LET ME TELL YA ‘BOUT

Let me tell ya ‘bout 

Our life on Obsession

And the friends we have made 

And the places we have been

And this thing called “CRUISING” 

It’s been 2 months since August 20 when we were in Cuttyhunk enjoying a last Raw Bar and meeting the first of many Catalina 42 friends, Steve and Deanne on Outbound. 

A month later (September 20)  we had traveled all the way down Long Island Sound, through NYC, and halfway down the Jersey Coast to Atlantic City. I call it the city with lights all night. So Obsession added to the brightness of the night. 

October 20 we are in Hampton, VA preparing to actually enter the ICW. We’ve come a long way baby!

Hampton is a welcoming harbor for transient boaters/cruisers. We also met up with high school friend and classmate Toby Barrett and his wife Rachel for a delicious Greek Dinner. Not to mention the provisioning trip Toby facilitated. 

Let me tell ya ‘bout

The sunrise and the sunset

And the quaint harbor towns

And the quiet peaceful coves

And this thing called “CRUISING”

A Purdy Suite sunrise in Solomon’s. 

A serene and quiet sunset in Rhode River

:

AND A NORTH PACIFIC 43!

A ride around Jackson Creek revealed more beautiful homes, docks of crab pots, garages for boats and a unique office/job location. 

When we search the Navionics app

We can find the way to go

Then the Windy app and the weather channel app 

Make it easy to plan. 

We have downloaded Navionics to our iPhones and iPad. It is a powerful tool, helping us navigate in tight areas. But our trusty Garmin 2010C is still getting us from place to place. It still provides reliable information in a familiar and easy to use format. 

Windy and the weather channel are must haves also. 

With Windy and the Weather Channel apps we were able to plan our “lay over” in Solomon’s at Spring Cove Marina for Hurricane Michael. Not to mention Hurricane Florence that we waited out in Port Washington a month earlier. 

Let me tell ya ‘bout the sun and the clouds

And the wind and the rain

And the hurricanes we’ve sat out

And this thing called “CRUISING”

Waiting for Hurricane Michael at Spring Cove Marina in the Solomon’s wasn’t TOO bad. Until 1:00am when the wind changed direction, piped up to 40knots and the rain pounded the decks. All was bright and clear and bright enough for Dave S. to go up the mast of Half Baked. 

 

Let me tell ya ‘bout the laughing and the crying,

And the planning and deciding

And each new destination

And this thing called “CRUISING”

LAUGHING:

Chuck showing off his musical talents on the “drill”






David and I trying to take a selfie while on a dinghy ride. Our new Mercury engine is making our “gunk holing” and exploring fun. 

CRYING:

(No pics-I wonder why)

We may have shed a few tears though when we bid adieu  to the 8hp 2 stroke Tohatsu outboard Engine when it but the dust in Annapolis, and when our pocketbook was hit with a major adjustment to pay for the new Mercury 8hp 4 stroke.  We aren’t crying anymore!

When we raise the main and jib up high

And turn the engine key to “off”

We feel we’d like to sail away

And never look behind. 

Sailing like this. A beam to broad reach, 15-20 knots of wind, favorable tide, 1-2 foot seas. Seeing the knot meter hit over 8 knots. This may have been our last day of sailing  as we prepare to enter “The Big Ditch” THE ICW!

Let me tell ya ‘bout...

MiICHAEL, ROW YOUR BOAT ASHORE

We interrupt this blog for an important message

. 

Obsession has taken action to wait out yet another storm/hurricane in The Solomon’s, MD. She will move from this anchor spot to a slip at Spring Cove Marina later today. 

Half Baked and Obsession will be safe in this anchorage protected in just about every direction. 

Meanwhile, other daily chores will be accomplished. Grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning heads, defrosting the freezer, banking, and just general cleaning are on the long list. Just like being home in the condo!

Not only does the laundry pile up, but so do the dishes!

We have enjoyed these past few nights on anchor though. Rhode River was practically deserted, quiet, peaceful, serene, relaxing. Everything that Annapolis wasn’t. We enjoy these nights on anchor when we can sit in the cockpit and look up at the stars in the night sky. 

I’ve always been fascinated by the constellations and the fact that there has got to be some other form of life existing somewhere out there. 

We did, however, have one special visitor: 

Escape-an O’Day 322. For a minute we thought it was Perrin, but knew better as soon as we realized there were at least 10 people on board, 6 of which were kids under age 10. 

The fish this seagull was chowing down on was almost as big as she was!

Here in the Solomon’s we have taken full advantage of having an outboard engine that purrs like a kitten, needs to be broken in, and is reliable, quiet, and easy to start and operate. There are, of course, a few new “gadgets” and perks, such as one handed steering and shifting, and even something similar to an auto-pilot! We learn new things about it every day.  The dinghy rides are back in full swing! Oh, how we have missed them! 

We will also spend some time doing this!

(A cartoon) by Kelly and Aron Hauquitz “Purrfect”)

Meanwhile, all is well with us, To all our new Catalina friends near and far, be safe if you’re in this storm’s way. To those who are preparing for a long winters nap, rest well my friends. Another season of sailing will soon be here. 

GODSPEED

TOP TEN REASONS TO CRUISE MARYLAND-NOT NEW JERSEY

We are in Annapolis. A beautiful town/city, similar to Newport. As one of my friends stated, “it could be described as downtown Newport and the Point section on Steroids”.  There are so many places to explore, walk, visit. Restaurants , shops, history. I’m sure we will return again and again. 

For this blog entry I have revived David Letterman’s segment “THE TOP TEN REASONS TO CRUISE MARYLAMD - NOT NEW JERSEY

10-‘EM ARE DUCKS! on our dinghy. Thanks, Peggie Perrotto for warning us AFTER the fact and having to clean up the DUCK POOP! Every morning I hear them quack, quacking around Annapolis harbor.. I wonder who else got pooped on? 

These two came back later with friends! We found out later that we need toluft the dinghybout if the water so they will stay off.

9-NAVIGATING TIGHT AND SHALLOW ENTRANCES. Entering Chesapeake City was interesting. The current was so strong that we literally crabbed our way in. Then navigating the shallow areas into Fairlee Creek to meet up with Arlene and Kevin on 2 Frisky was another adventure. We survived! And will do it again and again. 

Entering Chesapeake City we literally crabbed our way in. A 1-2 knot current pushing us down the canal made for a tricky entrance that we were led to believe was narrow and shallow. Luckily, it had been dredged and the depths were much easier to navigate. 

On the other hand, Fairlee Creek was almost a bump and go. I saw 4.6 ft (we draw 5.5) at one point. But we kept on moving and made it in and out safely. 

8-ANNAPOLIS WATER TAXI-This is an interesting concept. Bow loading and off loading. It came in handy when we had to load our groceries and a huge mystery box from West Marine. 

The launches aren’t as efficient as those in Newport, and can’t carry as many passengers, but they have been busy this weekend, for sure. 

7-US NAVAL ACADEMY.-a visit to the US Naval Academy revealed that John Paul Jones is a hero and holds court from a special place in an ornate (almost gaudy) crypt. The Academy itself is steeped in tradition, a beautiful campus, and the home of the Blue Angels. 

Our shuttle bus driver took the time to take our picture in front of a Blue Angel at the US Naval Academy Stadium. 

John Paul Jones sarcophagus. Little did I know that he was so revered for his bravery during the American Revolution that someone would go to all the trouble of finding his remains and constructing this crypt (made of marble) in the lower level of the Naval Academy Chapel. 

6-C & D CANAL. This beautiful man-made body of water offered majestic views of the countryside. Huge ships transport the canal as well as pleasure craft of all sizes. Quaint villages/towns, state parks and businesses dot the shoreline. It was a fun ride, with the current we hit 10mph over ground. 

One of many bridges over the canal. This one was BLM Blue. Very pretty

-Colorful house along the canal. 

Tugs moored along the canal. 

5-INEXPENSIVE DOCKAGE, CHEAP MOORINGS, FREE ANCHORAGES. I can’t help but constantly compare Newport with so many of the places we visit. Port Washington-2 free nights. $25/night after that includes launch service. Free pump out too. Atlantic City-$300 for a slip at The Golden Nugget, Farley State Marina. Electricity, water, use of pool, clean heads and laundry-$2/load.  Utsch’s Marina-(Cape May)-$2/ft. Goody Bag and friendly staff. Chesapeake City-free town dock, free dinghy tie up close to town. Annapolis-$30/day for 7 nights, free, clean showers, convenient dinghy docks (even during the Boat Show).

The first 3 pictures show the progression of the Boat Show as it “crept” out into the mooring area. We are now only one row of moorings away from the show boats at the docks. 

Tuesday and Wednesday nights the kids race race 420s outside the harbor, then sail back through the mooring area when done. 

4-BEAUTIFUL WEATHER. Since we left Cape May we have had just gorgeous weather. We have had 2 evenings of Thunderstorms. Cohansey River and Annapolis. One day of the hot buggies, but the rest of the days have been just perfect. 

3-ANNAPOLIS BOAT SHOW. It has been so much fun watching the Boat Show come alive. We have had a ringside seat from our mooring in the Front Forty. The atmosphere is one of excitement, anticipation, hard work, and serious play all rolled into one big party for 4-5 days. And... after all the sailboats leave on Monday the powerboats will start moving in. I hear it’s like an orchestrated event. . 

2-A NEW MERCURY OUTBOARD ENGINE FOR OCD. Our 18 year old Tohatsu has served us well until this point. It has a few issues-like being difficult to start, not idling properly and just stopping. We have tried everything, David even took the carburetor out and cleaned it. We have talked nice to it, cursed it, and finally will bury it in the aft lazarette until we can figure out what to do with it. The replacement is a 4 stroke (eek!) 8hp Mercury (don’t panic Mom and Dad) with a 3 year warranty.  

1-THE PLACES WE WILL GO. . St. Michael’s, The Solomon’s, and do much more to come. 

 

THEY SAY St Michaels is beautiful. 

There’s a rumor that  Solomon’s Island might beat out Cuttyhunk as one of our favorite  place. 

Twinkling of lights, sound of gentle waves kissing hulls at rest, halyards and lines clanking against the masts with the sway of the boats and gentle night breeze.  Ahh!  The peace of a harbor at rest. (John Kaull, 10/5/2018)