Category Archives: Maine 2021

Glorious Lady Liberty!

Posted on June 8, 2021 | Comments Off

Shattemuck Yacht Club – Ossining, NY – Monday, 6/7

This morning we said goodbye to the fine people at GKYC and headed out into a very calm Raritan Bay. We were initially following our new friends Marcia and Pat (“Boyle–in– Water-IV” – aka “BIW”), but they us take the lead out of the bay and into the Hudson River. We cruised under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, passing Fort Wadsworth on our port side and coming into a busy, but mostly calm NYC Harbor.

Working with “BIW”, we coordinated the taking of pictures of each of our boats in front of the Statue of Liberty. We had also been in touch with one other Looper boat (“God Speed II”) and met up with them right in front of Lady Liberty. We let them go first and took their picture, then we were next, and finally “BIW” was last. It only took about 20 minutes for this as there was no pleasure boat traffic and only one tour boat to negotiate around. Further up the river there are the high-speed ferries between NYC and NJ and these are the ones that really kick up the water. But for today, it was pretty good conditions and they shared a great shot of our boat.

The other boats had different destinations for the day; Liberty Landing in Jersey City. So we radioed our good-byes and made plans to meet up next weekend at Shady Harbor Marina for the Pig Roast. And then we headed up the Hudson River.

We rounded the battery and headed north, passing many interesting Manhattan buildings and sights. One of the most oddly shaped and noticeable sights here now is “Little Island Park”; a free public park and outdoor entertaining venue created by Barry Diller and wife Dionne Von Furstenberg. You can read about this interesting park here and here.

We also get a kick out of the driving range (part of “The Ryder Cup Room at Chelsea Piers Golf Club”) that is right on the river and has netting to capture golf balls, protecting the nearby boats in adjacent marinas. If you are interested in playing you can get more info here.

Further up the Hudson we passed the tall buildings on the upper west side of NYC, a couple of south-bound ships, and then Riverside Park where we could see the dome of Grants tomb and the Clarion Tower of Riverside Church.

Eventually we came to the George Washington (GW) Bridge and the little red lighthouse (officially Jeffrey’s Hook Light), the lighthouse stands on Jeffrey’s Hook, a small point of land that supports the base of the eastern pier of the bridge. You can read the fascinating story about this lighthouse here.

Almost immediately after the GW the Hudson River turns majestic to us. The western shore mountains are green-covered rock formations with high cliffs beautiful scenery. The eastern shore is marked by a series of small towns and the train that runs all the way into Manhattan.

The waterways are not crowded, although there is still a bit of commercial traffic (barges, etc.), but plenty of space to easily navigate around them. Here we passed several Looper boats on their way north; there are at least 20 now making their way up the Hudson River.

Not long afterwards we came up to the Cuomo Bridge (formerly the Tappan Zee – which it will always be to us). Over the years we have watched them build the new one and take down the old one. Now there is only the new one and no evidence of the old.

Just beyond the bridge are the towns of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow (home of the headless horseman), and then just beyond these is Ossining, and home of the famous Sing Sing prison. Anyone who has watched an episode of Law & Order, or any NYC-based crime movie knows of this NY State Prison; its where such notables as killer David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”), and Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (spies) were housed until executed for their crimes. Ossining is also home of Shattemuck Yacht Club, and our dockage for the next two days. They are an MTOA sponsor and offer a second night for free for members, so we decided to take them up on this.

Initially we pulled into the fuel dock for a pump-out (free here) before being directed to our slip by the DE the dockmaster. We then settled the boat and checked out our surroundings, including the Yacht Club and facilities. We had a spectacular view of the Hudson River and although exposed to the waves from passing boats, we were far enough away from the channel that it was not bad at all.

After lunch we settled into doing some work, updating the last blog post and watching Loopers go by. Many have gone into Croton-on-Hudson, the town just north of us in Haverstraw Bay and where we have stayed in the past. We wanted to explore a different area this time and chose not to go there. We also watched the endless parade of trains going by, most of them heading north and increasing in number as the afternoon wore on. We figured they were taking suburbanites home from work in NYC and repositioning for the reverse commute in the morning.

Late in the afternoon it started to rain, and initially it was all around us. We could see the showers off in the distance pouring over Croton-on-Hudson, and the Tappan Zee Bridge area. Finally it came our way and gave the boat a good washing and a welcome relief as it was very hot today (90°+ again today). After it cleared up we were going to walk to the Boathouse Restaurant for dinner. However, Mark had a conference call that ended up lasting longer than planned so we opted for a quick meal on the boat. Tomorrow we will go exploring, hopefully before the forecasted rains come and help break this heat wave.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Ossining, Statue of Liberty

Great times at Great Kills!

Posted on June 7, 2021 | Comments Off

Great Kills Yacht Club (GKYC) – Staten Island, NY – Friday, 6/4

Today we had lots of work to do but before getting started, Denise went for a short walk around the neighborhood. The road which GKYC is located on is about a half mile long and houses 2 other yacht clubs and a marina, along with some homes and town homes. Here are a few pictures from her walk:

We spent the majority of the day working, planning our future stops, and talking with some of the GKYC members, many are in awe of our boat and come by to complement us. Although it was mostly partly cloudy most of the day, it did not rain. However, around 3:30 pm a large Florida-like thunderstorm blew through the area, but only lasted about 30 minutes. The good news was it washed a lot of the salt off of the boat, and some dirt with it.

Having eaten on board the last two nights, we decided to go out for dinner. There are several choices in the area, but we stuck with our “usual” spot at Cole’s Dockside. We usually take advantage of their fixed price menu option as it is always a good value. However, they have now changed their offering time and we were not able to take advantage of it as we arrived too late. This was disappointing as it is usually a good value, and although our food was good, we thought it was not as memorable.

We walked back to the boat after dinner and were amazed at how calm and peaceful it was.

Great Kills Yacht Club – Staten Island, NY – Saturday, 6/5

As usual, Denise was up with the Canadian geese, ducks and other waterfowl squawking since before sunrise. She was able to get in a run this morning; the first one in a week. It was tough because of the hills, and the lack of running in the last few days, but at this point all she is interested in is maintaining some level of fitness. Venturing to a new area to run, she discovered two small parks tucked in between a few neighborhoods and adjacent to the GK harbor.

After breakfast we met up with some other loopers Louis & Jody (“Wanderer”), and Pat & Marcia (“Boyle-in-Water-IV”) and walked to “Frank & Sal’s”. This is a favorite ‘must-see’ Italian market with great meats, cheeses, fresh deli salads, bakery and prepared meals. It is not big, but was enough good things to temp us to put in our basket, including some deli meat, Italian cookies, and crab-stuffed salmon for dinner onboard tonight.

Since we finally had favorable albeit warm weather, we took advantage and stayed around the yacht club to clean and polish items on the boat. Mark scrubbed the outside while Denise did major chrome and stainless steel polishing. We socialized with some of the other locals and got visited by Pat & Marcia (“Boyle-in-Water-IV”) who were exploring the harbor in their dinghy.

During the day our new friends on “Wanderer” left and other Looper boats came in, including one in a slip next to us. Jon and DeeDee (“War Eagle”) pulled in and after a quick tie-up, we introduced ourselves. Here we discovered they were from Orlando, now living in Winter Garden but formerly from Audubon Park. After more discussion we learned Jon was born and raised in Miami and DeeDee was a 1990 graduate of Bishop Moore High School; Denise’s alma mater. What a small world it truly is. We left them to settle their boat and did not see them again until much later in the day, and then only briefly. We never got the chance to connect with them much, but hope to see them further up the Hudson River.

That evening we cooked dinner on board (the salmon was delicious) and then walked the docks, talking with a few of the locals on the dock next to ours. It is always through the locals that we get great ideas of things to do and see in the area, so we always try to engage such folks along the way.

In the evening we first attempted to stream a movie (“The Age of Adeline” – very intriguing) with GKYC’s Wi-Fi, but had to eventually switch to our own hotpot. One of our disappointments in this visit is that they still have not upgraded their WI-FI, and it has gotten even worse than it was on our last visit. John C has told us they now are working on the infrastructure of the club and it will be better shortly. We are hoping that it will be improved should we return in the fall. The cell coverage is also spotty, but we have been able to make it work when needed and then use it for WI-FI. But this consumes much of our available bandwidth, and it is a frustrating first-world problem.

Great Kills Yacht Club – Staten Island, NY – Sunday, 6/6

Today was a very hot day and one full of activity and fun.

We started by walking a mile to the Church of St. Clair for 8:30 am mass. This is a lovely parish in a small but upscale neighborhood, so the walk was pleasant among the tree-lined streets.

After mass we continued walking up the street to the little ‘downtown’ area of Great Kills, and to the train station. Our intent was to take the train all the way to the Staten Island (SI) Ferry. However, they were doing scheduled maintenance which we didn’t know about, so we were only able to take it half way. Then they had a “courtesy bus” that took us the rest of the way. This added more time to our trip, but it was still early enough in the day that it was not an issue. The bus dropped us off at the SI Ferry terminal.

But before catching the ferry, we walked to the Staten Island September 11 Memorial, located along the waterfront near the terminal. Here there is a sculpture and parkland that pays tribute to those SI residences who lost their lives on 9-11, as well as the victims of the first World Trade Center bombings in 1993. Part of the memorial also includes a section of the first responders involved in the recovery efforts on 9-11, many of whom became ill from the effects and have subsequently died. It has two “wings” to represent postcards and with the right angle you can see the Manhattan skyline between them. You can learn more about this memorial here.

After the memorial, we walked back to the ferry terminal and caught the 11:30 am ferry to Manhattan. It was a nice day to be on the water, and we were not really interested in going into Manhattan, we just wanted to stay on the ferry and ride it back to SI. However, due to security reasons we were forced to get off.

Since we were in Manhattan we figured we would get some lunch before heading back to Staten Island. We really didn’t want to venture too far into the city, (it was already approaching 90°) so we stayed close to the financial district. Unfortunately, since it was Sunday few things were open. However, we managed to find a small sandwich shop and took our lunch to a nearby park to eat it. Called the “Queen Elizabeth II September 11^th Garden”, this particular park provided a perfect respite from this hot and noisy day. It is true that NYC is the city that does not sleep and on this Sunday, there were several construction and road utility works underway right nearby.

After lunch we turned down Wall Street and took it to the water, figuring a walk along the East River may be cooler than along city sidewalks. This was partially true, but eventually we had to move out into the sun. The pathway was crowded but we didn’t have to take it too far before we ended back at the ferry terminal. We only had a short wait for the next ferry, and grabbed spots on the East River side for our return trip. The ferry was crowded and we welcomed a spot near the window where we could watch the boats out on the water. We even got to see quite a display of sailboats enjoying beautiful conditions.

Once back on Staten Island we had to reverse the bus-to-train excursion. It seemed to take much longer than in the morning, but it was probably because we were hot and tired. Once we finally got back to the GK station we stopped at the Top Tomato grocery store to pick up a few items. This is a local chain and has some pretty good produce prices, as well as a seafood and meat counter.

Finally, we arrived back at the boat, stowed our purchases and fixed an ice cold drink. We had walked the equivalent of 6 miles today and that was over 10,000 steps.

We went over to visit Marcia & Pat (“Boyle-in-Water-IV”) on their boat to discuss departure plans for tomorrow. They are also leaving and we wanted to coordinate for picture taking of our mutual boats in front of the Statue of Liberty. We were excited as we have not had an opportunity like this in all the times we have been through NY Harbor on our Island Office.

In the evening, we prepared and ate dinner on the boat, and spent time talking to family members on the phone. Once again we had a fun time at Great Kills Yacht Club, but we would be leaving tomorrow for our adventure up the Hudson River.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Breaking records!

Posted on June 4, 2021 | Comments Off

Great Kills Yacht Club – Staten Island, NY – Wednesday, 6/2

Today was a very very long day, but one full of great accomplishment by the crew of Island Office. We woke up early and left the dock at Rock Hall Landing Marina at 6:00 am as planned. It was an overcast sky and was expected to stay that way all day, but little wind was forecasted so we felt good about our plans.

As mentioned in the last post, our goal was to go as far as possible today, with a realistic goal of getting to Atlantic City or even Manasquan, NJ by the end of the day. But we were going to take it one step at a time, and the first step was to get off the Chesapeake Bay. We spent 2 hours cruising along, passing a few racing sailboats headed in the opposite direction (was there a regatta in Annapolis this weekend?), and actually being passed by a few sport-fishing boats. And with little wind, it was very calm on the water. We also passed by some nice homes, and some mobile homes that have one the best sunset views on the Chessy.

Around 8:00 am we entered the Chesapeake & Delaware (C&D) canal and noticed a few sights along the way:

This narrow canal is pretty much a straight shot, with a few curves and very tall bridges that cross this 12-mile waterway. There are some beautiful houses on both sides and you pass by Chesapeake City on the eastern (southern) side of the waterway. One of the first “landmarks” spotted just before coming to Chesapeake City is Dann Marine, a barge, tow and marine company that actually has a fascinating history that started in Central Florida, of all places. You can read all about it here.

Along the canal we spotted a few people walking, jogging or bicycling on the pathways that line the canal. But perhaps the most interesting thing we spotted was a lawn being mowed by remote control.

By 9:30 we were exiting the C&D Canal and headed out onto the Delaware River. There were some small waves coming from the southeast and hitting just right of our bow, so it was a little bouncy, but very tolerable. The best part was there was an outgoing tide and we picked up an additional 1.5 knots of speed that we rode all the way to the Cape May (CM) Canal. Along the way we passed several Looper boats that had left either Delaware City or Chesapeake City earlier in the day, and we had been following on our Nebo and Facebook apps. About half way down the Delaware is the Ship John (“Jack”) Lighthouse; a great aid to measuring progress on this large body of water.

And at 11:30 we entered the Cape May Canal and we were delighted that we had put one large body of water behind us today without incident.

Before continuing on we had to stop for fuel and filled up at the cheapest place we know of in New Jersey: “Miss Chris Marina” up the Spicer Creek Canal. This is in a shallow creek just before the NJ 109 Bridge that crosses over the CM Canal, and before coming into Cape May Harbor and the Atlantic ICW. We turned up the creek and negotiated around a bunch of kayakers before pulling in for the fueling. It seemed like it took forever, but finally we had filled up our fuel tanks and were back on our way.

We entered the Cape May Harbor and cruised through the channel that runs in front of the US Coast Guard station.

It was 12:30 when we exited the inlet and headed out into the Atlantic Ocean. This is the worst part of the entire trip for Denise, and gives her much anxiety. This is because she is susceptible to seasickness, there are few “bail out spots” on the NJ shore, and the ICW along this stretch is too shallow for us to navigate. And eventually, all boats must go into the Atlantic at Manasquan, so there is no getting around it.

Looking at the time and finding very favorable sea conditions, we started thinking about going all the way to Staten Island in NY. From past experience we knew it was 2 hours to Great Kills Yacht Club (GKYC) in Staten Island from Manasquan, and we had time and daylight working to our advantage. The only unknown was would the wind still stay calm and the waves stay relatively flat.

It was a little rolly at first because we were on a NE heading and the waves were slightly abreast of the boat. We passed Atlantic City (our first bail out stop) at 2: 20 pm and were still ok, so we decided to continue on with the day. Up until now we had hardly seen any other boats, passing only one cruiser and a few sport fishing boats.

We had identified Barnegat Inlet as a possible bailout, if needed, but the seas were still tolerable and we still had little wind. About 10 miles after Atlantic City the coast turns inward and we turned to a more northerly course. Then the ride got a lot smoother and more comfortable, and we decided to push on to GKYC. We had already been in communication with John C (Harbor Host at GKYC) and knew he had a slip open for us, a day earlier than originally planned.

We continued on past Barnegat Inlet and eventually Manasquan Inlet seeing a few dolphin, fishing boats, whale watching boats, a few cruising boats, and even getting buzzed by a few A10 airplanes that looked like drones. The sun was getting lower in the sky (and now making it tough to get pictures of the shoreline). However, we could easily pick out the buildings as we passed Asbury Park, Sea Bright, and eventually we could see the lighthouse at Sandy Hook.

Usually from around Manasquan we can start to see the NYC skyline, but it was so overcast and hazy we were at Asbury Park before Mark saw the outline of the buildings. As we rounded Sandy Hook and entered into the Raritan Bay, we could see the fog covering the tall buildings in the city and the famous Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

On our way across this bay we passed fellow Looper boat “Selah Way”, whom we had been in contact with all day via our Looper FB page.

We entered the Great Kills channel and eventually the harbor to find things not much different than they were 2 years ago. Having a preassigned slip, we knew where to go, and at 6:30 pm Captain Mark successfully steered our boat into its home for the next several days.

We settled the boat and poured ourselves a much-deserved drink. We had traveled 219 nautical miles in 12.5 hours; this was our longest single-day distance cruising ever! We were happy to have this part of our trip behind us.

Our arrival prompted people on the dock, and Dave and Amy (“Selah Way”) pulled in shortly behind us. Eventually all the Loopers (“Uncorked”, “River Ranger”, “Agape”, “Conflict of Interest”) who were here came out and we had a very impromptu “Docktails”, along with John C and GKYC member Jimmy, whom we knew from previous visits.

Finally around 7:45 we broke up the party and headed back to the boat. We were hungry and desperately wanted showers. It had been a good day and we felt a great sense of accomplishment, but we were thoroughly exhausted, and after a quick bite to eat we went to bed right away.

Great Kills Yacht Club – Staten Island, NY – Thursday, 6/3

Today was a day of recovery, rest, and work. We woke to the pitter patter of rain; it had started in the early morning hours. This was just one more factor that de-motivated Denise, and she bailed on her planned run, betting up for a badly needed cup of coffee instead. Mark slept in later than usual, but he deserved it as he drove most of the way yesterday.

The weather forecast called for rain and windy weather, so we hunkered down and kept close to the boat. We did work for clients and the business, and Denise published the last blog, and cataloged pictures. We both talked with several family members and a few of the local club members who were out on the docks.

Around noon we watched “Uncorked” leave and saw another boat “Boyle-n-Water IV” come into their spot. Perfect timing as the rain had subsided and now it was just overcast. Another Looper boat came into the slot next to us, but their power requirements were bigger than the yacht club could handle and they ended up moving to the marina next door (Mansion Marina).

In the late afternoon we went for a walk up to the clubhouse and ran into some of the other Loopers. They were all headed up to the bar and we agreed to join them. Some of the folks left soon after the first drink, but Pat & Marcia (“Boyle-n-Water IV”), whom we had originally met in Norfolk, and Doug & Vickie (“Conflict of Interest”) stayed for a while. We spent time talking about our mutual cruising adventures and getting to know each other a little bit. This yacht club has the friendliest members and this is why we come here. There was one in particular who bought us all a round of drinks; not that they are expensive here. We think they live vicariously through all us Loopers and go out of their way to make us feel welcome. This is why it is our 5^th visit and will most likely stay here on our way home.

We didn’t stay long at the bar, but headed back to the boat to get dinner and finish up posting the last blog update. It had been a low-key day, but one of fun, new friendships and rekindling of old familiar faces.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Re-Planning our way north!

Posted on June 3, 2021 | Comments Off

Rock Hall, MD – Tuesday, 6/1

Today was a good day for making progress up the Chesapeake Bay. We left Wormley Creek Marina at 7:00 am saying goodbye to the nice folks in the marina, the USCG Training Center Yorktown, and the Coleman (Yorktown) bridge which had become our “front room” view for the last 11 days. We had a plan to get to Herrington Harbour in Maryland; just south of Annapolis. This would be about 100 miles and a good day on the water. The main reason for stopping here was fuel prices, but also because ever since we stopped here in 2019, we have wanted to stay and enjoy this resort.

We exited the marina channel and headed out onto the York River. There was a little wind, but it was a nice morning and we cruised along fine. Within 30 minutes we were out on the Chesapeake Bay, heading north under pretty good conditions. The wind was from behind and that made the slight wave action tolerable; if it had been blowing more it would have been quite uncomfortable because we had the current against us. This slowed us down by about a knot or two, but we were still going fast by most cruiser’s standards.

We ran along the western shore where we could see many houses and beach areas, passing the Rappahannock River. To the east, all we could initially see was water, but eventually the small islands marking this part of the Bay came into view. There were many sailboats out on the water and a few cruisers making their way north. We also passed a large southbound motor yacht that was cruising very fast, and when he passed he threw a big wake. Not quite like the container ship on the Cape Fear River last month, but it still rocked the boat a bit.

Eventually we came to the Potomac River marked by the Smith Point Lighthouse. Here its 8-mile wide mouth feeds into the Chesapeake and stirs the water, creating waves that flow with the current. Things were a little bit bumpy for a while, but still tolerable. After we crossed it and passed by Point Lookout, the boat settled down and the ride got more comfortable. It wasn’t long thereafter that we passed by a restricted zone; part of the bombing targets used by the military from NAS PAX. This is the Naval Air Station located at the entrance point of the Patuxent River; the river that would have taken us to Solomons, MD, where we intended to stay last weekend.

Just north of the Pax River and Solomons were the high cliffs of Drum Point, followed by the Cove Point Lighthouse, and the Cove Point LNG Facility; all of these have become landmarks for us over the last 6 years.

We continued north until we came to Herring Bay, and turned into the channel for the Herrington Harbour Marina and resort. We had reservations for the evening here, and they had already charged us for the night. However, it was only 12:30 and we really wanted to get further today if at all possible. So, once we took on fuel and added water to our tanks, Mark successfully negotiated with the dockmaster and they gave us a full refund. Had this been a weekend, they would not have done this and we were then free to continue on our travels.

By 1:00 pm we left Herrington Harbour and set our sights on two possible stops: Rock Hall (just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on the Eastern shore) about 1.5 hours away; or Chesapeake City on the C&D Canal, about another 3 hours away. A complicating factor was Mark had to be on a 4:00 conference call with a client and we would ideally like to be stationary for it. Certainly there were several anchorages that were available, but we needed to have a good cell or Wi-Fi signal for Mark to make his call. We discussed our options and decided that based on time and how long it would take us to get into a location and settle the boat, the safest and known Wi-Fi option was Rock Hall. Denise called to make sure they could take us for the night, and we made our way there.

Continuing on we passed by the most famous lighthouse on the Chesapeake, the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse. This is just south of Annapolis and is a good landmark.

East and north of Annapolis, we came into a very busy area where all large traffic (barges, freighters, container ships, etc.) have to pass underneath the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. This is always congested because it is the gateway into Baltimore and two major shipping channels converge. It was even more congested as there were several ships at anchor that we had to negotiate around, all the while dodging the numerous sailboats from Annapolis. Captain Mark comes closer to some of these vessels than Denise would like, but he does try to take the most efficient route around them all.

Once we got through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge we continued on towards the town of Rock Hall, located on the eastern shore, north of Kent Island. There is a huge shoal that extends out from the natural curve of the coastline, but is well marked and has a jetty that keeps things calm once inside the breakwater.

We entered the harbor at Rock Hall and made our way along the channel until we came to Rock Hall Landing Marina, where they put us on an end-tie for the night. It was 2:45 and that gave us time to settle the boat, check in at the marina office, and give Mark prep time for his call. We had traveled 133 miles in good, but not perfect conditions.

Mark finished his call and we had a chance to work on a few other items, including a check on the weather forecast and an itinerary for tomorrow. We are hoping to be able to make it to Atlantic City, and possibly Manasquan by the end of the day. This would make for a long day, but with sunset not until almost 9:00 pm, we felt confident it could be done.

We had a couple of drinks and were too tired to cook on board, so we walked to the only open restaurant near the marina, Waterman’s Crab House. The other restaurant in the harbor (Harbor Shack) is only open Thursday through Sunday, which is probably why we have never eaten there. After dinner we readied the boat for an early departure in the morning so we could be off the docks as fast as possible. Then we turned in for the night.

Rock Hall Landing & Waterman’s Crab House

We like Rock Hall and have spent time here in the past. It has great roads for Denise to get a run in, a nice supermarket and other things to offer. But this visit did not allow for any of this and would only be a quick overnight stay in order to take maximum advantage of the favorable weather tomorrow. Due to its location, we may very well end up staying here on our return trip in the fall. Here are a couple other pictures of the marina:

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Herrington Harbour, Rock Hall

Socializing in Seaford!

Posted on June 1, 2021 | Comments Off

Wormley Creek Marina – Thursday, 5/26 through Sunday, 5/30

From Wednesday evening until Sunday afternoon, we spent some good quality time with our family in Seaford, VA. We attended a baseball game for a grandnephew (Colton), cooked a few meals together, went over to Shannon’s (niece) one night, and played cards just the four of us. Denise got in a few runs in the neighborhood around J&C’s house, seeing deer, bunnies, turtles, and even horses.

We went back to the boat a few times to check on things, and also for John to assist Mark in a minor repair on our galley hatch gasket; using a 3M product, of course! (For those that don’t know, Denise’s brother John is retired from 3M). During this time, we noticed the fireboat was done being painted and was now back in the water.

We also went to check out another potential marina (Mills Marina) that is actually closer to J&C’s and once again attended Joan of Arc Catholic Church for mass on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend we were also watching the forecasts for our planned departure. We still looked good for leaving on Tuesday and made arrangements for Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Herrington Harbor, MD and Delaware City, DE, respectively. We changed our stops along the Chesapeake in order to make some progress north, still looking to be at the Looper Pig Roast on 6/13 in NY, if at all possible.

On Saturday and Sunday the rains came, and brought with it at times some fierce wind. When it shifted out of the north it brought cold weather (55° at 8:00 am) and water from the York River up into the marina; once again the docks were covered. This was how it was when we arrived back at the boat on Sunday afternoon.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon we said good-bye to Cathy, and John took us back to our boat. We had things to do and wanted to make sure they had time to enjoy the rest of their holiday weekend without us in the way. We are so grateful for their warm hospitality and for sharing their home with us. We had fun and hope to get to see them again in October on our way home.

Once back on the boat we settled into putting things away and identified a few things to get done before our early Tuesday am departure. The rain had stopped (finally), but it was still overcast and very windy. And the boat was cold, which means we turned off the AC and turned on the heat.

When we returned to the marina we also noticed that the fireboat was now back on the hard. We are not sure of the reason for this and it was supposed to be ready for Memorial Day. However, no one was around to ask and it sat there for the rest of the weekend.

In the evening, Denise got the last blog update published and Mark reviewed the weather and tide forecasts. He planted the seed for adjustments to our itinerary from Wed. on, and confirmed we are good to leave on Tuesday as planned. We also spent time talking to both our family members and friends, some of whom we are especially thankful for as they are making this trip possible for us, by covering for things on the home front.

Wormley Creek Marina – Monday, 5/31 – Memorial Day!

During the night the clouds disappeared, and we woke up to a cool and breezy morning, with temperature at 50°. We welcome the sun and the cool (not cold) weather. The wind was still blowing, reminding us that there was a reason we did not plan to leave until tomorrow.

After breakfast we looked at the updated forecasts for the coming days. We now have a window of opportunity to get very far north by Thursday morning, and possibly to Staten Island, NY by Thursday night. But then we will have to sit for a few days as the next weather front comes through. Of course this could also change, so we can’t commit to anything right now except leaving tomorrow morning.

The rest of the morning Denise worked on prepping some food for the week, and Mark handled a few financial items for the business, as well as us personally. We also did a few minor boat chores and talked with some of the locals in the marina.

At noon we heard a cannon blast and looked towards the USGC Training Center Yorktown. Sure enough, they were commemorating Memorial Day and made 21 cannon blasts for fallen soldiers. It was pretty cool to see this from afar.

In the afternoon some of the sailboats in the marina headed out onto the York River. There was no organized event, just some great sailing weather and we could see them go up and down the river. While the wind had died down (as forecasted), it was still blowing enough for them to go have a great day on the water. We hung out around the boat, reading, writing most of this blog, and just relaxing. Coming up, we will have a few long days on the water and wanted to take advantage of a lazy and relaxing afternoon.

We have enjoyed our time at this marina, and will write a positive review when we get the chance. We may even stay here again on our return trip south.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Seaford, Wormley Creek

Warm up at Wormley!

Posted on May 30, 2021 | Comments Off

Wormley Creek Marina – Friday, 5/21 – Mark’s Birthday!

In the morning Denise went for a walk around the neighborhood surrounding the marina. The main road (Waterview Road) is a rural two-lane road with only a few streets off of it. One forms a circle for about a half mile and there are houses on both sides. These houses range from older small homes and newer larger homes with nice landscaping. Also bordering this road are private drives that take you to houses on Wormley Creek, or north of the marina, on the south banks of the York River.

Road near marina
House near WCM
House near WCM

After returning to the boat, having breakfast and getting showers, we arranged for our Enterprise rental car for the weekend. They came to the marina to pick us up and 15 minutes later we were at their Newport News location getting our wheels. We had decided to make this our “errand day”. Having been in this area before, we knew what was available and roughly the location of each. With Google Maps at the ready, we headed out with a list of places to go, and a list of things for each destination. First was Costco, followed up by Wal-Mart and then a few other stores. We even managed an early lunch at Chick-Fil-A; Mark’s request – after all it was his Birthday!

We returned back to the boat with our purchases and proceeded to find places to stow it all. Not surprising to us, it all fit somewhere. We then took care of a few business items in the afternoon, and talked with a couple of locals in the marina. Throughout the day we watched the marina move a fireboat that had been in the yard, into the big shed and begin taping it up. They were readying it for painting. Naturally, Mark had to walk over to the worker and inquire on what was going on. He learned they were simply repainting it and it would be back in the water for Memorial Weekend.

Later that evening, we got back in the car and drove to Newport News to Schlesinger’s Steakhouse, a local’s favorite and recommended by Denise’s nieces. We had a delicious steak dinner to celebrate Mark’s big birthday. The food was really great and the atmosphere we very nice. We just wished we could have had more people to celebrate the day with; maybe we can come back here in the fall with Denise’s brother (John) and sister in law (Cathy).

Wormley Creek Marina – Saturday, 5/22

Denise started the day with a run in the area around the marina. This time she started out heading north and running just up the bridge where the power plant has a cooling water basin which dumps into the York River. Along the way she spooked a few deer who took off running, then stopped, gathered a few others, then took off running again.

She turned back around, ran past the marina and further down the main road before turning back to the marina. In total she was able to get in over 5 miles, and saw more deer and rabbits than cars on the road.

Once back on the boat she joined Mark for breakfast and we planned out the day. Our first stop was to the Yorktown Farmer’s market, right along the waterfront. Even though we have been to this area, we forgot how many historic places there are here. In addition to the National Park, there are marked battlefields, cemeteries, buildings, the Victory Welcome Center, and the Yorktown Victory monument.

After walking through the Farmer’s Market, we walked out to the city marina (where we stayed in 2015). Here we saw two Looper boats, and stopped to talk with them for a short time before walking back to our car. We also encountered a gentleman on a Caliber Sailboat, which was similar to the one we used to own back in the 1990’s. We could have stayed and talked longer, but we needed to get going as we had places to go.

We drove from Yorktown to Newport News to a softball game where we were able to see some of our family. Shannon (Denise’s niece) is coach of her daughter’s (Harper) softball team, and on this day, her firefighter husband (Shawn) was assisting as he had the day off from his hero duties. Their other daughter, Macie was there too. We got to watch Harper’s game and talk with Shawn’s parents (Robin & LF) who were also at the game.

During that time, we were in communication with Denise’s sister-in-law (Cathy), and made plans to meet up with her for a late lunch in downtown Yorktown. We left the game and went back to the boat for showers, then met them at Water Street Grille. Luckily Christen (Denise’s other niece) and her two boys were able to join us, and Cathy and her out-of-town friend (Mona) coordinated it all so we could be together for a short visit. This was great as we were not expecting them to be available to spend any time with us until Wednesday.

After our afternoon together, we drove to St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church for the Saturday afternoon mass. We have been to this church several times and we have always been impressed with the Pastor (Father Mike) who is blind and uses a braille version of the Missal for saying the mass. Unfortunately, we were disappointed as Father James was the celebrant instead. We still felt very welcome in this diverse church, who practiced social distancing but where we did not have to wear face masks! We felt liberated!

Since we had a late lunch, we were not hungry for dinner, but did enjoy some cocktails once back on the boat and streamed a movie before falling asleep. It was a fun-filled terrific day!

Wormley Creek Marina – Sunday, 5/23

This morning we decided to use the marina facilities and get a few loads of laundry done, while doing a little bit of future planning. Our check of the upcoming weather now had us putting in place contingencies as it did not look like Friday would be a good day to leave and head north. Since it is still early and forecasts can change, we didn’t spend too much time on it. But it is a bit discouraging when the weather dictates the agenda and holds us up from going places; something those who are traveling in RV’s or cars don’t usually have to deal with.

We also took advantage of still having the rental car and wanted to do a few more errands. Mark needed a haircut and Denise wanted a pedicure, so once our laundry was done, we went to get these personal services addressed. Within 90 minutes we had accomplished these and headed back to the boat for lunch. In the afternoon we took advantage of quiet and downtime and simply relaxed, reading a book (Denise) and taking a nap (Mark). This is what Sunday’s should be about, but rarely do we ever get to take advantage of them.

At this marina we have encountered several locals, who are very nice and hospitable. Most live in the area and either take their boat on the weekends, work on their boats (in water or on the hard), or just come down to the marina. Because it was so warm today, some were also at the pool, which has now been opened and has nice warm water; but it is still a little too cool for us Floridians. All of these people have volunteered to give us a ride somewhere, offered to take us on their boats, or had suggestions for places to go or things to see. It is a very friendly place and we have enjoyed it.

We still had the rental car and thought it might be smart to go out to dinner one more night; we will be eating onboard the next few nights so it made sense. But, we were not interested in a big meal and opted for a light dinner at Panera in Newport News. During the week this would have taken us 30 minutes to get there, but tonight it only took 15 minutes. While dining we thought it might be a good idea to go to the grocery store, in case we did not have the opportunity until later in the week. We drove to the Kroger and picked up a handful of things, including FRESCA (which Mark likes) and is not always available everywhere.

One of the other things we remembered was to purchase any other “bottled” or “canned” refreshments here in VA because as we get further north they get more expensive. All the other states charge a $.05 or $.10 “refundable” deposit on all such containers, but their recycle centers are not always conducive to marinas. Therefore, each one is just a little more expensive for us and they add up over time. So we stocked up and when we got back to the boat, we literally were trying to find places to put it all……but we did.

Wormley Creek Marina – Monday, 5/24

Today was a work day. We both had been putting off some work tasks and we needed to address these important things. Mark spent almost all day on the phone or in web conferences. Denise had to respond to an Orlando prospect that could work out perfectly if they string out their decision making to the fall; how perfect it would be to come back to a project kickoff in late October.

In mid-morning Mark took a break to return the rental car to Enterprise while Denise did a little advanced cooking and blog writing. She posted the last update and began work on this post.

During the day we talked with Denise’s brother (John) who would be returning home on Tuesday from his out-of-town trip. We set some tentative plans in place for meeting up Wednesday afternoon, or definitely Thursday. Of course weather will dictate whether we leave on Friday, and therefore have a short visit, or stay through the weekend for longer time together.

Later in the afternoon we once again got an update on the weather and tried to formulate a plan. Right now it does not look like the upcoming Memorial weekend will be a good weekend to travel and we don’t want to go north only to get stuck somewhere for a handful of days when we could be here with family. We really have no plans; although we would love to go up the Hudson River in NY and be at the Shady Harbor Marina Pig Roast the weekend of 6/12. But, we know we could change our plans and not attend this event; we have too much big water to cross to be on a schedule.

Our evening was spent hanging around the marina and talking with a few of the locals. We had a dinner of smoked pulled pork we brought from home (the last of it) from our freezer. After dinner we went for a walk around the marina grounds and noticed the water level in the creek was quite high. We are on a floating dock and don’t notice it as much when on the boat. But when we walked up to where the marina office and other buildings are, we could see the significant difference against the fixed docks. The docks and water were almost one, and our gangplank which normally we have to walk up, we now had to walk down. Come to find out Wednesday’s full moon is a “Supermoon” and we will have higher and lower high & low tides greater than normal.

Because of the high water, once back on the boat we were able to see over the embankment to our north which is the private property of a homeowner. Here we could see the dock of the second house over from us, and discovered they have lighted decorative palm trees along their dock. We did not see them coming into the channel on Thursday, and only now got to see them illuminated. It is clearly someone’s tropical paradise overlooking the York River.

Wormley Creek Marina – Tuesday, 5/25

We woke up to cloudy skies and a temperature at 6:00 am of 64°; the warmest morning yet. Denise went for a run and actually wore a tank top for the first time since leaving on our trip. On her return, she encountered a man and his two dogs in the marina parking lot. After some small talk she discovered “Scott” lived two houses over from the marina, and it is his house that has the lighted decorative palm trees on his dock. She also learned he is an oral surgeon and moved here from Hampton three years ago, with his wife. He talked about the area and how much he loves his view of the York River and the bridge. When she returned back to the boat, Mark was already up eating breakfast and ready to take on the day.

The intention today was for it to be a boat-chore day, and it was in a sense. We had a long list of inside and outside chores, but we also had to put more water on the boat, which required moving to the haul out area and again using two connected hoses to fill up the tanks. We figured at the same time we could get a pump-out; even though the holding tank was not full, it would save us from having to do this in a few days. All this activity had to be coordinated with the marina as they had several haul-outs planned for the day and we needed to make sure we were not going to be blocking the haul-out bay.

Around 9:30 am we headed out of the slip and ventured to put the water on the boat. This took us about a half an hour, then we moved to the dock for the self-service pump-out. Once in place we started the equipment, but we were unable to get it working. After several attempts we called the marina office and Doug (owner and husband of Pam), came down to help us out. After several more attempts, a discharge of the system and more attempts, we were unable to get it working. He was going to have to get their septic tank serviced and would let us know when it would be fixed. So back to our slip we went, burning nearly 2 hours and now getting back just in time to make lunch. Our morning was shot and we had not accomplished much at all.

After lunch we both had client work to do, then we set about to do a few of the chores on the list. Denise also worked on this blog. After the 3:00 updates were in, we looked at the upcoming weather. Friday looks to be a good day to travel north, but Saturday and Sunday were awful and would force us to stay put wherever we are. Unfortunately, Monday (Memorial Day) is also not looking great. This was disheartening as Denise really wants to spend more time with family but if the weather stays bad for a week we could be sacrificing our trip back up the Hudson River. But to cut our visit short after waiting since Norfolk to see family was also discouraging. We agreed not to make any decisions for now, and would see how the forecast holds in the next day or so. Monday is a long way off for weather forecasts and anything can change.

One of the issues with staying put in this marina is the water situation. Normally if we had potable dockside water we would not care. But without it we are forced to use the water from the tanks, which require filling about every 3 – 4 days. Plus, with it being in a rural area we are limited in where we can go unless we get another rental car. We are looking forward to spending time at John & Cathy’s, and get off the boat for a few days. This will alleviate both of these concerns and allow us to also share some desired family time.

One of the interesting things we have not yet shared about this location, is its proximity to the US Coast Guard (USCG) Yorktown Training Center. In addition to watching the USCG boats go out of the creek each day, we get treated to a few of their routines. The first is at 7:55 am when they play a bugle tune over the campus that can be heard all around this area. Then at 8:00 am they play Reveille. In the evening near sunset, they play “Retreat”, then “Taps” at 10:00 pm; we figured out that one must be for “lights out” as it is officially used to signify “quiet hours”. We have also heard them doing gun fire exercises or target practice. All of this to keep us all safe, and to be there on the waterway when any of us need them. Some reviewers of this marina have made negative comments about these routines, but we consider these minor issues for a stay at this marina. Besides, we love our Coasties and will support them in any way we can.

Wormley Creek Marina – Wednesday, 5/26

We woke up to a nice breeze blowing this morning, but it was warm and we had the AC going. After spending some time on emails and work items, we tackled some initial boat chores, including Mark changing out the engine and generator zincs, and Denise polishing some stainless steel and chrome. We also managed to go see the fireboat in the shed, now all nicely painted.

After a few hours we noticed the wind had died down, so Mark suggested we use this opportunity to once again try for a pump out. Doug (owner) let us know the equipment was back up and running and we were at a good transitioning point in our chores. So, we untied from our slip, and moved the boat to the pump out dock to take care of business. It worked much better this time, and within 30 minutes we were back in our slip.

We then did a check on the upcoming weather forecasts. It did not look good for leaving on Monday, but Tuesday was shaping up to be (possibly) a good day to leave. After a conversation with John, we decided that we would stay with him through the weekend and make plans to leave on Tuesday. If things improved beforehand, we could leave earlier, but it was unlikely this would be the case. We also confirmed with the marina we could stay on without issue.

Then it was back to our boat chores. We finished up around 2:30, then packed up some clothes, food and other items to take on our land adventure for the weekend. At 3:00 John came to the marina to pick us up and 10 minutes later we were at his house in Seaford, VA. Clearly this was a good marina choice for being so close.

We spent some time talking with John and Cathy (“J&C”) before John had to head out to help coach a softball game for Harper (granddaughter). Cathy and Denise then left for Colton’s (grandson’s) baseball game, while Mark enjoyed some quiet personal time at the house. It was hot and buggy and the girls ended up leaving the game a little early. On the way home, they picked up dinner (a pizza, salad and garlic knots) that Mark had ordered. Once back at the house they ate dinner and sat around talking until John came home from his outing.

Not long afterwards, a horrendous thunderstorm came through with violent winds and rain. It was short-lived, but was strong enough to knock out the power. It was just one day too soon; J&C had already installed a whole-house generator, but it was not yet hooked up and the technician was coming in the morning to complete the process. So there we sat with battery-operated lanterns illuminating the place while we continued our conversations. Finally, we all went to bed hoping the power would come back on before the house got too hot. The temperature had reached 94° today.

We will be spending the weekend with family in Seaford, VA, and will not post another entry until we have returned to the boat.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Wormley Creek, Yorktown

Working our way to Wormley Creek!

Posted on May 24, 2021 | Comments Off

Wormley Creek Marina – Thursday, 5/20

With the sunrise now before 6:00 am it is hard to stay awake must past 5:30 am when the sky starts to get light. Naturally, Denise was wide awake and got the generator going for coffee and to turn on the heat. It also may be the last morning for a while that we will need to do this as the forecast is for warmer weather in the coming days. But it was so beautiful a morning that it was hard to disturb the peace, even for a little while.

After Mark got up and we had breakfast, we called WCM and they were able to allow us to come in a day early. They gave us the go ahead, which made us quite happy. Plus, because we were intending to stay a week and now adding an extra day, we got the 8^th night free.

We left our wonderful anchorage and headed out the east river, passing the Williams Wharf Landing, a privately owned waterfront park with approximately ¼ mile of shoreline on 5 acres of land. We passed by the big structure that we had seen two years ago and we are still questioning if it is still under construction or completed. There has been an organization that has been formed for the preservation of this area, and they have more information on their website, here.

Matthews Wharf – still under construction?

We entered the wide expanse of Mobjack bay and then turned briefly up the York River.

We didn’t have far to go before we turned up the Perrin River and headed to Crown Point Marina for some fuel. We did not want to fill up out tanks here, but need enough to get us to Wormley Creek Marina (WCM), and then 70+ miles up the Chesapeake when we leave WCM. The creek was very shallow and the tide was still going out, so we did not want to spend a lot of time here. We added the fuel as fast as possible, and when Mark returned he realized that the BoatUS discount they offered was 10% off the total bill, not $.10 per gallon as he originally thought. He was contemplating adding more fuel as this made it very inexpensive, especially compared to all the other marinas around. However, filling the boat and sinking it down into the water further on an outgoing tide in shallow water was not a good thing, so he changed his mind and immediately got us moving. The depth gauge showed 4’6” and as he pulled away from the dock we saw a bit of mud kicked up in the water.

We exited the channel to the marina back into Perrin River and out onto the York River where we only had 2+ miles to go across it and enter the channel at Wormley Creek. To the left of the creek is power plant, preceded by a large fuel pipeline. On the right is the US Coast Guard Training Center (TRACENT), Yorktown. It was good to see our “Coasties” out patrolling the waters as we approached the creek. Once inside the creek breakwater, we made a sharp left turn past the docks for the private homes and into the creek’s narrow channel that runs right in front of the marina.

Our first order of business at WCM was to get a pump-out. This was easy to do and Pam (marina owner) was down with her newest employee (Madison) to lend a hand and share information. Here we learned the water at the slips was well water and she did not recommend us drinking it. Therefore we needed to add water on the boat in order to have some for showers, cooking, etc. while here. To do this we needed to move the boat around the pump-out dock to the haul-out area and hook up a hose to the spigot that is provided by the city (i.e. is potable). To get the hose to the boat, Mark had to connect 2 of our hoses (one 50’ and one 150’) to reach the boat for filling our water tanks. It took about 45 minutes for all this activity, meanwhile the temperature was rising and it was getting hot!

Finally, after filling the boat with fuel, pumping out our waste, and adding water, we were able to move to our slip where our Island Office will sit for the next 8 days. It was nearly noon and the Captain was hungry for lunch and thirsty for his daily Diet Coke. But before he could enjoy this indulgence, we had to go check into the marina office before they closed for lunch (at noon). Here we re-encountered Pam who was so informative and as nice as she could be. She explained the issues she is having getting staff and thus the marina is not quite where she would like it to be: the gardens need weeding and the pool was still not open as it requires cleaning of the tables and umbrellas, etc. She was willing to go the extra mile to make us feel welcome in this family-owned marina. We chatted further with her as we checked out the restroom and laundry facilities (pay for on the honor system) and how hard it is for her to get away from work; her and her husband live on the property in the house that overlooks the marina.

Finally, we got back to our boat, ate some lunch and turned on the air conditioner as it was 85° and hot. Mark did some work as Denise got caught up on emails, and published the last blog. Mark also rinsed off the boat with the dock water, and made arrangements for our rental car pickup for the weekend. Meanwhile, Denise was in contact with the nieces (Christen & Shannon) and made arrangements for Mark’s Birthday dinner on Friday evening.

We had leftovers for dinner aboard the boat, and streamed a few shows on the TV before calling it a day.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Wormley Creek

Moving Around Mobjack Bay!

Posted on May 20, 2021 | Comments Off

**Carters Creek to Mobjack Bay Anchorage**

Mobjack Bay – Wednesday, 5/19

One of the places we wanted to revisit from prior years cruising on the Chesapeake was Mobjack Bay. We were here in 2019 and saw how large this area was, with numerous coves and anchorages and wanted to return. As we are waiting to connect with Denise’s family, we decided now was the time to go explore more parts of it.

Shortly after 9:00 am we left the anchorage at Carter’s Cove and headed towards the “Rapp”. Out on the Rapp, we were once again greeted with a spectacular day on the water; oh please can these continue for a few more weeks! We went under the Norris Bridge and in no time at all we were back on the Chesapeake Bay. We turned south (yes, south) to go to Mobjack Bay, near the York River.

We passed a few sailboats heading north and a few fishing boats, but it truly was an uneventful passage. Our only excitement was the school of small dolphins that played off the starboard side of the boat as we passed by.

By 11:00 we were turning into Mobjack Bay and navigating to one of the anchorages (Bryant Bay off the Severn River) we had picked out; the one with a reported very strong cell signal. Once we arrived to the destination, we noticed a large number of crab pots in the cove, but they were spaced out sufficiently to allow room for anchoring. There were no other boats here to contend with so we could choose a spot, and had the anchor down by 11:30. We then made lunch and with a good cell signal we thought it would be a good place for the night.

Immediately we were infested with those darn midges again, and we hoped the wind would pick up a bit to keep them away. Mark was getting frustrated, so we broke out our makeshift screen and put it up hoping to keep from having to turn on the generator and run the AC. After all, one of the reasons for anchoring is for the pristine landscapes and the absolute peace and quiet. Surprisingly, the screen worked and most of the bugs were kept away.

Mark spent the entire afternoon on conference calls and in a web training session; thus the need for a strong cell signal today. During this time Denise worked on this blog, and on checking on other work-related items. She also noticed the wind had picked up and that the chop in the anchorage was getting worse. Between Mark’s calls we debated if we should move the boat to another anchorage where we would be better protected from the wind, or should we wait for morning. This particular bay was wide open and the low lying areas offered little protection. We definitely need to move it for Thursday night, based on the forecasted wind direction out of the east.

By the time Mark got off his last call, the slap of the water on the hull in the bow was all that was needed to convince us to move. It would have been too loud for a good night’s rest. So, we pulled up the anchor and headed to a spot that looked to offer more protection on the southwest branch of the Severn River. However, once we found the spot and attempted to lay anchor amongst the crab pots, we did not like how exposed we still were to the coming winds. So, we made the call to move again, only this time on the other side of Mobjack Bay. While pulling up the anchor, we snagged a coiled line which we thought was a crab pot. Expertly, Mark was able to get it untangled, as it appears it was from an old pot and nothing was attached at each end of it. Luckily, we averted disaster and were able to get out of the cove without hitting a crab pot.

We cruised all the way across Mobjack Bay and up the East River to a spot where it curves to the west and offered protection from the winds out of the south and southwest. It is also just past “Put in Creek” where we spent time in 2019. We became adventurous and found a cove across the river from the charted anchorage areas suggested in the Waterway Guide & Active Captain, and chose it for the night. We were far enough from any of the numerous crab pots, and stayed in water no less than 6’ deep. Plus, there were houses and trees around us blocking any wind that would come our way. It was a great spot and we were very glad we moved.

Looking southeast at East River anchorage

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, and liking our new surroundings we celebrated with happy hour, then proceeded to make a “grilled” pizza with ready-made dough we had in the freezer. We have never attempted this before and must say we were delighted with our success, although we have some notes for how to make it better “next time”.

In evening, we looked again at the weather forecast, which seems to be holding for now. We had originally planned to stay at anchor one more night. However, with coming winds and a desire for some time on terra firma, we decided to consider going to our week-long planned marina a day early, if they can take us. Since it was past operating hours, we would have to call them in the morning before we could finalize this change in our plans. Until then we got to enjoy the beauty of this spot, including a half moonlit sky, and a great sunset through the trees.

When sitting at anchor in such great places, one of our preoccupations is to watch the wildlife, specifically the osprey. These large birds are considered fish-hawks, and can be found in nearly any body of water: saltmarshes, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, estuaries, and even coral reefs. They are known for building nests on poles, including channel marks in the ICW. So many places have man-made perches for these amazing birds to build their stick nests, and it is fun to watch their behavior while in the nest. Today we were enthralled with this particular one near the anchorage as it had 2 adults and a juvenile calling it home. You can learn more about these magnificent birds at the Audubon Society here.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Mobjack Bay

Spectacular Surroundings!

Posted on May 19, 2021 | Comments Off

Carters Creek Anchorage – near Irvington, VA – Tuesday, 5/18

Before heading out of Urbanna, Denise went for a run through town, trying to capture some sights that we missed yesterday. Unfortunately, during the run she tripped on the very rough sidewalk and took a slight spill, scraping a knee, elbow and hand. These old town sidewalks are uneven and very unforgiving, but fortunately nothing was broken. She shook it off and continued exploring the Waterman’s Park and the neighborhood around the town.

Recognizing her hand and elbow were bleeding, and running out of places to run in town, she headed back to the boat. Once bandaged up, she got some coffee and breakfast and all was ok with the world.

We were not in a hurry to leave today as we were only going 7 miles across the Rapp to the area by the Tides Resort, near Irvington, VA. We would love to stay here, but once investigating the cost of it all ($200/night dockage + $15 electric, + resort fee) it just wasn’t worth it to us. Our plan instead was to just go over to the area and locate a place to anchor out. So with good internet and cell service at the marina, we did some work, answered emails, and worked on the blog before leaving.

Finally, we decided we should head out of the marina, so just before lunch we left Urbanna. On our way out of the marina, Mark noticed a “buy boat” in front of the condominiums on the harbor. Some of you may know that we are fans of two types of classic boats, the Chesapeake Buy Boat and Trumpy Yachts. This was a cool find for us.

After all the dock lines and fenders were stowed, we headed out of the harbor and onto the Rapp. It was another spectacular day and there was not even a ripple on the water. We pray we will have 2 days like this in 2 weeks when we need to go down the Delaware River, and up the New Jersey coast.

In no time at all we had made our way across the Rapp and entered the waterway towards the Tides. Here there are several finger creeks and coves that all branch off the entrance, each one providing some kind of protection from weather (depending on wind direction) and each one lined with amazing homes. Some old, some new, some small, but most are a good size. Here is a sample of some of them:

We slowly made our way past the Tides resort and further into the creek north of it. We were monitoring our cell phones to see where we could find the strongest signal, and the further up the creek away from the resort, the weaker it got. So we turned around and for the next 30 minutes we cruised through the creeks and area southeast of the resort. Here up the eastern branch of Carter’s Creek near Jack Cove we found our strongest signal, and an area with plenty of protection and space to anchor. It was spectacularly beautiful with lots of osprey, herons and other birds flying about. Our only danger was the crab pots, but they were spread out enough that we could anchor successfully without encountering any of them.

After settling the boat we ate a late lunch and then did a little bit of work. We talked about taking the dinghy out and go exploring, but Denise wanted to get the last blog published, and Mark wanted to take a nap. So we agreed to do these things and then later we would go out on the dinghy.

One of the things we were not sure about was where we could land the dinghy in this area as it was mostly residential. However, Mark contacted Custom Yacht Services (CYS) – a small boat yard near the anchorage to see if they would allow us to tie to their docks. We wanted to check out the small town of Irvington, which is right up the road from them anyway. Another place that we considered exploring was the Dog and Oyster Vineyard; a local winery that also has an inn and was just shy of a mile away. It took a few back & forth calls and voicemails with CYS before we got confirmation that they would allow us to tie to their docks, and actually use their internet connection if needed. However, by this time we had learned that the winery only has tastings on Thursday through Sunday, and Irvington was so small it was hardly worth the effort. Meanwhile we were enjoying the relaxation and the views so we decided not to launch the dinghy after all.

Throughout the afternoon and early evening a handful of boats cruised by, either on their way to/from somewhere (dinner?) or just out enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. One local stopped by and talked to Denise about the boat. He has been trying to find a Back Cove 34’ to purchase, but there are just not any on the market right now, like with the 37s. He currently has a trawler, but wants a different boat (e.g. go faster) and loves the Back Cove, as we do. They talked a little while longer and she watched him motor off in his skiff to one of the houses up the cove but out of sight from us.

The evening brought out a few other boaters and we watched the local residents retire to their decks or lawn chairs to enjoy the warm and beautiful evening. Mark cooked cheeseburgers on the grill and truly we felt like we were in paradise. This was reinforced when we were treated to a spectacular sunset over the pristine cove that we had all to ourselves.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged Carters Creek, The Tides

Understated Urbanna!

Posted on May 18, 2021 | Comments Off

Bridge Marinas – Urbana, VA – Monday, 5/17

For whatever reason, we both had a restless night’s sleep and woke up later than planned. Denise cancelled her planned run in order for us to leave by 8:00 am as we had a fairly long way to go. Once breakfast was done and everything properly stowed, we left Waterside in Norfolk and headed out on the Elizabeth River towards the Chesapeake Bay. At 8:15 we said good bye to the ICW (mile marker 0) until October when we are on our way home.

We passed the numerous ships in the Navy Shipyard, and saw many containers stacked up waiting for transport in the Norfolk Port. These days there is a shortage of storage space for containers coming into ports with all the consumer demand for imported goods; the supply chains cannot keep up. This is also resulting in container ships being held at anchor or in queue along shipping channels.

As we headed out onto the Chesapeake Bay it was like I-4 traffic, negotiating our way around tugs, pleasure boats, sailboats and barges, all the while staying in or close to the channel. It was actually less congested than we have seen it in the past as there were no Navy ships moving around today.

Once through the congestion we passed by Fort Monroe (now a national park) and the Old Comfort Lighthouse. It was a beautiful day on the “Chessy” and we were happy to not have high winds and chop. This is the way we like to cruise as it makes it so much more fun.

We ran for a good 2.5 hours before we made a left turn up the Rappahannock River. There are several places off this river we have wanted to explore and so we are taking the time this week to enjoy. The weather is really nice now with cool nights in the high 40’s and warming to the low 80’s in the daytime. As long as this holds we can make great progress and get to enjoy some of the sights. The “Rapp” was also calm and we could the beauty of both shores.

Soon we went under the Rappahannock Bridge (aka the Norris Bridge), entered the channel to the Urbanna Harbor and pulled into the Bridge Marinas. This family-owned marina is a little further up the creek than the Urbanna Town Marina, offering more protection and less surge from the River.

As Urbanna is small, this marina is still just a short walk to downtown. It is also meticulous maintained and has all the amenities that a cruiser would want, including cruiser’s lounge, laundry facilities, a full-service kitchen, outdoor and covered picnic tables, great internet, and great hospitality. We would highly recommend this place to other cruisers.

After settling the boat and checking in with the marina, we ate some lunch and did a few work tasks. We then headed out for a walk around town. As it was a Monday, several places were closed (including the Visitors Center and museum) and we learned that because it is before Memorial Day, other places have limited hours (only open Thursday through Sunday). This town is rich with US history and there is a walking historical tour to take you to all the historical sights. It is called “The Museum in the Streets”; similar to the one in Belfast, Maine. We stopped at a few of these to learn about the site (estate house, old Cocoa-Cola Bottling Plant, etc.) and the importance of this town on the early days of our country’s founding and during the Civil War.

We then walked to the Urbanna Town Marina and saw it full of mostly sailboats; there were a group of Tartan (type of sailboat) owners who were traveling together. The high fixed docks and exposure to swells from the “Rapp” made us happy we were not staying in this marina, no matter how inexpensive it was. We stopped and talked to a few locals then took some pictures, and then headed back to the boat.

We found the weather to be perfect and not too buggy, and the peacefulness of our marina (unlike Waterside in Norfolk) had us wondering if we should stay here another day. But, we have other places to go and must be mindful that Thursday’s planned journey will require good weather and we would rather press on back towards the Chessy in case things change, allowing for a shorter travel day then.

Since we will be at an anchorage the next few nights, we opted for dinner out. There are several good restaurants to choose from; we chose the one closest to the marina called Portside Grill. The restaurant has a water view over the harbor with outdoor seating, and a nice modern interior that is warm and welcoming. Due to the cooler temperatures we ate inside. The food was good and reasonably priced, and the waitress was very friendly.

Portside Grill on Urbanna Creek – Outside

Afterwards we walked back to the boat for a short evening of movie watching (“They Want Me Dead “) before we retired for the night.

Urbanna is a cute town and we were glad we came here. Clearly the town is more active in the summer and fall with numerous festivals and celebrations. Their “Oyster Festival” in November is huge and you have to book marinas and hotels months in advance. We would highly recommend this town for a stopover by Loopers, or anyone else.

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Posted in Maine 2021

Tagged The Chesapeake Bay, Urbanna

Category Archives: Maine 2021

Glorious Lady Liberty!

Great times at Great Kills!

Breaking records!

Re-Planning our way north!

Socializing in Seaford!

Warm up at Wormley!

Working our way to Wormley Creek!

Moving Around Mobjack Bay!

Spectacular Surroundings!

Understated Urbanna!

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