We arrive in Annapolis to gloomy, cool weather. The mooring field off the Naval Academy is
virtually empty. With no paying
customers, Bull and Bear, two traditional racing sloops that are normally tied
up to docks, are out on moorings next to us.
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| Bear on one of the nicer days of the week. |
This is a busy time for us as we
begin the process of shopping for the summer months and making a year’s worth
of visits to our doctors and dentist in Annapolis. Amazingly, almost everything is accomplished
in one week. We decide to replace our
aging and very leaky dinghy as the dealer for our chosen brand is right across
the harbor. Our new “ride” is a shiny inflatable with aluminum floor, and it is
a definite improvement.
Meanwhile, the weather begins to improve, and just in time
as it is now Commissioning Week at the Naval Academy. The high point of this week is two shows by
the Blue Angels that occur right over our heads. We move a bit to have the best mooring ball
in the field for the shows. Annapolis
literally shuts down for this; stores and offices close, schools get out
early. And, the harbor becomes jammed
packed with anchored boats – it is close to bedlam out there while we and guests
that come out to the boat for both days enjoy relative peace at our
mooring.
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| Some of the crowds awaiting the Blue Angels |
That is until the jets come
roaring into Annapolis, then the noise is deafening.
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| The dramatic arrival |
For several hours during
the Tuesday practice session and for one hour during the formal show we are
amazed and entertained by these skilled pilots.
At one point I am certain one
of the jets goes between two of the light posts surrounding the athletic field
right across from us – Burt disputes this but no matter, it was darn close.
Two days later, we leave our mooring and travel about 15
miles south to Galesville and a marina we have been using for the past couple
of years.
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| The tranquil scene from our dock in the West River at Galesville. |
We get a rental car, do some
maintenance and cleaning that requires a dock with water and power, and prepare
Exuberant to be hauled. For the past
year we have been experiencing increasing vibrations from our prop and now are
faced with a choice to either have the prop removed and refurbished or purchase
a new prop. Neither is an inexpensive
option, but we decide to go with a new and different style prop which will
increase our motoring speed and fuel economy.
While the boat is out of the water awaiting its new prop, we
head west in the rental car, stopping first in Chagrin Falls to spend a night
with Burt’s sister and husband, and then proceeding to Wisconsin to visit our
older son and his family. With two boys
ages nine and six, it is a lively time. The soccer season is coming to a close,
and we are the cheering section at both boys’ games.
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| Daniel is a pretty aggressive player, probably because he trains against his older brother |
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| William's team (coached by his Dad) wins their final game of the season against the then undefeated league champions. |
But the soccer doesn’t
wear them out – our stay also includes playing football and baseball, flying
kites and drones, taking extended bike rides, and going to the neighborhood
pool. My only salvation is breaks with
Daniel to work on one of his passions – 1000 piece jig saw puzzles. We are
exhausted and only wish we could get an energy transfusion. On the way east we
stop in Mansfield for a night to visit with Burt’s brother and his wife.
Upon returning to Galesville we find our boat has been
launched one day early, so we are not able to inspect the installation of the
new prop. We take the boat out for a
brief sea trial and find the prop seems to work perfectly but the engine
overheats due to a disintegrating impeller. So we drop anchor and replace that
on the fly. It looks like we are good to go, so after a day of last minute
provisioning, we cast off our dock lines to make our way towards Connecticut
where Burt and I are scheduled to give a presentation at a Gam. About an hour out, the high water bilge alarm
goes off – a first for us as we momentarily wonder what that funny noise is
before springing into action. One glance
into the engine compartment proves we are taking on water at an alarming rate.
The two automatic bilge pumps cannot keep up with the flow so I begin pumping
with the emergency hand pump while Burt assesses the situation. A hose that attaches the shaft through-hull
to the stuffing box has become unattached. With the engine shut down the
leaking greatly diminishes and Burt reattaches the hose with the clamps. Once
the engine is restarted, the hose just slides off and water again pours in. With the engine off, Burt is able to wedge
the hose on with a block of wood. We alert the marina and mechanic that we have
a problem and make our way back to the marina under sail. Needless to say, adrenaline is flowing. The initial thought is to pull the boat
immediately, but there is a northwest building breeze, the water levels are
dropping rapidly, and we are too deep to make it into the well by the hoist. We
tie up at a dock on a Friday and it isn’t until Tuesday morning that the winds
subside enough to allow us to be towed to the hoist. As soon as the boat is on the hard, the
mechanic appears to discuss what needs to be done. First, we notice that the prop shaft is 1 ½
inches too long. It is removed and taken
to a machine shop to be shortened. But
that wasn’t the issue with the leakage. It is a long story, but the bottom line
is we will need a different sized stuffing box to make a more secure hose
attachment. By the next morning, the new
stuffing box is installed on the shortened shaft, and we are underway for
another sea trial that proves to be successful.
A few days later, with the appropriate weather window, we leave for New
England, but with the delay, we will not make it to Connecticut in time to give
our presentation, leaving us frustrated that we are not able to meet our
obligation.
We leave Annapolis at sunrise and motorsail to the north end
of the Chesapeake.
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| Sunrise while approaching the Bay Bridge. |
There we anchor for a
few hours awaiting the positive current in the C&D Canal. Upon entering
Delaware Bay we have a tidal current against us and against the wind, resulting
in several hours of unpleasant motoring into steep waves. Cooking dinner is a challenge, but once the
current switches, it is an easy trip down the Bay and into the Atlantic. With our new prop, our boat speed is better, and
we find ourselves approaching New York Harbor in the late afternoon with the
optimal currents. Rather than drop the
anchor at Sandy Hook for the night as planned, we continue on through New York
City, seeing speeds of over 12 knots at times.
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| It is a beautiful late afternoon when we arrive in New York City |
We eat our dinner cruising along
the East River
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| Each bridge along the East River is different but they all have interesting architectural details. |
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| My favorite way to cross the East River - via the cable car that connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. |
and drop the hook just after sunset at Port Washington on the
western end of Long Island Sound.
A passage like that deserves a day of rest, and besides,
Port Washington is the only place we know where the huge Stop and Shop Grocery
Store has their own dinghy dock. We celebrate our arrival with a happy hour on
Exuberant including two other couples we know through, among other things, the
daily Cruiseheimers radio net.
The next morning we set off on a 50 mile jaunt to the
Thimble Islands, located just east of New Haven on the north shore of Long
Island Sound. Cruising friends have a
mooring there that we can use, and it gives us a chance to catch up with them
over dinner as we haven’t seen them since Marathon. The real joy of the Thimbles is taking a
dinghy ride through this archipelago of small granite islands. Almost all sport one or more attractive homes
of various architectural styles.
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| Not a bad place to curl up on a summer's afternoon. |
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| Some of the homes are palatial. |
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| Others cling to their rocks. |
It is
certainly a magical place.
One more day further east brings us to Stonington,
Connecticut, a delightful town of restored sea captain homes. We wander the main street,
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| The view from one home overlooking the harbor. |
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| Color and details add interest. |
duck into a
lighthouse/museum, and take a brisk walk to the outskirts of town to visit the
restored home of Captain Nathaniel Palmer.
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| Captain Palmer's home, now a museum. |
Captain Palmer’s claim to fame is, while
on a seal hunting expedition, being the first person to set foot on Antarctica. The base at Palmerston Island honors this
discovery.
Despite its charm, our main reason for visiting Stonington
is to rendezvous with our other son and his family for dinner. One of the
hardest parts of cruising is the lack of opportunity to frequently visit our
family, and with growing grandchildren that becomes even more painful. We have not seen our granddaughter since last
September, and she has grown and changed so much over the months. We are
delighted that we will have more opportunities to visit with her (and her
parents) this summer.
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| Yup, she's a Preston - loves the beach and water and thinks Grandpa's big boat is pretty cool. |
