Chesapeake Lay-over

We are starting to think about heading down to the Chesapeake. Tropical Storm Hermine, over Labor Day weekend, gives us a few blustery days but otherwise is harmless.  We leave our hiding place in Mt. Hope Bay and make a lunch stop at nearby Bristol to stretch our legs.  Bristol is an attractive, nautical town with historic homes and an active waterfront although it is now off-season and things are a little quieter.  Late afternoon as the last of Hermine’s dark skies depart, we leave for a pleasant motorsail down Narragansett Bay to the anchorage in Newport. We take up residence and spend a few days doing last minute errands, laundry, and provisioning.  From there it is an easy hop to Stonington, CT where we have one last day with our Rhode Island family, includingplaying with our son’s new tractor,  dinner onshore, and a dinghy ride through the harbor on “Grandpa’s little boat.”  It is sad but we have to chase our loved ones away as we wish to depart the harbor before sunset to avoid any lobster pots that may be lurking in Long Island Sound.

We decide to plot a course due south and then along the southern shore of Long Island. It is fairly breezy, and we have a lively sail in left over ocean swells through the night.  We see virtually no commercial traffic as we pass well offshore of New York City – something to celebrate as that usually isn’t the case. The wind goes light off the Jersey shore so on goes the engine for the duration of the trip.  Long after sunset we are rounding Cape May with a fair number of freighters but as we head north up Delaware Bay, they, too, disappear.  At night commercial traffic keeps the watch-keeper on his/her toes but also provides interest during the long hours of darkness.  At daylight we are ready to begin the transit of the C&D Canal with many other boats that have spent the night in the upper reaches of the Delaware.  It is nice to finally be able to get on the radio and chat with other cruising friends. We have timed our passage to coincide with positive currents so far, but once we get two hours into the Chesapeake, the current turns against us, the wind builds on the nose, and we get to bash into steep waves for the remainder of the trip into Annapolis.  We have been underway for 47 hours and are delighted to pick up our favorite mooring in front of the Naval Academy.

Our lay-over here will be more work than pleasure.  For two weeks at the mooring ball we attend to a thorough cleaning (mildew removal), organizing, and culling of the entire interior of the boat including all bilges.  Our lift-raft goes to Baltimore for a several week process of re-certification. Chandleries in the area provide replacements of spare parts and equipment. We’ve gotten very adept at using the local bus system and biking side streets in this bustling town.  But all is not work; we also spend evenings socializing – happy hours on boats and in town, dinners at local restaurants, meals and parties at the homes of friends on shore.  It is a time to reconnect with fellow cruisers for the upcoming winter season.

One weekend, the National Sailing Hall of Fame sponsors a classic boat regatta.  To kick things off, America, the replica schooner we saw in Maine, is at the dock and giving tours.  The next day, we head out into the harbor in our dinghy to watch the wooden boat race.  In no way does this compare to what we see in Maine, but around twenty classic wooden boats sail a course just outside the mooring field, and we enjoy our afternoon following along and snapping pictures. 

Tacking upwind

Bull - one of two replica boats sailed out of the National Sailing Hall of Fame

A tippy sailing canoe utilizing a hiking board. Obviously the crew was not pleased with the power boat that roared through the course (a no-wake zone) and almost capsized them.

Another day, we take an afternoon to stroll through the grounds of the Naval Academy.  Once you clear through security, you are able to walk around the grounds at will.  We stop by the boat harbor to admire the large fleet of Navy 40’s and many more small one design boats.  Sailing is certainly a mainstay here.  And in a prominent position we find Summer Wind, a new addition to the Navy fleet and a beautifully maintained wooden schooner.  

A classic schooner donated to the Naval Academy - Summer Wind

We hear days earlier, Jimmy Buffet was visiting Annapolis and took the helm of this gem. Sadly, no one offered us the same opportunity. The grounds of the Academy are pristine and the buildings perfectly maintained.  We note all the nautical references carved into the stone facades and trim of the stately architecture. 

A festooned ship powering through waves - all in carved stone adorning a roof corner of one building.

Decor over a building entrance with references to Neptune

The Chapel is particularly beautiful with its high dome and Tiffany stain glass windows. 

The towering dome in the chapel lights the interior.

The alter area. Stain glss window has references to the sea and the inscription above it reads "Eternal Father, strong to save" - the opening line of the Naval Hymn.

A glorious sunset in Annapolis from our mooring with the spires and domes of the city in the distance.

From Annapolis we head about twelve miles further south to Hartge Yacht Harbor and a dock that awaits us. We usually stop here twice a year to do maintenance and cleaning that require a dock with water and electricity.  It is a pleasant, friendly place with lovely vistas overlooking the creek and river,

The serene view off the end of our dock on one of the few pleasant days.

but it is very isolated so a rental car is also a necessity. We figure it will take us a week to complete our chores, but the weather gods have other ideas.  On our first full day we have occasional drizzle.  In between showers we strip off all the canvas.  Earlier this year a kind osprey sat on our mast and relieved himself of vast quantities of poop on our dodger and bimini.  We cleaned what we could but some remained imbedded and mildewed over the summer.  The best way to clean canvas is to soak it in a bath tub in a mixture of Clorox and Dawn for about fifteen minutes.  Problem is, we don’t have a bath tub so creative minds went to work, and I order an inflatable baby pool from Amazon. As silly as we look on the dock, it works and the canvas is remounted just as the heavens open.  We are unable to apply the new waterproofing in time, so a blue tarp covers the canvas for the next four days as it rains incessantly. During the torrents I use the car to re-provision the boat with food and supplies for the next few months.  The freezer is full of vacuumed packed meats from Sam’s Club and all the storage areas are filled with dry goods.  A few days of clear weather allows us to do the waterproofing, clean the cockpit thoroughly (good-by to a summer’s worth of happy hour snacks hiding beneath the floor grates), clean and re-oil the grates and boarding ladder (we use Semco which holds up better than regular teak oil), clean and polish all the stainless topsides (use Spotless Stainless), and buff out the deck and cabin sides with a polymer polish.

It looks like we are ready to head south, but the weather gods are not done fooling with us yet.  Our subscription weather service is sending multiple alerts each day concerning Hurricane Matthew which is currently off the coast of Venezuela. That seems so far away, but its predicted track is very unpredictable and some models even see it coming into the Chesapeake.  This is no time to move from our sturdy, protected dock five miles inland from the Bay.  We monitor the storm closely, even participating in evening video conferences with two well know marine weather experts. As the days pass, the marina fills to capacity with others seeking out protection, and the hurricane path runs parallel up the coast with possible landfalls anywhere from the Florida Keys to Nova Scotia as a Category 4 Hurricane.  Suddenly, our lifestyle is no longer carefree.  We start making contingency plans for stripping and securing the boat and evacuating inland, although we do take a day to enjoy the opening of the Annapolis Boat Show.  We monitor the terrible destruction in Haiti, give a sigh of relief as the Bahamian communities we know see damage but not of the severe, devastating variety. We are in contact with friends up and down the coast who at any given time are in the bullseye.  Fear and panic comes through in the many emails we exchange. It is fortunate that the storm stays mostly offshore, and those cruisers in well protected anchorages and marinas have emerged unscathed. But in some places the damage is considerable.  Historic St. Augustine neighborhoods have been underwater. Barrier islands have been overwashed by the waves and storm surge. Some marinas in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina no longer exist.  Finally  just south of Cape Hattaras, Matthew turns east and begins to die. We see 24 hours of heavy rain in Galesville followed by gale force winds and a negative storm surge as the NE wind actually blows the water out of the Chesapeake.  We are now aground in our slip in the harmless Chesapeake muck.

Once the gale departs and the water levels rise again, we will begin to pick our way south, but it won’t be an easy trip. On the ICW we will find higher water than normal which may make passage under some bridges impossible.  Some locks and opening bridges may be inoperable. Shoaling areas will have shifted and will not correspond with our charts.  Marina facilities and mooring fields may be out of commission. We may only be able to enter and exit the ocean through the very largest freighter channels. Navigation marks will be missing or moved.  Debris and derelict or sunk boats will lurk along the way.  And, a large number of boats that have stayed in one place for the weather will clog the channels and facilities as we all begin the migration together.

Meandering Through Maine – Final Days

It is time to leave Acadia and begin heading south.  But, wait, if we go one more harbor further downeast, we can go to Winter Harbor and stop by a rarely visited portion of Acadia National Park.  Winter Harbor is a small village supporting fishermen and some artists.  

We're not far from the mouth of the Bay of Fundy and with 14 foot tides parts of the harbor go dry.

We anchor nearby and enjoy a quiet evening on the boat until a Bald Eagle swoops down, steals a fish from an Osprey and settles into a nearby tree to enjoy dinner.  

Eagles are too cooperative when it comes to posing, but the blurry picture proves it was there.

This is about the northern most extent of eagle territory, so it is unusual to see one in relatively close proximity.  The next morning we dinghy to the town dock and hop on the first park shuttle bus of the day.  It takes us out to Schoodic Point, a vast promontory of pinkish granite rocks infused with intrusions of basalt, documenting Maine’s origins in fire. We have the place to ourselves and climb amongst the shoreline’s rocks and fissures. 

Rugges, rocky shoreline

Looking back towards the mountains of Mt. Dessert Island

It is a calm day but the ocean swells still pile up

From Winter Harbor, it is a short sail down to Long Island and the remote fishing village of Frenchboro. 

Along the shoreline in the harbor

Like many of the island villages, there is not much here – a small museum, a lobster pound with a deck that has a million dollar view, a one room schoolhouse, and a cute church. The majority of land is dedicated to a conservancy. We arrange to meet our cruising friends, Susie and Stan on m/v The Pearl, to show them one of our favorite stops in Maine.  They arrive all primed for a hike across the island so off we go.  The meandering path takes us to a long beach composed of one to three foot boulders stacked at least fifteen feet high.  

This "beach" stretched over a half mile

And it is here that the always enthusiastic Susie begins to collect lobster buoys that have washed up on shore. Remember, it is not easy to carry all the buoys you collect when hiking a rough trails over rocks and boulders. We continue through the woods where the floor is carpeted in dense moss 

The thick moss is spongy soft  - you could sleep on the rocks it covers

and on to another trail that is atop rocky cliffs overlooking gravel beaches.  

All this dramatic scenery and we never saw another person on the trails

More pots!!  Susie is climbing up and down the cliffs for her conquests and before you know it, we have more buoys than she can carry.  Only the good ones are retained, and she does get a little help from Stan.  

Susie with some of her prizes

Meanwhile, the rest of us are enjoying spectacular views from the cliffs on a picture perfect Maine day.  After three hours of hiking we adjourn to the lobster pound where $12 and change gets you a fresh from the ocean lobster dinner with trimmings and, if you toss in another couple of bucks, homemade blueberry pie. It has been a wonderful day and our friends have added Frenchboro to their list of favorites. Meanwhile, someone’s house in Texas is going to get some serious Maine décor! 

And both nights we stayed at Frenchboro this heron stood watch at sunset

We part ways with The Pearl and head due north to Blue Hill Bay, a town on the mainland that cruisers rarely visit.  Why not visit?  Even with twelve foot tides, the harbor is only accessible for two hours before and after high tide. 

Looking back towards the inner mooring field - the area between shore and the moored boats is totally dry at low tide.

We take a mooring at the yacht club that is two miles outside of the village and plan our strategy.  We have come to Blue Hill to attend a performance of “Flash in the Pans”, a steel drum band that seems an anomaly in this neck of the woods but that actually has a national reputation.  The only problem is that low tide is right in the middle of the show.  Earlier in the day, Burt takes me, coats for the upcoming chilly evening, and our lawn chairs into the town dinghy dock and then returns to the dock at the yacht club where he begins the long walk into town.  Luckily, someone from the yacht club offers him a ride into town. At this point we lug our stuff all over town trying to find someplace to grab dinner.  It is Monday.  Everything is closed.  That is except for Blue Hill’s equivalent to fast food, a small carry out restaurant on the outskirts of town.  We have a prolonged dinner, awaiting the beginning of the concert. From there we walk back into the center of town and a public park where the group will perform under a tent. We are early, but that gives us an opportunity to talk with some of the musicians.  The group is composed of around 25 individuals from the area who meet all winter to practice for the summer concert series.  They are under the direction of the local high school music teacher who also organizes a steel drum band at the high school.  Both groups have gained notoriety and have participated in competitions in Trinidad. The drums are produced locally and come in a variety of pitches. Bottom line – they are really good and once the concert begins, everyone is up and out of their seats dancing to the lively beat. The proceeds of each concert are given to a local charity, and we make arrangements to make an additional donation for a ride back to the yacht club. Guess what – there are no taxis or Uber in little Blue Hill.

We begin our way west and soon take our last gaze at the beautiful mountains of Acadia National Park that have dominated the horizon.  Our destination is another anchorage in Merchants Row – one that lies between McGathery Island and Round Island. This is an area that is dotted with pink granite islands topped with pine forests.  We have the anchorage to ourselves 

At anchor between Round and McGathery Islands in Merchants Row

until one of the Camden schooners passes through. 

And guess who stopped in for a quick "look-see"?

This is a place for hiking wooded trails, wandering along stone beaches at low tide, and just sitting on boulders to enjoy the natural beauty. 

Walking through what counts as a Maine beach at low tide  - just me and the boulders.

Serene

The next day we weave through more lobster pots than you can imagine to arrive in Pulpit Harbor on North Haven Island late afternoon.  This is a very popular harbor as it is close to Rockland and Camden.  We squeeze in next to a lobster pound on a float, watch the procession of lobster boats come in to drop off their day’s catch, and have a peaceful night at anchor.

Sunset at Pu;pit Harbor with the Camden Hills in the background.

Our destination is Rockland.  We need to do laundry and reprovision. In addition, Burt needs to get a color blindness test for his Coast Guard Captain’s License as we have been notified that that portion of the application was not completed by the eye doctor in Annapolis.  Amongst the chores there is still time for some fun.  We bike several miles to access to the Rockland breakwall and walk a mile out to the lighthouse at the end.   

Picture makes the walk look easier and shorter than it was.

Rockland is a big harbor and the breakwall offers the only protection from east component winds. Finally, we join our friends Pete and Candy from s/v First Draft for happy hour on their boat, dinner in town, and a good long visit before we all head our separate ways. 

We leave Rockland with a weather forecast that will allow us to access the harbor at remote Monhegan Island.  You can’t comfortably stay here with anything but a north wind.  We arrive to find chaos in the harbor.  There are only a few moorings available to transients, and there is a big wedding scheduled that evening on the island. The harbor master does some finagling, and we finally have a place for the night. 

Overview of the tiny harbor from the ridge of Monhegan Island.  Manana Island forms the western side of the harbor.

View of the goats that reside on Manana taken from our boat.

We wander through this picturesque village. 

The village glows at sunset

Even late in the season, gardens display a bountiful summer

The beautiful terrain has inspired such artists as the Wyeths and Rockland Kent and is now home to lobstermen, other artists, and a smattering of summer cottagers.  It was first discovered in 1614 by John Smith who claimed it and the Penobscot Bay region for England. We hike over the ridge, past the lighthouse, and to the other side where cliffs stand high above the ocean.

A strenuous hike has its rewards

Our next stop west is the Sheepscot River and the village at Five Islands.  When we first arrived in Maine, cruising friends gave us a tour of this area in their runabout, and we decided we wanted to return.  Five Islands Yacht Club has four free moorings in the harbor that are available for stays up to two days.  

Looking south at part of the Five Islands Harbor

It is a good thing we can stay for two days as the winds have kicked up sufficiently that our friends cannot even venture out on the Sheepscot to come down for a visit.  We enjoy exploring the protected harbor by dinghy 

Huge fissures almost cut through this island

A walking bridge connects these two islands

One counts five main islands but at low tide there are many more

and even indulge in one more lobster dinner at the open air lobster pound on shore. 

The lobster pound and deck at low tide - notice the wooden structure in front for careening boats.

Our plan is to hop slowly south along the coast to Newport, but the weather gods have other ideas.  A tropical depression is developing that eventually becomes Hurricane Hermine.  We have plenty of time to make safe harbor so we stop in Portland.  Culture shock sets in as Portland is the largest city in Maine and is a bustling place.  We take a mooring in the harbor and spend two days rocking and rolling from all the boat traffic.  Even the dinghy dock is an adventure as it bucks and bounces from all the chop. The solution is to spend as much time on shore as possible. We take our bikes ashore and discover the city is set on two very steep hills, but a bike path extends along the entire level shoreline.  That doesn’t keep us from the hills, though, as we explore attractive neighborhoods, 

One of many attractives homes on the western bluff overlooking Portland's harbor

visit the excellent Portland Museum of Art, 

The  beautiful flying staircase in a historical house attached to the museum.  Pictures weren't allowed in most of the museum but they have an outstanding collection of Maine artists and French Impressionism.

and dine out in what is becoming a recognized foodie town.

It is time to make the hop south before the Hermine makes her approach.  We head out in the morning in absolute glassy seas,

Late afternoon offshore in the Gulf of Maine where it is hard to find the line between water and sky. 

timing our middle of the night arrival at the Cape Cod Canal to coincide with a positive current, and have a delightful sail down Buzzard’s Bay to Newport.  Things just seem a bit weird weather-wise as the lighting and sunsets have become more dramatic.   

A brilliant sunset at our Newport anchorage - a premonition of what is to come

We have a day in Newport to meet up with our son and his family. After a bike ride along picturesque Ocean Boulevard, we stop for lunch at an outdoor patio where our grand-daughter, age two, is delighted with the fountain filled with water toys.  She ends up a very wet but happy princess.  

One wet but happy two year old - this is probably the only thing she'll remember about her adventure in Newport.

We cut the day short to head up Narragansett Bay that evening, before the high winds from the north begin to kick up, to an anchorage we used several years ago in another tropical storm.  We are the only anchored boat here which allows us to put out as much scope as we desire.  The winds will come from the north and east, and we are close enough to shore that waves shouldn’t be an issue. So now we wait to see what Hermine is going to dish up.  The howling winds are currently gusting into the low 40’s and are forecast to go a bit higher, but being 21 miles away from the ocean should keep us from the brunt of the storm.