Lists

Lists

An important weapon in the sailor's armoury appears to be - lists. Yes, lists. There are wish lists, much like anyone else's; new sails, computer, stove. All things you already have but newer, faster and shiny. Then there is the list of must haves, which gets ticked off on safety grounds. Then there is the list of items that would be useful but not essential. Over the last two months there have been two items on that list. The deck wash pump was all there, we had the hose but not the piece that connects the two. In every chandlery we have visited (believe me, there have been a few) we have looked at the kit. The piece we wanted was only $14 dollars but they only stock the whole kit worth $110. Call us cheap but each time we balked at the price, so soldiered on with dirty decks from the anchor. We could have organised a mail order, but our success rate on this has not been good, somewhere there is a camera cable waiting for us in a post office, not the one we visited though. Finally in Annapolis we cracked and brought the whole kit and in Broad Creek the Skipper fitted it. Bliss. Clean decks and when the mayflies appeared we were able to wash them away. 

Finally the two items on our useful but not vital list have been solved. Unfortunately this afternoon when removing the auto helm the little steel piece that holds the arm in place popped out, hit the running rail and disappeared gracefully over the side, never to be seen again and therefore onto the list it goes.

There is only one thing worse and that is the sailor who reaches the shore and forgets the list. 

We made to Oriental to a warm welcome from John, Mike and Nancy. We had some great sailing, northerlies 10 to 15 knots most of the way from Albermarle Sound. Mike and Nancy have kindly allowed us to tie up on their impressive dock, no splinters on this one, while we are away. When we get back John has arranged for us to stay in the Oriental Harbour Marina which is a bit closer to town for parts and bits and pieces. So lovely to have such kind and caring friends. While we are in Broad Creek we are keeping our eyes peeled in the hope of seeing otters, bobcats and the like. Not too sure about the Black Bears unless I'm safely on a boat.

Aground

We are safely tucked up in Broad Creek North Carolina after negotiating eight bridges and one lock. Most people consider the trip south a fairly boring and predictable experience. However we saw great wildlife today, including Bald eagles and had our adrenaline levels tested.

As I said, we safely negotiated all the bridges from Norfolk and having found a long straight stretch on the  North Landing River and the wind having picked up to a 15 knot northerly we put up the genoa and main and were making 6 knots. All was well until I decided to make lunch. Fatal mistake. Up ahead the AIS identified a barge. The skipper knowing the channel was narrow, furled the genoa and started the motor. The 300ft corp of Engineers barge was stationary across the 50 ft wide channel and they indicated we should pass to the stern. This was a bit of a worry as he was pretty close to the green marker but we assumed he knew where to direct us. Wrong. We ran aground and the skipper of the barge yelled across that he was also stuck aground. Now we are less than 10 ft from the back of an enormous steel barge with the wind behind us and a full main. Gary managed to drop the main downwind and we wriggled and bumped our way forward with the genoa unfurled trying very hard to avoid the large object to our right. Having a great engine, a protected propellor and brass keel strip is wonderful. Again we thanked Billy Atkin for his brilliant design as we broke free of the mud.

The guy on the barge said stick close to the green markers from here, so we cautiously continued with at times with less than 1.8 ft beneath our keel for the next 3 markers until the depths improved. The marker to watch out for was G91 for anyone out there. 

It always happens when we put the kettle on for a brew and all hell breaks lose. Maybe we should change to coffee. The only damage was to the genoa which ripped on the UV strip. Robyn, if you are reading this, we have some work for you !!!!!

We are in quiet solitude tonight surrounded by wild marshes and totally calm with the northerly blowing outside in the main channel. 

Lumps, bumps and things that go squeak in the night

We left Annapolis early and shot out of the river in a chilly but lively breeze and had a lovely sail until about 5 pm just off Solomon's Island. The rest of the sail was not quite so enjoyable but we sailed through the night and made Norfolk about 2pm the next day after 150 nautical miles.

However we learned some things.

1. When the right sequence of sheets are pulled the Jiffy reefing systems really does reef - in a jiffy. 

2. Mast spreader lights are a wonderful invention

3. 'Bounty' handles brilliantly even under very trying conditions

4. Down below was an oasis of calm and warmth and both Gary and I went down at different times to have a rest. The problem was that lying in the sea berth, just about to drop off, when a horrendous groaning would start up, it sounded like something out of a Hammer Horror film. You'd get up, check the table and all around in the dark but nothing seemed loose. Recline again and it would start again. Both of us were mystified as to the source until we noticed that the port side berth would start slowly creeping out and then stop and every time we got up we automatically pushed it back to get past. Much relief not to have some sort of vampire dwelling in the bilge.

At about 5.30am I was on watch and even though conditions were rough and there was still a long way to go the promise of dawn was comforting. It came with a sudden separation of sea and sky and the promise of light and warmth. In the modern age we have AIS, GPS, radar and all sorts of night penetrating gizmos but the sun is still a wonder. Nearly every ancient group of mankind had a name for the sun. The Greeks had more than one, Apollo and Helios and I always wondered whether they time shared the chariots - odd thoughts from the late hours of the night.

We surfed into Norfolk harbour with the sounds of people calling the Coast Guard about sinking and overturned boats. No doubt all seduced like us by the weather forecast of 15 to 20 knots and 1 to 2 foot seas only to discover that the sea was more like a mix master than a mill pond.

Our reward for all this was to catch up with Steve, Bob and Judy, all of us back at Rebel Marina - well we were anchored outside and Dave once again kindly let us dock the dinghy. We repaired to the Thirsty Camel and were initiated into Football Sunday. I finally am starting to understand American football. We had a great time and hopefully we will meet again in the south.

Goodbye Ananpolis

We say goodbye to Annapolis and begin a mad dash down the Chesapeake (weather spirits permitting) to take our return flight to NZ. This will not only allow us to see our lovely daughter but to see the relevant authorities so that we can come back and continue our journey.

We have had a lovely time here and the harbour master and team, especially Stan have been wonderful. Thoroughly recommend the city for entertainment, good food/wine, beauty and friendliness.

Another aspect that has kept us guessing is how large a boat can you fit into a small space. Each time we thought we had seen the biggest super yacht possible approaching the harbour and being fitted into a berth, an even larger and more elaborate one would appear. I can't imagine what it would be like during the Boat Show. 

10 Things We Love About Annapolis

1. Fawcetts Chandlery - Bill, Rob and crew who know the meaning of exceptional service and are not an anodyne chain store.

2. Reynolds Tavern. Selling wine and spirits since 1747 but we loved the afternoon tea. Scones, tea cakes and a selection of great teas. The last time we had something like that was in Istanbul in the Pera Palace, though not the scones it must be said.

3. The HarbourMaster and crew. Reasonably priced mooring balls, with bathroom facilities and laundry on shore.

4. The Model Room at the Naval Academy - not that kind of model but ship's models. An stunning collection from 1650 to the 1800's. Never seen anything like it before and the informative displays were an asset to a deeper understanding of these amazing works of art.

5. The Architecture. Beautifully preserved and used streets of historic buildings 

6. The Bookshop - somewhere near Prince George street. 

7. The food in Annanpolis smaller portions and different. Chick and Ruth for the atmosphere and the great milk shakes and the Catering company for Eggs Benedict

8. For conversations that indicate that the ideals of Adams and Jefferson are still alive and well.

9. The State House and standing where Washington resigned his commission.

10. The great fireworks display that was a total surprise to us.

It's been hot, hot, hot.

This is supposed to be autumn but I suspect the same as almost everywhere the week everyone goes back to school the weather is beautifully sunny and hot. All those blisters from new school shoes. We had a trip down memory lane with our visit to St Mary's City. This is a great spot to anchor and the recreation of Maryland's first settlement is well worth visiting. The replica of The Dove smells and looks so authentic, all that tar and caulking, plus they have a working Signalling Cannon. You can also have meals in the St Mary's College dining hall which reminded us so much of our Uni days, though the food selection was much broader and included an ice cream parlour like set up which Howitt Hall never had. 

We left St Mary's to sail to Solomons Island and had a pleasant sail until we encountered a swarm of black flies - which bite. This went on for 3 hours. I'm glad there were no other boats around because anytime the skipper left the cockpit and I was helming I was waving my legs around like a mad 1920's flapper doing the Charleston. Up till now I thought the sand flies in Fiordland were the worst non lethal biting pest but these came pretty close, though they don't crawl in your ears, so I guess that's a bonus.

Solomons Island has more marinas in a small space than seems physically possible. There was very little space to anchor and everything is totally geared to marina living, not not really our cup of tea. However the Calvert Maritime Museum was well worth visiting. They have one of the best fossil collections I have ever seen, including a mega shark and it is really effectively displayed. Plus two very cute otters, one of which was reclining on a hammock in the heat. The otters have been together for 10 years but are having a marital dispute at the moment and are not talking to each other except in hisses and teeth baring. The lighthouse was also amazing, especially when you consider the family of seven children who grew up there in that tiny space miles off shore.

Today we had a great sail to Rhode River, though it was extremely hot. We anchored and then watched a huge kick ass thunderstorm build around us. We seem to have missed the worst of it and are currently enjoying the first rain we have had since Belhaven, this also gives us a chance to check repairs to the butterfly hatch which was fixed weeks ago but not yet tested. 

Chesapeake - all is forgiven

Chesapeake - all is forgiven, well mostly. Apart from a couple of random waves and currents at Smith Point light it was a light Sth East breeze in the morning. Our only slight gripe is that after sailing in a 3.5 knot breeze listening to the ipod (which my darling daughter kindly filled with music before donating it to me) and Bose speaker was that after lunch we had to motor sail. The nasty looking thunderstorm late in the afternoon stayed over Reedville and we made it to Cartenaga Creek by 6.30pm without being pummelled. Great navigation by the skipper and Bounty sailed superbly again. Our 1938 designed boat sailed past three modern boats as if they were standing still. We toasted Billy Atkins, one of life's gentlemen and great yacht designers, as we went past.

I know that yesterday I mentioned that the Skipper and I were looking for wildlife but that really didn't include the human kind. The beach party was entertaining to watch from a distance and as a final song the D.J played Amazing Grace ( possibly by Witney Houston-at a guess). The entire beach, bay and assembled yachts at sunset all stopped and listened, it was stunning. Stunning in an entirely different sense was the karaoke singer who started up later that night. My question is that why when drunken karaoke is the order of the day why is the singer generally always appalling? Not that my karaoke singing is any better but I try to restict my efforts to group endeavours or the car.

We did have one exception and that was in Otehei Bay in NZ. It was totally dark with the full moon rising when over a the water came a single soprano voice, for a brief period each note was clear and bell-like then the wind changed. After that we only received brief periods of this amazing music which was possibly students of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa having a jam session. Do opera singers have jam sessions, I have no idea, but still like the thought. While my music leanings are more Springsteen, Adele and recently The Black Keys I still enjoyed the performance.

Also thinking about our darling daughter who is about to head to Melbourne to see our respective families. We would so much rather be with them all as well, but I'm sure she will have a wonderful time. Though she will,be cursing me for the 4am start.

Smith Point Lighthouse on the entrance to the Potomac River is one of the famous lighthouses on the Chesapeake - also renowned for vicious squalls and strong currents. The GPS has been indicating wreck after wreck below us as we passed. This was also where the British sailed up the river to burn Washington. Such history all around us.

Anchored in the stunning Cartenaga Creek just around the corner from St Mary's which was Maryland's first settlement. We are going to explore St Mary's tomorrow.