DC to Chesapeake City, ND - May 17 - 27

After leaving Washington, DC and Alexandria, VA we motored down the Potomac in windy overcast conditions. The ride was bouncy and I wanted to get a little further south to a more protected anchorage. So we went 55 miles to the Port Tobacco River. Before the Revolutionary War, Port Tobacco was the second largest port on the Potomac. Silt and the railroads caused a decline. The Potomac is very narrow here which means high current. I saw a 2 kt difference between water and boat speed (SOG). It is also famous for causing the escape to Virginia of John Wilkes Booth to be delayed. He and his conspirator David Harold tried to row a boat from an area called Dense Meadow (pictured) on the Maryland side but instead of reaching Virginia, the current carried them back into Maryland, NW of where they started.

The next day we made it to Horseshoe Bay, a beautiful peaceful anchorage in front of St. Mary's College and St. Mary's City which dates back to 1634. This was the place the Catholic settlers purchased from the Indians in 1634 (after landing at St. Clements Island) and set up the first settlement and capital in Maryland. Saint Mary's City is the fourth oldest continuously inhabited English settlement in the new world. The rebuilt city is a park that demonstrates the way this community lived from 1634 through about 1695 when the Capital moved to Annapolis. After a dinghy ride to the college boating center (pictured) we spent a day at the historical St. Mary's City and finished with a very nice meal at the St. Mary's College cafeteria.

On May 21st we left St. Mary's City and went down the Potomac and back to the Chesapeake Bay before heading north to the familiar harbors and creeks of Solomons, MD. We anchored off Mill Creek. Friday was a day to pick up our mail at the Post Office and pick up some groceries. Saturday May 23 was a nice warm day so we took the dingy back out a few miles in the Putaxant River to watch the Putuxant River Naval Air Station air show. That included stunt planes and the Blue Angels (pictured.) Kaye took the opportunity to go for a swim on the sandy beach across the Putaxant from the Air Station (see her head in the water.)

To get our batteries charged, laundry done, and borrow a car to go get a full load of groceries we stayed one night at the Calvert Marina on May 24th. Then we headed out north into the Chesapeake. Conditions deterioated during the day and we slowed down approaching Annapolis as weather was warning of servere weather and 60 mph winds north of there. I selected an anchorage that seemed well protected just a few miles north of the Naval Academy. As we motored down the Ridout Creek (pictured) I was surprised to see the boat GROWLER owned by the original publisher/editor of Passagemaker magazine the "bible" of extended cruising. The weather forecast was worse for Tuesday May 26th so we just stayed at anchor for another day. By Wednesday the conditions were much improved and we had a pleasant

trip up to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. As we entered the Canal we began to see large tows like the one pictured. They use the canal to avoid going way out around the Delmarva pensiula and can easily connect NY, NJ, and Philadelphia with Baltimore and southern VA ports.


We anchored in the Chesapeake City anchorage basin. We are now north of any previous boat trips, so this is all new ground. Tomorrow we leave for New Jersey and eventually New York. I have been studying the weather conditions, current and tide charts, marinas, and anchorages to plan our trip down the Delaware Bay, to Cape May, and out into the Atlantic to New York. This will take several days but we're having an adventure!

Washington DC

After two nights at the Alexandria City Docks we moved up river to the Capital Yacht Club. This was supposed to be close to everything but the hike to the Metro station was further than Kaye wanted and since we had been there many other times she decided to stay on the boat while I investigated some places I had never seen or at least not for the last 50 years or so. So after adding dollars on an old rf Metro card I had, I set off for the city. In 2-1/2 days (May 13-15) I saw, the Smithsonian Museum of American History, The Bureau of Engraving (where the print those $100 bills that are government is sprinkling all over the economy), the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and a walk by the capital and all the monuments along the Mall (Washington Monument to and including the Lincoln Memorial.) I forgot how much walking you have to do in DC. Even with the Metro you use up a lot of shoe leather getting around.

I was most impressed by the architecture of the Library of Congress which I don't think I had seen before. I vaguely remember in about 1957 using a map to guide my Dad through DC so we could drop off my brother at the Library of Congress where he was doing some research (probably on the Cranston family history.)

By Saturday, the forecast was for rain and I had seen enough in the city, so I got on-line and printed a ticket for the Washington National baseball game. They were playing Philadelphia Phillies and the ball park was only about 1.5 miles away - a nice 24 minute walk. Philadelphia won 8-5 and both teams had several homers. Fortunately, the rain held off until about 2 hours after the game ended so I managed to get back to the boat with groceries from the Safeway store that was on the way back from the ball park. I barely ate all afternoon because the Yacht Club sponsored a breakfast at the club every Saturday morning. For $5.00 Kaye and I had all we could eat and it was good.

Sunday May 17, dawned with a thick overcast and the wind was blowing. After filling the water tanks we headed out, turned up river on the Potomac to go by the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center, and up to Georgetown. At Georgetown there was some sort of Dragon Boat race. It appeared to be long colorful painted boats with dragon heads and tails. With this we turned and headed south past Ronald Reagan Airport, Alexandria, Mt. Vernon and left the big city behind.

Potomac River

From Yorktown we voyaged north on the Chesapeake Bay with one night anchoring in the Mill Creek of the Great Wicomico River on the Western shore of the Bay. This was close to the seafood industry center in Reedville, VA. The next night was an anchorage off the Potomac in Conoe Neck Creek of St. Clements Bay. At the mouth of St. Clements Bay is St. Clements Island which is the birthplace of Maryland. In 1634, Leonard Calvert landed with 200 Roman Catholics from England on the Ark and Dove vessels. The statigically located island was used by the British during the war of 1812 and later in the 19th century the island had a hotel, cannery, and orchards.


Our third night of anchoring was at Matawoman Creek. This was about three hours south of Alexandria City Docks, our next marina stop. On the way you pass George Washington's estate of Mt. Vernon. Alexandria is an old town and there is a lot of old and historical structures right near the City Docks. With a local free trolley covering the downtown, we were able to visit many sites. We saw the Christ Church, with early members, George Washington and Robert E. Lee, the US Patent and Trademark building with a small patent museum, and the Gatsby Tavern which G.Washington used. We also came back to eat at the Tavern and enjoyed a great meal of good american food.

Yorktown

We had not planned to go to Yorktown but a fellow Great Looper and Power Squadron Member Rick Johnson, recommended Yorktown as a great place to visit. So we took his recommendation and had a great time. We motored up the York River in a strong wind. Upon arriving at the Riverwalk Landing Marina we felt safe particualarly since we were surrounded by the Coast Guard as the picture shows. As we found out later, near by is the largest Coast Guards training center in the nation, and these boats were being used to train Coxwain's (I think?) The trainers were mostly retired Coast Guards hired as contractors. During the four days we were there we witnessed man overboard drills and docking and towing various ways. The docking at the docks can be difficult since current in the York River can be a knot or more against you. The twin engine boats could be maneuvered preciously in the right hands.



The old town of Yorktown has a modern waterfront (replaced after a flood a few years ago.) There are numerous shops, some great restaurants and the Yorktown Battle parks. A free shuttle trolley takes you around downtown, to the Battlefield, historical buildings, and the Yorktown History Center. There was also an interesting Waterman's Museum that presented the history of the Waterman of Virginia. Rain intruded several times during our stay but did not keep us form getting out to see the sights.





The dockmasters were retired Coast Guard veterns. Mike was also knowledgeable about bicycles. He told me that Yorktown is the Eastern termus of the Trans America bicycle trail that goes all the way to Oregon. A couple from Alaska showed up to start their trek and I took their picture. There bikes were custom with titanium frames from Tennessee (that screw together). They shipped to bikes from Alaska folded up in a box.

Leaving Hampton May 5

Before we left the marina on Monday May 5, we motored over to a Tee-dock to get a pump out. That had to be my single worst docking job in the last two years. The wind and current were both working against us, Kaye missed getting a spring line around a piling and I should have docked into the wind and current. It took three docking tries to get tied up and on one we came perilously close to hitting another boat. Not our finest action. To top off the day, after leaving Hampton and heading north on the Chesapeake Bay we hit confused seas with a predominate beam sea and we both got seasick. Kaye was sick and I felt bad so about 1300 we headed for an anchorage. In two years of boating Kaye had never gotten sick and I hadn't since one day in the Gulf of Mexico on Higher Ground right after we bought the boat. So while the waves really weren't that rough this was an unusual situation. We went up Poquoson River and anchored in Chrisman Creek and had a fairly quiet night. The next morning dawned peacefully, and as the picture shows the water on the creek was almost smooth.

Hampton May 4

Early Monday morning, an old acquaintance, John Quarstein, picked me up for a tour of "Big Bethel". I first met John, a renowned Civil War historian, when I invited him to speak at the Pender Civil War Roundtable several years ago. He has been back 2-3 times to speak and I went on two of his battlefield tours a few years ago. Big Bethel was the location of the first land battle of the Civil War (June 10 1861), which resulted in the mortal wounding of Pvt. Henry Wyatt, who was from Tarboro, NC our hometown. This event started the famous North Carolina boast "First at Big Bethel, farthest at Gettysburg, and last at Appomattox." Most of the battlefield is covered by housing developments, a reservoir, or Langley recreation facility, so there wasn't much to see except the monument to Wyatt and the general terrain. Afterwards we had breakfast and learned more about John's efforts with the preservation of Fortress Monroe, his Maryland farm, and his collection of decoys (many of which were displayed in the Hampton History museum.)

Hampton May 2 - 3

We walked to the Virginia Air and Space Museum connected with the NASA office at nearby Langley Air Force Base. The museum had brought in a NASA astronaut along with displays of space suits and space food. This and the airplanes on display made for an interesting afternoon. There was a restored old carousel across the street from the Space Center and Kaye wanted a ride. We were the only ones there but the "horses" didn't complain. Sunday morning, we went to the Hampton Methodist Church for the 11:00 service. In the afternoon we got out the folding bike and Kaye's electric scooter to go buy some groceries and medicine at the local Rite Aid. We dodged rain storms twice by hiding under building overhangs, but made it back to the boat relatively dry.

Hampton - May 1

We have been to the Hampton Roads areas several times, but we had never spent any time in Hampton. So for several reasons, we decided to go to the Hampton City Docks and stayed from May 1 to May 4. The City Docks are up the Hampton River past several other marinas. It was easy walking distance to the old downtown. We strolled Queen street in old downtown Hampton that has numerous shops and restaurants. On Saturday nights they shut down the street and had a band playing. That Saturday it was a Salsa band.

Motoring North in North Carolina

After leaving from Washington on April 28 we motored out the Pamlico River in perfect calm conditions. The wind and current were so calm that I was able to do some speed runs 180 degrees apart to reset the hull mounted speedwheel correction factor and do an Auto Learn run for my Raymarine autopilot. This got the boat heading and COG in sync and the autopilot working much better. With the late start we just went up to a favorite anchorage at Pungo River Marker G 23 just NW of the entrance to the Aligator River - Pungo River Canal.

On April 29th, the Canal conditions were nice and the Albermarle Sound conditions were about as good as could be expected. A few things fell off the desks and counters but mostly we were able to head away from the wind for a relatively good ride. We reached another favorite anchorage south of Buck Island just off the ICW at marker G 157. This is about 5-6 miles south of Coinjock. The wind blew a little that night but I was extremely pleased with my brand new Ultra 27 kg anchor. This was the third night of use since I installed it at the Core Creek Boatyard. The Ultra is a plow type anchor with a weighted sharp tip that seems to dig in and set quickly. The anchor is a little expensive, but will be worth it if it continues to give quick sets and peace of mind on windy nights.


On April 30, we rose at 0600 to get to the Norfolk bridges as early as possible. It was practically a traffic jam at Coinjock as two other large boats left the Coinjock marina heading north just as we come through. We sort of sorted ourselves out by speed with me giving the right of way to the large planning boat, while the motorsailer fell in behind me. The Albermarle and Chesapeake canal was not as busy as I expected so we made good time. A stop at the Atlantic Yacht basin to fill our tanks with nearly 200 gallons of diesel cost $1.84 per gallon. We therefore missed the first hourly Great Bridge opening opportunity, but made good time through the rest of the locks and bridges. We struck up a radio conversation with a fellow from New England in a Nordic Tug 37. Right at the Tidewater Yacht Marina the boat engine started cutting out and the gauges went to zero. This was the third or forth time this has happened due to low start battery voltage. The previous cause was a blow fuses on the Duo Charge circuit that sends charge current to the start battery. I scurried down into the engine room with a fuse but this was not the problem. Apparently, with too many hours of idle speed running, the alternator wasn't supplying enough current to feed the house bank AND the starter battery. Particularly since this Cummins C-E engine has intake air heaters that may take 50 amps just by themselves. Some boaters have installed a cut off switch to cut off this huge current draw when the heaters aren't needed. Running the engine at higher RPM keep enough current going the the batteries to get us up to a quiet anchorage up Lafayette River on the northside of Norfolk.


On the Elizabeth River the 37' Nordic Tug called us asking where we were staying. A friend of his traveling with him asked it they could follow us to our anchorage. So we led them to the Lafayette River. After anchoring I got the dinghy down for the first time since last November and after several pulls started the 9.9 hp Mercury and did a quick trip up and back on the Lafayette River. I stopped to talk to the folks that followed us and met Carl and Jeannie who are traveling up to Maine. They are Power Squadron members from Columbia, SC.


Kendall

Preparing to Leave Washington, NC

Higher Ground reached Washington on Friday April 24th. Then Kaye picked up Reg Holden and me to take us back to Tarboro to finish the final steps of preparing the house for sale and to get another car load of supplies and personal items to bring onto the boat. Saturday April 25th we hosted a "Bon Voyage" and our 40th Wedding Anniversary "Open House" at the boat on the Washington City Docks. We hosted some Rocky Mount Power Squadron members including the Paynes, Bosharts, Bocks, and our Tarboro friends the Newsoms. Chris Payne performed a Vessel Safety Check to make sure my boat and dinghy were safe and ready.





Sunday was another loading day, but it had an unusual twist! As I was opening up the pilothouse door sliding windows for air flow the port side door window fell out on the side deck of the boat and into the water. Feeling adventuresome I donned my swim suit, brand new snorkle mask, snorkle, and fins and attempted to dive down in about 10 feet of dark cold Tar River water to rescue my window. Two dives to the bottom yielded nothing but the realization that there are big 12"+ rocks down below and that I am not able to hold my breath very long any more (particularly in cold water.) So the Dockmaster gave us the name of a professional diver, "Catfish" Younce who lives in Belhaven. He came in an hour and after hooking up to his "pro" equipment he came up with not a window but critical parts of our window (the top latch and bottom frame). Apparently the tempered glass shattered when it hit the rocks 10 feet down. The Holy Spirit works in marvelous ways because a couple hours later Kaye was talking to a lady, Brandi, on our dock and whose husband, Randy, works for a glass local company. By Monday afternoon, he had come out, measured the door glass door, cut and polished a piece of tinted glass and installed it in our door. Problem solved, although my wallet was a little lighter.





We finished our final house closing tasks on Monday April 27th. We loaded the van with boxes and with the generous help of Cathy Payne headed to the boat about 1630. After several trips from the van to the boat we had all our possessions loaded but not put away. Boxes filled the guest cabin bed and the main salon. The engine room was full of spares and tools. The boat was now at least two inches lower in the water. Cathy wished us safe travels and drove the van back to our house leaving us to our re-packing. Thanks to her for helping us get the van back home in our drive way and thanks to all that offered to help in any way they could. Tuesday April 28th, was a beautiful warm North Carolina day. After a quick cleaning outside and a picture with the Rocky Mount Power Squadron Burgee and America's Great Loop Cruising Association Burgee, at 1100 we removed the power cord, loosened the lines, and turned east to start our adventure.

Kendall

Pre-trip Haul Out

Our journey really began with a haul out to compound and wax the hull, paint the bottom, and complete some other maintenance work. This was all completed at Core Creek Boatyard mostly by me and Higher Ground was put back in the water on April 23 to start the journey up to Washington, NC to provision and load the boat with things we will need for the next few years. The trip to Washington was with my friend Reg Holden on board. His help on this short trip and other projects have been critical and we carry several accessories that Reg made for us. Thanks Reg!

Kendall