Week 5 ~ Cruising North ~ Belhaven to "home," Grasonville, MD

Monday, 5/31/21 ~

Belhaven to Coinjock, NC
Today:        85 miles         13.2 hours         ICW ST Mile: 50.0
Total:    1998.7 miles       245.6 hours

     Pete checked at 4am and the fog did appear. Pete is comfortable traveling at night, but night AND fog is a different ball of wax. Instead, we got up at 6 once the fog dissipated.

 
A river tug and the Alligator Pongo Canal 

A very cold day

     It was cold. Temps in the low 50’s with winds out of the north 10-15. Only once we exited the AP Canal did we realize the winds increased 18-20. There was a skim on the water caused by the winds. Fortunately, the wind died as we reached the Alligator River Bridge. No problems crossing Arbermarle Sound nor heading up North River. As we entered the canal for Coinjock, we had the current and were doing 8.2. We had spoken to the harbor master via phone. Since we won’t be in until after seven and will not be eating at the restaurant, we would dock ourselves on the opposite shore. He gave us a discount, which we don’t mind at all.

 

 
Wind caused scuzz on the Alligator River and Coinjock Cut

     We were supposed to have a conference call with Pete’s siblings tonight, but we asked to post pone it until tomorrow night. Needless to say, we’re tired. It is an early night for us.

Tuesday, 6/1/21 ~

Coinjock to Great Bridge, VA
Today:     37.2 miles         6.6 hours         ICW ST Mile: 12.2
Total:     2035.9 miles   252.2 hours

     With today’s travel only 38 miles, we opted to leave by 8. Before we left, Pete called Ft. Pierce Marina and got on the list for the fall. No problem slipping the dock. Once out in Currituck Sound, we had calm conditions.

 
Becalmed on Currituck Sound

 

     After breakfast, I took some meds and laid down. I had the beginning of a migraine. A long nape really helped. I got up when I realized Pete was on deck placing lines. I went up to help and then make lunch.
     We were secure at the free dock by 1:45 and Pete went down below to work. I read, updated today’s blog notes and visited with dock mates. The boat in front of us from Maine. James and Larry are taking it to Tampa. After spending time in Tampa, James hopes to sail over to the Bahamas. Chris and Bob are taking SV HAPPY TRAILS back to Michigan after doing the loop and spending time in Marathon. With Covid, they have been away from home for over a year.

  
A variety of vessels at Great Bridge

      I made Spanish rice, chicken and sausage for tonight’s dinner as well as 3 others into the freezer. Great & tasty comfort food that tastes even better reheated.

Wednesday, 5/2/21 ~

Great Bridge to Salt Pond, Hampton City, VA
Today:       30 miles          7.8 hours         ICW ST Mile: —NA—
Total:    2065.9 miles      259.0 hours.

     With crazy bridge schedules over the commuter times, we made the 9 am opening of Great Bridge Bridge, and the 9:30 lock. The lock masters are no longer allowed to assist in securing the boats to the sides of the lock. Being the pros we are, Ahem, we had no problems. Today we had about a 2 foot drop. The five power boats quickly passes us.

 

 

 

Industry along the Elizabeth River

  

A workman watching from
the top of the bridge

     I was about a 1/2 mile south of the Beltline RR Bridge when it was announced that the bridge was closing for maintenance. During the later part of our 45 minute delay, a Palm Beach 45 joined us. As he was approaching, he contacted the bridge and wanted to know how much longer. When “about another 15 minutes” was replied, he response was “well hurry up!” We were afraid that the repairmen might take longer just for spite, not that I wouldn’t blame them.
     Pete finished the 10 am conference, which had a lot of background noise from the ship yards as well as the muffled radio in my hand. The bridge delay meant that we wouldn’t be in the dock until 2:30 so Pete had George take the 2pm conference call.

No more cruise ships

 

The Naval Shipyard

The old Corps of Engineers Building

 

ICW "0" Mile Marker

   We were docked by 3:45. We were secured to our port side, but we couldn’t reach the power outlet so using lines we angled the bow over to the starboard dock and slid the aft past the piling by the lines on starboard. Only one line wound up in the water.
     When it was time for the call at 4, we borrowed a page from Deb and Hugh on SV SIMPLICITY. While in the Bahamas, one day they couldn’t get a good signal, so they hoisted the jet pack in a plastic bag up the mast. I did the same and Pete had good access to the internet. Thanks SIMPLICITY!
     Pete’s conference call ended as the rains began.







Thursday, 6/3/21 ~ 

Hampton City to Deltaville, VA
Today:          40 miles             6.3 hours             ICW ST Mile:  —NA—-
Total.:    2105.9 miles           265.3 hours.

     We left about 7:05 to mid 70’s, high humidity, overcast skies, winds 5-10, and the threat of more rain on its way.

Leaving Salt Pond Marina

  

   Parallel to the James River we saw a Naval hover craft practicing maneuvers, including a skid-turn in the bay. We also saw probably our last of the dolphins for this cruise.
     The rains skirted around us, and the current gods did not look upon us with favor. The ebb flow from the Mobjack Bay slowed us down to 4.3 mph at times.
     Once at Deltaville, we fueled up before heading over to our slip. Both dockhands are young and must be new. They were not knowledgeable when it came to slips, directions, or understanding why we needed to know the slip access from the dock. We did manage to secure for the night, but it took about 3x longer than it should have. By the fall, hopefully, they should be well seasoned.
     Pete once again had work. With a strong WiFi signal, I figured I could spend a few hours placing photos into the blog and perhaps catch up with the postings. I’ve been writing about each day’s travel daily. I write into my Notes App and forward it to my email when working on the blog; today however, No joy! The rains came and folks probably logged on to watch movies, leaving me no bandwidths post photos. Well, I’ll just have to read instead.

Friday, 6/4/21 ~ 

Deltaville, VA to Solomons, MD
Today:         68 miles             10.0 hours          ICW ST Mile:  —NA—-
Total.:    2173.9 miles           275.3 hours.

     It rained on and off during the night. At 6:30 this morning we checked the radar and we will probably be in rain from shortly after 7 until about 10:30. Then we should be good until the afternoon showers appear. Since we had a 10 hour day, we opted to leave at 7.
     Dog was walked and we were away from the dock only 5 minutes later than planned. We had to wait for a head boat with about 15 very animated friends hoping for a good day on the water. 4 or 5 coolers were loaded onboard in anticipation of their catch. I wonder if fishing in the rain is productive?
     We made our turn from Deltaville and started heading north when the showers came. Temps in the mid 70’s with winds out of the SSE at about 10. We had a light current for about 1/2 of the day. Of course by the time we started to cross the Potomac, the current changed. For some reason the RPMs started to bounce in the lower ranges, so we couldn’t set our normal speed via instruments, so Pete set it by the sound of the engine. We both feel it was a little slower, but that was better than running at a high RPM for hours. We did add the jib, which added 3-4 tenths of a miler to our speed until the winds lessened.
      Early afternoon, the sun came out and the temps climbed into the mid-80s as did the humidity. Thankfully, motoring enabled a breeze that made the ride comfortable.

     As we approached the naval bombing range off of Pawtuxet Naval Air Station, Pete was talking with a friend. They were discussing the storms approaching SE PA and us when the weather alert tones sounded on the VHS. “Sever thunderstorm warning for our area, with winds that could reach 50 mph, vivid lightning, heavy rains and flooding(on land) for the next hour. The storm clouds were impressive. We prepped for the storm, but got lucky. We could see the heavy rains hitting Cove Point in the distance. The dark clouds crept over head and we had about 40 minutes of moderate rain and winds of 10-15ish. The heavy stuff split around us. By the time we turned to enter the river, we could see the clearing skies behind the storm.

 

 

 

 

     I was able to set the lines after the rains had passed. We pulled up to Safe Harbor Zahnisers’s T-head dock by about 4:15. In our travels we have stayed at 4 other Safe Harbor Marinas, but this is the only one that honors the discount. Others say that they don’t honor it during the “high” season. Bummer!

 
The storm is blowing out

     One more travel day and we will be in our home port! It will be a long day, so tonight will be an early night.

Saturday, 6/5/21 ~ 

Solomons to HOME ~ Grasonville, MD
Today: 44 miles 7.4 hours  ICW ST Mile:  —NA—-
Total.:    2217.9 miles           282.7 hours.

The last day of our journey . . . .
 

The Canadian Geese
hangout in Solomons

   To catch the current north we could have left by nine. Instead we were up with the sun. Ate breakfast while still in the slip for a change, did a leisurely morning routine and we were ready to get underway by 8:30. Skies clear, temps in the mid 70’s, but headed to the high 80’s with humidity and light breezes from the SSE - it’s summer on the Chesapeake.
     As we were exiting Solomons we received an email from Rich, SV VIEW FINDER. He took a photo of us at the dock this morning as they were leaving Solomons and heading south on the Bay. We promised to get together once they complete their mini cruise.
     We got lucky today. We had the current with us today as well as the breeze. Both began as we made the turn up the Bay and remained light. Even though the ebb current was mild, we didn’t have to fight it for hours.
     We only passes 2 commercial vessels which were south bound: a tug with barge and some sort of a container ship. It appeared to be at anchor as it didn’t appear any closer as we traveled north. By the time we were at Sharps Light, it finally was on the move. It was rather strange that it didn’t have his AIS on. No problem, as we had a clear visual. Pete charted in the fastest course, which took us east of Sharps Light. It also took us close to the fish traps.

     There were lots of small boats on the move in Eastern and Prospect Bays. There were also lots of sailboats trying to catch some wind. As for us, we traveled with the breeze at its exact speed so there wasn’t much air moving in our cockpit.
     As we were coming north in the Narrows it was approaching the 4:00 opening. Pete radioed in that we were on our way. The bridge tender is new and very personable. He told us to keep coming. He would have the one northbound proceed, then have the two southbound trawlers come through, then we should be ready. Sounds wonderful, except the "southbounders" had to wait for the crazy small boats that wanted to go first under the bridge. Of course they conversed all the way, and exited slowly, and almost crashed into each other before the boats could also exit. Well it is the last of the bridges for a while!

 

Changes to the Kent Narrows and our LAST bridge of our 2020-2021 cruise
 

     As we approached our slip, we saw the new sea wall, a few new and or relocated boats, and we have a new neighbor sharing our finger pier. They finally removed the one that had been unmoved in the slip for the past 4 years. Hopefully, we’ll meet our new neighbors soon. Butch, MV RAZZMATAZZ, was here to welcome us back.
     Once everything was secured, logged and AC working, we went below to cool off shower, and dress so we could join Butch and Ruth for hamburgers at The Rams Head.
     Dinner was delicious and the company great! Besides the hamburgers, Rubin and seafood, we had the Sweet Potato Tots that were served with a Maple and something dip that was out of sight.
     Once back, it was chill, walk Bailey, who had real problems with her hind legs this evening, and then to bed.
     There are plenty of “to do’s” now that we are back, but the most important is to retrieve our car from Charleston. Pete was able to book a flight that was cheaper than renting a car for the trip. He heads out to BWI early Monday. Our lists are made and we hope to check a lot off before we head south in the fall!

Stay cool and have a great summer!

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~     P & K