Tag: Chesapeake Bay

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

I would like to welcome mirmal@…. aboard as our latest virtual crew member.  Welcome aboard!

Eric here reporting on our crew’s wanderings and whereabouts in the Chesapeake Bay.

After arriving at Yorktown on Friday, May 6^th, the crew spent Saturday on the back of the sundeck listening to three different bands play the blues.  The Blues, Brews, and BBQ Festival wrapped up at 1800 so the crew went back to Ben & Jerry’s for more ice cream.  They then walked the waterfront of old Yorktown to read the historical markers along the path.  A couple of the favorites:

You can click on the pic to enlarge and read the markers.

The skipper also managed to work in a repair of that pesky ‘lower switch’ on the anchor.  He had a new switch delivered to Norfolk.  The new switch had a rubber cap to prevent water intrusion into the body of the switch.  After removing the old switch, the skipper was able to clean the spring and operating cylinder so the switch does not stick anymore.  The skipper installed the repaired switch with the new rubber cap.  We will see how long the repair holds up.  Especially since the crew will be anchoring out several nights in a row after leaving Yorktown.

The run up the Chesapeake to Smith Point was more than exciting.  The day started fairly routine with calm waters greeting the crew.  However, as the day progressed the weather worsened to the point to make this the roughest day on the water yet.  The weather report was for winds out of the northwest which should have provided protection as the crew voyaged north.  However, about 1300 it got eerily calm.  Then you could see ripples building on the water to the North.  Then the winds decided to pick up steam.  The skipper estimated the winds at 15-20 mph.  This caused some serious wave action.

At first the waves built to 2-3 feet, then 3-5 feet.  The problem with that is that every once in a while the crew got 7-10 foot waves.  In fact, water crashed over the top of the bow pulpit three times as Still Waters II cut through the waves.  That was a first for the crew.  The ships bell seemed to be ringing constantly due to the up and down movement of the boat riding over the waves.

Old Salts call this phenomena of large rogue waves the “three sisters” because the larger than average waves seem to travel in sets of threes.  The skipper could see the large waves coming and the boat took the first one pretty well.  The second sister then arrived and lifted the bow high, high, high into the sky.  The boat then crashed down in the trough between the second and third wave.  The water then came crashing over the bow.  The crew spent about 2.5 hours in this mess before the conditions began to lighten up as the crew finally approached land at Smith Point.

The other thing that happened during this period was the loss of the dinghy.  Somehow the bow of the dinghy came off of the support davit while the back of the dinghy was still on the swim platform davit.  The Admiral took the helm so the skipper could go out on the swim platform and try to rescue the dinghy.  Several times the water came about knee deep on the skipper while he clung to the swim ladder with one hand and wrestled with the dinghy with the other hand.  The bottom line is the crew lost their second dinghy.  You might recall the loss of the first dingy in the Pamlico Sound in 2015.  The skipper called the Coast Guard to report the dinghy adrift and that the seas were too bad to try and recover the dinghy.  The Coast Guard called the following day and reported that the dinghy had been spotted 16 miles down the bay from where it came off the swim platform.  So the score is now: dinghy 2, skipper 0.

After making it to Smith Point, the crew entered a narrow channel and anchored in the protected Ellyson Creek.  The crew was amazed at how calm the creek was while just outside there was still chaos.

Things went much better for our crew the next day on their run to Tilghman Island where they anchored in Dun Cove.  Other than the rain that followed them most of the day, this was an uneventful run.

With the cloud cover and rain it was hard to see much of the surrounding area.  The skipper did point out though when they passed Calvert Cliff Nuclear Power Station.  He just cannot let it go.

They did pass several old lights that have been basically abandoned in place.  These lights make for good landmarks to target while traversing the Bay.  Unlike the day markers and buoys, the lights can be seen for miles.

The crew had a peaceful night’s rest until about 0430 in the morning.  Then the Bay Watermen were out in force checking their lines and crab pots.  They kept waking the boat as they passed so the skipper went ahead and got up at 0515 to prepare for the day’s cruise.

It was an uneventful day with one surprise though.  During the mid-day engine room checks, the skipper noticed a bundle of wires had fallen and were rubbing on the port engine shaft.  The skipper made a temporary repair while underway.  Once docked the skipper made a permanent fix.  One blue twisted strand wire had worn thru the insulation and most of the twisted wires had been eaten through also.  The skipper is not sure what that little blue wire feeds, but he is glad it got fixed before something failed.

After docking at the Waterman’s Crab House, the crew walked the small town of Rock Hall down as they went to the grocery store.  Let’s just say it is not your neighborhood HEB.  But the crew did find the essentials.  The skipper got cokes and cookie dough, while the Admiral was a little more practical and got milk, cheese, and bread.  The sun did finally make a showing in the evening so the crew walked out to watch the sun set over Baltimore.

The next morning the weather was calm with little to no current so the skipper took some time to give the Admiral docking practice.  The Admiral backed the boat away from the dock and then maneuvered back to the dock where the skipper secured the boat to the pier.  They untied and shoved off again.  The Admiral then once again successfully maneuvered the boat to complete her second dock exercise.  The crew then shoved off the last time and headed to Havre de Grace in the northern reaches of the Bay.

The crew spent about 5.5 hours cruising over to Havre de Grace.  The wind was perfect for a calm day on the water.  The north end of the Chesapeake is very picturesque.  Just as the crew completed securing the vessel to the dock and getting the shore power and water hooked up, a big rain storm started.  Timing is everything.

The skipper found the history of this little town very interesting.  For starters, General Lafayette inspired the name of the town when he commented that the town reminded him of Le Havre, France.  When the town incorporated in 1785, they named the new town Havre de Grace.

Secondly, in 1789, Havre de Grace, almost became the nation’s capital.  The First Congress selected the town as the nation’s capital, but did not officially vote and make the selection binding.  During the next session of Congress, the southern states would not back the location due to it being too far north.  The southern states were now working to locate the new capital further south.

The northern states were also trying to pass a law where the Federal Government would pay off the states war debts.  The southern states had less debt than the northern states so they did not support the bill.  A compromise was finally reached where the northern states agreed to move the capital further south, and the southern states agreed to pay off portions of the northern war debt.  In 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act which sited the new capital along the Potomac River.  The Act allowed the sitting President, George Washington, to make the final selection of where on the Potomac.  Is it a wonder that George picked an area just upstream of his home at Mount Vernon?

Third, During the War of 1812, the British invaded and basically burned the town to the ground on May 3, 1813.  One man, John O’Neil, manned a cannon and began firing on the British.  The 400 British soldiers returned fire, finally landed, and captured O’Neil.  His daughter, Matilda, at the age of 15 went to the British Admiral George Cockburn and negotiated her father’s release.  The Admiral was so impressed by the young girl’s courage, he also gave her a gold snuff box.

The town rebuilt and there are now many homes still occupied that date back to the 1830’s.  There are actually two homes in town that have been occupied by the same family since they were built in the 1800’s.  They are now in the fifth generation of family ownership and occupancy.

The Lafayette Trail is a three mile, self-guided tour that takes you around 57 historical landmarks in town.  All you have to do is follow the Blue Line that is painted on the sidewalk.  You can see pics and read about all 57 stops on the trail by clicking on the Lafayette Trail Link.  If you take the virtual tour, look for the blue balloon at the top of the map, it is stop number 1.  All other balloons are red.  I invite you to review the historic buildings and post a comment on your top three.

The skipper’s top three were:

1. #1 Lock House – Home of the lock tender
2. #41 Concord Point Lighthouse – the oldest continuously operating lighthouse
3. #50 Rodger’s House -1787- oldest building in town, George Washington made several stops here in 1787 and 1795

One stop that was not on the historic trail but was the skipper’s favorite stop in town was at Bomboy’s Ice Cream and Candy Store.  They advertise, “You are what you eat, so eat sweets.”  Now that is a motto that the skipper can get behind.

On Saturday, May 14, the plan was to cross through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  Then anchor in the Salem River to wait for good weather to make the run to Cape May, N.J.  The weather forecast calls for winds near 20 mph with gusts greater than 25 for Sunday and Monday.

However, Still Waters II decided she wanted to go to Delaware City.  The starboard main engine has had a vibration issue since the boat was purchased by the crew.  They knew that eventually they would need to repair the prop and cutlass bearing.  Well the time and place is now.  Over the last three runs the vibration has become a little worse each time.

The crew has decided to have her hauled out, props reconditioned, cutlass bearings replaced, and splash back in the water on Friday, May 20.

In the mean time, the crew will do shore excursions in and around Delaware City.  The first thing the skipper learned about Delaware that he likes, is that the price you see is the price you pay.  Delaware has no sales tax.

But before fun and games can begin, the skipper needs to find a place to stay for a few days while the marina works on the boat.  Check in next week to see if the schedule holds and the splash happens on Friday so the crew can get back underway.

Till then, may the wind be at your back and the seas calm ahead.

Eric the Red

Hello fellow adventurers and virtual crew members!  Great news, we have a new virtual crew member on board, Scott from California.  Welcome aboard Scott!

Captain John Smith returning to provide my last update on the travels of our crew.  Strange things have continued to happen since the last log entry. Some amusing, some not so funny.

The crew left St Michaels and made a run over to Oxford where they continued to have electrical issues with the boat.  From Oxford they went south and anchored near Asquith Island in Paul Cove where the crew spent a restless night.  Then they fell off the face of the earth when they found themselves back in time at Tangiers Island.  The crew then headed further south to Cape Charles where they anchored in Kings Creek before heading back to Norfolk.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

When the crew left St Michaels the weather report was for winds to be out of the North/Northwest at 7 – 12 mph.  The plan was to cruise south for 39 miles over to the little town of Oxford.  The weather should have been no problem, except the weather man got it wrong.  The winds built all morning long and by early afternoon the winds were howling out of the North at 17 -20 mph with gust over 25.  This had all boaters seeking shelter as the waves were really building.

As the crew was rounding the bend to head into the marina around 1400, they heard a distress call over the radio.  A man was hailing the Coast Guard for help and gave his position at the mouth of the river heading into Oxford.  The man claimed he was stuck (hard to believe because the water was about 17 feet deep at his reported location) but that he was in no danger.  The Coast Guard told him there was nothing they could do for him since there was no emergency.  He then reported that his sails were damaged and that he had lost his electronics (GPS, depth gauge, and charts).  Coast Guard recommended that he call Sea Tow or Boat US to get towed into a marina.  You could hear the desperation and confusion in the man’s voice as he continued to ask for help from the Coast Guard.  However, in defense of the Coast Guard, there was no emergency so there was nothing for them to do.

Reluctantly the crew turned Still Waters II around and headed back out into the nasty weather to see if he could help the sailboat.  Sure enough the wind had torn his jib and main sails because he did not get then down in time.  The wind also damaged the electronics which are mounted on the mast.  The sails probably whipped into the electronics when they started tearing apart.

The man asked for directions to Virginia, “just point me in the right direction” he said.  Besides no working electronics, he also had no paper charts. He did claim to have a working compass.  The skipper pointed due West (270 degrees) and told him it was about 20 miles to the western shore of the Bay.  The little sailboat headed out to motor across the Bay in the strong winds.  That was probably a miserable trip.  The crew was glad they were headed back into a safe marina.

On Sunday, the crew decided to take a day of rest.  The mate visited a small Methodist Church that will be celebrating their 150^th anniversary in November.  The skipper stayed behind to see if he could fix the electrical problems that have been hounding them lately.

He did get the inverter working again.  The smarts book says that the invertor will auto restart once battery voltage is back to normal.  However, it has yet to auto restart.   The manual start button works once you find it and the invertor is now back functioning as designed.  The skipper then did troubleshooting on the starboard engine alternator and voltage regulator.  He found a wire disconnected, reconnected the wire and tested the alternator.  Better than before, but still not 100%.  Have to add that to the list of things to fix before next year.

Monday, October 19, 2015

The float plan for the day was to cruise 46 miles south and anchor out near Asquith Island.  The weather report was for winds out of the North at 4 mph.  All went well on the cruise and the electrical issues look to be solved.  The crew dropped anchor just south of Asquith Island in Paul Cove.  The Island and cove gave protection from the North, East, and West.  However, the South was open to the river and Bay.  With low winds forecasted out of the North this should have been no problem so the crew turned in about 1900 for a peaceful night of sleep.  Wrong!

The crew was jarred awake with the bouncing, rocking, and rolling of the boat.  The waves were also slapping the starboard side of the boat and making much loud noise.  The mate was the first one up and went walking around to make sure everything was riding OK.  She came back to the master state room and announced that the boat was doing fine with the exception of the rocking and rolling.  The skipper asked her what time it was and she answered that it was ONLY 9:22 pm.  The skipper got up and checked the anchor line to ensure it was holding.  After checking the anchor, he looked at the weather report.  Great! Winds out of the south at 17 mph.  Yes, this was a long night and nobody got much sleep.

The mate showed great courage the next morning when she walked out on the bow of the boat and managed to get the anchor in with the high winds and rocking of the boat.  Later in the day she claimed it was because of the grace of God and that she had to put on her big girl panties.  She also said she did not want to have to do that again in those circumstances.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

With the anchor back in and the mate safely back on the fly bridge, the skipper pointed the bow south into the winds and headed for calmer waters.  The waves were the largest that the crew has experienced to date.  They looked to be consistently greater than 7 feet.  For one short run they needed to go east and took some pretty hard waves directly into the beam of the boat.  She really rocked and rolled during the turn.  After a few minutes they managed to get land between them and the South wind.  The waves started to get smaller and more manageable.

As the morning went on, the wind began to shift out of the Southwest and dropped down to under 10 mph.  With the Islands providing a break from the wind, the cruise turned out better and better as the day wore on.  The crew will not soon forget the sleepless night in Paul Cove though.

The crew had weighed anchor at 0747, so they were in the Parks Marina on Tangiers Island by 1230.  The Waterway Guide states that the dock master does not normally monitor the radio or answer the phone, so just find a slip and pull in.  After meeting the man, the skipper does not believe he knows what a radio or a phone might be.

The skipper tried hailing the dock master on the radio and calling on the phone to no avail.  The crew picked slip number 10 to back into when they heard someone yelling.  There was a little man standing on the face dock in front of the marina office.  He was directing the crew to pull along side the face dock.  The crew motored over and got secured along the pier.  The crew was glad to have that day of cruising behind them.

A few hours later, a large 44 foot cat sailboat showed up.  They had to wait an hour for the dock master to show back up.  He then directed them to squeeze into an area on the face dock between shore and another sailboat.  The captain was having trouble getting the big cat in the tight spot so our skipper went over to lend a helping hand.  Before it was all over and the cat was docked, there were 7 men all helping get the boat safely to the dock.

The dock master was trying to tell the captain how to run his boat, and the captain was not always listening.  The frustration level was rising when finally the old dock master yelled at the captain, “Young man, I was docking boats before you were born, shut up and do what I tell you to do.”  After that the captain started listening and the boat finally got docked.  Entertaining, entertaining indeed.

Tangiers is a step back in time.  I, Captain John Smith, named the little Island back in 1608.  The British used the Island during the War of 1812.  The British Navy used the Island as their headquarters and launching grounds while they were attacking the young American country.  The town is now supported by the fishing industry and the small amount of tourist that boat in.

The dialect is extremely hard to understand.  A mix of British accent with some backwoods country charm.  At the grocery store, the clerk asked the skipper about 3-4 times if he would like a biiiig.  The skipper was trying to figure out what a ‘big’ was and why he might want one, when it finally dawned on him she was asking if he wanted a bag for his cookies.

The crew walked the entire Island down in a few hours and counted only 7 cars/trucks.  Most of the islanders were riding around in golf carts or on small scooters.  All in all a very charming place that has not been influenced by the outside world, not one bit.  If you would like to be a full time fisherman, this is the place to live.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The wind decided to play nice and was only 5 – 10 mph out of the South.  The crew had an uneventful 50 mile cruise down to Cape Charles where they found an anchorage in Kings Creek.  The depths were shallow, mostly 5 feet, but the skipper found some 7-8 foot water to anchor in for the night.  Getting out in the morning though turned out to be a different story.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

The crew weighed anchor about 0830 and low tide for Kings Creek.  The 7 foot of water they were in yesterday was now only about 5 feet.  When they entered yesterday, they came over a few spots that were only 5 feet deep.  The skipper would need to crawl out of here very carefully.

There was a marina within 100 yards of where they were anchored so the skipper decided to go straight to the marina and then run along the marina back to the first channel marker.  This plan worked well until the depth finder started acting up and then the radar lost its position.  The electronics automatically started re-booting leaving the skipper blind to the depth of water.  He placed both engines in neutral as the boat continued to drift forward.  While looking away, trying to restart the chart plotter, and start up the back-up depth finder the boat drifted between land and the navigational aid.  Not good.  The skipper was on the wrong side of the marker and sure enough he found some soft mud.

After several tries of bumping the engines in reverse and not moving, the skipper tried only the starboard engine in reverse.  This caused the back of the boat to swing over in some deeper water and they were able to back into 7 foot depths.  The chart plotter came back to life and all was good again.  Just another lesson in being vigilant, all the time.

With the boat back in the channel, the skipper proceeded to the route to Norfolk.  On the way back across the Bay I got my log entries back up to date.  The crew will drop me back off at the James River and then pick Eric back up as they motor past Newport.  It has been fun sharing my story with you up and down the Chesapeake Bay.  Captain John Smith signing off.

Hello all!  Eric here, gladly resuming my chores narrating the voyage of Still Waters II.

The skipper had several logistic challenges today.  Not to mention almost getting stuck in the mud.  He had to drop Captain John off after crossing the Bay, needed to pick me back up, and then needed to make a 1500 bridge opening at mile 3 of the Atlantic ICW.

The skipper decided to go a bit faster across the Bay to ensure that he had plenty of time to make the bridge.  With maintenance on the bridge, the authorities are only opening the bridge at 0900, 1200, and 1500.  Miss the 1500 bridge opening, you wait till the next morning to pass through.  There were 70 boats reported stacked up at the bridge Thursday morning.  The skipper does not want that happening to him.

The skipper arrived at the bridge at 1330 and was prepared to wait the 1.5 hours for the bridge to open.  He set the video up to capture the opening and then sat back to wait on the bridge.  There were several other boats also waiting to pass through.

The mate noticed that it looked like everyone had stopped work, and by 1340 there were no workers to be seen.  Then, with no warning, the bridge started rising.  The crew likes to say they walk in FOG (Favor of God) and once again they see the FOG lift in their favor.  A 1.5 hour wait turns into a 15 minute wait.  What a deal!

Click on above pic to watch Still Waters II pass under the Rail Road Bridge while it opens.

The crew then continued down river to the Top Rack Marina where the good deals just keep happening.  The crew was in need of fuel and the marina has the cheapest prices they have seen since this adventure started.  The first time diesel has been under $2.  The marina price $1.93.

Then when the skipper went to check in and pay for the slip, the dock master asked what time the crew would like their dinner reservation.  With a confused look on his face, the skipper asked why would he want a dinner reservation, he was there to pay for the slip.  The dock master explained that if you spend $75 at the restaurant that the slip, water, and electricity are free.

With the cost of dockage > $75, this was a no brainer decision…………………the skipper said they would take their dinner reservation at 1700.  The crew decided to use the dinner as a time to celebrate completing the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay loop.  In summary:

The crew left Norfolk September 8, passed the Thimble Shoal Light at 1147, and returned by the light, October 22 at 1115.  During this time they have visited 11 marinas (for 30 days) and anchored out in 13 locations (for 15 days).

But all good things have to come to an end, and so it is with the summer shake-down cruise.  The crew has learned much about boating and navigating the waterways and are confident that they can complete the Great Loop during the 2016 boating season.

However, for now it is time to get south to warmer weather.  The crew has a plan to cruise south over the next 18 days or so, and arrive in Jacksonville, Florida mid November.

Hello fellow adventurers and virtual crew members!

Christopher Columbus here reporting on the run to St Michaels on Thursday and shore excursions on Friday.

Thursday, October 15

The cruise down to St Michaels was 56 miles of surprises.  Still Waters II decided it was time she gave the crew some more onboard training.  When starting the main engines the port engine decided not to start.  The skipper noticed that the battery voltage was very low.  There is a parallel switch that allows the port engine to start from the starboard battery bank.  It took a couple of tries to figure out how the switch works, but the port engine finally started.

Then pulling the anchor was a bit more challenging than usual, but in the end the anchor finally lost and got back in its stowed position.

About 1000 the mate reported that the refrigerator was not working and the inverter was not showing that it was working. She took the wheel and the skipper went below to troubleshoot the electrical problem.  The inverter was completely ‘dead’ and not converting any DC to AC.  The skipper checked the batteries and they were at 12.5 volts and being charged by the alternators.

The skipper got the smarts book out on the inverter and found a paragraph that stated that if the batteries drop below 10.5 volts that the inverter auto shuts itself off.  What a nice inverter.  The inverter will auto restart once the batteries are back to 13.5 volts.  The skipper decided to start the generator to charge the batteries and run the AC loads while underway.  With the generator carrying the AC loads and charging the batteries, the inverter sensed the battery voltage greater than 13.5 volts and came back to life as promised.

The skipper was making 1 hour engine and generator checks to ensure all was working well.  This gave the mate some valuable time at the wheel.

The crew arrived at Piney Narrows at 1425 just in time for the 1430 Draw Bridge Opening.  Click on the photo below to watch the bridge open and Still Waters II pass through the bridge.

After making the bridge passage and navigating the thin line of deep water the skipper turned the wheel back over to the mate to go do the 1500 engine checks.  Before going below the skipper noticed a big boat approaching fast.  He decided to stick around a few minutes for the boat and wake to pass before going below.

The skipper advised the helmswoman to move more to starboard to give the fast boat some additional room to pass to port.  She moved over to the edge of the channel to make room for the fast boat.  She even commented  “that looks like a brand new boat.”

The skipper watched as the boat passed because he knew there was not much room and the boat looked to be over in shallow water.  Sure enough the big fast boat came to an abrupt stop.  The skipper noticed that the fast boat captain tried to put the engines in neutral, but it was too late, they ran their brand new fast boat aground.  The skipper remembered Captain Geoff’s comment about 1K for every knot.  The big fast boat just learned that experience is expensive.

As the crew approached St Michaels they called ahead for their docking instructions.  The dock master advised that they would go bow first into a pier with port side tie and a sailboat less than two feet clearance on the starboard side.

As they approached the dock, the sailboat owner heard the engines and stuck his head out to watch the skipper dock.  Luckily there was very little current and the wind was blowing straight down the boat.  The mate got a breast line over to the dock hand quickly and then got the bow secured so we would not be bumping into the sailboat.

The skipper took a big deep breath and turned the engines off.  Wow, what a strange day.

Friday, October 16

St Michaels gets its name from the church named “Saint Michael’s” that was the first building in about 1677.  The town grew around the church and eventually took its name.  The church bell rings every 15 minutes, and on the hour rings longer with an old hymn.

St Michaels advertises itself as the town that fooled the British.  As the story goes, in the morning hours of August 10, 1813, the British attacked St Michaels to destroy the 7 shipyards.  Legend has it, that the residents knew of the attack so they put their lanterns in the tree tops and blacked out the rest of the town.  The British only hit one house with the rest of the cannon fire over shooting the town.

The one cannon ball penetrated the roof and rolled down the stair case as Mrs. Merchant carried her young daughter down the stairs.  The home is still a private residence.

The crew decided to visit the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  The museum covers 18 acres explaining how people live, work, and play on the Bay.  The museum has 14 separate buildings and exhibit areas.

One of the exhibits is a floating fleet of Chesapeake Bay watercraft.  One of the boats was a replica of Captain John Smith’s boat that he used in 1608 to explore and map the bay.  More amazing is that Captain John Smith was in the Bay History Building giving tours when he noticed the skipper.  The Captain said he was ready to return to Jamestown so he is rejoining the crew on their southerly run to Norfolk.

A few pics around town.