Sunday, May 28 – Time for an
update. Nancy is doing much better,
although she is still having some rib pain (mostly at night). It has been three weeks since she broke her
rib and the doctor said it would take 4-6 weeks to fully recover. Captain Carey is doing most of the boat
chores so that Nancy can rest and heal.
On May 16, we left Portsmouth, VA with
Adagio (another Looper Boat) and cruised for 8 hours. It was a busy day on the
water due to the number of boats and ships that were out cruising. Like Tug LeeLoo, many other boats were taking
advantage of the good weather and calm seas.
After 8 hours (and nearly 60 miles) we were tired and ready to anchor;
it was a good day on the water with mostly 1 ft. waves. Our anchorage for the night was in Godfrey
Bay, near Deltaville, Virginia. It was a
beautiful anchorage with mostly calm water, although the water was deep (18
feet) so we had to put out a lot of chain for the anchor. Adagio went on to a marina in Deltaville for
the night so they could walk their dog.
Container Ship Cruising Chesapeake Bay
The next morning (May 17), we woke up at
sunrise, pulled anchor, and continued towards Solomons, MD. It was a lovely sunrise and the water was
calm. Because we had put out 125 ft. of
chain for the anchor, it took a while to get it pulled up and hosed down before
putting it back into the chain locker. And,
of course, it came up muddy. Nancy stood
at the helm taking direction from Carey as he pulled up the anchor and cleaned
it off.
Sunrise in Godfrey Bay - Look at the Calm Water!
The Captain Hosing Off the Muddy Anchor Chain Before Storing It
On our way to Solomons, we radioed
Adagio. They were also going to
Solomons, but they stayed at a different marina. We had a reservation on a T-dock at Solomons
Yacht Center where we had stayed before.
It’s within walking distance to the town and ice cream! Unfortunately, they only had space for us on
the T-dock for one night. The next day
(May 18), we left the marina and cruised a couple of miles to an anchorage
(called Spring Pancake) where we had anchored in horrendous winds last
fall. This time the anchorage was calm
and we had a peaceful evening. We liked
the anchorage much better without all the wind!
Point No Point Lighthouse (Really, That's the Name)
The next morning (May 19), we pulled our
anchor again at daylight and left for Annapolis! We expected the water to be a little rough,
but were pleased to find that the further north we cruised, the calmer the
water. It felt wonderful to be arriving
back in Annapolis. Annapolis was one of
our favorite spots last year when we spent the summer on the Chesapeake! For this visit, we went to the Bert Jabins
Boat Yard where we planned to spend a couple of weeks.
May 28 – We have been at Bert Jabins a
week and it looks like we will be here for a full month while we wait for the new
dingy davit to be fabricated and shipped here from Seattle, WA. This boat yard/marina is huge. There are lots of boats in the water and lots
of boats on the hard (dry land) being worked on. We have been very impressed with this facility. Care is taken with equipment as evidenced by
the clean yard. Everyone has been very
friendly and helpful from the moment we arrived. Even the bathrooms and laundry
facilities are clean and inviting. The
only 2 complaints are that there is no internet and the bathrooms are far away
from where we are docked, but walking is good for us! We are also within a mile and a half of a big
grocery store and a CVS pharmacy. Again,
more walking but at least we can get to a grocery store. Annapolis also provides dinghy docks in many
locations so we can dinghy closer to town, then walk to our destination.
We have rented a car for a week so we can go a little further to run
errands or sight-see.
We are lucky to be in a slip along a
full face dock, so it’s easy to get on and off the boat. Most of the docks have small finger piers
which necessitates backing the boat into the slip, something the skipper is not
very skilled at. When we docked, Carey
called ahead and told them we would need help since there was an injured crew
member aboard. I’m not sure if that is
why we got such a good slip, but we are happy!
It will be easy to install the new davit from our slip. That is also a plus!
Tug LeeLoo Tied to a Face Dock at Bert Jabins Boat Yard
The Naval Academy is located in
Annapolis. Last week was Commissioning
Week when the seniors graduate. There
were many events scheduled during Commissioning Week. We watched from our boat as the Blue Angels
practiced on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday
when the “real” show took place, we got in the dinghy and bobbed around with
hundreds of other boats to watch the show.
It was fantastic!!!
Watching the Blue Angels Perform on a Cloudy Day
That evening, we took the water taxi
into town so we could attend the Naval Academy Men’s Glee Club, Women’s Glee
Club, and Gospel Choir Concert. It was
held in the Naval Academy Chapel and was very good. Our favorites included the patriotic songs
that were performed. We made an evening
of it and went to the Galway Irish Pub for dinner, a favorite of ours.
A View of the Naval Academy Chapel Dome from Eastport
Bert Jabins Yacht Yard is located in
Back Creek. We are docked along a wooded
area and have seen lots of birds, including osprey, herons, and hawks. We are constantly hearing woodpeckers in the
distance, too. Yesterday when we were on
the Tug LeeLoo’s upper deck, Nancy spotted a 2 ft. long water snake swimming
past the boat. There is also a nature
preserve right next to the boat yard. We
took a walk there yesterday and spotted 3 deer!
It seems like we have seen more wildlife here than any other place we
have been to in a long time.
We Found Deer in the Nature Preserve
Hope everyone is enjoying a long Memorial Day Weekend! We will report on our davit project as it progresses.
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