Norlfolk, Rebel Marina

    Enjoying ourselves at Rebel Marina, spending time with Dave our friend,owner of Rebel Marina. After catching up since we last seen him way back in Waterford, Ny.
 Dave lives aboard his converted tug on site, in the marina that was started by his father in 1973. His sons took running of the marina when he died. Dave is the Manager.

 We walked to the beach about 1 mile from the marina, and had a nice stroll along Atlantic ocean. We met some fisherman who had a 3 nice size fish. We were not staying long enough in Virginia to buy a license so we are going to have wait till we can catch our dinner.

We cleaned up the boat then took his boat to downtown Hampton for dinner.
After a short ride, traveling at 25mph, we tied up at the town dock. What a change from the speed of Mistress that has a comfortable speed of 5.5knts.
 Dave chose a favourite place of his called the Conch and Bucket.



 The next morning we went into downtown Norfolk, to visit the famous USS Wisconsin which is docked beside the Nauticus center.

Of course we had to have ride on their new Light Rail which travels throughout the downtown area. These are very similar to the new streetcars that Toronto has bought. 

On to Norfolk

  The weather window opened today, calling for winds from the NW, 10kn with waves only 1 ft. Sounded ideal sailing for the trip to Norfolk. As we got back out to the main channel to travel south, the bay was kicking up a little but still very enjoyable. The wind had a cold bite even though the sun was shining brightly. A small bird landed on Mistress to have rest as he made his way across the bay at the widest point. He stayed with us for over 2 hrs.

  We arrived in the early afternoon, then as we contiued up the river, we could clearly see that this was a very busy harbour. There were tankers, container ships, and military ships of all sizes. Very challenging.

  We follwed our friends on Chasseur to Comfort Point Marina, in Hampton, Va. Soon as we tied up at the dock it was very noticable that we were finally in the south. Temperatures are back in the high 70s.
  We hurried to see Fort Monroe, which is a very important historical landmark with buildings built in the 17 century. President Lincoln stayed here as he planned his war strategy to attack Norfolk which is directly across Hampton Roads. The dividing line between the north and the south.

   


     

 

 

 

 

 

Deltaville, Va.

     Arrived in Deltaville after a great sail from Reedville approx. 30 miles to the north. As we move south with any luck the weather should become warmer. Days are in mid 60's but with the wind it seems cool. We know we are getting south because as we came out of the harbour a pod of dolphins came out to see what we were up to. Soon after we had 4 pelicans fly over us, threatening to land on Mistress. Graceful birds but can't land to well. They are known to break atennas and other things on the mast.

    The harbour here is a challenge to get into, with a very narrow channel. It looks like you are going  right up on the lawn before turning hard port ( left) as you enter the harbour. A few tense moments.

   Since today again was forecast to have huge waves with gusts we chose stay and wait til tommorrow to go. We spent the day taking the loaner bikes and explore the town with our friends from Chasseur, Suzanne and Terry.

It was not without problems, we had to make minor adjustments to the back wheel as the chain kept coming off.

  
 We visited the West Marine, our favourite store then on to the museum but were sad to hear that it had burnt down in June. They lost all the artifacts in the main building but still had a number of antique boats docked in the back. A floating museum.

   In the morning we are off to Norfolk, Va. and on to the naval Museums and the start of the ICW but first a vist to Dave our friend who manages Rebel Marina, who we met back in Oswego, Ny.

Waiting in Solomons, Md.

   
We spent the day doing boat chores since we are held here due to rough weather out in the Chesapeake. There are  quite a number of boats holed up here, some we met earlier back in New York, we thought they were long gone. Muriel sewed the cockpit enclosure while I cleaned all the brass.The enclosure will make it a lot more comfortatable to deal with the wind, the shiny brass will make Mistress stand out even more.  No use just sitting around , we have to keep busy. In the morning we walked for groceries which was about a mile up the road then came back to get our chores done.

    Before                                                                       After

  Tommorow if I need something to keep me busy, I will start touching up the varnish.

The days are sunny but all the reports say that the passage south is unpleasant with big waves and high gusts, so we are happy to wait it out. It looks like we will be here til Tuesday. Just 100 miles south from us, they are experiencing 70 degrees. It will be nice to back in the warmth. But first we have to get out of this bay.   

Crabbing 101

With great determination I set out today to catch my dinner. After all, we are in the crab capital of north america. How hard could it be....
   After buying the necessary gear , crab hook, long handle net, and chicken necks for bait, I felt confident.

   In less than 10 minutes I had one of the little buggers on the line. You pull the line up slowly so they don,t let go of the chicken. Really, they hang on so their meal doesn,t get away.

   Once dinner time rolls around, put them in a pot and steam them with beer. Everythings good with beer.

 

A little time in pot and you have a feast.

 

 

 

Too bad I only took 2,.......... there's always tomorrow!!!!!!!!

Solomons, Md

  We sailed from Herrington harbour last Wednesday, after ducking in to get away from a cold front coming from Canada, as everybody keeps telling us. I tried saying that the gusts were coming from the east so blame it on France. Even the news says it. The harbour is approx. 5 miles up the Patuxent river.  As we were tying up the lines we noticed a crab had hitched a ride on the bow. Good sign...I'm going to have to catch me dinner.

 Our dock is directly behind the Comfort Inn so we have free breakfasts and the use of the lounge area. Haven't watched much TV since leaving. Most marinas have cable on the dock but only bought a length of co-ax the other day. Wouldn't you know it, they don't have a connection at the dock here.
  Because the day was going to be uncomfortable to travel we took up an offer we got from another couple to visit Washington, DC.
   Suzanne and Terry  are from Muskegon, Michigan and are travelling aboard their Catalina 32 to Florida. They have become good friends.

  What a fantastic city. The buildings were amazing. We walked for about 6 hrs, visiting all the sites and memorials, including 3 of the 5 Smithsonian museums. All of them free. When the weather does not co-operate we find things to do rather than just sitting on the boat. We are so glad that we got a chance to see this great city.

   

Since our last post

    Since our last post we have visited a few very nice harbours. We have had touble getting good internet so thats why we haven't updated the blog.


    After leaving the C&D canal we travelled to a small harbour on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay called Worton Creek. As we pulled in there were 3 guys admiring our boat. After docking they came over to welcome us to the marina. During the conversation we mentioned that we were low on bread. One of the men called his wife, who was in town and told her to pick us up a loaf. About a hour later, his wife delivered us the bread. What nice people, we are treated like celebrities, actually everyone we have met have been very friendly. We are so glad that we are taking out time, and seeing all these small places that most people miss on their race south.  Later on they invited us to their boat for drinks, we sat telling them stories about our adventure.
 That night I tried my luck at catching crabs. This is the crab capital but all I got was catfish. Had to go on Youtube to learn from a kid in California, next time I'm going to have a feast. I'm confident.  Most people around here just tie a chicken neck on a string, when the greedy crab grabs it they pull him in slowly then net him. I might have to try this trick.

  I had to settle going to the restaurant.


 Two days later we left and sailed to Rock Hall, Md. an old fishing town. We tied to a free dock in the harbour, right next to the crab boats. Should have went over and bought some but I want to catch my own.
 The next morning, we couldn't hold out any more we made our way to Annapolis, Md, back where we had bought Mistress and the site of the US boat show. We were meeting friends who ahd drove down to attend the show. We reserved one of the last remaining docks at a premium price, we also had a few things we needed to buy or fix. This show has all the manufacturers under one roof so we had to see it one more time.
 The cold weater has caught up us so we have to put some miles under our keel and move further south.   

Chesapeake Bay

 

Continued through the C&D canal for 4 miles, then entered the Chesapeake Bay. Today was one of the most relaxing days we have had since leaving the canals in upper NY. We are starting to see more snowbirds now, and today we traveled with a group of 5 boats. ( 2 trawlers , 2 catarmarans, 1 large mono-hull, like us.) We got in front when they pulled over to fuel up but they overtook us and we ended up being slowest boat. I starting to get the meaning of " Slow boat from China,....Tayana.....built in China.....eh?"

 Heres another funny thing that happened to us....

 When we left the Cohansey river after anchoring for the night , we had to dodge crab pots going back out to the Delaware channel. When we finally started up the bay we were having a hard time keeping our speed up. With the wind and waves knocking us around we made a slow passage to the C&D, and docking at the marina. When I approached the dock and put it into reverse to slow the momentum of the boat, I heard a loud banging noise, and felt a strange vibration. I didn't know what it was. When we got tied up, and were about to relax we noticed a crab pot float with a rope attached directly behind. We told the marina staff, they said that they "float in all the time". We had been wondering, who would put a trap right in the middle of a channel to a marina.   Guess Who.......Us. We dragged it all the way up the Delaware Bay, at 3.0 kn. Hope those crabs like the ride. 

  We had chosen an easy day so as not to get to Annapolis to early before the boat show , as the prices for a mooring are quite high. We are meeting friends there who we haven't seen since leaving Port Credit.

           
                                           Casualty of  the canal, didn't follow the markers...

Leaving Cape May, NJ.

After spending the Night in a small marina approx. 3 miles up the Cape May Canal,we set off again to make it around Cape May. We have to go around instead of through the canal because our mast is 58 ft. high, bridges here are only 55ft. So out into the ocean we go again, for six miles around the cape. The locals at the marina told us to stay close to shore "you have the depth", we were hesitant but we did it anyway. At the time when we needed it most our GPS for some reason stopped showing the depths and went blank.  Some guy named Murphy needs a kick in the pants. We got very nervous and started to head out to deep water. We felt a thump, then another ,..... thump, thump, thump we were hitting the bottom and then stopped dead, for a moment then a big wave came and knocked us off the shoal. We were moving again. That was close. If we had to phone for a tow I'm sure he would have been shaking his head at us. Close call. On we go again.
Finnally we headed up the Delaware for our anchorage at Cohansey river off the Delaware. The locals had also told us the current would push us at around 8 knots, that also did not happen. It was slow and bouncy. We are praying to get there before sundown. Wrong again, the sun went down and clouds moved in. The enterance light was bearly visable, we had about 2 miles to go into the river to anchor. We turned on Tuttys' new Ipad with the navionacs app ,to navigate the shallow areas I held it up while he steered the boat and  looked for crab pots in the water. Funny how we had to find ones that were painted black on top.
  Into the twisting river we go. There were two big boats anchored right in the enterance, as we made the first turn, we see some sail boats in the dark, and also some with no lights. They should all have on an anchor light. We continue down the river to the last sailboat, and dropped the hook astern of him. By this time its 9 pm , a strong drink then off to bed.  Ahh!!!........... the cruising life.

After a great nght of sleep we woke to little fishing boats zooming by us on their way out to the crab pots at six am. I stick my head out one yells ahoy big guy, I hope he means our boat which turns out was right in the middle of the river. Oh well I thought we did well with no GPS and no light.
 Coffee on and we are on our way up the Delaware and to the C&D canal. We are hoping to find a West Marine to look at our GPS. As we come out of the river we work our way through crab pots hundreds of them. I do not know how we did not drag them in the dark the night before. Just Luck. When we finally reach the channel it was smooth sailing from there up to the canal. We stopped at a marina on the C&D canal, 8 miles in called Summit North which had a West Marine in the area. We called West Marine the next morning but they could not help us with our problem. Spent the day changing oil in the motor and doing minor repairs. The day spent at the dock not wasted. We are off Monday to the Chesapeake.