September 2024

Sunday September 1st

As we prepped for a day sail, we saw a funny little motor boat pass baji-naji. Not sure if it is electric, but it was not your usual looking thing.

We had seen this sign on the way in, but did not get a photo until this morning. We headed out of Rock Hall Landing to meet *Kaimana* for a day sail. There were lots of sailboats out on this beautiful day.

Caught up to *Kaimana*! Although she is definitely faster than we are.

We docked at Osprey Point Marina. It was a bit daunting with cross winds and took *Kaimana* a few tries while we circled outside the entrance to the fairway. Our turn was made even more interesting with a large motor boat randomly cruising in the fairway. Managed to stern in with the help of a dock hand and some of *Kaimana’s* crew.

Sunset photos of our boats and the marina on a beautiful night.

I love my ¼ sheet baking pan! Made chicken breasts covered with hummus and some roasted zucchini and broccoli to share as part of the pot luck in our cockpit.

Two sailor girls.
**Monday Sept 2nd**
Leisurely morning, as both boats were sailing just to Baltimore.

This pup was making sure we were all awake and letting his owners know what was going on in the fairway.

Brunch of eggs with spinach, bacon and English muffins. Lee and Jon came to hang out while we ate, although they had already dined.

Another beautiful day with lots of boats out enjoying the breeze.

We were off the dock about 11:45, the wind was around 8kts from the N and smooth. It shifted to NE as we came out of Swan Creek and we sailed out of Rock Hall wing on wing.

We were surprised to catch up with *Kaimana*, as she had left a good ½ hour before we did.

*Kaimana’s* crew got a nice picture of *baji-naji* sailing, which they sent along to us.

The wind shifted to NW and back, and was quite gusty, making tacking a bit more challenging coming across the Bay.

So sad to see what is left of the Key Bridge as we sailed up the Patapsco.

Love this little lighthouse in front of Lehigh Cement. We got into our slip at Anchorage Marina at 1745 and John and Kitty Hoffer picked us up to go to dinner at Annabel Lee Tavern, which is all Edgar Allen Poe. We gave them a quick tour of *baji-naji*, then realized they had already been aboard when we were at Ferry Point Marina in the Magothy. That night we went to dinner with the Hoffers, the B-D’s, and the owner of *Carpe Ventum,* who’s name escapes me.

Kitty and I opted for the fish ‘n’ chips which were excellent.

Laz had the Annapolis chicken, a grilled chicken breast topped with house made crab dip and cheddar jack cheese. Can’t remember what John had, but it was also good. It was a really nice evening out.. They dropped us back at the marina on their way home.
**Tuesday Sept 3rd**
We walked to THB (Towson Hot Bagels) in Canton, about a mile or so away, for breakfast. They were mentioned in the little guidebook from Anchorage Marina and looked good.

I had a mocha, and an everything bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers and tomato. The sandwich was big enough to save ½ for later.

Laz had the breakfast sandwich of sausage egg and cheese on a sesame bagel. He managed to finish his whole breakfast. On our walk back we stopped at West Marine, as there was a coupon expiring today in our packet from Anchorage Marina. We bought the mildew cleaner that Erin Townley recommended, cleaning rags, some more marine TP, some carabiners and some Velcro straps. We made good use of the 15% off coupon. We stowed everything back on *baji-naji* then took a Lyft to the National Aquarium. We considered walking, as it’s only another 2 miles away, but ended up with the Lyft.

Always a fun time there. We walked right into an Animal Encounter with Joey, a South American Yellow-Footed Tortoise. Joey was very motivated to eat from his caretaker and he fascinated everyone who had gathered around to watch and learn. We were sad to learn that Calypso, the green sea turtle with only 3 flippers had died in February 2020. She had started as a 6 pound turtle rescue with an infected flipper and grew to 500 pounds! She was unable to be released to the wild after her infected flipper was amputated, so lived at the Aquarium for almost 20 years. The Blacktip Reef tank remains stunning. We wandered through all the exhibits, enjoying all of them.

We were looking to see if we could take a water taxi back to the marina. Clearly the submarine behind the sign was not our water taxi.

We walked around the harbor to another area where there might have been a water taxi schedule and found the *Libertad* instead. She is a class A training ship from Argentina, 340 ft long with a 21.5 ft draft, and 47 ft beam. Her main mast is 175 ft tall. She sailed in just before us yesterday; we were sorry we missed seeing her with sails up, coming into the harbor.

Since they were offering public tours, we went on up. *Libertad* has a lovely crew, and we got to talk to a few different crew members in different parts of the ship. Many were delighted to practice their English with us. Unfortunately my Spanish is practically non-existent.

Look at the size of the lines and bumpers!

We spoke to a crew member who was responsible for one of the sails. She absolutely loves being up in the rigging. I can see the appeal.

The decking is beautiful, and the lines are huge but proportionate to the ship.

My attempt at a panoramic view of *Libertad*. After our tour, we were unable to find a water taxi line that would take us back to the marina, so we grabbed another Lyft.

We got back to the marina and found cormorants who took over one of the fingers on a nearby slip.

A selfie to show off the beautiful view from our cockpit as the sun was starting to set.

Laz was not feeling well, so we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque soup for dinner.

Dusk. So pretty. Off to bed with my sick cookie.
**Wednesday Sept 4th**
Laz was still not feeling well this morning so I decided to let him rest a bit. We aren’t going far today, just to Worton Creek. I walked to THB to buy 1/2 dozen bagels, 3 sesame and 3 everything. I would have bought more, but I didn’t think they would stay fresh enough to cut and freeze when we got home. We will have to come back. I stopped at Safeway on the way back to pick up some fresh veggies. Laz filled both water tanks while I was gone. I chatted with with Ashley, the dockhand, on my way. She confirmed that Wayne's face has always been like it is, so he likely had congenital Sturge Weber or some such thing. We left our slip at 1330. There was a great breeze with the wind from E, shifting as usual +/- 30° so we sailed to the Key Bridge.

It is still so eerie to see what’s left standing.

Baltimore is back to being a busy port; this tug is on it’s way out, possibly to guide one of the big container ships anchored off Annapolis

View of Ft. McHenry and Baltimore as we sailed out the Patapsco.

*Boji* almost matches the big ship. It’s good to see activity returned to the port.

ACL is clearly a container ship, not anterior collateral ligament of your knee. But that IS the first thing I thought.

Wind continued to be good, steady on port tack.

Lonely support stanchion. Sailing through where the center span was of the Key Bridge felt like sailing through a sci-fi post apocalyptic landscape. We saw *Soul Mates* on the AIS coming right at us! We tried to hail them on the VHS, but no answer, so I called Debbie's cell. They will be at Anchorage Marina for a few days, at our recommendation.

One of the ‘Coast’ tugs going out. We have fond memories of following *Carolina Coast* up the coast of New Jersey last year.

A closer view. I happened to look up at the telltales and noticed it.

A beautiful day for sailing, and this Catalina agrees. I forgot to get a picture of *Soul Mates*, since I was so busy talking to Deb on my cellphone, aka camera.

The wind softened when we were even with Rock Creek, so we furled the jib and put the engine on. There was a moment where we thought we could sail, but then the wind softened again, so we motor sailed 1/2 way to Poole's then dropped the mainsail. Such a gorgeous day on the Bay.

A close up of our new friend as it settled in the middle of the cockpit table.

The clouds, sun and water were stunning as we made our way into Worton Creek. The days are definitely shorter now.

We were anchored in Worton by 1845. The sunsets there remain spectacular.

Laz still not feeling great, but a great day sailing and a gorgeous sunset can lift your spirits.

Stir fried beef and veggies over ramen for dinner.

Our friend hung out for the evening. Tomorrow we are back to HdG.
**Thursday Sept 5th**
Laz still had cold symptoms and a fever overnight. He had a negative Binax for Covid, but I’m sure there is crud out there as school has started again in many places. We had coffeecake, yogurt and cantaloupe for breakfast.

As the anchor came up, Laz saw a large tree branch caught on it.

It took some work with the boat hook to get it off. The wind was 8-10kt from the N oscillating to NNE, so we were able to put up our sails for a good sail.

The big ro-ro looks so huge in this part of the Bay. The wind softened just past Still Pond so we put the engine on and motor sailed all the way back to port, docking in our slip at 1630.

Lo and behold we were back in time for Wednesday night races, which are held on Thursdays in Havre de Grace.

A very Jacqui colored boat and spinnaker.

The wind had definitely softened by the time the boats were racing. It was hard to keep all their sails filled.

Still pretty to watch and this boat had managed to fill their spinnaker.

Laz still had a fever, and another negative Binax, so we stayed aboard and enjoyed the sunset and ate provisions we still had on board.
**Friday September 5th**
We are having *baji-naji* hauled out to power wash the bottom this morning! She sat in DC for 2+ weeks, and we’ve been in salty water, so may have some barnacles and crud on the bottom.

Breakfast of fresh baked croissant with raspberry jam and some cantaloupe.

Walking out to the waterfront there was quite a fog this morning, with the wind moving the fog down the river.

Laz rowing *Boji* to the launch ramp as we can’t lift *baji-naji* with *Boji* in tow.

Power wash! Even before that, there wasn’t much on the bottom, almost nothing. The bottom paint that the guys put on this spring is fantastic!

Nice to see the *Byng* in dock as we walked back to our slip. Once our girl was safely tucked in, we unloaded and packed up for home.

We drove home afterwards and found that my ginger root had sprouted!

Appetizers of some delicious tomatoes for a caprese and some scallion pancakes.

Fresh corn from Baily’s to complement our dinner. It’s nice to be home, especially as Laz is still feeling under the weather. Another negative Binax.

Sunday September 29th

I've had a nasty cold/flu and am just starting to feel better. Headed down to baji-naji to check the bilge. The guys noticed that the bilge pump was on constantly while we were in Chicagoland, so they disabled the bilge pump by taking out the fuse and hand pumped the water out. When we got to Tidewater, Debbie in the office and Cameron, one of the high school dock hands were concerned about a cormorant who would not dive. He would dip his head in the water, but wouldn't dive. He has drifted to the boat ramp and was stuck in the sea grass that has accumulated there.

Laz helped hold him in place with a rake while I made calls to try and find a marine animal rescue to bring him to. I wrote down the numbers on the box and made notes. We had a cardboard box from the store and a towel from the boat to wrap him in when we found out where to go. Of course, on a Sunday, I left multiple messages and even walked to the local fire station to find help.

We finally left him on the boat ramp as we were there over an hour waiting for a call back. One of the high school girl’s Mom is a vet, but we were awaiting for a call back from her as well. We headed back to work on the bilge on baji-naji while awaiting calls. Phoenix and another rescue called back while we were working on baji-naji, but by the time we got the calls, it was too late to drive to drop off. The veterinarian Mom would take the bird to Phoenix in the am, so we thought we could try and get him in the box at the end of the day, to minimize box time, plus we were deep into the bilge (see next story). The closest rescue is actually Tri- State Bird rescue in Newark DE. By the time we finished our work aboard, we could not find our feathered friend. It was starting to mist as we walked all the dock looking, and finally gave up and headed home.

While we were awaiting call backs, Laz figured out which screws to take out the center table so we could move the floor and inspect the bilge. It was bone dry, yay! We filled a basin with water and proved that the bilge pump does work. Our bilge is very shallow, however, and when we are aft heavy, it does not drain to the point where it will work. The manual pump is in the lowest point, but it's not a big area and can't fit both pumps.

You can see the floor up and the red pump is the automatic bilge pump and the lower pump is the manual one.

With one thing and another it was after 5p before we left the marina so we picked up a Giordano's mushroom sausage and artichoke pizza on our way home to watch NFL Primetime with Chris Berman, a tradition since the 90’s, and Sunday night football.

The 49ers are my secondary team, since the Joe Montana days, after Da Bears.

October 2024

August 2024 journey back north part 2