Exploring Baltimore

We have ventured out and around our temporary home the last few days and found so many cool things. We hit the local farmers market this morning about 1 mile away and walked along the inner harbor promenade the whole way to the Fells Point neighborhood. Great strolling path with tons of people walking and running. There is also a water taxi to Ft McHenry ... going to try that soon. The Safeway that we can almost see from the boat is really nice. Have already met new boating friends.  Trying to pace ourselves on eating out but crab cakes are in our future soon!

Fell Point is a terrific waterside part of town with restaurants and bars.

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Still enjoy seeing all the big ships and different scenery.

"the Bles-sing!" in Baltimore

 Arrived at the Anchorage Marina very early yesterday, about 9:30 am and were tied off in our slip for the next 9 or 10 months by 10:00. It is a very big marina with over 500 slips located in the inner harbor area of Baltimore. The facilities are great, the staff is very helpful and we can walk to restaurants, a grocery store and West Marine. There is a pool, scheduled events, live music and boater get togethers. Happy to be here!

We passed Fort McHenry on our port just before going under the Francis Scott Key Bridge. You can see downtown Baltimore in the haze.

A bit of history about the area and the War of 1812 from online...

... on September 13, 1814, Baltimore’s Fort McHenry withstood 25 hours of bombardment by the British Navy. The following morning, the fort’s soldiers hoisted an enormous American flag, a sight that inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem that would later be set to music and become known as  “The Star-Spangled Banner.” 

Sunset On The Bay

 Tomorrow we will make our final cruise for 2021 into Baltimore. The Anchorage Marina will be our stopping point for the winter. We have a long list of repairs and winterizing to get done.

The Bay Bridge from Stevensville to Annapolis

"the Bles-sing!" at Bay Bridge Marina

Hard to see but her twin sister is in the slip next to us. Met the owners who are very nice people and produce an online forum about Silverton boats. Got a ton of great tips and pointers about our boat from them!

Another Great Day on Chesapeake Bay

 Got an early start on our 55 mile cruise yesterday and arrived at Bay Bridge Marina in Stevensville Maryland about 12:30. Conditions were very nice and we enjoyed a smooth ride. 

Best Boat Name We Saw All Day: Rated Arrrrr! Couldn't resist talking to this boat by VHS and found out that the dinghy is named Little Booty.

Wound the "girls" up to about 2,000 RPM doing about 14 mph for a few minutes like I've been told to do. The girls get thirsty working that hard and suck down about 32 gallons of diesel per hour so we did not keep it up for very long! 

Great marina with a pool and fingers on both sides of the boat which we haven't seen in a long time. Stevensville is across the bay from Annapolis. 

We are finding that most of the marinas around here have pools, which is nice!

Saw this big girl tied up to a structure out in the bay. Evidently it off loads through an underground tunnel or pipeline.

 

Made it to Maryland

 "the Bles-sing!" cruised 65 miles on smooth waters in the Chesapeake Bay to Spring Cove Marina in Solomons MD yesterday. We saw lighthouses, a naval ship, tugs, big cruisers and cargo ships as we moved along at 11 mph on autopilot in deep water. Pretty stress free after making it through GA and SC in the ditch.

The crew enjoyed the marina pool and a dinner of crab cakes and soft shelled crabs at the Lighthouse Restaurant and Grill over looking the water.

Left Deltaville VA at sunrise. 

Part of Solomons is an Island. Interesting old town.

Navy vessel of some kind. Stay away! 

Lighthouse in Chesapeake Bay.

Share the waters with these big boys... just get out of the way. You can see them coming about 10 miles out so plenty of time to get over. Our AIS (Automatic Identification System) helps too.

Up The Chesapeake

 Spent about 5 hours out on Chesapeake Bay yesterday cruising up to Deltaville VA to the beautiful Regatta Point Yachting Center. On the way we had to drive over the top of several cars. Yep, sure did. Passed right over several that were in the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT).

"The HRBT tunnel holds a place as an engineering milestone: the world's first underwater tunnel connected to man-made islands. ... The original HRBT opening in 1957 replaced vehicular ferries that operated between Norfolk on the southside, and Newport News and Hampton on the Peninsula."

We had a great weather day. Wind and waves were minimal which made for one of the easiest cruises we have made lately. Just put her on autopilot and let it go!

A view of "the Bles-sing!" from the pool.

Norfolk and Portsmouth

 The scenery has changed dramatically. We have gone from seeing nothing but marshes, narrow canals and open water and few boats to a working port with busy traffic, huge commercial vessels and all kinds of Navy ships. The scale of everything is huge and industrial. The pictures don't do justice to what we are seeing.

Another state!

 Made it through 14 bridges (4 had to be opened for us) and one lock in our 50 mile cruise to Norfolk Virginia today. We reached mile 0 on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and have travelled all of the 1,217 miles from Key West to Norfolk on "the Bles-sing!", ending right at Tidewater Marina where we are staying for the next few days.

We travelled with two big boats today. One was a vintage Cris Craft that led the way for a portion of the trip.

Jane did a great job on both stern and 

bow lines going through the lock!

Bring On The Prime Rib!

 Because that is what Coinjock is famous for and that is where we are. If you are up for it you can order the captain's cut that is 32 ounces and looks like half a small cow. Our crew will stick to the 16 ounce and still have left overs a week. 

Made it across Albemarle Sound in great shape. 

Nice marina and great people. On to Norfolk from here.

Alligator River

 We are at Alligator River Marina on... as you would expect... the Alligator River! We will make another crossing of big water tomorrow called Albemarle Sound. Weather and waves forecast looks good. Our incentive is a meal at one of the more celebrated restaurants on the loop, Coinjocks.

Did not see many boats today. Mostly us and a bunch of water. 48 miles of it.

Elsa Hits Belhaven

 Never thought our roughest day on the water would be in a slip. That is exactly what happened yesterday. We were pounded by hurricane Elsa. 40 mph winds, 3 foot waves and rain hit "the Bles-sing!" all day. If that was just a storm, I feel bad for people that get caught in the real thing. 

We had 13 lines and 9 bumpers out and people from all over the dock and the marina staff helping us through it. They were so helpful and kind! Best marina ever!

Hunkered Down in Belhaven

 Made the 73 miles to Dowry Creek marina in 7 hours and left two big bodies of water in our wake. The Neuse River and Pamlico River/Sound can get nasty, good to get across those. The remnants of hurricane Elsa will catch up to us here bringing heavy rain today and wind gusts up to 40 mph later this evening. So, we are happy to be safely tied off in our slip for at least one more night and maybe two depending on weather.

Beaufort Bodacious Belles - Best of Parade

 Proving that age is just a number... these girls are still boot scootin after all these years!

Church, Farmers' Market, Parade, Shrimp and Fireworks

 The Perfect Small Town July 4th 

Happy 4th Of July From Beaufort NC!

 Wonderful day of cruising yesterday covering 80 miles in about 9 hours. Have not made that long of a trip in a while but we are glad to be snuggled into our slip ready to watch the city fireworks from our bow. We will miss the traditional festivities at Lake Barkley!