on the sail tape, then decided we'd test the patches by raising the main completely and sailing. The sail did go up much more easily, I could raise the first third or more by hand, before needing the winch. The last 1/4 is still a challenge for me though.
Someone coming in wing in the channel as we headed out.
The heron on can #7 was fine with a close encounter, until he wasn't
Passed Mare Calmo sailing in, as we sailed out.
With the tide going out, we headed past Turkey Point Lighthouse across the Bay. Wind softened after we crossed the channel, so downwind speed was ~1-2 kts. Headed back to HdG. Pointed into the wind after we passed the red, as the sail tape was coming off on the port side. I put some reinforcing strips of sail tape on. We'll have to see if it stays put.
Saw this ultralight as we came back in. Got baji-naji safely back in her slip, having run the engine a good hour to recharge the batteries. We will be back tomorrow to run the engine again and for the BBQ picnic and town fireworks.
Saturday July 6th
Had to watch England v Switzerland in the Euros qualifiers before going anyway. Decided to work out on the bike while watching the first half. Nail biting, although a win, finally on penalty kicks. Made the cucumber, dill, tomato salad again, marinated chicken in Newman's Own and extra lemon and headed down to Tidewater. Laz was able to take down the battery charger, open it and determine that the internal fuse was fine. He found the circuit breaker for it as well. While he was working on it, I took a walk and talked with John Arty of Mare Calmo. Their battery charger lasted ~ 7 years, and he's had to replace the speed/depth/temp sensor as well. We headed for the BBQ, and found the chicken was still partially frozen. Laz used the less hot grill and cooked it slowly. It was delicious! Some of the mayflies were starting to hatch and landed on me despite the picardin we had sprayed. Oh well, they don't bite or hurt, so no harm.
I found one of our local heron, along with gulls, cormorants and Canadian geese, along the rock wall.
After dinner, we walked back to drop our dishes on board , then went to say hi to Johnny and Tina and their family, as the Byng was in and they were grilling there. Tina's nephew Cory was grilling corn for a corn salsa, followed by shrimp for shrimp tacos. I got the recipe from his wife. Tasty! We met John and Heidi from Annie Eileen, the red detailed Hunter across the fairway. They are having generator issues, so I showed them our set up, and Laz gave them Nate Horton’s contact info on a baji-naji card.
The town put on a spectacular fireworks show, better than last year's for sure. Off to bed afterwards. Jeff Cook came up from Annapolis to visit, staying on the Byng, and it was fun to watch the fireworks with him. Off to bed afterwards, after checking to make sure the battery voltage was OK. Crazy miracle, Laz noticed that the battery charger lights were on, indicating that it was receiving shore power and ready to charge the batteries. Go figure! Too late to do anything about it, will have to wait until morning.
Sunday July 7th
Did not sleep well, not sure if it was the heat (the air conditioners were on) or worrying about the battery or what. Breakfasted on yogurt with granola and blueberries, and put out my homemade banana chocolate chip walnut bread and a chocolate croissant to split. And coffee. I'm not a big fan of half and half in the coffee, but that's all we had in the house (from our houseguests) so that's what I brought. Laz reconnected the battery charger after breakfast and it was working! Hurray!! It's a little worrisome that we don't know why it failed, so Laz will investigate getting a new one anyway, but we are relieved that it is working for now. Very grateful it did not fail when we were away in Florida. That excitement over, Laz tacked the speed/temp/depth sensor. He tested the new one by attaching it, and it worked! Glad to have sorted out the issue. Then he had to take out the old one and replace it with the new, with only a little water coming in. The next fun was figuring out which line was the old one, snaking it out through all the zip ties (had to cut several) and snaking the new wiring from the bow back to near the water heater where it gets plugged in. I got to help with this but, as sorting out cords and wires is a NICU specialty. Success! We have a working gauge! As it was now past 2pm, it was time to call it a day and head home. Picked up a chicken Caesar wrap with fries from Nonnie's on our way home.
Reminder to check the engine hours before we go out again.
Saturday July 13th
Headed to Tidewater after getting the metric sized crimps for the speed/depth/temperature sensor. Laz replaced them. Wind was from the S, but we were able to raise the main partly with the traveler over to starboard in order to put the correct sail tape on. Mission accomplished! Back to the house. Appts in Philly and Kennett next week. And hopefully cooler and no thunderstorms so will be back sailing next weekend.
Friday July 19th
Ran errands to properly provision. Scones from Oso, doughnuts and fruit from the Amish market, croissants and a few pastries from La Baguette Magique, and the rest from Giant. Packed up for 6-8 weeks (it's the meds that are challenging, not the clothes because you can always do laundry) and headed to Tidewater. Dinner in the car of a lovely reheated char siu bao. Loaded it all onto baji-naji and realized we forgot a few things. most importantly, my coffee beans!
Had to defrost the fridge before we could put anything in the freezer.
After all that work, we split this black forest eclair (chocolate pastry with cherry filling and cream on top). It was yummy. Wrote a list of everything we forgot at home and will pop there in the morning.
Saturday July 20th
Slept in til just before 0900 as I was up past MN. Had coffee and yogurt and a bite of the doughnuts, they are good. Laz had 1/2 an old fashioned and 1/2 a chocolate. Headed home to pick up what we needed, then to Sam's for an Italian sub to eat on our way back. When we got back, we got Boji off the bow and back in the water. We washed baji-naji using the Star Brite non skid, which cleans and leaves a layer of non skid, very helpful. Filled the aft water tank. Off the dock by 4p despite the drizzle. Saw Vela being towed in by TowBoat US, talked to Steven by text and VHF and apparently their engine won't start. So sad!! Wind from the S so we put up the main in the channel. Then we were able to sail after passing FBI and when turning towards the green.
A little gray and drizzly, but decent wind 6-10+ from the S with an oscillation to the E. So nice to have a working speed gauge!
Main sail looks good and the patches with the proper type of sail tape are holding up nicely.
Sunset sailing and dinner. We split the leftover beef Wellington and a baked overstuffed potato from Brandywine Prime which I reheated in the oven as we were under way. We had a piece of their excellent bread to split as well.
The face you make when your wife wants a selfie and you just put potato in your mouth.
Anchored on the North side of Still Pond. Forecast is for no rain and a pleasant overnight.
Sunset reflected in the windows of the house we are anchored off of.
Our view from baji-naji. Heading to Annapolis tomorrow.
Sunday July 21st
Up before 0900, hard boiled eggs and croissants for breakfast.
Beautiful ketch across from us.
We had let out the anchor line a bit, to try the new rode that was spliced.
This little one was watching Laz pull up the anchor. Good news, the new line came up and did not get caught in the windlass. We had replaced windlass coverplate and because Christian found the pawl was not functioning properly. All shiny and working! Headed out of Still Pond with a little bit of breeze, so we put the main up right away and then the jib. Wind was from the N and 3-4 kts. We were able to sail a bit, then decided to motor when the wind went to 0. Wind built again from the SW 7-10kts, so we pulled out the jib again and had a delightful sail towards Kent Island, then tacking a couple of times to get under the Bay Bridge
This season the dragonflies have really enjoyed our lazy jacks.
Lots of working ships today including this double wide barge and tug. Genesis is the tug, could not see the name on the barge. Sailed into the Severn from the Bay.
Swifties know why this can is special.
Sailed up past the Naval Academy. Imagine that, the Navy has lots of sailboats.
Approaching the Naval Academy bridge with the route 50 bridge just behind it.
The route 50 bridge is just 10 ft above the top of our mast. By this point the Severn is narrow and with the wind behind us we furled the jib. Motored up to Round Bay, where our friends Sarah Mudge and Clark Havener live. Sarah is an Exeter classmate.
I brought cheese, charcuterie and my trail mix, and they had cocktail shrimp. Giant crab cakes, Caesar salad and corn on the cob for dinner with little chocolate ice cream cones from TJ's for dessert.
Sarah took us for a walk along the waterfront to their farthest pier to see the sunset, then through the very nice neighborhood back to her place.
She likes our happy lights and texted me this picture of them as we took the dinghy back. A lovely evening. Tomorrow rain is expected and we are heading over to Safe Harbor Annapolis.
Monday July 22nd
Hot night, had the generator til 0200, then tried the hatches only with a good breeze. Too hot (Laz was! Which never happens) by 0430 so put the generator and AC on again. Up by 0830. Extricated from the mooring ball (Laz carefully brought our line back aboard) and motored back down the Severn to Back Creek. Breakfast along the way of yogurt with pineapple and coconut chips, plus Oso sour cherry scone for Laz. And the lovely Ethiopian Worka coffee mixed with a Mayan decaf. Dodged Navy sailors in small 22 ft sailboats. There were many boats, with at least 4 sailors aboard. Not good to run the Navy over, especially when they have right of way. Into Back Creek and found our marina, Safe Harbor Annapolis, and our face dock D, and our slip, 261. Large motorboat at 262, so glided on the dock stern to stern. Did not even use the bow thruster. They have lovely large bumpers so no need for ours. Tied Boji off aft, to a piling and our port side. It started to pour just after we got here, complete deluge. Had not even hooked up the power yet. I decided to do the temp sensor offset, and spent 1/2 hour trying to remember where it was. Tried the big screen settings, looked on the Raymarine chats, and finally found it under Speed, of all things. Adjusted up 17° as per temp readings for Annapolis Harbor. The actual adjustment took a minute.
Made lunch since it was pouring, using the leftover crab cake and shrimp from SMudge.
After the initial downpour, there was a brief lull in the action. You could see the crazy clouds around us. The Wunderground app is remarkably accurate for radar and predicted times of rain. We walked up to the office during one of the lulls to check in.
On the way back we saw this cute motor boat. It's even in Barb's color! During another lull we decided to make our way to Fawcetts. Got a Lyft there, found that we needed a replacement kit for the cockpit shower hose, as they did not have any of the individual spare parts. Laz also asked about replacing bearings on our main halyard winch. The elderly gentleman helping him, dropped down on his haunches to a winch just like ours and proceeded to show us how to take it apart and where to clean and grease it. I saw a whole kit with instructions, grease and everything you might want. Also got more Kanberra Gel and some Kanberra spray. Walked over to Giant for some more yogurt, and the cheese that we brought to Smudge's. Took a Lyft back to Safe Harbor Annapolis. The rain was not bad, except for when we got in the Lyft. Relaxing rest of the afternoon, I read my book (The Calculating Stars) and Laz napped.
We walked over to Boathouse Grill for dinner with Susan and Roger Hebden. I've known Susan since first grade, although we were out of touch for 40+ years until this year.
Susan and I split the oyster fries. Yummy!
I had the channa sliders. Channa is snakehead, an invasive species that they are trying to market for eating. It was pretty good, a firm whitefish with a sweet flavor. I gave Laz one to try. He had a grilled mahi sandwich. We walked back to Safe Harbor Annapolis with our to go desserts and enjoyed the key lime pie while we figured out where to go tomorrow. Toss up between the Rhode and the Wye River. We decided on the Wye.
Tuesday July 23rd
Off the dock at 0900 and across to Annapolis Landing Marina for fuel. Filled up 17.923 gallons for about 0.51 hours per gallon (31 engine hours, 13 generator hours at 4:1 and rounding up a little). Pretty good! Left the fuel dock and realized Boji was no longer attached! Circled back right away to get her. The wind was blowing her into the docks, but Laz managed to snag the middle of the tow line with a boat hook. The end of the line got caught under the bow and got snagged in the bow thruster, which was still down. Oh boy. Laz tried to free it, then realized that was not going to be possible ik the middle of Back Creek. Not much traffic at the moment but it is a high traffic area. Decided to go back to our slip D261 at Safe Harbor and tie up to sort this out. Laz had to get into Boji from the port side (we opened the lifeline gate and he is tall enough to get in the dinghy from there) then I towed him to the bow where he was able to use his long arms and hands to free the tow line, just before the bow thruster timed out! Whew!
Boji is certainly living up to her name. Above is rescuer and rescuee.
Main sail up, jib out and off we went towards the Eastern Bay. So good to see the big cargo and working ships anchored again, now that the Port of Baltimore is open. Laz counted 13 ships yesterday and 12 today. Got a text from Kathy Reichert that David Hodge is in the hospital. She and Nick are supposed to be visiting him. Looks like they will be staying at our house instead.
Pretty blue skies with lovely clouds and the schooner Sultana in the distance. A pity her sails weren't up, she is magnificent when they are. She was impressive enough without sails.
We talk to all the osprey we see at the marks. We were able to sail across to the Eastern Bay. As we turned in the wind was on our stern, and we were not making much way. We motored a bit, until 1/2 way up And we were able to sail again. We got a text from Barb at 1430 that Mom was in the ER after falling. Mom called her neighbor, who called Lift Assist. She had some severe afib and pulse ox in the 80s which improved with O2. They brought her to the ER for further evaluation.
Going into the Wye we passed this beautiful lighthouse aptly named The White Tower. Laz got a call from the Punta Gorda ER at 1521 that Mom had just died. When we later got the story, she had a peaceful passing, with a nurse who recognized her from Mom's volunteer days. Apparently Mom was talking to the nurse and when she stopped talking, she closed her eyes and she was gone. So glad it was peaceful. The last 6 weeks have been everything she wanted. Back home, with her cat Sweet Girl, talking to family often, looking at the water.
Our anchorage for the night, tucked up near Wye Island. Cousin Stacie noted the calm of the water and thought it was like Mom's passing.
Decided to take a Boji explore of this beautiful spot.
Beautiful area with nice large homes and a vineyard and winery on the water.
Classic Georgian home.
And a dock too! Laz thought about motoring around Wye Island, but that is 10 miles and Boji won't go that far.
Beautiful sky as we headed back towards baji-naji.
Headed back. Would have gone for a swim but there were so many nettles.
It was cloudy at sunset so we didn't get many colors but got this as the sun was going down.
Heated up my homemade sauce for dinner over pasta (oh boy the freezer is COLD) with sourdough rolls and the carrot cake from Boathouse for dessert. Excellent carrot cake and sauce/drizzle that tastes like pineapple. Got a text from my Dad that Mom's biopsy from 7/22 shows cancer. Don't know what kind. We are awaiting an appt with the heme onc doctor and further work up. Some crazy day. Off to Crab Alley Bay or Cox Creek tomorrow.
Wednesday July 24th
Anchor up by 0900 and we headed towards Crab Alley. Put up the sails after we passed the White Tower. Light SW winds but steady enough to sail across to Crab Alley Bay. A nice sail across. Took down sails in Crab Alley and motored up to look at the anchorage behind Johnson Island. It seemed a bit commercial with a Eastern Bay Yachting center and boatyard just ahead. There were nice houses across from Johnson. We went up Crab Alley a little farther and didn't really see any places we wanted to anchor. So we turned baji-naji around (she turns on a dime) and made our way around numerous shoals to Cox Creek.
View of Kent Island and our Boji girl happily trailing behind, no worse for her adventure yesterday.
This is what's left of Bodkin Island. With shallows all around it. Found a beautiful anchoring spot in Warehouse Creek off of Cox Creek.
A dock with fancy boat garages. Technically a boathouse but they had garage doors.
Beautiful view on all sides. Shallow across the way, only 2 feet as per the charts, but 6.5-7 feet at low tide where we were. As I was motoring to our anchor spot I heard a loud slap on the water behind me. I turned around and saw a large cownose ray. We likely went right near it and it was letting us know it was there. I was too busy staring to get a photo. Stopped shortly after to anchor and we put out 70 feet. The water was very inviting and we didn't see any nettles, so we jumped in. So lovely! ~81° and just a bit salty, not ocean but nice for buoyancy. Swam around the boat then hung out in my swim saddle. Decided we would explore Cox Creek, so got Boji ready to go. Saw on Google Maps that there was a vineyard and winery up Cox.
Winery is on the right, fancy house is straight ahead with a better view of the fancy house. Cox Creek is lovely, with houses and docks in one side and woods on the other.
Several great blue herons fishing.
This handsome fella let us get close enough for a lovely photo. We were down to 1/2 battery on Boji. The Eprop is lovely and beeps to let you know when you have used up 1/2 the battery. We headed back over to Warehouse Creek. I sat on the floor with my back on the middle seat, very comfortable. Got a phone call from Greg Nease to update me on David. He didn't realize that Kathy had updated me.
Motored over to see the snowy egret, got too close so it flew off.
Yet another great blue, and a mess of sticks where two egrets were earlier. I thought it might be a nest, but on closer inspection looks like just a mess of sticks.
Saw this cutie on the shore looking at us. It took off as we got too close for comfort.
A natural cave from uprooted tree roots, we wondered if any animals sheltered there. Headed back to baji-naji and went for another swim. Lovely lovely afternoon.
Sun starting to go down with some dark clouds off in the distance.
Made stir fried chicken and baby bak choy over ramen for dinner outside.
Took a sunset photo and noticed some dark clouds maybe headed out way, according to Wunderground radar.
Wild looking clouds off to the West.
Pretty sunset pictures to the south. Checked the radar and the storm seemed to be rapidly approaching. Let out another 10 feet of line on the anchor.
Put up the dodger, battened down the hatches and watched the storm roll right over us. It got quite wild and windy so we were glad we put out extra scope on the anchor line. **Insert video of the rain pelting down. When we headed below we watched the rain sheeting down our windows. It became a drizzle and we headed for bed. Tomorrow will head to Herrington Harbor North.
Thursday July 25th
Up by 0800. Checked the oil (fine) and the sea strainers. There was a nettle in the generator sea strainer as well as a bit of grass. The other sea strainers were fine. Laz got the anchor up and motored out of Warehouse and Cox Creek while I made breakfast. Beiler's old fashioned doughnuts, yogurt, the last of the Florida pink oranges which we bought last month in our way north, and coffee for breakfast. We were able to put up the sails in Eastern Bay and sail all the way to Herring Bay with some nice long tacks.
I took a picture of Bloody Point light for my friend Jodi.
We saw the schooner Sultana with full sails up. Couldn't quite catch up to her though.
Zoomed in the camera for a better look. Had a nice sail across the Chesapeake Bay. Startled by a loud alert on the weather channel 2 on our VHF warning of a rapidly approaching thunderstorm with winds up to 30 mph aka 26 kts to the north of us. Good to know the warning system works. We decided to take our sails once in Herring Bay as we saw another storm coming. Didn't know if it might be like the one to the north, so not taking any chances.
Hailed Herrington Harbor North (VHF 9), when in their channel to get our slip assignment, the T of dock E. This lovely sentinel was just across from our dock. Turned baji-naji around in the approach for a starboard tie. All settled in the dock, with electric plugged in by 1430. Found out the marina offers a shuttle, so we went to the local grocery store, Christopher’s Fine Foods, for light reprovisioning. OJ, turkey, provolone and iceberg lettuce. Laz refilled the aft water tank while I iced my left knee which I tweaked some time in the last couple of days. It's swollen in a different place than usual so RICE: compression, ice and elevation. Can't do much about the rest. Laz tried to clear the clog in the galley sink , but it appears to be lower than he can reach, although it drains a bit better after he finished. Showers then headed to Dockside Grill for dinner.
We shared the bang bang shrimp appetizer. I had the seafood pasta which was shrimp, scallops and lump crab over linguine in a pink sauce. Laz had broiled scallops with mashed potatoes. We both had a side of corn on the cob. Shared chocolate cake for dessert, it was so big we brought some home even after sharing some.
Walked the docks after dinner (I had a compression sleeve on). It's a large marina with 600 slips. We saw this catamaran named Sea Lion with an Exeter lion logo on the bow. Will have to check in to see if it's an Exonian who owns the boat. Met the owner of the boat next to Sea Lion, Mike, who has a 32ft Catalina, Zelda. He and his wife are new to sailing and are taking lessons. We gave him a boat card just in case he has questions about sailing up the Chesapeake as they have family in Aberdeen and plan to sail up at some point.
Lovely view of the sunset as we meandered the docks.
Back to baji-naji with her Happy Lights on. It is a little sad to write the log knowing Mom Joan won't be reading it. She enjoyed it so much last season and I always have her in mind as I write. I know she was very happy to have us continue our boating adventures. Off to the Solomons tomorrow.
Friday July 26th
Up at the unexpected hour of 0730. Laz topped off the forward water tank and put up the code-0. I made coffee, heated up an Oso cinnaknot and put together my blueberries yogurt and granola. Unfortunately the pineapple and cantaloupe from the Amish market were no longer edible. Off the dock by 0820. Some really lumpy water as we came out. Seas 2-4 feet, some right on our beam due to the direction we needed to go to avoid the shoals. That's not what was predicted by NOAA or Wunderground, but what we got. When we were able, we raised the main with 1 reef, and pulled out the jib, not the code-0 as it was so windy. As always, it's more stable with sails up. Wind was from the NE initially then would oscillate N. Stayed above 10 kts for a few hours then dropped to 7 or 8. The seas smoothed out as well to the promised 1-2 feet.
Cloud 9, a catamaran which Laz saw run around last night in the shallows next to us left Herring Bay before us, and we passed her along the way. She did not have a big enough head sail to harness the wind. Got to the Patuxent by 1430 and to our mooring ‘G’ by 1520.
Laz found this little stowaway at the top of the main sail when he brought the sail down. He gently put him on the rail, and we intended to bring him ashore in Boji but he was gone by the time we were snug on mooring ball. Got reservations for La Vela at 1730, I was happy to get them at all on a Friday night in the summer. We then relaxed and read on deck until it was time to go to dinner. Our mooring is quite close to the dinghy dock so Laz opted to row instead of using the Eprop.
This dog was happily barking and enjoying his sailboat.
Dinner was delicious as usual. Started with burrata caprese, a favorite. LA had the risotto special with shrimp, crab, corn, zucchini and tomatoes. I had penne with wild mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. Plenty leftover to take home for another meal.
Made room for dessert, their apple strudel which is basically a puff pastry with apple filling caramel drizzle and vanilla ice cream. Took a walk in the docks after dinner to see what was out there. There isn't a dinghy dock for La Vela, but they have the first 4 docks, which you have to reserve somehow.
Saw many jellyfish in the water. **To insert video. Talked with a few people on the docks. My RipSkirt sundress got comments from one woman who owned one, and one woman who wanted one.
Sunset and dusk view from our mooring. Tomorrow we are off for Ingram Bay off the Virginia Wicomico.
Saturday July 27th
Mellower morning. Up at 0830, got a later start in favor of French toast, bacon and a spinach omelette.
Mr. Breeze, a lovely mini classic Cris-Craft type launch put-putted past us. Off the mooring ball around 1100. Laz motored while I cleaned up the galley. We waited til past Drum Point to put up the main sail. Noticed that the anenometer is not working, hoping it's just a spider web or a bird knocked it. Otherwise we will have to find a bosun's chair for me to go up and fix it.
The Calvert Cliffs are beautiful. A few sailboats already out.
The Patuxent is a lovely place to sail.
So many dragonflies today! A brown one resting on the lifeline and then on the line used to tie the dodger up. We had two large blue ones, one resting below the port steering wheel and another resting all over the cockpit. That one landed on my big toe! It stayed there a while, but my camera was in the storage well, so no pictures of it there. Maybe it liked the sparkly nail polish.
We knew we were in Virginia when we saw our first pelican. They really do look like pterodactyls in flight.
They also grace the marks well.
There was not much wind, it was supposed to be 5-10 kts but we definitely didn't feel that, even accounting for being downwind. Furled the code-0 and motored.
With the flat water you could see the fish roils easily.
Standing on the deck gives a better view of what is in the water. We saw so many jellyfish. Hundreds. Also saw multiple fleets of cow nose rays. One formation had 7 rays, looking like the Blue Angels in flight. They were so cool to watch.
We saw a large commercial vessel off in the distance, the LNG Sakura. From afar it looked like vanilla ice cream scoops, corn muffins or toasted marshmallows. One of the fisherman hailed to see what the cargo was. Laz answered that it was natural gas, the captain of Sakura acknowledged and the fisherman thanked us, as he had a curious 13 year old boy wondering what it was. Love that exchange!
When we passed Smith Point Light we knew we had crossed the Potomac.
Damselflies came to visit us as well.
Pulled into Mill Creek and anchored just before 1800. Sat for a moment to enjoy the view. We have always enjoyed this spot. It's a bit of a twisty turny time getting into the Creek, but if you follow the marks and avoid the oyster beds and crab pots it's worth it.
Reheated the seafood pasta from Dockside Grill at Herrington Harbor North for dinner and made a mini garlic bread with leftover chocolate cake for dessert.
Gorgeous view of the sunset.
There was minimal light pollution so I tried the night light setting on the camera and was able to capture the Big Dipper and other stars. Ran the generator for a short while for the AC to cool the cabin and our bunk. Slept with all the hatches open. Tomorrow we are off to the Piankatank, the southern border of Deltaville.
Sunday July 28th
Up at 0830. Checked the engine sea strainer again since there were so many jellyfish in the water. My homemade banana chocolate chip walnut bread plus yogurt, blueberries and granola for breakfast. Enjoyed it in the cockpit. Very peaceful in Mill Creek. Raised the anchor by 1000.
A bit more wind this morning than yesterday so after we skirted the shoals in Ingram Bay, we pulled out the code-0. Wind was from N NE and we were able to sail a few hours before the wind went away.
If we thought we had a lot of dragonflies yesterday, today was crazy! I counted at least 10 on the port side and Laz had 6 or 7 more on the starboard side. At one point they were lined up on the lifelines like planes on a runway.
Passing Windmill Point Light, which looks more like scaffolding than a lighthouse. We had gotten to the Rappahannock. Had a nice phone conversation with Stacy Puls Prince, one of my best childhood friends. She called to see how I was doing with all that was going on. We came into the Piankatank and motored into Jackson Creek at Fitz’s recommendation. It is a very narrow entrance channel.
He recommended the Tap and Raw bar as well.
Unfortunately the anchorage was pretty crowded. We went back out and threaded our way through the well marked shoals to check out Fishing Bay, which has a lot of boats sailing in it.
Passed this trio of young osprey on one of the marks.
Settled in Godfrey Bay, south of Fishing Bay. It's deeper here; we found a spot in 11 feet of water and anchored. With the wind switching to the S and building with possible gusts to 20kts overnight, it made sense to be a little more protected from the south.
Late lunch around 3p. I made salads with turkey, summer sausage, honey crisp apples, smoked Gouda, carrots and tomatoes tossed lightly with Caesar dressing.
Settled in for some reading (Laz) and working on the log (me) while there is intermittent decent cell signal. Great cool breeze coming in from the south.
Gorgeous view from the cockpit. The wind gradually moved to the S and remained lovely, brisk and cool.
Reheated the leftovers from La Vela, as delicious the second time as the first.
Beautiful sunset over Iron Point on Godfrey Bay. Laz set up his phone as a hot spot and we watched most of the first half of the USWNT Olympics game vs Germany.
Sophia Smith, who scored a brace. Not a bad way to watch the game. Unfortunately the cell signal was choppy so the feed from Peacock came and went.
After 44 min we gave up and will watch when we have decent wifi.
Shared a small salted caramel chocolate tart from Baguette Magique that I pulled from the freezer.
Sunset then stars. Tomorrow we are headed to Mobjack Bay.
Monday July 29th
Heard back from my high school friend Mindy Cahill that she would be available for a Tuesday get together. Her river house is closest to Yankee Point Marina or Indian Creek Marina. Changed up our plans, booked Yankee Point Marina and headed out of Godfrey Bay and the Piankatank River. Great wind today, 10-15 kts from S or SW. Caught up to and passed a catamaran going the same way. No pictures as the waves and wind required both hands on the wheel. The waves calmed down a little once we passed Sting Ray Point and came into the Rappahannock.
Passed this beauty just before the bridge. Laz noticed that the middle batten was coming out of its slot, by a good foot or more, so we had to take down the sails to fix it. We were trying to wait for a calmer spot but there wasn't one. So we went for it. Love the new storm track and the main comes down in a jiffy. The new jib furls nicely as well. I kept baji-naji steady into the wind while Laz put the batten back.Then he raised the main again and we put out the jib to sail under the Robert O. Norris Jr bridge aka route 3 bridge.
Saw a cute push tug coming from the other side named Gram Me.
Even if you know your mast will fit under the bridge, the perspective makes you doubt. *Insert video
Cat going the other way, not as quickly as we would have expected.
Got to Yankee Point Marina around 1430. Dockhand was great and helped us with the lines to squeeze baji-naji into the slip 6 inches wider than her. It a lovely quiet marina. The last picture is of baji-naji bow on.
Heard the squawk and found the great blue heron fishing across the river.
Time for a boat selfie in slip B16
Made lemon chicken with garlic and onions and fresh lemon. Broccoli and garlic and a sourdough roll for dinner. Watched the second half of the USWNT Olympics soccer game vs. Germany. Actual wifi meant that there were no drops in the feed.
Did not see the sun set as it was behind the trees, but the sky had lovely colors nonetheless. Staying tomorrow to have lunch with Mindy and her husband.
Tuesday July 30th
Up at 0830. Banana walnut chocolate chip bread for breakfast. Checked the AC sea strainer and realized it always looks dirty to me because it’s a mesh strainer, different than the engine and generator plastic basket type strainers. This one had a little gunk in it but nothing much otherwise. Laz washed since it was out, then put it back and we put the AC back on. Laz tried to help me redo the fuel calculations I was treating the generator hours as 1/4 of an engine hour not 1/4 gallon per hour. The math was getting tricky. Luckily, Mindy and Gil showed up before we could really solve the two variable equation. Gil is a pilot, and they owned a smaller sailboat in Hampton some years back. We showed off baji-naji and sat for a little bit to chat. I gathered cold packs and insulated bags for provisioning and off we went. We decided to to to Kilmarnock for lunch
The shortest way to Kilmarnock is on the Merry Point Ferry, which is a cable ferry. Apparently the Cahills have never been on it, so this was an adventure. The ferry can only take 3 cars at a time. We went to Chao Praya, the Thai restaurant we liked in Kilmarnock. It’s still delish! We shared multiple appetizers: chicken satay, Thai dumplings, fresh spring rolls and fried tofu. We also had lettuce wraps and two sushi rolls, one with eel, and my choice of tuna and salmon crunchy roll. When I bit into it, I remembered from last year that the fish ends up getting cooked when they fry the roll. Oh well. Next time I will ask for real sushi. We then made a provisioning stop at Food Lion.
Mindy and I had to get selfies, both as a memento and to post on social media. We went back to their Rivah House to see the new porch and to sit and catch up some more. They drove us back to the marina where we finished up some boat chores, filling the aft water tank and topping off the forward one.
Had take out beef Pad See Ew for dinner.
Storm front coming through, so no sunset pictures. We settled in to read and relax . At 2245 the air conditioner abruptly stopped working, with an HPF error message, meaning no water coming through to cool it. Weird as we had cleaned the sea strainers that morning. Laz checked, and there was a large jellyfish in the strainer, blocking the water from coming through! Crazy. No pictures, you will just have to imagine it.
Wednesday July 31st
Stayed up late (0100) to finish a JD Robb, Portrait of Death. The development in the Eve and Roarke relationship was excellent, the murder mystery not so much. Still a great read. Up at 0830 anyway so we could get going. We were able to get baji-naji out of the narrow slip by ourselves as there was not much wind. Off the dock by 0910. Motored most of the way down the Rappahannock, but there was some wind from behind, so we pulled out the code-0 for a while. Furled it back when the wind was very soft from behind. Able to sail a nice long stretch across the Bay once we left the Rapp with a brisk 10kt wind from the SSW to S. The wind started moving to the Et so we tacked. It also dropped to 4-6 kts.
Saw this lovely Pearson sailing along.
When Laz was at the helm, the Catlett was driving him nuts. It keep weaving back and forth in front of us in a semi random fashion. He hailed them and turns out they are doing hydrographic studies. We agreed on what direction each of us would take, which made life a bit easier.
We saw what we think was a Navy chopper practicing drills dropping a line of some kind. Could not tell if there was a basket or not at the end of it.
Wolf Trap Light, near where we saw the Catlett.
New Point Comfort Light, looking like some of the lighthouses we saw in New England.
Some crazy clouds as we sailed into Mobjack Bay, on our way to the Ware River.
View from our anchorage in a cove off the Ware River. Beautiful, with very few houses around. The ones we saw were quite large with their own docks.
Dinner was the lettuce wraps and leftover chicken satay from Chao Praya. Perfect hot weather dinner, no cooking required.
Another beautiful sunset. Still quite warm, more than 80. Thank goodness for the generator and air conditioning! Tomorrow we are headed to Sarah Creek, up the York River and Yorktown.
