September 16--29, 2015 Chesapeake Bay:anchors & Deltaville, VA

We continue cruising south in the Chesapeake Bay.  The Bay has many nooks & crannies up small tributaries where there is an abundance of good anchorages.  We found a really nice anchorage on the Choptank River tucked into Bench Creek.  We were the only boat anchored but we did have the nearby company each day of 2 fishing boats, crabbing back & forth.  It's like pacing but in a boat over the same area many times.  They do this slowly so they were not making a wake.  It was a pretty spot with big trees & a nearby Osprey nest.  Our second day there, we took the dinghy to the nearby town of St Michael's, MD.  It's a great boater friendly town.  The Main drag is very close to the Marina's and there is a good choice of restaurants & shops.  We tied our dinghy up to a small Crap/fishing boat dock in a park that had a great paved walking trail.

The next day we were planning on stopping in the Solomon's to get some good priced diesel and then anchoring somewhere around there but the forecast for the next few days called for strong winds and today was a gloriously clear, calm, warm day so we took advantage & kept on cruising.  We drove from the bridge where we could watch the multiple small schools of fish skittering across the water causing silvery flashes & large circles of turbulent water.  The Pelicans were feasting on a few of these schools.  We anchored in Mill Creek, VA in a beautiful spot with a meandering river that had many interesting nooks.  There were a few homes tucked back along the shore and a farm where we were anchored.  The Farmer was out late that evening working the field.  We took the dinghy for a cocktail exploration cruise and enjoyed the scenery.  We really were hoping to stay longer but the forecast continued for strong winds to begin the next day and stick around and we needed to be in Deltaville, VA on Monday the 21st to be hauled out.

So on September 20, we enjoyed another nice cruise & decided to anchor just past the Deltaville Marina & BoatYard. We were looking forward to reconnecting with our buddy boat Waterford.  Garry & Jacque were docked in Deltaville @ Dozier's and this had been the plan after being separated for the last 4 months to get back to cruising together here in Deltaville.

On Monday morning, Sept 21st, we pulled up to the pump-out dock, spoke with Jacqui the harbormaster and next thing we knew we were in the lift & Day Dreams was hauled out of the water. We planned to have the hull & bottom worked on. Washed, waxed, new zincs where needed, the crustaceans & fuzz scraped off and her bottom painted.  Just as Day Dreams was getting set on hard ground, Garry & Jacque rode up on their bikes.  A very happy reunion with hugs all around.  It was great to see them.  Last we saw them was in Washington DC in May.  

cleaned & polished

Now painted

Day Dreams stayed out of the water for 3 days, while the DYB guys worked on her.  We stayed onboard, where else would we go, right? Garry & Jacque picked us up with Dozier's courtesy car and took us back to Waterford one evening to enjoy a delicious dinner & dessert prepared by Jacque for a belated birthday celebration honoring Garry & Doug.  We met Deanna & Clayton on Tivoli, friends of Waterford.

On Thursday, we were launched back into the water and the winds picked up again.  This time a Nor-Easter.  Back in the Great Lakes, we had a saying about northeast winds, that once they came, they would stick around for 3 days.  Well here, they stick around for way longer than that! We anchored for 2 nights, then moved into a dock because the winds were even getting stronger with gusts over 30mph.  We did enjoy a great dinner out with Waterford, Texas Ranger (another KK) and Tivoli @ Eckhart's Restaurant.  Everyone was very happy with their meal.

Watching the cool Super Moon
& eclipse

On Monday Sept. 28 we moved a whopping 6 miles over to Dozier's Marina where Waterford was docked.  During that short cruise, I was rewarded with seeing a playful dolphin jump completely out of the water right next to our boat-what a thrill! We had a nice day visiting & shopping, cocktails on the porch with fellow boaters and a campfire with Garry & Jacque to end our visit.

Finally, more than a week after arriving in Deltaville, we are able to move on but sadly without Waterford.  Garry & Jacque have to wait around for a repair of their stabilizer with complications. The plan is for them to meet up with us in a day or two.

Sept 7-16, New York & Atlantic Cities & The Chesapeake Bay

The United Nations 

We didn't stop in NYC,  just did a drive by.  It always impresses-what a beautiful skyline! Didn't hurt that we had picture perfect weather; deep blue sky & lots of sun! Doug again did a super job of planning so we sailed through Hell Gate without difficulty yet with a lot of speed and whirlpools & eddies. We cruised through the East River on Monday of Labor Day and it was fairly quiet, not many ferries, work boats or pleasure crafts.  It may also have been quieter because we left before sunrise, not my favorite time of day!

Barnegat Light

We cruised into the Atlantic Ocean after exiting the Hudson River.  The winds picked up as the day progressed so our calm Ocean became a bit bouncy after a while.  We took a lot of salt water over the bow, which ends up crystallizing on every part of the boat.  We anchored in Barnegat Inlet, arriving just before cocktail hour.  Shortly after getting settled, we were visited by a dinghy filled with four friendly boaters from the area, who were interested in our Kadey Krogen.  We often have interested, inquisitive visitors stop by.  Our Krogen is definitely a head turner.  A shout out & thanks to Jennifer of Kadey-Krogen Yachts for the nice comments regarding our blog and photos in this month's NAVAID.

Convention Center

Atlantic City skyline

Back out into the ocean the next day and again we saw the sun rise.  I much prefer sunsets, thank you very much.  Our cruise was very comfortable today, 1-2 footers.  We arrived in Atlantic City and decided to splurge and dock in the State Marina which is affiliated with the Golden Nugget Casino. Golden Nugget took ownership & management of the Marina about 5-6 years ago from Trump.  The Marina is in good shape with competent staff.  The Hotel has a nice pool with couches, hot tubs, fire pits and bar up on the 6th floor roof that is included with your dockage.  In the late afternoon, we took advantage of the shuttle bus and visited Caesars Casino and partook of Chris Ruth's Happy Hour.  Of course, we had to hit the slots with winning some & losing more.

Another beautiful day in the ocean with warm breezes and calm water.  We anchored in Cape May, out in front of the Coast Guard Training Center.  Those poor trainees, we heard them chanting well after 8:00 PM.  Although, chanting doesn't necessarily mean they are working out does it?

Out of the ocean today and across Delaware Bay.  A large body of water and we are lucky because it is calm on this day.  Into the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.  It is raining on & off, but we are comfy cozy in our dry, warm pilot house.  We anchored in Chesapeake City as we did in the spring.  It is a small anchorage & we have been lucky both times that there was only one other boat.  The town is cute & the waterfront bar/restaurant looks like fun but we didn't leave the boat mostly due to the frequent rain.

Happy Birthday Doug, what a gift!

We finished crossing the C&D canal and anchored in the Sassafras River.  A pretty anchorage, quiet until a Crappy, Crab/fishing boat waked us so badly that it knocked one of our framed pictures off a counter!

one of many Duck Blinds

September 12-Happy Birthday Doug! I even baked him a cake! We are officially in the Chesapeake Bay area.  We cruised to Rock Hall and took a mooring with Swan Creek Marina, a new stop for us. It's a rainy day, but that's ok because I planned on cooking Doug a nice dinner with Birthday cake for dessert.  The next day, we walked a couple of miles into and around town.  They had some nice gift shops, coffee shop & restaurants to choose from.  We enjoyed a delicious late lunch @ the Harborshack on the water.

WE agree!

After spending three days in Rock Hall, we cruised across the Bay to Pasadena and docked @ Pleasure Cove.  Hmmm, sounds kinda kinky but luckily it wasn't.  Pleasure Cove is a small marina with a big boat storage facility.  There is a Huge yellow & white new metal building which holds many large yachts.  There is also a bar/restaurant: Chesire Crab on site adjacent to the pool & hot tub.   We stayed there 2 nights because Doug wanted to visit the "largest RV show in America" and this was the closest place to dock and rent a car.  The show took place @ Hershey Park in Hershey, PA.  It was a 2.5 hour drive from Pasadena MD.

We spent a day @ the RV show returning that evening to the boat.  There certainly was a lot to look at & it was a tad overwhelming.  Of course, we liked the high end RV's the best.  Borne Free, Class C & Freightliner, Class Super C, were our favs. We did make sure we stopped @ the Hershey store & stocked up on chocolate before we left town.

Got to have a Car Hauler & workshop

I could live in this maybe, someday maybe?

August 29-Sept 6, Mystic CT, Fisher Island, NY, & more

Morgan Point Lighthouse

Our friends Pat & Chris from Albany, NY were hoping to meet up with us somewhere in New England and we finally succeeded in Mystic CT.  Pat & Chris brought their camper & stayed in a campground & we stayed in the Brewer Marina, which was complimentary since we were given a Gold Card while mooring @ a Brewer facility in Salem.  We feel very fortunate to have been given this card.  Thank you Harbor Cove.  The town of Mystic is quite touristy, with many shops & restaurants along the bank of the Mystic River.  The biggest tourist attraction is the the Mystic Seaport.

When Pat & Chris arrived, we walked around town to explore and watch the drawbridge & the people.  We also walked to a bustling fun restaurant for dinner: Red 46 not too far from the marina right on the water.

On the second day, the four of us took the dinghy up the Mystic River under the drawbridge, to the Mystic Seaport located along the eastern shore.  The Seaport is called a museum but actually is a full  scale version of a 19th century seafaring village with historical buildings & ships.  We boarded the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world.  A working preservation shipyard is also on site which we toured & saw where they totally restored the Morgan.  The whaling museum was interesting, very informative & well done.  Mystic boasts that this Seaport is "the largest maritime museum in the world".  We enjoyed a delicious late lunch in their tavern.

Later in the day, Pat & Chris took us out to their nearby campsite.  We walked the campground in awe of some of these big rigs they call RV's, which Doug is interested in for our next phase of our ongoing adventure.  Pat & Chris then treated us to one of my favorite things: a campfire along with a small buffet of healthy snacks & of course S'mores.  A great end to a perfect visit with 2 of our old friends who we hope to see more of after Pat retires next spring.

Monday morning, Pat & Chris headed home and we cruised into Long Island Sound landing @ Fisher Island, NY for the first time.  Fisher Island is closer to Connecticut and in the distant past it was claimed by Connecticut but some politician became angry with another and gave the Island to New York.  We enjoyed a quiet peaceful solitary night.

Saybrook Breakwater Light

Lynde Point Light

Basically, we are on our route back south, so we are not sightseeing too much now. We still are attempting to stop at locations that are new to us.  Leaving Fisher Island, we cruised back in the direction of Connecticut and headed up the Connecticut River.  We stopped @ another Brewer Marina: Ferry Point Marina in Old Saybrook CT.  We used our Gold Card again-love it, even electric is comped.  This is a nice working Marina, which doesn't see too many transients.  It was very quiet, not many people on their boats, just workers bustling around.  We borrowed the GM's pick-up to re-provision @ the local grocery store.  Again, people are so nice.  There was a pool & we did dangle our feet in.  A unique feature was the outdoor shower built on the cute office right next to our boat.  We both used & enjoyed it, even with hot water.  The Marina did have nice bathroom/shower facilities but we preferred the outside shower.

The next morning, our friendly fog had returned so we delayed our departure.  Once the fog cleared, we headed north across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, New York, not a new stop for us.  When we visited in early summer, we had anchored on the border of a large empty mooring field.  While we were anchored, the mooring field remained unused.  This visit, since we are so much more worldly & experienced, we chose to snag an empty mooring.  We enjoyed a quiet free night.

Old Field Point Light

 Our next stop, still cruising Long Island Sound, is another new location for us: Oyster Bay Harbor, NY.  We saw many small boats scattered in & around the harbor as we drew close.  It was very hot, actually almost hit 100 degrees, so many of these boats were sporting golf umbrella's over the occupant's heads.  These boats were raking for oysters using long handled rakes in 15-20 feet of water.  It looked like it took a lot of physical exertion to complete this task.  Once we were anchored, we saw a commercial oyster boat, much bigger using a much more sophisticated method.  We took the dinghy exploring & to cool off.  There were many racing sailboats moored here because of The Waterfront Center, which is a non-profit center for marine education & a sailing school.  We also noticed many big beautiful homes scattered along the shore.  One especially stood out, located on a point in the harbor, was a big, brick sprawling mansion with many out buildings and a big boat house with a small yacht called Alexa.  We have since found out, this place & yacht is Billy Joel's main residence. The yacht is named after his daughter. He also has a motorcycle shop in Oyster Bay but we didn't find out any of this till we had left-darn & I didn't take any pics! I have also found out that Theodore Roosevelt lived & is buried in Oyster Bay-who knew that this little hamlet was so famous?

Execution Rocks Light

Had one of our roughest (2-4's) rides in awhile cruising northwest on Long Island Sound.  The Sound runs east to west, and there are times you can't see land, so it's bigger than one thinks.  After passing Execution rocks, we docked in Port Washington, NY for our last 3 free nights @ a Brewer Marina. Capri West Marina with nice wide docks & slips, a great Harbormaster, Steve and many beautiful lush flowers.  There were even fresh cut roses in the Ladies room.  We biked to West Marine, Salvatore's Pizza, the grocery store & the cinema.  We hadn't been to a movie theater since March, so we hit the matinee like the old retired folks we are and watched Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.  It was action packed with some pretty unbelievable stunts.  The town is not bike friendly, we had to use the sidewalks quite a bit for safety.  We invited our dock neighbors: Ed & Diane over for cocktails & to share some of our experience with them regarding the ICW, because they will be traveling south on their M/V Coastal for the first time.

August 25-28, Newport, RI & Stonington CT

Fort Adam

Newport Bridge

Castle Hill Light

We were blessed with some fog on & off again, missing more beautiful New England scenery.  We did get glimpses of lighthouses and the Newport Bridge on our way into Newport Harbor. We picked up a mooring, which there are hundreds of filled with all different sized boats & yachts.  We haven't seen this many Mega-Yachts since we had chartered a sailboat in St Bart's.  We moored on the fringe of the field near the anchorage, by choice.  We try not to be in the center of the hubbub and we like to use our dinghy.  After getting settled and paying for our mooring, we took the dinghy around the harbor to drool at all the boats.

We planned on staying a few days because many people had recommended the town & sights.  Touring the 5 of the 10 Mansions, took us 2 days and we were glad we had the time.  We have never seen such opulence with the use of so many high end materials along with the fine architecture, artistry & workmanship.  The stories that revolve around these mansions are enthralling.  The Gilded Age of the late 1800's into the very early 1900's didn't last too long but the Astors, Vanderbilts, Bancrofts, Oerlichs & Wetmores sure played hard and spent money like it was water-I would have loved to live back then.  It is said they would spend $300,000 on one party.  Many of these Mansions were only used as "summer cottages" for about 6 weeks a year.  As time passed and war began along with mandatory taxation, some of these Mansions were neglected and some abandoned eventually.  In 1945, a few members of the community, founded The Preservation Society and saved these historical masterpieces from demolition.  Today, The Preservation Society has celebrated it's 70th Anniversary and continues to protect & preserve these legacies. They do not allow the use of cameras inside the mansions, so my interior pics are from a book.

The Marble House is 136,000 square feet, cost William Vanderbilt, railroad baron & creator of the NY Central Railroad, $11 million to build in 1892 of which $7 million was spent on the 500,000 cubic feet of exquisite marble. That is $270 million in today's dollars.

The Tea house in the Backyard

Larry Ellis of Oracle has purchased
the Astor's Mansion

We also enjoyed biking around the waterfront.  Newport has many shops & restaurants.  We found some charming lunch spots off the beaten path.  The Cliff walk is a 3.5 mile walk along the coastline, some paved, some boulders (so no bikes) and some a dirt path but quite easy to follow.  We did enjoy our stay in Newport, Rhode Island.

Next stop a much quieter, less populated spot: the village of Stonington, CT.  We enjoyed clear blue skies on our cruise to Stonington, so we actually saw some pretty sights along the way.  We snagged a mooring managed by Dobson's Marina.  We took the dinghy in and walked the town of beautifully restored historical homes from the 1700's.  The village is located on a small peninsula which has a great view & nice beach at the tip.

 Three lighthouses we saw on our cruise from Newport, RI to Stonington, CT without fog!

Beaver Tail Point Lighthouse

Point Judith

Watch Hill Lighthouse