Monday, August 28, 2017 – Wednesday, August 30, 2017.
The weather socked us in at the Hampton Marina and we didn’t set foot outside (except to check the lines and fender boards). Rain and wind piled the water in and covered a lot of the lower docks. I made a big pot of split pea soup and we caught up on our work and reading.
During our slightly extended stay at the Hampton Municipal Marina we got to meet Mary and Rodney aboard the sailing vessel Pegasus. They toured our boat right before they set sail for an anchorage. Rod left his coffee cup on the dock. I called them and they asked us to hold onto it until we see each other again. Mary said it’s an old cruising custom – that way, when fellow cruisers run into each other again, they have gifts to exchange.
While we were safely tied up, Ken and Sandy on Cattitude, were making a very rough sail across the Chesapeake Bay. “You’ve met some real idiots,” Ken told us as he admitted to taking on eight-foot waves and 25-knot winds. We exchanged boat tours and enjoyed a dinner together at a restaurant in Hampton. Here's Sandy & Ken.
Thursday, August 31, 2017.
Smooth cruising into the Chesapeake. Following seas and fair winds. We found an anchorage at Kilmarnock, VA and settled in for a great dinner on the grill. That night the winds kicked up and we spun around a bit, but everything held fine. We looked at the winds and decided to stay put until the remnants of Harvey passed.
Friday, September 1, 2017.
We check the weather at least twice a day, before bedtime and again the next morning. Thursday’s bedtime report suggested we should sleep in because the weather forecast was snotty. After Jerry looked at the morning weather report, he decided the winds would lay and it would be lovely. I wasn’t so sure. He agreed to turn back if things weren’t good.
Going out the creek was fine. When we got to the deeper part of the Chesapeake we found the waves and wind coming from the North, where we were headed. “It will be better when we turn up and we aren’t taking the waves on the side,” Jerry said over the clanging of things banging around in the galley.
I had my doubts. “Why is that line lying on the foredeck?” I asked him. “Must have gotten knocked off,” he answered. It had been secured that morning with two half-hitches. Neptune himself must have untied it as a warning to us.
The waves crashed all around the boat as she rolled and bucked. “I think we need to go ahead and turn back,” I said, “this is crazy.” At that point the ship’s bell rang itself and Jerry agreed.
On the way back, the waves were no longer crashing over the bow or smacking the side of the boat. The steel drum band that had set up in the galley stopped hammering out their chaotic melody. The waves were quickly pushing us to safe harbor, like shooing a chicken back to her nest box.
Rather than return to our original anchorage and feel beaten in front homeowners we hadn’t met yet, we chose a new anchorage in a different branch of the same creek. Having missed breakfast, we enjoyed a heartier lunch than usual and settled into working, studying and reading. Bands of rain washed the salt water off Tanuki most of the afternoon.
Saturday, September 2, 2017
We enjoyed a quiet day at the same anchorage and watched the grey weather pass over us. Jerry found a way to listen to the Gators play football and that made him happy until the final score; but we won’t go there.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
The weather is letting us cruise again and we pull anchor and head out the creek to the much calmer Chesapeake Bay. Crossing the Potomac was a tiny bit rough, but nothing like the washing machine we found ourselves in on Friday.
On the way we hear someone hailing Cattitude and realize the catamaran is just over our starboard side. We hail Ken and Sandy and learn they’re coming to anchor at Solomons Island too. It’s a busy Labor Day weekend and we dodge lots of amateur boaters on our way up Mill Creek into St. Johns Creek to anchor at Pancake Point where Cattitude also anchors.
This is it. This is when we launch the dingy. Another first. Jerry removed the covers and started looking the dingy over. “Remember to put the plug in the dingy before you launch her,” Joe reminded Jerry on the phone the day before. When the dingy is on board, the plug is removed to let rain drain out of it.
Jerry found the plug wouldn’t stay in the hole. After looking everywhere for a spare, he came up with a redneck solution. He wound electrical tape around the plug to make it big enough to hold. Seemed good.
Our marriage just barely survived the unbelievable number of hooks, latches and other devices used to tie the dingy to the back of the flybridge. (OK, just 3 tie-downs, but when it’s the first time, every bit seems impossible).
The dingy arm and electric winch worked great and I was glad I asked Punk what her role was when Joe lowered the dingy. “I stand on the port deck and fend it off from the boat,” she explained. And so I did.
Meanwhile Ken and Sandy were watching (not that we were making that big of a scene, but they knew it was a first for us). “That’s not a dingy, that’s a ski boat,” Ken yelled over to us when he saw the center-console and 30-horsepower engine. We laughed and the four of us left for the Lighthouse restaurant where “if you participate,” as Ken put it, you can leave your dingy on their dock for free.
By the way, Cattitude’s dingy is named “the Litter Box”. We enjoyed the kind of meal Jimmy Buffet orders up in one of his songs (give me oysters and beer, for dinner every day of the year, and I’ll be fine). Ken kept jumping up to check on the Litter Box because it had once slipped under a dingy dock during a low tide and almost got stuck when the tide rose.
We paid our tab and walked over to the Tiki Bar where we saw the light from the sunset reflect on ordinary overhead cables to make them shine like a diamond necklace. We walked back to the Lighthouse to dingy back to our boats and there were six inches of water in our dingy! The plug had slipped out and was lying inside the boat.
No worries. One of the best ways to bail a boat is to run it up on plane and the water quickly evacuates. Rather than just tie the dingy up to our boat we also employed the dingy lift to hold it up so it didn’t sink overnight.
Monday, Labor Day (and my niece Jaden’s birthday – happy birthday Jaden!) September 4, 2017
After seeing off Catittude, we took the dingy to the dock at the back of the Calvert Maritime Museum and met Mr. Johnson, a Coast Guard Auxiliary member who was either in, or creeping into his 90s. He told us about the screw post lighthouse, restored ships and other things behind the museum.
Then using the powers granted to people over the age of 55 we bought a full day pass to the museum for $7 each. The museum offered paleontology, a kind of aquarium petting zoo, history and an incredible otter swimming exhibit, as well as model ships, kids camp & workshop – just endless.
We walked from there to West Marine and bought a plug for the dingy, a leash for Jerry’s prescription glasses, and some rescue tape (works way better than electrical tape). Then on to CD’s Café for an incredible lunch and back to the museum to see the things we had missed.
Dinner was cooked on the stern grill and enjoyed on the foredeck. Just another awesome day.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Raising the anchor at 8 AM we entered a more welcoming Chesapeake Bay and cruised her to St. Michaels, MD wetting the anchor about 4 PM.
We took the dingy to the free dock by the Crab Claw restaurant and walked the quaint colonial town with plenty of active watermen (oyster, crab and clam fetchers) and had dinner on the deck at the Lighthouse restaurant (another screw post lighthouse and maritime museum are here. It seems to be Maryland law. If the town has a screw post lighthouse it must also have a Lighthouse restaurant). A quick walk to the Acme grocery for a few more provisions and dingy back to Tanuki before the sunset.
When we walk on land, we feel as though people may think we’ve been drinking just a wee bit too much. It feels like we’re wide walking – but it’s just because the earth is too still. We took time to literally stop and smell the roses in St. Michaels. It’s a charming town.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
A storm passed over us last night and it rained all day. Looks like we’ll miss out on the brewery, winery & distillery as well as Crepes by the Sea (a restaurant Ken & Sandy recommended to us) in St. Michaels.
A church in St. Michaels peels out ships bells every hour and half hour (if you know one of the grandkids who went to Cousins Camp at Pop & Sammie’s, ask them to explain these to you). Hearing the ships bells gives a genuine nautical feel to this seaside town.
Yesterday we also passed a mammoth Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal/Coast Guard station in the water. Charts indicated that we were not to go within 500 yards of this installation. Other than using the words, “the size of a small, medium, or large town”, I cannot describe the size of this facility, or the size of the Navy shipyard near Hampton or the container ship terminals near Portsmouth or the container ships themselves for that matter.
Just know there’s crazy big infrastructure in major port towns to bring in almost everything you buy including rubber duckies, chicken, fuel, and anything you can find at Walmart, Target or other stores. I hope Homeland Security is watching and protecting these facilities!Other than watching Irma and Jose and calling our friends and family to make sure they’re all safe, not a lot going on today.
Thursday, September 7, 2017Sixty-one degrees, sunny, calm and gorgeous! We had coffee on the boat then took the dingy in to enjoy Crepes by the Bay – a highly recommended restaurant, and mail a letter. Found Crepes by the Bay – closed until 9/8 – OK. Found the Brick Inn Café and enjoyed a nice breakfast and mailed a letter at the post office.
Back to the boat and the wind had picked up. We got the dingy tied to Tanuki then pulled it up onto the fly bridge with the super cool dingy winch. Tied her down and started to pull anchor in the windy cove, with me at the helm. (nervous!)
All went well and we made the 1:30 Kent Narrows Bridge opening – and buddy – it is narrow! Jerry pulled up to the fuel dock at Mears Point Marina and we took on 220 gallons of diesel. We still had 280 gallons in the tanks, but thought it better to have full tanks in case we have to stay in a hurricane hole for days and days. 
Then using the powerful bow thruster and twin engines, Jerry artfully brought us to B1B dock where we tied up with Kirby’s help (a dock hand who’s a fulltime firefighter and works on the water part-time), plugged into shore power, did the laundry, rinsed the dingy engine with fresh water and stripped the fenders of their tattered covers (new ones are coming for us here) – then off for showers at the super nice Marina bathrooms. Oh – had some great cream of crab soup and ‘po boys at Harris’ about 3:30 for lunch. Is it still lunch when it’s that late?
Friday, September 8, 2017When the Enterprise driver picked us up at 10 this morning, we realized it’s been 3 weeks since either one of us got behind the wheel of an automobile. Mostly things happen faster, a lot faster, and there are so many more other vehicles with you! We really missed our auto-piolet, Iron Mike, and the ability to enjoy the scenery as it slips by at 8 mph. The trip to Bay Shore, NY for my 40th High School reunion was supposed to take four and a half hours.
On the New York side of the Goethals Bridge we stopped at the toll booth and saw 15 clearly printed on the side of the booth under the toll-taker. Jerry asked, “Fifteen cents?”
“Fifteen dollars,” she cheerfully replied.
“What!?” Jerry exclaimed as he gave her a twenty-dollar bill.
She took it, put a big smile on her face and chirpped, “Welcome to New York!”
Even though we got to New York City at 2 PM, well before rush hour, the traffic over Staten Island and around the Belt Parkway added two to three hours of arcade-style fun as drivers jockeyed for position.
We arrived at the hotel about mid-way through the pre-reunion gathering, changed clothes and headed out to see people I hadn’t seen in 40 years and Jerry had never met.
Lots of great visiting for me, while Jerry checked on relatives in Florida as Irma bore down on Cuba. Many of my classmates flew in from Florida for the weekend and had their return flights canceled. None were upset by the promise of an extended stay.
Saturday, September 9, 2017 Went to the reunion. Looked to me like everyone couldn’t come, so they sent their parents! It was good fun to see everyone. Even had an opportunity to take my Mom to lunch.
Sunday, September 10, 2017 Driving back to Tanuki, we saw 2 caravans of utility trucks headed toward Florida and hoped Irma would be kind to our friends and family there.
Monday, September 11 – Friday, September 15, 2017Throughout the entire MTOA Rendezvous we had ample opportunity to meet other cruisers, learn in seminars and share stories.
The couple that Joe and Punk recommended we keep an eye out for were there; Jan and Steve (Balena). They are Great Harbour owners, and introduced us to Debbie and Henry (Seven Tenths) the presidential couple of the Great Harbor Trawler Association who presented us with our official GHTA burgee.
Learned we are full-time cruisers, not full-time live-aboards. Cruisers crank the engines and cruise often. Live-aboards generally stay tied to shore power for months at a time.
There are also full-time live-aboard snowbirds. These folks come in many flavors – those that have one boat and go north when the butter on the counter gets too soft and south when the butter on the counter gets too hard. Some live-aboard snowbirds have a house or condo on one end, and a boat tied up on a dock on the other end. Some haul the boat to the hard when they’re away from it. Others have two boats, one south and one north and they fly between. Some keep a vehicle or two by their boats.
It seemed to me that a majority of the MTOA members have a house and a boat and use the boat for weekends or vacation type trips. Some MTOA members gave up their boats, but still like to come to the meetings.
All of them are nice and were happy to share their experiences with us.
Saturday, September 16 - 17, 2017 (Happy birthday to our son Jay!)We cruised up to Worton Creek because many MTOA members recommended it for its eagle rookery and beauty – just watch out for the crab pots on the way in! We anchored across from the Worton Creek Marina where John and Donna (Socially Sea Cured) were living aboard and getting their new-to-them 1988 trawler ready for cruising. We met them at the MTOA Rendezvous. They too had recently sold their house and bought a trawler.
They brought their dingy over and we had lunch aboard Tanuki and they took us on a dingy ride up the different branches of Worton Creek. Later they were our first Happy Hour guests on the fly bridge. “If you need to get anything, just let us know, we have a car,” Donna and John offered repeatedly.
When we’re away from shore power, we run the generator for a few hours every evening to recharge the batteries so the fridge and other vital systems can continue their work while we sleep.
But this night, the genny kept quitting. Jerry kept going below to start her again. We knew that the cranking battery was old when we bought the boat.
In the morning the generator battery completely failed, so we ran the engines in idle to bring up the charge.
We called John and Donna to take them up on their generous offer. “Come on over, we’re washing the boat and we could use a break,” they cheerfully replied.
We took our dingy to their Marina’s dingy dock and the four of us shopped for a new battery as well as galley provisions. For decades, Donna and John raised a family and taught school in the small community, so they were great tour guides.
It felt serendipitous to have friends with a vehicle so nearby when we needed something as heavy as a new battery for the generator.
After Jerry installed the new battery, we raced dingys. Our 30 HP Honda beat their 20 HP Honda. We took pictures of each other in our dingys in case we ever needed photographic evidence that we belong to this particular dingy. 
Monday, September 18, 2017A new first! I got to raise the anchor this morning! Jerry stayed at the helm waiting for my hand signals!
After getting on the Chesapeake, we pointed south and headed to Baltimore. “I’m gonna follow Cosmic Force,” Jerry said after he saw the boat’s name on the navigational screen. Normally we travel at 7 knots, but between the current, tide and the wind, we were peaking out at 9 knots! The cosmic forces were with us! 
We planned to stay 2 nights in Baltimore and chose the Anchorage Marina in the Outer Harbor because Debbie and Henry keep their boat there and like it. This place is huge! And once again, it felt serendipitous, as our slip is just two boats down from Seven Tenths! (7/10s of the planet is covered by water).
We’re having a stupendous time. It’s better than either of us imagined.
Well, we’ve cruised together for a little more than a month. When we started blogging, we promised that we wouldn’t inundate you with tons of posts. In order to keep our word we’re going to drop this day-by-day format and post about once a month.
If you want travel updates, send a friend request to Sandra Pomroy Williams on Facebook where I post 360 videos from every new anchorage.
Wishing you fair winds and following seas! TANUKI!
