Hilton Head and Beyond

We finished up our fabulous time in Charleston with a visit from one of Sharon's old bosses, Ben, and his girlfriend Karen.  It was great to see them and catch up on life in the last several years.  While enjoying lunch on board, we had a great surprise when Pharrell Williams walked up the dock with a film crew in preparation for a documentary.  So cool!  (For those of you who do not know who Pharrell Williams is, he wrote the "Happy" song, is a current host on "The Voice", and is extremely accomplished in many ways - see his Wikipedia page!) He waved at us when he went by - cool!

After that, we went into town for Halloween, accompanied by "Popeye" (Eric) and Pat.  After dinner we did our own ghost walk to several in-city grave yards and finished our gastronomic tour of the town with a dessert treat at Carmella's - delish!

Our friend Pat, Popeye and Greg

Sunday morning, we waited for the tide to slacken and with Eric and Pat's able assistance, scooted out of the harbor and got on our way down the waterway.  It was a lovely, sunny day and we enjoyed the scenery along the way to our anchorage at South Edisto River.  With only one other boat in the distance we were the only masts to be seen amidst the trees, grasses and water.  Such peace.  

A nice shot of Dream Catcher taken by our friends on "Cutter Loose"

Weighing anchor at dawn the next morning, we pushed on to our next stop.  After a quick fuel stop in Skull Creek (on the north side of Hilton Head Island), we made our way around the south side of the island and up into Broad Creek, which bisects the island.  About mid-way up the creek, we took a sharp right and navigated our way into the lock at the Wexford Plantation.  Some of you who have traveled along with us, may remember our experience about this time last year when we were welcomed into this marina as guests.  Check the place out by clicking here: Wexford Plantation.

While there last year we made some new friends with whom we have stayed in touch.  This time, we were invited to dock at our friend Karen's house and stay for a couple of days.  Though we told her we were happy to stay on board, she insisted we enjoy her luxurious guest suite.  The clincher was when she said she thought she probably had a bigger shower than we did on board.  Ha!  Righto Karen!  

We had a lovely visit, meeting some of her friends at dinner, enjoying some yummy meals and seeing the sights on the island; but mostly enjoying seeing Karen and relaxing at her home. We hope to return again one day on our way north or south.  Thank you so much, Karen, for your generous and kind hospitality.  We had a great time!

View from our guest room balcony

Karen's home (and her neighbors) with Dream Catcher resting at dock

Karen's beautiful home

Our friend Karen after we enjoyed a yummy meal at "Ombra"

The Shower

After hugs and the promise to get together again soon (hopefully in the Keys or Vero), we made our way back through the lock and headed south down Broad Creek, across Calibogue Sound and down the waterway.  We had decided to take advantage of the pleasant weather and go "outside" for one overnight.  This would mean we'd leave the safety and security of the ICW, enter the ocean, and sail or motor until we arrived at either Jacksonville or St Augustine, 140 - 170 miles away.  We hit the Savannah River ten miles south of Karen's house and followed a 700 foot container ship out the Savanah River Channel and into the ocean.  

"Mona Lisa"

Turning south, we set a course of 201 degrees and realized we were going to have a rolly and bumpy ride.  Passage Weather called for light winds and waves less than two feet.  We found that even with those light winds and small waves, there was a very confused chop.  So, instead of a calm ride with some downwind sailing, we got a lot of roll and a lot of motoring.  Though it could have been much worse, it was not the best of passages.  In addition to the roll, it was extremely humid and damp.  We had the cockpit enclosure up and you could barely see through it half the night due to the heavy dew.  Throughout the night we relied on radar and occasional visuals by unzipping the enclosure and sticking our heads out (thank goodness for radar!)  Snacking our way through the night to prevent having to go below for too long to make a meal, catnapping in the cockpit and keeping an eye on the ships coming and going from Brunswick, GA and Jacksonville, FL, we were thrilled to see the sun rise and the trip meter grow.  By 9am we chugged into the channel at St. Augustine, turned a bit north and into the Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor.  After a boat wash, a dip in the pool and a shower, we both crashed for a couple hours, exhausted and happy to have air-conditioning!  The good news was that we were 170 miles further south and could poke our way to Vero casually since we aren't due there until after the 12th of November.  

The next morning we headed out by 8am and were happy to be back in flat water. We enjoyed the sunshine, the great photo ops of the ICW's birds and flora, and ended up anchoring just south of Daytona.  Yesterday, we weighed anchor again at 7:30, meandered our way past the Ponce de Leon inlet, New Smyrna Beach, through the Mosquito Lagoon, across Haulover Cut and into Titusville Marina for a couple nights. Titusville is adjacent to Cape Canaveral and we planned to visit the Kennedy Space Center.

Our view along the waterway - click on any photo to enlarge

We wanted to stop here in Titusville last year to visit the Kennedy Space Center, but couldn't find a way to anchor near the Center.  This time, we rented a car for a day to take us the 14 miles and back.  It was well worth the visit and if you ever have the opportunity we would highly recommend it.  For us, who grew up during the "Space Race", it was much like a look back in time.  Add to that the Space Shuttle, a couple of really cool IMAX movies and it was a terrific visit!

Lunar Module

Vehicle Assembly Building - you can see this building from at least 10 miles away on the waterway.
The flag itself is 21 stories tall

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Monday we'll be back on the water again.  We expect to be in Vero Beach in a couple of days and our plan is to hang out there for a couple of months.  Sharon's car is there and so we will have some land freedom to visit friends and family.  Come see us if you are in the area!

'Til next time.

On to Charleston

River Dunes was a welcome visit since we were able to plug the boat in and ensure we had a couple of warm nights.  Oriental is a pretty small town, but we shared a great meal at MandM's with our boat friends, other "Island Packeteers" traveling south.  After a couple days, we continued on the waterway and made our way to Beaufort, NC.  We enjoyed this little town immensely, both last Fall and this past Spring, and were happy to stop by again.  We tried the Blue Moon Bistro and were very impressed by the food and service at this chef-owned restaurant.  We both got some work done and headed out again onto the waterway a couple days later.

Our travels took us past the Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune.  All of a sudden, there was a huge helicopter 100 yards away, idling on land on the side of the waterway with a bunch of guys hanging out.  One of them, in his flight suit, walked straight into the water up to his neck!  What!  Then, he walked back out - guess he just needed to cool off?  Around the bend, we pulled into an anchorage with several other boats and dropped the hook for the night.  But, instead of being a nice quiet anchorage a military "Osprey" was doing touch and go maneuvers.  An Osprey is a plane with very large propellers on wings that tilt so that it can land and take off like a helicopter.  It was flying in, landing, hanging out, flying out, flying back in, hanging out, etc, etc, etc!  It stopped around 5pm and we figured they were done for the night, but it started up again around 9pm.  It was pretty loud and we hoped it would stop soon so we could sleep - which it eventually did.  We were familiar with the Osprey because a small squadron of them delivered President Obama to Martha's Vineyard directly over our boat in Lake Tashmoo last summer.

A more noisy "Osprey" then the bird

Up early the next morning, we continued on our way to Southport, NC.  By this time, we were traveling again with "Cutter Loose" and we anchored near one another in Dutchman's Creek.  (just south of Southport).  Again, up early and off to North Myrtle Beach and Barefoot Landing Marina.  Here there is a large outlet mall right at the docks, with a man-made lake and lots of shopping and restaurants.  We shared a great Italian meal at Umberto's.  Yum!

Off early the next morning, we enjoyed the ride through Myrtle Beach - golf heaven and beautiful homes lining the waterway.  Somewhere in here, Greg decided to re-program the "smart" regulator because he was not happy with the charge level from the engine's alternator to the batteries.  When he opened the compartment to do this, he found that saltwater had infiltrated this area (in the engine room).  The sound insulation was wet, the pads below the engine to catch any oil drips were soaked and you could see signs of salt dried on parts of the engine.  What!  The good news is that Greg has been a motor head (just like his brothers!) ever since he was a teenager, so he knows engines - which is great since Sharon is totally clueless in this department.  He finally found out that it was a tiny drip coming from a vacuum switch on a device called a "vented loop" and when the engine was revved beyond 2600 rpm's it became a quick drip.  He was able to do a temporary fix and immediately went online and located the manufacturer in Florida.  The owner is a boater and was very helpful.  He sent two new replacements for the vacuum switch that was bad (the piece of the vented loop), to arrive at the marina in Charleston in a few days, where we had plans to stay.

We navigated the Waccamaw River, which is very beautiful, and were deciding whether to stop in Georgetown or continue on.  We talked about going offshore from Georgetown to Charleston, but the weather was deteriorating and we were not comfortable with our engine situation, so we stayed inside.  Another beautiful anchorage at the South Santee River got us within a day of Charleston.

A Great Blue Heron and a Kingfisher - Ha!  What are the odds?

We got an early morning start from the Santee and motored along at a good pace keeping the engine running at 2500 rpm's, slightly slower than our normal 2700 RPMs (we didn't have the new part yet!)  We navigated the inlets and creeks as we got close to Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island, just north of Charleston.  We were happy that we stayed inside as winds were up.  When we got to the Ben Sawyer Bridge - the last bridge that you have to wait for an opening before Charleston - the bridge tender wouldn't open due to winds that she was apparently clocking at 26 - 30 knots.  So - we hung out just north of the bridge awhile, kept calling and asking if she would open, kept getting a no, she couldn't open, and finally decided to drop the hook in a nearby creek.  That was interesting!  The currents are strong in that area with the five foot tidal range and the currents were fighting with the winds. Dream Catcher kept spinning in circles!  "Cutter Loose" was nearer the mouth of the creek and the wind was keeping it in place.  Before night fell, we decided to move Dream Catcher and went back out into the waterway and dropped the hook.  There is very little, if any, night traffic on the waterway, but we lit the cockpit up pretty brightly as a precaution. There were three other boats anchored with us, so we felt relatively safe for the night.  Plus, Greg has this cool anchor alarm app that will tell you if you are dragging anchor.  We both got a better sleep than expected.

A cool shot of ""Cutter Loose" at anchor

We saw three Bald Eagles this day!

The next morning, we had to wait until at least 9am to call the bridge since they stay closed for rush hour.  We got the same report - "No, sorry, I can't open due to high winds."  So - we relaxed, hung out, tried to get some work done and called her every hour.  Finally at 1:45pm, she called and announced, "To all the sailboats north of the Ben Sawyer Bridge, I will have an opening."  By this time, there were about 10 of us.  Of course, we had to scramble, stop what we were doing, get the anchor up in the rain and get close to the bridge opening.  Fifteen minutes later we were through the bridge and motored the last two miles up the harbor to Charleston Maritime Center.  We pulled in just at slack tide and tied up next to three more Island Packets.

After a boat wash and shower, we buddied up with Eric and Pat on "Cutter Loose" and headed into town for a long anticipated meal.  First night was a beer at Craftsman Kitchen and Tap House and then dinner at Hank's Seafood.  Second night was a treat at 167 Raw filled with oysters, crab claws and shrimp - washed down with some great beer!  Last night was a French/Sushi restaurant (crazy combination) called 39 Rue de Jean that was very good!  Only two nights left to eat our way around Charleston with friends.  It has been a blast!

Galesville, MD (Annapolis) to Oriental, NC

Boat Show weekend in Annapolis was very fun!  We reconnected with our sailing friends, Jim and Cynthia on Neverland, Eric and Pat on Cutter Loose, Hayden and Radeen on Island Spirit and met new folks as well.  We shared time with our land friend Pat and checked out a lot of gear and boat stuff.  Our favorite purchase was a set of pots made of silicone with a metal base to use on the stove. These collapse to become 2 inches high, and will better fit in the cabinet.  Greg also bought a bucket that collapses.  More space saved (and very cool stuff)!  See Nautical Scout cookware!

The warm trend we had for a couple days brought a way-too-close thunderstorm, rain and cooler weather.  Monday morning dawned sunny and we cast off the dock lines in Galesville (Annapolis suburb) and headed south down the Chesapeake Bay.  The first day was a long day of motoring as there was very light wind, right on our nose.  We left early so we could reach and enjoy a favorite anchorage in Mill Creek off the Great Wicomico River.  Seventy five miles later, we dropped the hook and settled in for a nice night.

Early the next morning, we pulled the hook up again, and headed out.  Seeing 12 knots on the windometer before we were out of the harbor, we decided to raise the main in preparation for a good sail.  As we motored out into the Bay, past the point of land that shielded us from the south, we felt the full force of the south wind - a steady 18-20 knots with higher gusts.  We unfurled the jib half way and moved along very quickly, but it became difficult to head in the direction we wanted - south.  So, we started the engine to give us a little push and we were able to point south.  This meant we sailed at hull speed, near 8 knots, with wind and three to five foot waves coming directly at us.  The apparent wind became 25 knots or more.  The waves became more of an obstacle.  The result was that we bashed into the chop for hours and saw more water over the cabin top than we ever have before.  In fact, the water splashed into the dorades (those funnel like things on top of the deck designed to bring fresh air into the cabin) and we ended up with a wet floor and slightly wet bed.  Yuk!  We bailed as soon as we could find a spot to hide and went into a calm bay.  Inside the bay you never would have guessed the wind was blowing and waves were crashing outside.  Whew!  A welcomed relief.

The next morning, it was back to calm waters and light winds.  We motored the rest of the way down the Chesapeake and grabbed a free dock for the night at Hampton Public Pier (thanks to our kind friend Radeen who nabbed a coupon for us).  We shared a beer with friends Eric and Pat at the Taphouse followed by a lovely meal with eight other Island Packet owners at Venture.  What fun!

Sunrise on Godfrey Bay
(remember you can click on all photos to enlarge)

A day on the Bay

Wolf Trap Light - kind of a funny looking light

Leaving Hampton the next morning we headed south down the Elizabeth River through Norfolk and onto the intracoastal waterway.  Within the first two miles we got stopped by two railroad bridges that are "usually open" with trains slowly crossing.  And so it begins.  The waterway is beautiful.   Challenges along the way include: assuring you pay attention all the time so as not to leave the channel and run aground, or run into anything else; negotiating bridges all along the route by speeding up or slowing down to meet their scheduled openings; slowing down so large motor yachts can pass you without sending you rocketing to shore from their wakes; and finding suitable anchorages along the way.

Cypress roots in the Waterway 

Birds!! We think Storm Petrels - click this one!

Just in case you think we are the only ones doing this!

Waiting for the train to get by

Friends on "Cutter Loose" dwarfed by carrier

Tonight, we are anchored off Buck Island in North Carolina, about 10 miles north of Albemarle Sound.  It is a quiet spot and we are the only ones here.  Our friends Pat and Eric are anchored on the south side of the island.  We will catch up with them on the water tomorrow morning for a long
70 mile day across the sound, down the Alligator River, through the Alligator/Pungo Canal and into another picturesque anchorage in the Pungo Creek.

Sunday we will do a short day and reach River Dunes in Oriental for two days, where we will meet up with three other Island Packets.  The added bonus is that we'll spend Sunday and Monday evenings there for the weather forecast of 40-45 degrees at night!  We'll have the benefit of heat while plugged in at the marina - excellent timing!

'Til next time -

Joaquin Scare and Time in Fenwick, DE

Two weeks on land, a hurricane, a nor'easter and lots of manual labor - what have you all been up to?

We had a plan to spend two weeks at Sharon's family beach house in Fenwick Island, DE before departing for our trip south this season. Time off the boat is nice once in awhile!  The treats include your own laundry and land showers (nice when it's not 90 degrees out). The Fenwick Island house even has an outside shower (in addition to the bathroom showers) which we always look forward to using.

We buttoned up the boat in Galesville, MD (near Annapolis), plugged in so the A/C dehumidifier would keep things dry, then we headed to the Delaware coast on the 23rd of September.  We had a few major projects to accomplish at the house, as well as sharing fun with family and friends.  But, a few days later we were back in Galesville, taking sails and canvas down, stowing dinghy and solar panels, and preparing to have Dream Catcher hauled.  We were very uneasy with the forecast of hurricane Joaquin, and didn't want to wait until the last minute to ask the boatyard to haul Dream Catcher (we waited too long once and the boat stayed in the water through another hurricane). We worked quickly and Dream Catcher soon sat happily on the hard while we hopped in the car and headed back to Fenwick - a bit tired and with slightly sore muscles.

This meant, however, that we could stop worrying about the boat, and shift our attention to the house.  The house had suffered in Hurricane Sandy and we are still picking up the pieces from half a foot of water in the lower level.  This time, there was talk of a 3 - 4 foot tidal surge in the bays, on which our back yard sits.  As the nor'easter brewed and Joaquin got closer we walked daily to see the ocean, which turned into raging waves lapping at the dunes, steady 20-30 knot winds with gusts over 50 (for four days straight), and a promise of a lot of rain.  Friends had planned to visit that Friday and actually drove down from upstate Delaware.  They had to divert inland when they hit Dewey Beach because Rte 1 was flooded north of Fenwick.  In spite of the weather we had a wonderful two days with them.

Fortunately, the high water level stayed about a foot below the lower level.  All we lost was a patch of roof shingles.  When the winds calmed enough we carried new shingles to the roof and replaced the lost ones.  This is Greg's least favorite thing to do - he hates working on a roof!  Whew!  But, we were much more fortunate than those in the Bahamas and the Carolinas.

Normally the beach is twice as wide, about 30 yards from the fences; here, the surf is pushing at the dune fence

We are fortunate to have pretty high dunes that are well planted and fenced three times,
but the ocean has moved a lot of sand up onto the dunes.

This is our backyard - the gray stone leads to a boat ramp (which is underwater here) into the lagoon
which takes us out to the Bay; Greg says Sharon is standing on sinking ground - he is right!

By Monday, we were back in Galesville, happy that Joaquin had taken a right turn, and we took the opportunity to polish and wax the hull and change the propeller shaft zinc.  The zinc is the sacrificial metal that corrodes instead of the propeller.  Normally, (in warm, clear water) Greg dives down to replace this, but this was a welcomed opportunity to be able to stand next to it and do it in 10 minutes instead of 30 (while trying to hold his breath with tools in one hand and the prop in the other!)  But, just as Greg wasn't thrilled with his roof work, polishing and waxing the hull are Sharon's least favorite boat chores.  Why?  Well, think about hand polishing, then hand waxing your car about five times.  That's about the surface area the boat's topsides are (waterline to deck).  So, a few hours of "wax on", "wax off", most of this at eye level or higher, and you'll understand what shoulder pain is! Greg said he could hear his joints grinding!  He's odd, because he actually likes this job!

We are floating once again and are getting ready to leave Monday morning to head to Florida.  So, while we're at the dock we are taking advantage of local markets and boat stores to prep.  Sharon hit the markets for paper goods and other needed items.  (Love the coffee selection at Fresh Market!) Greg filled our #2 propane tank today.  Then he dismantled the top of the windlass (the motor to haul the anchor...there will be a test!) to install a new control arm (a piece of stainless steel that guides the anchor chain into the anchor locker when retrieving the anchor - another test question!)  This little item is spring loaded (like a clothes pin spring, only much stronger), and you have to tension the spring while assembling it.  One part of the windlass wouldn't come loose, so he had to tension the spring and push it into the slots in a way that was not intended. The spring snapped back many times before he was able to get it into the correct location.  Four finger cuts later he succeeded.  Ouch!  But, it works!

One year ago we purchased a cellular amplifier to improve our cell reception, especially in remote areas.  We've been disappointed that it never seemed to work.  The antenna sits atop the mast (remember when we had the mast pulled?), so it should have a much better reach than a phone inside the boat.  So, Greg took all the components to Fenwick, set it up there, and got the tech support guys on the phone...for an hour.  The result was that the unit was bad!  So, ship the old one back, wait for the new one.... today Greg reassembled the components on the boat and, voila - five bars!  It works!  Cool!

Tonight, we are relaxing on board, plugged in with a little cabin heat if we want to keep the chill away.  Tomorrow, we head over to Annapolis to attend the boat show and see a bunch of sailing friends.  Sunday, we do the rental car shuffle (drive to Salisbury, pick up a rental, drive to Fenwick, leave our car in the garage plugged into a trickle charger, come back and drop rental in Annapolis, get cab to boat).  Monday morning, we head south.  It will be an interesting trip given the amount of water and flooding the middle Atlantic states have had.  We will need to watch out for debris all along the way.

We are excited to be on the water again!  Woohoo!  We look forward to our travels south.  Hope you will travel with us.

Newport, RI to Annapolis, MD

Newport to Annapolis!

It went really well!  We left Newport with the main sail up at 6:15am on Wednesday morning, September 16 (Sharon's brother-in-law Alec's birthday!)  Wind was very light and a bit out of the Northwest.  We motor sailed out of the Narragansett Bay, past our friend's Roger and Chrisy's Jamestown house, past Beaver Tail Light, past Point Judith.  We passed Block Island three hours later, and then we sailed by Montauk Point two hours after that.  It was a sunny day and the seas were very calm.

Interesting sights included the sun shadows of jet streams as they traveled high past the sun's rays and a pod of small dolphins.

Beavertail Lighthouse

Jet stream shadows!

The winds were no more than five knots the entire trip and seas were one foot or less.  Though we had to motor all the way, we were happy not to have big rolling waves.  We took turns napping all day, banking our sleep, as Greg calls it.  By 5pm, 80 miles into the trip, we began to cross the first of three very large New York shipping channels, the first being the Nantucket Channel.  The sun set at 7pm and we saw a beauty of a crescent moon hit the horizon soon after.  A very bright Venus hung out next to Orion from 4am until dawn. 

A very calm sea 

Sunset

Dawn Breaking

We passed the last of the NY shipping channels by 6am the next morning - 13 hours later!  We could see the tall buildings of Atlantic City by 10am Thursday.  Greg had an exciting night when a fishing vessel decided to leave the place he had been hanging out five miles away and head straight for Dream Catcher.  Greg changed course a few degrees at a time until he was 60 degrees off the course we had been heading since we left Newport, to hopefully avoid this guy.  He kept coming straight at us, which meant he had to be continually turning toward us as we were continually traveling South.  Greg radioed him twice and got no answer.  Finally, only a few hundred feet from us, he turned away and his bright lights showed his team working his aft deck preparing to deploy fishing nets.  He finally called on the radio and said he always found sailboats were trying to bump into him and he  was just checking to see if we were awake!  A shout out to Greg for not losing his temper - he was so ticked that there was nothing we could do.  Greg said it was like a semi-tractor trailer coming toward you in the middle of a narrow two-lane road and turning away at the last possible moment.  Playing chicken for fun - being the larger vehicle.  This all happened 60 miles from shore where even the coast guard can't be contacted by radio.  (As Billy Currington says, "People Are Crazy")

Then, later that same morning, Greg was at the helm again and saw an AIS signal showing a vessel directly in Dream Catcher's path and traveling toward us - at 268 knots!!  Just as it was getting close, it turned around, now traveling at 232 kts, until it approached the Delaware shore and disappeared from our chart plotter (GPS) screen!  Very weird!  We guessed it must have been some sort of military plane - but we will never know.  There were no other details on the AIS signals.  For those not familair with AIS it's a system that allows us to see icons on our chart plotter/GPS screen that represent commercial ships and pleasure craft.  Each icon can show the speed and direction of the vessel, as well as much more information so that ships can safely avoid each other.  So, we were able to watch this very fast moving vessel come toward us on our screen, but we never saw the actual thing.  When it turned, it did so extremely quickly.  It could only have been a jet of some sort.  And commercial jets don't do this.  AIS is based on VHF radio signals, which reach a limited distance. This signal disappeared approaching the Delaware shore probably because it left our range.  But, while it was within range it was crazy!  As far as we know planes do not carry our form of AIS.

At about 2pm on Thursday, we dropped the mainsail and motored the rest of the way to the breakwater and into the anchorage in Cape May, NJ.  We covered 238 miles in 33 hours - wow!  Once at anchor we were heartened to hear the Coast Guard cadets doing their regular drills at the training center just on shore.  A light meal and a great night's sleep came early.

Friday dawned clear and we headed out around 6:30am to make the trek up the Delaware Bay and into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  

A beauty of a sunrise coming out of Cape May, NJ

We have to time this part of the trip right so as to catch a favorable current in the canal.  A little tension was felt as we navigated the shoals around Cape May (without hitting them) and up into the bay.  About two hours into the trip, we discovered that, though the engine was chugging along at 2700 rpm (a sweet spot), it wasn't charging the batteries.  This is not good.  We need the batteries to keep the engine running!  The solar panels can keep up the electricity up fairly well, but maybe not when we have an engine, navigational instruments, radios and a refrigerator running all at once.  Greg was able to get an internet connection and started studying furiously to troubleshoot the issue.  Several checks later, he found a broken wire connecting the regulator to the alternator.  So - everything was shut down - engine, electronics, batteries.  Sharon had to hold the boat as steady as possible, assuring no drifting into objects or shoals, given little steerageway.  The wind was a blustery 2 kts!  It was very handy to have an iPad with the navigational app open to at least let us know if we were drifting into dangerous territory.  Fortunately, current was with us.   (Later at dinner with our friends Lori and Tom, Lori said when she checked SPOT, it looked like we were in the same place for about an hour - yes Lori - you are correct - we were!)  After about 30 minutes, the wire fixed, engine turned back on, alternator was charging away like it is supposed to.  GO GREG!!  

We continued up the bay and into the canal.  By 3pm, we pulled into the fuel dock at Schaefer's Canal House and came to rest at a spot where there was an electrical pedestal in front of the restaurant (we wanted to be certain if we couldn't fix the charge issue that we had electricity to charge the batteries through the night).  A welcome hug from Lori and Tom and we enjoyed a fun meal on the deck at Schaefer's.  Thanks for making the trip you two.  Always great to see you!

Saturday dawned with thick fog, enough to keep all of the boats on the dock until 8:30am.  Though we wanted to head off the dock by 6:30am to catch the last of the favorable current, we stuck close.  Finally it began to lift enough to feel confident, and using radar and fog horn we made our way through the last few miles of the canal, down through the Elk River and into the Chesapeake Bay.  By noon, the sun was out and the wind came up, allowing us to raise all three sails and enjoy a wonderful sail across the bay - one of the best sails we've had for awhile!  We found a new anchorage spot off Back River, just north of the Patapsco River that leads to Baltimore, and we joined the 25 other vessels enjoying the sunny afternoon at anchor.  By nightfall there were only four of us left.  All the others went home after their weekend on the water.  

Sunday morning, we left the anchorage with a brisk North wind of 18-22 knots, pulled out the large genoa and sailed downwind 20 miles to Annapolis.  We poked up into Spa Creek and found a town mooring to hook onto.  We got lucky and were able to watch the second half of the Patriots/Buffalo game at a sports bar in town.  As we launched the dingy, three little green frogs appeared.  They had hitched a ride from somewhere!  Two of them went in the water as we prepared to take off, but one other little guy stuck around for the ride both ways.  He was still hiding under the outboard this afternoon!

Tucked safely on the motor mount

Tomorrow, we head back to Galesville, MD, where we will leave Dream Catcher at a dock at Pirate's Cove Marina for a couple of weeks.  We plan to head over to Fenwick Island, DE where we will accomplish some house chores, have all the packages sent that we have been holding, waiting for an address to send them to, and enjoy the last of summer at the Delaware seashore.  We will be back in Annapolis for the annual Sailboat Show over Columbus Day weekend and then begin our trek south for the second year.  

'Til then -