Annapolis to Beaufort, North Carolina

After being held up in Annapolis by freezing-ass cold, wet and windy weather for 3 days, it finally let up.  It was time to make a break for sunshine and warmth.  It sounded like we had a 2 day weather window before it got really windy again.

So, we made a run for it. 

We were up before sunrise and under way as soon as we could see well enough to spot crab pot floats.

We were just joining the Chesapeake Bay when we spied a boat we thought we knew:  the Great Catsby with Rich and Carol on board.  We had first met these people when travelling South on the Stray Cat.  They seemed to pick up a lot of strays (people needing friendship, help or guidance), so it was appropriate that they befriended us and gave us a lot of very helpful tips.  They are truly wonderful people.

Bev called them on the radio.  They did not recognize our boat (they did not know we had moved from sail to a trawler).  They recognized Bev’s voice, however, but could not remember the name.  Just the night before, they had looked at pictures of the Stray Cat.  Talk about timely coincidence. 

Had our paths not intersected just as we left the harbour, we would likely not have met that day since they were taking a path to maximize wind and we were taking a path to minimize waves.  We were, however, headed for the same anchorage at Reedsville.

Another interesting lighthouse near Annapolis. 

It is amazing that you can almost  be out of sight of land but hugging the shore at the same time.  In spots (e.g. the mouth of the Rappahannock), the sand banks extend about 5 miles out from shore.

The Great Catsby

Rich and Carol - You will never meet nicer people

The day was pretty uneventful and the following morning, we both headed for Norfolk.  They suggested  that we anchor up the Lafayette River.  We did so and invited them to dinner.

The harbour at Norfolk is always busy.  In this case, we were following a tug.

The display of Naval weapons of war is truly amazing.  It is hard to know which ships might be mothballed and which are ready for action, but the sheer number was impressive.

Our path diverged from that of the Great Catsby in the morning.  They were taking the Coinjock route; we were taking the more scenic but slower Elizabeth City/Dismal Swamp route.

The lock to enter the Dismal Swamp Canal was incredibly full.  We were stacked 3 abreast.  There was room for 2 more boats, but that would have been it.  The speed limit in the Canal is 5 knots.  There is no point in going any faster as there are only 3 openings per day and the timing is set to exactly match the speed limit.

The canal is really beautiful.  The only problem is that after about an hour of seeing the same stuff it starts to get pretty boring.  After 2 hours, it is really boring.  After 3 hours it is insufferable.  After 4 hours, you are pretty well ready for anything to break up the monotony. 

We had hoped to make it from Norfolk to Elizabeth City in one day.  This was a bit ambitious.  We could have made it in the dusk.  There was one problem, however.  Elizabeth City offers free docks which is great.  Unfortunately, they were sure to be full if we arrived at the very end of the day.

Therefore, we opted to anchor very close by and to go there first thing in the morning.  This way we had our choice of docks to use while we grocery shopped, did laundry and picked up other things which we needed.  The town even offers a free wine party to visiting boats.  If figure that if they support boaters, then boaters should return the favour.

After staying one day, we left Elizabeth City early in the morning. We made it across the Albemarle Sound, up the Alligator River, through the Alligator – Pungo Canal and anchored at dusk in a little bay in the Pungo River about 5 miles further South than Belhaven.  It was your typical  90 statute mile day.   Our only delay was when we paused to pull a sailboat out of the mud in the Alligator – Pungo Canal.  Damn sailboats!  Sometimes they go aground right in the middle of the channel, blocking it off and making it difficult to get past.

Alligator Swing Bridge

 

The next day, we made it to Beaufort, North Carolina.  While the trip was pretty straightforward from a navigational perspective, it was pretty wet.  The day started out sunny and windy and got worse from there.  We only had a few actual showers, but the spray heading up the Neuse River was extremely heavy (like having buckets of water thrown at you) – even on the flybridge.  Tuk tried to hide by crawling into the cubby-hole housing the VHF radio on the flybridge.  There was enough water getting blown through the seal between the flybridge and the flybridge enclosure that eventually he got soaked.  Unfortunately, our flybridge stereo proved not to be as waterproof as it should have been and it never worked again.

Tiesha had a different approach, preferring to curl up on my floater coat at the tail end of the flybridge.  She stayed drier and warmer.

There is one Bascule Bridge under which one must pass in order to enter Beaufort.  There were also a number of fisherman.  One of these was anchored exactly in mid channel.   When the bridge opened, we had to go.  They did not move.  We had to stay in the channel.  So… we passed them at about 7 knots about 3 feet away.  Normally, I would feel really badly about waking someone like that, but, … well… these people really asked for it.

Wild Horse at Beaufort.

New York to Annapolis

Our time in New York was great but it was also time to move on.

We dropped our mooring ball early on Monday morning of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and headed South.   As always, the skyline of New York City was impressive, as was the Statue of Liberty.

 NY skyline

Statue of Liberty

Unfortunately, the skyline was not the only thing that was impressive.  The harbour itself is very  busy.  While we were never in any danger, we also had to make a number of course changes to stay the heck out of the way of a number of ships, tugs and ferries that were entering, leaving or crossing the harbour.

Tug crossing NY harbour.  These things leave an incredibly steep wake.

We knew that our friends, Dean and Susan on Autumn Borne were going to be anchored at the Highlands, near the foot of Sandy Hook.  If the weather poor, our intention was to head there also and to meet up.

The weather promised light winds, however, so we continued directly from the 79^th Street Mooring Field to the Atlantic, intending to head for Atlantic City.  This would be a stretch to make in daylight, but we felt we could do it if we ran at 8 knots all day.

Alas, although the wind was not strong, there were two wave trains at the same time:  one  right on our port beam and the other on our port quarter.  The first made us roll – A LOT- and the other made steering a challenge as the rear end of the boat tried to follow the waves.

Before the day was through, it provided us with a good illustration that there are three kinds of things inside a boat: 

-         those things that are put away or are tied down,

-         those things that are on the floor and

-         those things that  going to be on the floor.

Chaos inside the main cabin.

The dogs were not impressed with the chaos that followed as moveable furniture moved and bookshelves emptied themselves.  Even the dingy sitting in chocks on the sunroof tried to make a run for it and, had it not been tied at the bow, might have been successful.

At this time, our new high output alternator decided to pack it in.  It had worked really well bringing the batteries up to full charge during the day.  This was the first day we had run it at 1800 rpm vs 1450 rpm.  The alternator dropped to a low charge rate, the tachometer output went wonky and the alternator became quite hot.  That evening, I swapped it for our old, low output but working alternator.

After 25 miles on the Atlantic, we took the first entrance to the New Jersey Intercoastal waterway, Manasquin inlet.  The inlet can be a terror for a sailboat.  The currents can be fierce (apparently up to 5 knots), the channel is very narrow and there are bascule bridges.  If you are in a sailboat, you had better hope they get the bridges open for you in time as you may not be able to back up fast enough to wait.  The bridges posed no problem for us, however, as we could scoot under all except for one and that one was in a much tamer section of the waterway.  Because the tide was low, we spent a lot of time in depths of 5 feet or less.  Good thing the R&B Haven only draws 3’3”. 

Unfortunately, this low water sets up some kind of ground-effect drag and chops about a knot off our speed and that meant that we could no longer reach Atlantic City that afternoon.  This was to have a ripple effect.  Because we could not reach Atlantic City that afternoon, we could no longer reach Cape May before noon the next day.  That meant we could no longer catch the tide up the Delaware and we could not reach a safe anchorage before it got dark.  That meant that we had to do the Delaware the next day, but because the tides shift a little every day, it meant that instead of riding the tide, we would have to fight the tide all the way up the Delaware which meant that we would arrive at the first really safe and easy to access anchorage, Chesapeake City, in the dusk.

And that is what we did.

After entering Manasquin inlet, we followed the inner passage past Barnegat Inlet (about 25 miles) and almost to Great Egg Inlet (another 15 miles). 

In the morning, as we headed to Great Egg Inlet, we had a choice:  follow the comfortable but perhaps risky and certainly winding inside passage or head out again to the open ocean.

As we were motoring along, I scanned ahead at the charts and had a look at SkipperBob’s recommendations.  According to SkipperBob, there was a shallow section just after the Great Egg Inlet that could be troublesome.  Just as I was pulling the electronic charts back to our current location, I glanced over at the depth sounder.   Four point five feet.  Holy *&%$#@!!!  According to the chart, we should have been in about 17’ of water.  I throttled right back and then put us in neutral as I tried to figure where to go.  The tide was still carrying us at well over a knot, however.  Then we bumped bottom, but we didn’t stick.  At about the same time, I spied two small markers way over to the side.  I have the boat some power … lots of power… and headed for those marks, hoping that if we touched again, we would once again, just bounce.  We didn’t touch!!  Phew!!

A few hundred yards later, as we approached the Inlet, we found ourselves in a position, right between two buoys, where the chart said we should be in 4’, yet the depth sounder showed 31’.

At this point, the open ocean looked like a better bet.

The buoys for the inlet are very small and are spaced far apart.  As long as you can follow them, however, they keep you in deep water.  It can be nerve wracking, however, as there are obvious very shallow spots with breakers that might be 50 to 100 feet away.  As we left the inlet, we were in one of those classical tide against wind situations where there were significant standing waves (e.g. 3 feet high) that were pretty rough to motor through.  Once we were clear of the inlet, however, things were a little rolly from yesterday’s waves but not really all that bad.

We bypassed Atlantic City, arriving at Cape May in the early afternoon.  We anchored in front of the Coast Guard Station, only to be chased out by dredging operations.  The day was pretty windy, but it was an offshore wind when we were on the Atlantic.  Had we headed up the Delaware, it would have been on the nose.  Listening to other boats and their difficulties on the VHF, we decided that being too late for the tide was maybe a lucky thing.

The next morning, we headed up the Delaware.  The day was calm.  At one point, a Homeland Security boat roared up beside up.  Once they say our Delaware registration, the roared off after giving us a friendly wave.  I bet that, had we been showing a Canadian flag, we would have been boarded.  You just have to remember that the US is a nation at war and that it probably will be for a long time to come.

SkipperBob and other cruising guides warn you that the entrance to the Cheasapeake City anchorage can be very tricky.  Accordingly, the first time we passed it, we did not even consider it as an anchorage as we did not wish to take unnecessary risks.  In reality, after entering and leaving it with a significant current, what we found is that yes, it does tend to twist the boat a little as you pass through the boundary beween the channel (current) and the anchorage (no current).  If you made the transition with some authority (speed) and at right angles, it is not a big deal.  I would recommend both the anchorage and the free docks to anyone.

The next morning and our passage from Chesapeake City to Annapolis started out nice enough, if somewhat cool, but the forecast was for rain and increasing winds.  I did not think it was all that bad until we found ourselves in the midst of a schooner race or cruise.  They were all well reefed – and these guys do not reef in light breezes.  We could not keep up with them.

Schooners racing into the early afternoon gloom.

Annapolis is a beautiful city.  But it is better when it is warm and sunny.  We were holed up for 3 days while we waited for the rain to go away and the wind to let up.  It was so cold that just inland of there, they had snow at altitudes over 500’.  In some places, in Maryland at higher altitudes, they had a foot and a half. 

We ran our generator a lot.

We did manage to meet up with our friends Dean and Susan from Autumn Borne.

Dean, Susan and us at a restaurant in Annapolis

Dean and I went to the Annapolis Power Boat show.  Needless to say, there were not a lot of attendees.  Later, they came over to our boat for dinner. 

Dean playing the guitar

You know what they say, “a day without wine is like a day without sunshine”.  Well, it may have been cold, wet and rainy outside, but it felt pretty sunny inside!

One of the good parts of holing up was that it gave Beverley a chance to work more on one of her quilts: something destined to be a very special gift for a very special person.

Waterford to New York

The Eire stops as Waterford as it joins the Hudson.  So did we, taking time to replenish critical supplies and to enjoy the restaurants of the area.  Bev even took on some of the locals in a game of pool.

We made it from Waterford to New York in two days, stopping behind the old castle at Pollepel Island.   Unfortunately, it was too dark for pictures when we arrived and it was too dark for pictures when we left in the morning.  The channel in was incredibly narrow and close to the shore.  Had it not been a “skipperbob” recommended anchorage, I would not have tried it.  All worked out, however, in the end.

The Hudson has some magnificent “cottages”. 

Many of the lighthouses truly are houses, although they appear to be built of brick and stone and thus, cannot be very light.

 

 

We did manage to spend an afternoon touring the Central Park with our friends Gerry and Pam.

 

 

New Yorkers are so lucky to have a little oasis of nature like this right down town.

 

This guy blew incredible bubbles like I have never seen before.

Of course, there are also all sorts of musicians and you can take guided tours of the Park if you like.

 

And then there are other surprises like a paraplegic dog in a “doggy wheelchair”.

Pam and Gerry left early Saturday morning to take the train home.  We were very sorry to see them go.  We got along very well.  No cross words were spoken.  We really enjoyed both their company and their help.

Beverley’s daughter Brooke and her beau, Brent arrived Saturday, shortly after noon.  I find that I no longer like crowds.  An hour or two in New York, and I am ready to leave.  If I am at on end of the scale, Brooke, is at the other extreme other.  She was determined to maximize the opportunity and was ready to “shop till you drop”.  More power to her.  Her boyfriend, Brent, is a true trooper.  I would consider 2 hours of shopping for women’s cloths, handbags etc to be justifiably classified as “cruel and unusual punishment”.  He put up with it for days.

Brooke, Brent, Bev and myself

All in all, New York was well, it was New York.  For someone who lives in a house where maybe 3 cars might pass the end of our laneway in a day, it was pretty crowded.  The 79^th Street Marina (mooring field) was very “rolly – polly”.  Last time we were here, there was internet access from the mooring field.  This time, there was none.  I thought I might suffer from withdrawal.  If you like lights, crowds, noise, smells, people in a hurry, sensory overload and man-made wonders, this is definitely the place to be.  If you prefer quiet spots with natural wonders and more subtle enjoyments, then don’t come.  I was glad to get the Hell out!!

South to Waterford - the junction of the Erie Canal and the Hudson River

Early on Saturday morning, Oct 3, we left.  

After clearing customs at Cape Vincent, critical missing groceries and stores were procured (wine, beer, liquor and food).  We then crossed Lake Ontario to Oswego on a relatively calm and sunny day. 

Cape Vincent is a great place to stop.  There is a free town dock and, when it is occupied, an excellent and well protected anchorage.  Customs, a grocery store, a liquor store, a bank and several restaurants are all within easy walking distance.  The liquor store started with reasonable prices and then gave us a further 10% discount.  What more could you ask for!!!

Oswego is also very boater friendly.  For Canadian boaters, I am told, there is a customs office just below the first lock.  If you make it through that first lock, you can tie up overnight for free.  Most shopping is within a reasonable distance, although perhaps not quite as convenient as Cape Vincent.

The salmon were running and so where the lake trout.  On our way into town, we saw one fisherman’s catch of 3 salmon and 1 trout:  all in the order of 20 lbs and over.

The Oswego and Erie Canals proved again to be “easy going”.

 

 

The scenery can be beautiful, if somewhat repetitive.

We managed to master one technique of docking in the locks which worked well. Using our single prop,  I would bring the boat to a stop on our starboard side.  The prop-walk would bring the stern into the wall.  I would then use the bow thruster to bring the bow in after Beverley had grabbed or secured a stern line.  As the bow came in, Gerry would secure our admidships and Pam would secure the bow.

 

 Pam dubbed herself the “Happy Hooker” – boat hooker, that is.

 

 

Beverley took up the stern station and did well in spite of sore wrists.

Gerry took up the mid-ships section.  Generally speaking, if we could control the mid-ship station and could pull the boat tight into the wall, the bow and the stern would follow.  Thus, the mid-ship station was probably the most important.

 

We did not see a lot of commercial traffic on the Oswego or Erie Canals.  When we did, it was impressive.  How this tug controlled two barges by pushing them I do not know, but he did it very well.  We also assumed the “gross tonnage rule” determined right of way.  He was so big, strong, heavy and likely unmanoeuvrable compared to us, that we just kept the Hell out of his way.

 

 Typical scenery

 

 

 More typical scenery.  We were heading South just before the trees hit their peak of colour.

 

Early morning while waiting for the lock to open.

 

 Later in the day.

 

Often the locks would be right beside a dam.  

 

 

The Admiral and Vice-Admiral quilting on the saloon floor while the Captain and First Lieutenant navigated.

 

 

A suspension bridge just outside of Waterford.