Attacked by Pirates!

While lazing around at anchor on a beautiful Holloween evening, suddenly we were attacked by pirates (and their trusty mascot Eiore). Fortunately, a few candy bars were enough to repel the attack!

Shorts!

After suffering(?) with morning temperatures in the mid-30's and daytime in the low 60's, the warm weather has returned. We're wearing shorts again!

Photo: Compass Rose at the free State Dock in Bath, NC with the captain in shorts.

Bath, NC (North Carolina's Oldest Town)

Pulled into the free State Dock at Bath, NC after a great four hour cruise down Pamlico Sound. Bath, NC is the oldest town in NC dating back to 1705. Doing the math, they are celebrating their 300th anniversary this year.

Edward Teach, better known as "Blackbeard the Pirate" hung out around here and was killed in a naval battle in 1718.

St Thomas Episcopal Church is the oldest existing church in the state. Its bell was presented by Queen Anne in 1732. Bath was the provincial capital of North Carolina in 1746.

We walked around this delightful town (pop. 140) on a beautiful fall day. There are plenty of homes from the 1700's and a delightful mix of newer homes. Nice town with a very real connection to its past.

For more information on Bath, see the link to the right.

One More Day in Belhaven

Decided to spend another day anchored in Belhaven. We still cannot venture south of Hatteras until Nov 1st so we have some time to kill.

As we were walking in town, received a cell phone call from the dockmaster at Marathon Marina checking on our progress. They had eight boats sunk in the marina from Wilma and lost thirty slips. But, he expects to be back to full capability by the end of November. We were certainly relieved to hear that.

After sending the intermediate blog update from the library, we came back into town and stopped at "Wine & Words". This is sort of a coffee shop/dining facility except they have wine instead of coffee. Had great food and wine and was also able to use their WiFi to catch up on the blog.

Photo: John & Pam at "Wine & Words" updating the blog

Belhaven, NC

Transited the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal which is a 23 mile straight cut connecting the two rivers. Reminded us of the Dismal Swamp....it was drizzling all day so it was even 'dismal'. We passed this interesting boat in the canal. Wish I could say it was from France but the home port said Sarasota, FL.

Anchored in the river off Belhaven, NC, a small town that has seen better days. We walked the 2 miles to the post office to pick up our mail that had been forwarded. Keep those cards and letters coming!

In all fairness, we did find a number of interesting places in Belhaven. The Belhaven Museum is very wierd! It is an eclectic collection of everything old...WW I & II memorabilia mixed with old cameras, typewriters, dresses from the 1890's, 30,000 buttons, premature fetuses (feti?), deformed pigs ( a one-eyed and a six legged) and chickens in formaldahide. Oh, and two fleas dressed as bride and bridgroom (magnifying glass provided). All this was covered in a fine layer of dust at least 20 years old.

Albemarle Sound/Alligator River

After leaving E City we crossed the Albemarle Sound which can sometimes be an adventure. The wind was 10-15 from the north which was the perfect setting for our southerly heading. Very smooth crossing and then we entered the Alligator River (no, there aren't!). The Alligator River swing bridge (photo) was constantly opening for all the southbound boats. This river is pretty wide with nothing but scub pines along the shore.

Anchored in the river off Deep Point with 13 other boats (the Cruising Guide says "holds 3-4 boats"). The serene setting was somewhat compromised by the Air Force F-15's practicing dive bombing on the river (damn pilots!)

Spotty Internet Access

For all of you disappointed bloggers who haven't seen any updates here for a few days, I say 'mea culpa'. After we left Elizabeth City, NC, we haven't had a reliable internet connection for more than a few minutes.

A short synopsis of where we've been follows and will be filled in with more detail and pictures when (and if) we ever get a signal again.

Tuesday Oct 25: Tied up at Pelican Marina in Elizabeth City, NC for a much need holding tank pumpout, etc. Walked 1 3/4 mi to a Food Lion for groceries.....

Wednesday Oct 26: Left Elizabeth City and headed across Albemarle Sound. Had a following north wind 10-15 kts which was ideal for the crossing. Made about 8 kts in smooth seas. Entered the Alligator River and continued down to an anchorage off Deep Point with thirteen other boats (the Cruising Guide says "room for 3-4 boats"!). The peaceful solitude was somewhat interrupted by Air Force F-15's on low level bombing runs over the river (no ordnance).

Thursday Oct 27: Continued down the Alligator River and the Pungo River canal. The canal is basically a straight cut (read 'ditch') connecting the Alligator R. and the Pungo R. Sort of like the Dismal Swamp and, since it was drizzling the whole day, was indeed 'dismal'.

Friday Oct 28: anchored in the river off Belhaven, NC. 105 year old town whose best days are behind it! Pretty wierd museum here with old WW I memorabilia, deformed pigs and snakes in formaldahide bottles, 30,000 buttons, etc.

Saturday Oct 29: decide to spend the day in Belhaven and go to the library to use their internet connection. Obviously, it works! But all the photos are on my laptop so they will have to wait.

Marathon, FL (our destination) was hit very hard by Hurricane Wilma with most marinas sustaining major damage. No word yet on ours yet. We will just have to remain flexible on our ultimate destination.

Elizabeth City, NC

Woke to a brilliant sun and blue sky and proceeded to pull up anchor. The muddy bottom made for very good holding but the flip side of that is someone has to clean the two days worth of mud off the anchor chain. It took thirty minutes to get the anchor up while hosing off the North Carolina mud.

A short ninety minute cruise down the river brought us to Elizabeth City, NC. We pulled into Pelican Marina for a much needed holding tank pump out. Stayed the night there as it was only $1.00 a foot.

Walked into town and saw it was a very old town. It was first visited by the English in 1585 and settled in 1793 by Adam and Elizabeth Tooley (hence its name). Not a whole lot here with a number of vacant storefronts downtown. We walked 1 ¾ mi out to the Food Lion for a big grocery buy. It was only a $6 cab ride back to the marina.

Departed E City (as we ICW veterans call it) at 0830. Eleven sailboats had already left ahead of us. Gorgeous day with calm seas across Albemarle Sound. On the way down the Pasquotank River we passed the Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City which surprisingly, is the largest is the country. There was also a large blimp hangar built in WW II which now houses a blimp making company. I assume the blimp in the photo was built here.

The Krogen Manatee “Just The Two Us” (Tom & Peggy Horachek) passed us enroute to their homeport of Conche Key. The have a car rented in New Berne, NC to drive to the Keys to access the damage to their home.

Goat Island, NC (Out of Wilma's Winds)

Spent Monday evening anchored behind Goat Island about 7 miles north of Elizabeth City, NC. The outer bands of Wilma provided 25-30 kt winds and heavy rain all night. This is a secluded cove off the Pasquotank River leading to Elizabeth City and still has the look and feel of the swamp. We have over 150 ft of chain out in this wind.

Tuesday morning broke to somewhat clearer weather but the winds are still blowing hard from the west. Decided to spend the day anchored here and head down to E City tomorrow in better weather. The crossing of Albemarle Sound is always ‘interesting’ if the winds are up. It is a relatively shallow body of water laying east-west so any wind kicks up the waves. It doesn’t look like we can cross it until Thursday.

Photo: the other two boats anchored behind Goat Island

The Great Dismal Swamp

What a day!! Left Norfolk at 0900 and headed south towards North Carolina. An absolutely beautiful day. After traversing a couple of drawbridges, we entered the Dismal Swamp (who knew it was in Virginia?!). The canal or ‘cut’ was begun in 1793 and first opened in 1805. It connects southern Virginia (Norfolk) and Elizabeth City, NC 51 miles away. At times, we were the only boat visible in the narrow waterway through the tree lined swamp. The water is the color of root beer.

Whoever named it “Dismal” was obviously having a bad day! This was a breathtaking cruise back in time. It was a cross between the Everglades and Deliverance. We stopped about nine miles short of Elizabeth City and anchored near Goat Island. I’m not sure either one of us has a pulse this evening!

Still keeping a wary eye on Wilma even though she is supposed to run off the coast. We will probably hunker down in Elizabeth City until the wind and rain subside.

Photos: Heading into the first lock. One raises boats 8 ft and the other lowers you the same.

Are we there yet?

Sunset at anchor

Norfolk, VA

Made it to Norfolk, VA, a little over 50 miles. Passed the rivers Rappahannock, York, and James on the way. “Compass Rose” officially left the Chesapeake Bay today as we entered Norfolk/Hampton Roads. Norfolk is the largest naval installation in the world and we counted 4 aircraft carriers, 4 helicopter carriers, 4 submarines and numerous other support ships in port. There was tight security around the fleet with patrol boats and floating barricades everywhere.

Photo: Two of the carriers inport Norfolk.

We stayed in the Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth directly across from downtown Norfolk. Took the passenger ferry across and did the Waterside (aka Harbor Place) thing. Red buoy “36” nearby is the official “Mile Zero” of the InterCoastal Waterway. So, I guess we are really on our way.

Tomorrow, we depart for the Dismal Swamp. It’s supposed to be more beautiful than dismal…

Pam checking email in the middle of the Bay:

Deltaville, VA

Made a short 3 ½ hr trip down to Deltaville, VA. Another drizzly, dreary day but between the GPS and radar, we found it.

Deltaville is a very boat oriented town of 800 people and 3,000 boats (no kidding!). The people are very friendly and accommodating. We walked the 2 miles into ‘town’….or we tried to walk. A very nice woman stopped and offered us a ride which we accepted. On the walk back, a man stopped and gave us a ride part way back. Then, another person actually turned around to pick us up. He was headed right back to the marina where we were anchored. Turns out he was also anchored there and had borrowed the marina SUV. Even more amazing was that we had met him and his wife visiting “Eldridge C” in Solomons. What a small (very small) world!

What's the Point?

One of the more interesting aspects of cruising down the Chesapeake is passing all the points of land or “points”.  We’ve heard of many of these on marine weather channels and it’s nice to put a face to a name.

Names like Thomas Point, Bloody Point, Drum Point, Point Lookout, and my all time favorite….Point No Point.  Many of these had light houses built in the mid-1800’s but automation and weather have eliminated most of them.  Thomas Point Light still stands but most Bay lighthouses are just a memory.

Onward Towards Virginia

Left Solomons this morning to a brilliant sunrise (see photo). We are finally going into uncharted waters since we’ve never been south of the Potomac River before. Let’s hope the world really is round!

Had a ‘high speed’ run down the Bay (8.5 kts) and actually (and finally) left the state of Maryland! We were enjoying the cruise when suddenly a Navy Range Control boat pulls along side and calls us on the radio. Their bombing range was going “hot” shortly and we should turn more south. About 30 seconds later there were two very loud ‘booms’. Pam (who had not heard my conversation with them) thought our mast had fallen down. This was not in the Navy’s normal bombing area….good thing the boat was there.

We are in Reedville, VA for the night, the only boat anchored here. Reedville use to be a major fishing center on the Bay. It still has a large processing plant for Menhaden fish. When we visited the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum, we saw a documentary on catching these fish. Each net full contains 300,000 fish and they are processed into fish oil and animal feed. The smell is kind of overwhelming at the plant. Fortunately, we are upwind now. Not much else going on in this little town on the Northern Neck of Virginia.

Not sure how far south we can get with Wilma apparently headed up the coast next week.

Photo: Reedville, VA house decorated for Halloween.

Leaving Oxford Finally!

Departed Oxford, MD at 0705 and heading south to Solomons (again!). Gorgeous day on the Bay and we are making 8.0 knot in fairly calm seas. Now we are keeping a wary eye on Wilma as she makes her way towards the Keys and Florida.

Spent yesterday washing the boat and fixing the davit. Pam also had a Delll computer rep come and replace the motherboard on her new Dell laptop.

So, now we have a working davit and laptop, full water tanks and an empty holding tank. Life is good! This Verizon Air Card is working great as I type this in the middle of the Bay. Nice to have an internet connection as we head south.

Photo: we saw this Oxford house being renovated (to say the least). It had been jacked up and a new foundation have been poured. It's either this photo or another moonrise!!

Still in Oxford

We are still anchored in Oxford awaiting a part for the dingy davit. If the part arrives tomorrow and I can fix the problem, we’ll depart SOUTH on Wednesday.

Since we are not all that far from Annapolis, we called Kim and “suggested” she drive over with Carson and Cameron. Had a great afternoon in St Michaels with them. A little tough to say goodbye again but it was worth it.

Photo: Full moon rise in Oxford, MD. I promised not too many sunset pictures….this doesn’t count!

Kim, Pam, Carson & Cameron in Oxford

SUNSHINE!!

SUNSHINE!! After forty days and forty nights of rain, the sun finally came out. We had to search for our sunglasses!

Separated the raft with “Barbara E” and both of us cruised the short distance to Town Creek at Oxford. Re-anchored there as a two boat raft. The wind is still blowing hard from the north (20-25 kts).

Dinghied in to Oxford and ran into John and Maddie Yates (“Indy”) from the Back Creek Yacht Club. We know, we know….we are supposed to be headed south. Went over to their boat for a while. Also, saw a Krogen 39 (“Forever 39”) in their yard getting bottom paint.

The six of us had a very nice dinner at Schooners Landing restaurant.

Photos: John & Barb Mills with Pam & John
“Compass Rose” and “Barbara E”

Continued on to Oxford

Continued on to Oxford, MD to meet up with John and Barb Mills on “Barbara E”. Tried to hug the eastern shore to dampen the waves on the nose. Weather was similar to yesterday with 4-5 foot waves on the bow. Two hours into the trip, Pam noticed that the dingy had come loose from one of the davits and was dangling at a precarious angle and getting beat up by the seas. Finally got the dinghy off the other davit and continued onward towing it behind us. Turns out that one of the eyebolts on the davit arm had sheared off (it’s always something).

We finally pulled into Oxford after a seven hour day and rafted up with “Barbara E” in Trippe Creek off the Tred Avon River. Thankfully, they had prepared dinner as we were in no condition to cook anything! “Compass Rose” can handle more than John and Pam!

Photo: view out the window. Note the BCYC burgee barely hanging on. Believe me, the photo does not do justice to the ‘hobby horse’ ride we had.

Dark and Stormy Day

Departed Crisfield this morning in "light" winds and somewhat sunny skies. That didn't last long! Started to rain and the winds picked up from the north 15-20 kts. We were headed directly into the 4-5 ft seas and had water crashing over the bow. Got to use the windshield wipers a lot! We were headed to Solomons but that wasn't going to happen with these waves.

We pulled over into the Honga River on the eastern shore of Maryland for the night.

Photos: that water tower in Crisfield and the new condos ("from the low $400,000's").

Crisfield Harbor

Spent Wednesday anchored in Crisfield. harbor. Very windy on the Bay so we decided to stay put.

Our generator kept shutting down and the water temp was running too hot. Jack suggested we look at the generator impeller which pulls in sea water to cool the engine. Sure enough, it had just about disintegrated (see photos). Not good! Once that was changed, everything ran normally. It's always something...

While we were in the engine room, Jack also showed me how to change the fuel filters. Not overly complicated but I was glad to watch someone else do it while I took notes.

Pam and I spent the evening pulling out spares, inventorying them and trying to get some semblance of order.



Photo: Jack Collard aboard "Eldridge C" (note the crab on the Crisfield water tower). This is the "Crab Picking Capital of the World"!

Solomons to Crisfield, MD

Finally departed Calvert Marina in Solomons.  Destination today is Crisfield, MD on the eastern shore.  Jack and Evie Collard (Eldridge C.) are also going there and departed about ninety minutes ahead of us.

Although the weather forecast was 10-15 kts from the North with 3 ft seas, it actually turned out to be a very pleasant trip.  Going with the wind and tide, we consistently saw 8 kts on the GPS.  Passed Smith and Tangier islands on way but didn’t stop.

Five hours later we anchored in the lovely little harbor at Crisfield.  This sleepy little town is about to undergo a major transformation…three large condos are being built around the harbor with prices starting in the mid-$400,000’s!!

Walked around the town a bit with Jack and Evie…there are four hardware/marine stores in one block.  Not sure how they all stay in business.

Another Day in Solomons

Decided to stay in Solomons for an additional day. John spent a few hours down in the engine room (The Holy Place) filling the batteries with distilled water, replacing a leaking radiator hose on the engine and then re-filling with anti-freeze.

Pam is on an organizational zag! She has made an inventory on Access and is feverishly entering the location of everything. With so many hidey-holes on the boat, it's hard to remember where things are.

We will be meeting up with John's cousin John Mills (and Barb) somewhere near Oxford the end of the week. And then, no more northerly headings for us!

No pictures today....still gray and rainy.

J & P

Krogen Rendezvous Day 3

Departure Day....here is a group photo of the Krogen Cruisers at the 2005 Chesapeake
Fall Rendezvous.








A steady stream of Krogens heading out towards

the Patuxent River.

We will be remaining in Calvert Marina one more day and head out Monday morning.

Krogen Rendezvous Day 2

Still raining and blowing hard from the remnants of Tammi. A great two days of interesting speakers and presentations. Speakers included:

-Dr Miles Poor, MD Medical Surgeon for the Caribbean 1500 Rally
-Matt Taylor, Nobeltec
-Larry Polster, Kadey-Krogen Yachts
-Lee Chesneau, NOAA
-Bob and Brian Smith, American Diesel

The aerial photo shows some of the 42 boats that were at the Rendezvous.

Saturday night dinner was catered by Adams Rib. Tommorow morning we will try to "unscramble" all the boats.

Krogen Rendezvous Day 1

The6th Annual Chesapeake Krogen Rendezvous got underway today with 42 Krogen boats in attendance. This is the largest collection of Krogens ever assembled in one place! There are about 110 people attending the Rendezvous.

Pam is the overall coordinator of the event and has spent the better part of the past several months ensuring the that this would be a great success.

Although the weather was heavy rain and 20-25 kt winds, everyone went with the flow and put on their foul weather gear. There was one inch of water in the tent but this did little to dampen spirits.

Solomons Island, MD

Left the South River (Crab Creek) on Monday afternoon entroute Solomons. Anchored overnight in Herring Bay. Left about 10am and cruised down to Solomons Island, MD. A great 'sail' down the Bay with the wind and waves behind us. Saw 7.8 kts at times (we be flying!). Since it was a Tuesday, there were no other boats on the Bay. Quite a contrast to Sunday leaving Annapolis.

Arrived at Calvert Marina mid-afternoon and we were the first Krogen to tie up. Met up with Denny and Joyce Maud (JoyDen) and Betsy and Martin Basch (Molly Blossom) who were at different slips.

Tomorrow, the first of the 40 or so Krogens will start arriving. Should be an interesting scenario.

Last Day in Annapolis

Carson and Cameron spent the night on "Compass Rose". Had a great time (and no one fell overboard!). Went for a the dingy ride at 7:30 this morning (they were up at 6:00am).

Dropped the mooring ball at 11:50am and departed Annapolis for the South River. We will drop the car off at Kim's tomorrow and finally head south.

Annapolis Sunset

In case you missed it...here is a picture of the sunset in Annapolis on Saturday. This will be our last night in Annapolis.

Cameron and Carson are spending the night on the boat so things are a bit lively here! We will be departing about noon tomorrow for points south.

More pictures of you know who tomorrow.

John & Pam