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! 

Don't Fear The Fear River

 Made 32 miles today, about 10 of it up the Cape Fear River, and it was great. Waves and wind cooperated nicely and made for a wonderful cruise to Bridge Tender Marina. It is located in Wrightsville Beach but very close, almost part of, Wilmington North Carolina. Seems like a fun place, great beaches and water activities.

And the water is pretty again! Light green and clear. No more brackish alligator water!

Plan to shoot right through the Eastwood Road draw bridge and be on our way around 7:00 in the morning.

Sweet North Carolina!

 Passed into another state on Sunday! Planned to stay just one night here in Southport NC at St. James Plantation Marina but got rained out today so staying put tonight as well. Will depart Tuesday morning for Wrightsville Beach docking at Bridge Tender Marina. Our trip tomorrow will take us out on the Cape Fear River for about 10 miles! Yikes! 

Made it through the infamous "rock pile" on the way to Southport. It is a very narrow channel that is about 3 miles long lined with hard jagged rocks on both sides. If you get out of the channel in this little jaunt things could go much worse than a soft landing in sand and mud. If you meet commercial traffic you have to turn around, go back out and then try again. We followed a boat that announced the entry of both our boats and made it through in good shape. Whew!

Side note: The boat we followed through the rock pile was very nice, very experienced and was glad to lead us through. About 15 minutes after we got through the rock pile he stopped within site of a swing bridge. We almost formed up on his stern to follow him through the opened and waiting bridge. Then we heard the lock master asked what he was doing... like "what's the delay?" The boat grounded and was calling Sea Tow as we passed by! Very sad.

Beautiful Sunrise Cruise into North Carolina!

Moving North - Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

 Repairs and preventative maintenance were completed in Bucksport so we made a short 30 miles and arrived at the Myrle Beach Yacht Club on Thursday June 24th. The boat ran well and the crew was extremely relieved! It is a great marina, tons of boats, a pool, a restaurant. So we extended another day. Leaving here on Sunday morning on our way to St James Plantation Marina. 

MBYC

Great Place!

Want to see our plan for this week?

Bucksport Marina and a Wedding

 Pulled into Bucksport Marina about around noon on Thursday June 3. A whole 24 hours before our flight to LA to Ryan's wedding. This time of year with so many boats heading north it was hard to find a marina that had space for 3 or 4 weeks while we went to the wedding and returned. The people at Bucksport were life savers. They not only had space but they provided a ride to the airport and picked us up on our return, hour and a half round trip. Bucksport is in Conway SC, pretty far out in the country. 

Bucksport Marina at Night

"the Bles-sing!" on the Facedock

Round 2 with the CAT Techs

Problem Solved - Bad Fuel Pressure Switch on Port Engine

As you can see Captain was a big help.

The Wedding Was Wonderful!

Ryan and Madison Brooks

A bit more about Georgetown SC

 What a great place. Great restaurants, great people, tree-lined streets with cool houses. The people that ran the marina could not have been nicer. Georgetown was hosting a blue marlin tournament over memorial weekend while we there so there was plenty happening. Great tournament... 44 marlins caught by these million dollar sportfishing boats, 72 total boats entered tournament. Quick story... the winning boat had a person on board that didn't have a fishing license, I'm sure they weren't fishing. Probably the owner's grandmother or something. Still, no bueno. That means the boat forfeited its $100,000 prize money! Talked to the locals and they said it happens every year, wow.

Georgetown - 3rd Oldest City in South Carolina

Georgetown Boardwalk

Ut oh - what was that?

 Great night in the marsh. Early to rise and headed to Georgetown on Thursday May 27th. Made 20 miles, cruising along when we came up on a little river town and had to slow down in 12 feet of water. Didn't make sense when it felt like we were hitting bottom, the boat shaking all over. Pulled back the throttles and it went away. Throttled up and it returned... oh boy. Limped the rest of the way to Hazzard Marine. Trying to net this out:

• dock consensus including some very salty people was that we picked up a crab pot
• stroke of luck that our marina had a lift
• hauled the boat next morning, swear we all heard drum rolls as "the Bles-sing!" rose from the water
• waant wah... nothing, clean as a whistle, props, bearings, shafts and bottom looked great. That was great but bitter sweet as the problem was elsewhere. That means next stop is the engine room.
• Captain with a blown transmission was tied off in front of us (great guy) getting a new tranny from Caterpillar technicians!
• another stroke of good luck as we have CAT diesel engines
• new tranny installed on the Capts boat... they hopped on our boat
• turbo charger bad
• turbo charger expensive
• new turbo charger installed
• better, but still problems!
• can't stay at this marina! wedding coming! got to make a flight and the leave the boat somewhere! Oh, s@%!
• limped 28 miles to Bucksport Marina
• CAT techs coming back with another fix on Monday June 21st.

The end.

Onward to Georgetown South Carolina

 Wow. Long break from posting. A few adventures, engine problems and a trip to California for Ryan's wedding were partly responsible for the delay. The blogger's lack of motivation was mostly to blame.

So when the trail went cold we were leaving the Beaufort SC area, Port Royal, on Wednesday May 26th headed to Hazzard Marine in Georgetown SC. Made it through Charleston Bay to a wonderful anchorage off of the AICW in a big marsh at Dewees Creek. From a distance I'm sure it looked like we were high and dry among the swamp grass but we were safe at a peaceful anchorage in 20 feet of water, at low tide. It was a very long day as we went 85 miles in 10 hours. Rumor has it that the crew was in bed before sunset. The generator 's humming lulled us to sleep while our onboard AC provided the miracle of cool air in the middle of BF South Carolina. 

Dewees Creek Anchorage

Sunset in the Marsh

South Carolina!

 Crossed into another state on Saturday and have enjoyed our stay at Port Royal in the Beaufort, SC area. The cruise up from Isle Of Hope was great, very pretty. We saw Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island off our starboard in the distance. The winds have died down a little but the currents remain very strong. We are learning how to play the tides and try to dock at "slack tide" to minimize the effect of the current. Sections of the AICW are still very shallow. We hit ground in the middle of the channel on Saturday. Dang it!

Our plan is to cruise through Charleston Harbor and head to an anchorage on the way to Georgetown on Wednesday.

Great little restaurant at the marina...

Harbour Town in the distance... you can barely make out the red and white lighthouse.

Visiting Friends

 Had a great time touring Savannah with our friends from back home, Martie and Doug. We took a trolley tour and walked all around the town hitting a few restaurants and famous sites along the way. Savannah is rich in history from both revolutionary and civil wars.

Made a quick visit to the beach on Tybee Island too.

Several films have been set in Savannah including "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". The Bonaventure Cemetery was featured in it.

 Forrest Gump  sat on a bus stop bench in Chippewa Square as he famously observed that "life is like a box of chocolates." The actual bench is on display in a nearby museum.

Ise Of Hope Marina - Savannah GA

 On Saturday we cruised 30 miles up the AICW to Ise Of Hope Marina in Savannah and had a wonderful day. Completely different than the day before. A big cruiser passed us going way too fast and throwing a huge wake in a narrow part of the channel as we entered Savannah. In a tortoise vs. hair turn of events, however, we ended up passing  him while one of Georgia's finest was ticketing him for his wake in a no wake zone. We smiled and waved as we passed. 

We will stay here for two weeks. Very, very pretty here and looking forward to exploring the area.

The Atlantic Intra Coastal Waterway has many different types of water. Sometimes you are in wide-open sounds that make you think you are in the ocean and then a few miles later you are in a ditch that, especially at low tide, seems too narrow to navigate.