Wednesday, October 12 - It's been an interesting 2 weeks, complete with preparing for Hurricane Matthew! Now that was NOT in our plans . . . but as we have said often, Mother Nature is in control.
Our last blog entry was on September 27 and we were expecting to leave Solomons the following day. Once again, the winds were very strong and we were unable to leave. After three nights at anchor, we moved over to Solomons Yachting Center for two additional nights. Tom and Julie on Sum Escape caught up with us and we enjoyed meeting them for drinks at the Tiki Bar.
Tiki Bar in Solomons
The weather finally cleared up enough for us to leave Solomons with Sum Escape on October 2. We made a long day of it - 88-1/2 miles (10 hours of cruising), but the weather and water were good so we decided to keep going. We were going to stop for the night up the Great Wicomico River. Instead, we found a great anchorage at Sharp Point in Mobjack Bay. After 10 hours of cruising, we were tired!
Leaving Solomons - Calm Water in the Bay!
We got up the next morning and left Mobjack Bay for Hampton, Virginia. It was a good cruising day, although a bit windy. We didn't know it at first, but we would have several encounters with the US Navy. As we were leaving Mobjack bay we saw a navy destroyer in the distance. For reasons still unknown, the destroyer turned right towards us and started to enter Mobjack Bay. It was a classic crossing situation. We were the stand on vessel and the destroyer was the give way vessel which means the destroyer was supposed to turn to starboard to avoid a collision. Only he didn't turn! I suppose the destroyer's helmsman thought that since he was the bigger vessel . . . Anyway, we and also Sum Escape increased our speeds considerably to get out of the path of the destroyer. Interestingly, Navy ships do not have (or use) AIS systems, so we were not able to determine the closest point of approach (CPA) or the time to closest point of approach (TCPA).
This is the Destroyer That Almost Ran Over Us
Because of
shoaling around the Hampton Roads Inlet, you normally would cruise a
fair distance out into the bay, turn south for a few miles like you are
leaving the bay, and then turn back to the west to enter the James
River. Unfortunately, the US Navy was conducting maneuvers directly
offshore of the inlet. In essence, they closed a large body of water to
all civilian and commercial traffic. A fleet of small patrol boats
kept watch over us and were prepared to chase us away if we violated the
exclusion zone. Fortunately, there was a buoy-free small boat channel
through the shoaling that we could use. The term "buoy free" refers to the fact that crab and fish traps cannot be placed in the channel and, for the first time, it seemed to work.
We spent one night at the Hampton Public Pier. Hampton is a small town directly across the river from Norfolk, VA and, without a car, we did not find much to see or do. There was a street with a few restaurants and we went out to dinner with Tom and Julie from Sum Escape.
Dinner at Venture Restaurant in Hampton
By this time, we knew Hurricane Matthew was a real threat to the East Coast and early reports were that the area we were in could be hit hard. We left Hampton Public Pier and cruised over to Ocean Yacht Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia to wait out the storm. Sum Escape went on about 15 miles further to another marina where they could get some more work done on their boat. While cruising to Portsmouth, we passed Norfolk Navy Base. Here are two Nimitz Class aircraft carriers. The one on the left is CVN 73 which is the George Washington. The one on the right is CVN 77 which is the George H.W. Bush. The carrier George H.W Bush is the 10th and final Nimitz Class super carrier to be built. Now for the numbers. Nimitz Class super carriers are 1092 feet long, have a beam of 252 feet, and a draft of 37 feet. They are powered by two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors feeding four steam turbines (4 shafts) for a total of 260,000 horsepower. By comparison, Tug LeeLoo has a single diesel engine that produces 330 horsepower (on a good day). Oh, and the cost $6.2 billion net each.
CVN 73 and CVN 77 at Norfolk Navy Base
The strange looking ship below is the Zumwalt (DDG 1000), the navy's newest high-tech destroyer. It has faceted sides and internal weapon bays (just like a stealth aircraft) to reduce it's radar cross section. Zumwalt Class destroyers are 600 feet long, have a beam of 81 feet, and a draft of 28 feet. They also have an all-electric drive system, two Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines power two Curtis Wright RR4500 electric generators which drive two shafts through electric motors (150,000 horsepower). Zumwalt Class destroyers cost nearly $4 billion net each. Only three will be built; after fifteen years of development it was determined that they are too vulnerable to attack in the shore attack / protection role it was designed for. Our tax dollars at work!
Zumwalt (DDG 1000)
We have never been in a hurricane before. We followed the weather channel closely (thanks to our now working Satellite TV!) and carefully studied all our other weather apps. We prepared Tug LeeLoo to ride out the storm by securing her with extra dock lines, adding more fenders, taking off and storing the weather cloths from the upper deck and all sunscreens, hatch covers, etc., removing the engine from the dinghy, bringing EVERYTHING loose that could blow away into Tug LeeLoo's interior, and securing all of the antennas. We also rented a car for a week so we could leave and go to a hotel for the worst part of the storm. As it turned out, Matthew took a turn to the right and went out to sea before the worst of it hit our area. We were very, very lucky. The most we had was 12 inches of rain and 30-40 mph winds, gusting to 60 mph. Neither one of us wanted to wait out the storm in the heavy wind and rain, so we packed a backpack and went to a hotel in Emporia, Virginia (about 80 miles to the west) for 1 night.
Tug LeeLoo Ready for Hurricane Matthew
We are happy to report that Tug LeeLoo held up very nicely in the strong wind and rain. We came back to no damage on the outside and no leaking on the inside! We certainly are luckier than many boaters to the south of us. Little did we know that being delayed for multiple days in Solomons was a blessing. That delay kept us north of the hurricane damage.
The first reports of bridges, locks and the Inter Coastal Waterway being open was all doom and gloom and we thought we would have to spend an extra week here in Portsmouth. But, now things seems to be opening up and we plan to leave tomorrow to join Sum Escape near their marina so we can continue our trip south to New Bern. If all goes well, we hope to be in New Bern early next week.
Like the Shirt? I Tried to Join But They Said I Was Too Old and Too Overweight
Friday, September 30 - It is hard to believe that Fall is upon us; the weather has definitely changed. The days are shorter and we have had many days of wind, storms, and unsettled cooler weather. We are now in Solomons, Maryland at the Solomons Yacht Center for the night, after spending 3 nights at anchor in Mill Creek near Solomons. We had planned to spend 1 night, but since the weather turned nasty, we decided to stay and let the weather settle a bit. Once again, Mother Nature is in charge!
We left Baltimore (traveling with Sum Escape) on September 20. The plan was to go across the Chesapeake Bay to Chestertown, Maryland which is about 25 miles up the Chester River. First, however, we headed south of Baltimore and entered the Magothy River where we found a neat anchorage at which to spend the night. It was near a scenic horse farm. Because the weather was calm, we waited until Sum Escape anchored and then we rafted Tug LeeLoo to Sum Escape to spend the night. Easy peasy! In the evening, we joined Tom and Julie on Sum Escape and for drinks and dinner while we watched a beautiful sunset!
Magothy River Sunset
Sum Escape
The next morning, we left our anchorage at 10 a.m. We crossed the Bay and continued our cruise up the Chester River towards Chestertown. Our plan was to anchor in the river off the town of Chestertown and use the dinghy to go to town to explore. This proved easy to do because there was plenty of room to anchor and there was a dinghy dock on shore that was easy to use. Some dinghy docks are fixed docks and it is hard to get in and out of the dinghy. Chestertown provided floating dinghy docks which made our trips back and forth to the boats easy as we explored the town. We planned to stay for 2 nights, but we liked Chestertown so much (and the weather was good) so we decided to anchor out one more night.
Carey on Dinghy - Headed into Chestertown
The Chester River along Chestertown is a hub of activity. Washington College is located in Chestertown and every afternoon there were teams of college students sculling (rowing) up and down the river. They practiced for a couple of hours a day; a coach followed along behind yelling at them with a bullhorn. There was a novice sculler that was just learning and Nancy heard her complaining about how tired her arms were getting - and did she really have to go "that" far?! It was good entertainment to watch! There we also lots of locals out and about in the river tending crab traps.
Sculling on the Chester River
Of course, one of our favorite things about anchoring is seeing the magnificent sunsets! Chestertown certainly lived up to our expectations!
Chestertown Sunsets
Chestertown was a very walkable little town with a lot of historical buildings. Washington College is located there and it dates back to 1782 when it first received its charter from the state of Maryland. It is a private college and has a beautiful 112 acre campus in Chestertown. There is a downtown area that has lots of restaurants and, of course, a couple of ice cream shops! Our last night in Chestertown, there was a River Festival that we went to. There was music and dancing - and a huge peacock that was lit up for the festivities! Now this is not something you see every day!
Preparing the Peacock for the River Festival
The Peacock Changing Colors Along with the Music
We left Chestertown on September 24 and headed towards Annapolis, with a stop in the Wye River to anchor for the night. Once again, we rafted to Sum Escape, shared a meal and drinks with them, and sat and watched the stars come out. It was an absolutely beautiful spot!
View from our Anchorage on the Wye River
The next day, we went back to Annapolis for 2 nights. Tom and Julie from Sum Escape were scheduled to get some repairs done to their boat. We decided to go back to Annapolis with them for a couple of days and were able to get back into Annapolis City Marina where we stayed before. In fact, we returned to the same slip that we had for the 5 weeks that we were there previously! It felt great to be back for a couple of days! ACM has great facilities and we know our way around! Even the dock hands seemed glad to have us back.
Sum Escape's repairs extended through the week, so we left on our own on September 27th. We cruised to Solomons, Maryland where we intended to anchor for one night, and then continue on south the next day. However, as stated earlier, Mother Nature is in charge and the weather turned bad for cruising. After 3 nights at anchor, we are now at the Solomons Yacht Center for 1 night; hope to continue south tomorrow. The wind and waves are supposed to calm down, at least that is the story for right now!
Monday, September
19 - After 5 weeks in Annapolis, we are on the move again! We left
Annapolis with our Looper friends, Tom and Julie Van Hall, on Sum Escape. It
feels great to be traveling with another boat. All the work is finally
done on Tug LeeLoo (new AIS antenna, new powered WiFi antenna, and a new KVH TV3 satellite TV system) and, while we were happy to be on the move again, we
thoroughly enjoyed being in Annapolis! It is a city that we highly
recommend visiting for its history, great restaurants and accessibility. The cruise to Baltimore was nice, although we had a lot of boat
traffic since it was on a weekend.
Goodbye Annapolis
Going Under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - Very Impressive!
After
a "short" cruise of 33 miles from Annapolis we pulled into Baltimore
Marina Center - Inner Harbor and happily found floating docks once
again! We have found very few floating docks in the Chesapeake, so
finding a marina with floating docks feels like a luxury! It is so much
easier to get of and on the boat when tied up to a dock that floats up
and down with the tide.
Pulling Into a Floating Dock at Baltimore Marina
Baltimore
is a great city to visit - it definitely has a big city feel to it.
Being docked in the Inner Harbor allowed us to walk and/or take a water
taxi to the other side of the harbor where there were plenty of great
restaurants, entertainment, the National Aquarium, the Science Center, and 4 historic ships that could be
toured. Over the weekend, it was a hub of activity!
Skyline View of Baltimore from Tug LeeLoo
Coast Guard Sailing Vessel "Eagle" Used for Training
Over the weekend the Coast Guard Sailing vessel Eagle was visiting Baltimore. It was open to the public for tours. The eagle is a steel sailing vessel; its LOA (length overall) is 297 feet. It was built in 1939 in Germany and was used as a training vessel by the German Navy. It was "given" to the United States as part of war reparations following WW II. The Coast Guard they wanted the the vessel, so they dispatched a few officers and crew to Germany to bring the ship home. The only problem is that they didn't have enough crew for such a large ship and most of them didn't know how to sail, certainly not a ship that size! So the US crew recruited a bunch of former German navy sailors, who also didn't know how to sail, and together they brought the Eagle (the vessel's new name) back to the United States. The Eagle has a full-time crew of about 50 and it takes on an additional 100 or so "student" crew members for three-month summer cruises.
When Carey disembarked the vessel he asked a Coast Guard sailor if he was too old to join the Coast Guard. The young lady said "Probably". That's the same answer he got when he tried to enroll at the United States Naval Academy. Only they said something about being overweight in addition to being too old. Darn!
We
have exciting news to share, we completed a milestone -- 365 days on the Loop -- on
September 16! Our journey began in Racine, WI on September 16, 2015. With luck, we
will need at least another year to complete the Loop!
Tomorrow (September 20) we plan to leave Baltimore and anchor out overnight. We haven't anchored for several weeks, so it will great to be "on the hook" overnight. We have had a lot of rain, but the weather is supposed to be clear for the next few days. Then we will cross the Chesapeake Bay and go up the Chester River to to explore the town of Chesterton.
More later . . .
Thursday, September 8 - We are still enjoying being in Annapolis, Maryland. A beautiful city to explore. Our plan is to stay here for another week or two; then we will head south. We will leave Tug LeeLoo in New Bern, NC while we take a few months off to visit family and friends. Our plan is to return to Tug LeeLoo in February. And then perhaps queue up to head to the Bahamas.
A lot has happened in the three weeks we have been in Annapolis. We have exciting news to share; our 32 ft. Nordic Tug LeeLoo has found a new home! We were fortunate to find new owners who we know will appreciate her as much as we did for 10 years. LeeLoo will always remain dear to us since she was our first boat. A lot of wonderful memories were created on LeeLoo during weekends and vacations. Thank you to John Peterson from United Yacht Sales of the Carolina's for all the work he did in finding us a good home for LeeLoo. We would also like to congratulate the new owners. You purchased a wonderful boat!
Farewell LeeLoo
Also, equally exciting news is that our good friends (Hal and Wendy) flew in and joined us for 6 nights on Tug LeeLoo over the Labor Day weekend! We had a fabulous visit with them, as we always do. Captain Carey had an aggressive cruising plan scheduled, but unfortunately mother nature did not agree. With Hurricane Hermine raging offshore, the Chesapeake Bay was too stirred up to venture out. Fortunately, all the rain from Hermine went around Annapolis. Our weather in
Annapolis was beautiful except for one storm the first night that Hal
and Wendy were with us. After that, the temperature dropped to the low
80's and the humidity lessened. But, interestingly, the tides were very high, perhaps because of all of the rain that fell elsewhere on the bay. For a while is was hard to get on and off the boat. We ended up just taking a day cruise on Tug LeeLoo up the Severn River, and then spending all our nights at the Annapolis City Marina. We also took a lot of dinghy rides which was fun. It was great walking around the city.
We made 3 or 4 trips to the Naval Academy. We took a tour, watched a military parade, and then wandering around on our own. The "parade" turned out to be a full dress review parade with 4000 midshipmen marching past a review stand with Admirals and other dignitaries. There were two bands plus a 21 gun (canon) salute! The Naval Academy is definitely a must see while in Annapolis - a beautiful campus and very welcoming to visitors.
Naval Academy Chapel. Beautiful!
Chapel Stained Glass Window
Crypt of John Paul Jones in Basement of Chapel
Naval Academy Tour Guide
Midshipmen Line Up for Lunch Monday through Friday. Lunch is served family
style and they only have 20 minutes to eat it
Navy Band Playing During Military Parade
Naval Academy Parade Grounds. Some of the 4000 Midshipmen are in the Background
We did find a neat diner downtown with a bakery; it's called Chick & Ruth's Deli that has great food. At 8:30 every morning the diner quiets down and everyone stands and recites the Pledge of Allegiance. Daily trips (by Hal) were made to the bakery for glazed donuts and apple fritters! After all, when Hal and Wendy arrived, we considered ourselves on vacation, too!
We ate lunch at Chick & Ruth's Deli one day and the table next to us was full of young adults who were taking on the Man vs. Food Colossal Shake Challenge which requires a person to drink a 6 pound milkshake in an hour! The waitress made the shakes, then read the rules of the challenge, which included that if you feel sick, you need to leave the restaurant immediately (for obvious reasons). We left shortly after the hour time limit started. We did not want to be there if anyone did get sick!
Man vs Food Colossal Shake Challenge
We took the water taxi from our marina to Ego Alley a few times to save some steps. Over the Labor Day Weekend, there was a farmer's market and arts festival that we went to. We also just enjoyed relaxing on the boat, sitting on the bow and people watching, and playing cards every evening. We played a card game called 3-13 that we played the last time Hal and Wendy visited us when we were on the west coast of Florida. Of course, it had been so long since we played this game that Wendy had to Google for the rules!
Hal and Wendy Riding the Water Taxi
Alley (Shortcut) in Downtown Annapolis
As we have said many times, everything breaks on a boat. Actually, a more accurate phrase is, "Something on your boat is broken, you just don't know it." Well, while Hal and Wendy were with us, our fresh water pump broke so we had no running water. At first, we could coax a little water out of the faucets, but soon there was no water flow at all. Having no running water is very inconvenient. We ended up filling 1/2 gallon milk jugs with water from the marina bathrooms and bringing them onto Tug LeeLoo. A new fresh water pump was ordered and installed today - and, thankfully, we now have running water! Hal and Wendy need to come back to experience it!
We also now have a working bow thruster! The motor had to rebuilt and was sent back in working order. We have taken Tug LeeLoo out of our slip and onto the Severn River for a cruise so we know the bow thruster is in good working order! Finally! Let's hope this is the end of our quest to have a working bow thruster.
While we were sad to see Hal and Wendy leave, we are happy that we are spending another week or two in Annapolis. Hopefully we can get the final task on our maintenance and repair list completed, the installation of a new satellite TV system.
We hope to meet up with some Loopers (Tom and Julie Van Hall on Sum Escape) who are on their way to Annapolis. we'll visit with them for a few days and then perhaps we can both move south together.
Yesterday, we took a dinghy ride to Ego Alley for ice cream. Downtown Annapolis has as many ice cream shops as they do bars!
Exploring Annapolis by Dinghy
A Peaceful Evening in Annapolis
Sunday, August 28 - Today is an important day for us! Today is our 40th wedding anniversary. Forty years ago, when we were married in a little church near Montpelier, Ohio, the weather was hot and steamy. And, of course, there was no air conditioning in the church. Today's weather will be very similar to 40 years ago; 88 degrees with nearly 80% humidity is predicted.
Last year on our 39th anniversary, we talked about (jokingly, of course) whether we would make it to our 40th, given our plans to live on a 32 foot boat for an entire year. It has been a fantastic year, full of new adventures, mastering new skills while facing challenges, discovering the world through boaters eyes, and meeting wonderful, kind people along the way. With all the "bad" in the world, the kindness of others really comes through when you live on a boat and land transportation is limited. We are not done with our Loop and for that we are glad. Living on a boat has been an experience in itself. Some days more challenging than other days, but all in all it has been a wonderful way of life so far!
Tug LeeLoo Docked at Annapolis City Marina
We have been in the beautiful, historic city of Annapolis, Maryland for a couple of weeks. Our main purpose in spending time in Annapolis is to have some work done on Tug LeeLoo. We have continued to struggle with the bow thruster not working properly since we bought Tug LeeLoo 4 months ago. After yet another inspection, it was determined that the bow thruster motor was arching and it has now been sent back to the factory for repair or replacement. We hope to hear tomorrow what the outcome will be. We are in a slip at the Annapolis City Marina that will be a challenge to get out of without a bow thruster. We are also having some other maintenance items checked off the list while we are here, including setting up our AIS systems so that the name Tug LeeLoo is transmitted. In the process of reprogramming the AIS with Tug LeeLoo's name, it was discovered that we also need a new AIS antenna. So, that has been ordered and hopefully will be installed in the next couple of days. One thing about living on a boat, you never run out of things to maintain!
The center of Annapolis is just a short walk from our marina. There are lots of shops, restaurants and bars close by. Annapolis is truly a boating destination for all sizes of boats, including million dollar boats! We fit right in!
This Boat is Too Big!
There is a narrow channel about 100 yards long with Annapolis City Docks on one side and restaurants (including Pusser's Restaurant) and hotels on the other. It's called "Ego Alley". People like to drive their boats up the channel, do a U-turn and then drive back out of the channel to "be seen". On the weekend it is a very crowded channel as boats are constantly coming and going. We have done it a couple of times by dinghy.
Ego Alley in Annapolis
Paddle Boarder and His Dog Enjoying Ego Alley
Just walking around Annapolis is a pleasure. The Annapolis Naval Academy is also within walking distance. Here are some pictures to share:
On August 31 our friends, Hal and Wendy, will be joining us for 6 nights on Tug LeeLoo! We are very excited to have them visit us! hopefully, once the bow thruster is fixed we will be able to do a short cruise with Hal and Wendy, including a night at anchor. We will have more pictures to share after their visit.
