And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 34

We were anchored last night in Mill Creek, just off the Patuxent River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.  It is also known as Solomons Md. a very popular boating area, so there are lots of marinas and the channels are well marked with nice deep water.  Easy in, easy out.  We got up early again and had the anchor up and were under way before 7:00.  The winds were expected to pick up as the day wore on, so we wanted to get as close to home as we could before that happened.  The morning was beautiful and the sunrise was spectacular with the sun reflecting off the sparkling calm water of the Patuxent River.  Once we hit the bay the winds were from the south creating some following seas which made it a little more challenging to hand steer, but not too bad.  Actually it was quite a pleasant ride with plenty of sunshine.  The air might be a little on the chilly side but it warmed up nicely and by the afternoon we were up on the flybridge enjoying the ride.

As expected the winds did begin to get a little stronger and blustery, but by that time we were in Eastern Bay, approaching Kent Narrows, a rather tricky area with a very narrow and windy channel out into the Chester River, our home waters.  It was high tide, so no problems there.  And then we were on the Chester River.  It really felt good to be so close to home.  Around Eastern Neck Island, up Lankford Creek to our home port marina, Lankford Bay Marina, and we were home, in the slip and tied up by 3:00.  Rick was there to greet us and help the marina guys get us tied up.  It was time for a beer.

Well, the trip is over, 69.8 miles for the day, bringing our total 1404.3 miles for the trip north.  That’s a lot of miles. The round trip mileage is 2788 total miles.

 

So now we are home and it’s time to give Rogue some TLC.  She needs some maintenance work, and definitely a wash and wax with as much salt as she has had thrown on her on the trip.

This will most likely be my last blog entry completing this blog.  I hope you all have enjoyed following along as much as I enjoyed sharing the experience with you.  There is plenty of work here on land for me to catch up on, mail is stacked up and I am looking forward to seeing my family again after being away for the better part of 5 months, so I don’t think I will be doing any long trips again anytime soon, at least nothing worth writing about.  But, you never know.  Take care everyone.

Sincerely, Me.

P.S. Hi Tyler

And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 33

Today we were up at the crack of dawn.  It was a gorgeous sunrise with the sun peeking under some clouds and reflecting off the relatively still water in our anchorage.  I had no idea what was to come, it was just so idyllic.  We had the anchor up and were moving out of the anchorage before 7:00.  By the time we hit the bay, the chop and swells were starting gather some momentum.  By the time we turned to head north near the main shipping channel, the waves had gathered some intensity.  By 8:00 or so we were into it pretty good.  You see, there was a good stiff 20 mph or so “breeze” coming out of the north.  When you live in this area, you know a north wind on the Chesapeake Bay can lead to some “unpleasantness”.  As I was listening to the marine weather on the VHF I hear “small craft warnings until 10:00”, “seas 1 to 2 feet.”  Yeah, I’ve heard that before.  What reality are you looking at Mr. Forecaster. Looking out in front of me I’m seeing a lot if intensity at more than 2 feet.  By 10:00 there are waves as high as the foredeck before we ride them up and then bam, it drops us like a stone and the boat crashes down with a smack, bang and shudder.  Sometimes I can’t see the horizon when the bow goes up before it comes crashing down with a bang.  I know, you’ve all heard this before, and that’s true.  Things inside were being rearranged yet again.  To tell you all the truth, I’m getting pretty sick and tired of having to deal with all this.  It just doesn’t end.  Every day is yet another difficult time.  I thought this was supposed to be fun.  Well, this all went on for five hours, yes, five hours, and we hadn’t even reached the Potomac River which also has a reputation of being a bit rough at times.  At one point I was able to make it to the galley to try and make some lunch.  I opened the freezer door to get some ice for a drink and all the ice trays fell out dumping ice all over the floor.  So much for a cold drink.  There were times when the boat hit a wave and it felt like it hit a wall, you were actually throw forward into the steering wheel like being in a car accident but without the high intensity.  Anyway, you get the picture.  On the bright side, by midafternoon the sun was out the winds had calmed, the sea state was calm and it was actually a beautiful late afternoon on the bay.  We went up to the flybridge to finish our trip for the day.

As I said, we were on the move before 7:00, and we didn’t drop the anchor and settle in until after 7:00 p.m.  And, are you ready for this?  We have established a new Rogue daily distance record.  Drum roll please.  We traveled 103 miles in 12hrs. 30mins. breaking the old record of 100 miles set with Rick George on the crew.  Sorry Rick, as you said so eloquently, “records are meant to be broken.” And it was.

If all goes according to plan, tomorrow will be the last day on the water.  We should reach our destination near Rock Hall Md. by tomorrow afternoon.  The trip is expected to be about 71 miles.  Of course the wind is predicted to pick up there around the time we are arriving which should make docking this monster a little more “interesting.”  I’ll let you know how it goes.

So boys and girls, until then……

P.S. Hi Tyler 

And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 32

Well the title says it all.  We are back to the Chesapeake.  We left Coinjock Marina this morning bright and early.  We pushed off from the dock at 7:00 after wiping the flybridge down from all the rain last night.  We stowed all the extra lines and disconnected shore power and were off.  Getting across Coinjock Bay was a little nerve wracking, the channel is extremely narrow, and if you wander off a little bit you can run aground.  We didn’t run aground, so that is good.  Another boat that was docked at Coinjock caught up with us and followed us for a little while.  He called me on the radio and asked if I was trying to time for the 8:00 or 9:00 bridge opening.  I thought for a second and told him I wasn’t timing for anything, I would get there when I got there.  I had hesitated because I couldn’t figure out what bridge he was talking about.  There wasn’t a bridge we had to open for quite some distance.  There was a bridge nearby, but it was 65 ft. high.  Not a problem.  Eventually he went by me and said he was going for the 9:00 opening.  I thought, go for it.  We did have to negotiate four bridge openings today, and one lock.  Jan is sure getting an education being on the water full time.  She did pretty well at the lock, just a couple of tips to make things a little easier for her.  She got the fenders out and at this lock you have to supply your own lines.  All the other locks they had lines hanging and you grabbed them when you stopped in the lock.  Here we only went up a foot, so not much turbulence.  All in all a pretty easy first time for her.  I will say the lock tender here was pretty useless.  When we pulled into the lock, he stood about six feet away from the side and stuck out a boat hook, which we had to stretch and get the line on the hook so he could pull in the line and wrap it around the post.  That was about all he did.  He barely moved.  Nonetheless, we got through the lock.

We did have to wait for two bridges.  We waited at one for about 15 minutes; it opened on the hour and half hour, and the other about 35 minutes, which opened only on the hour.  Timing wasn’t so good, so we lost almost an hour, and then the lock slowed us down some.  All in all we lost probably close to an hour and a half. 

Today was also Jan’s first trip through Norfolk’s never ending waterfront.  Very industrial with lots of Navy vessels.  There is a section where it looks like you go through downtown Norfolk; you see hotels, parks and other “normal” cityscapes, but most of the tour is dry-docks and freight and cargo terminals.  There were also several tugboats and barges moving around too. 

We arrived at our destination right around 6:00.  Not too bad even with the delays.  We are anchored in Chisman Creek just off the Poquoson River which itself is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.  So yes we did make it back to the Chesapeake.  Tomorrow we are hoping to make it to the Patuxent River where we will anchor.  That anchorage I estimate to be 97 miles from here.  Another long day and another early start.

Today we traveled 86 miles, for a total of 1231.5 miles thus far.  Travel time was 11 hrs. 9 mins.

So boys and girl, until next time…..

P.S. Hi Tyler

And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 31

Last night I was going back and forth in my mind do we go tomorrow or do we stay here and extra day.  I was looking a weather reports some of which were showing winds as high as 42 mph today and this evening, and other weather reports showing wind gusts in the 25 mph range.  Of course rain was a given, with possible thunderstorms.  I’m thinking we can go in the rain, and we’ve handled wind of 25 mph, so why not go.  But the other source was showing strong gusts that would be very difficult to deal with on a boat, or on land for that matter.  We got up early this morning planning to leave at 7:00.  I went for a walk on the dock to check things out; it was calm and fairly warm for that early in the morning.  I’m thinking it’s not bad, maybe we can go.  So I went back inside and rechecked the weather to see what was in store for Norfolk, our destination.  I started reading weather reports about severe weather with damaging winds, possible hail, thunderstorms and maybe tornados later in the day for northeast North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia.  Exactly where we are and where we are going.  So at 6:45 I told Jan we’re staying put.  Of course she says something like,” well, you could have told me that while I was in bed.”  Of course she was all dressed and ready to go so going back to bed was out of the question.  A couple of boats that were here last night actually did go, and for part of the morning I was second guessing myself.  The weather was overcast, but quite calm.  Then about 11:00 it started to rain and lightning.  I didn’t really hear much thunder, but I could see the light flashing.  I thought maybe this was the right choice.  I sat down and looked at the radar online and noticed that Norfolk was getting hammered, much worse than we were here.  Not where I would want to be.  The rain continued into the afternoon then started to clear up for a while.  So we just hung out and sat on the back deck for a little while.

Later we mosied over to the restaurant for dinner but sat there hearing the high pitched tone of weather alerts every so often.  Eventually the dockmaster came by and told us, as well as other boat operators in the restaurant that tornado warnings had been issued and he was expecting a blow in an hour to two.  It would be prudent to add a couple more lines to hold the boat.  So we went back to the boat, doubled up lines fore and aft, and added an additional spring line.  We also cleared all items that could blow around and cause damage, and although the dinghy on the hardtop was already strapped down, we added another line to hold it in the cradle.  Hopefully all this will be sufficient.  We’ll see when the blow comes through.  After we were finished, we checked the weather and alerts on the computer.  They had a mariners warning and alert issued for all the areas around Norfolk including Willoughby Bay where we were going to anchor for the night.  High winds and possible waterspouts-tornados on the water.  The alert was urging mariners to seek safe harbor.  In other words it would be dangerous being out there.  Not where I want to be, so it seems staying here the extra day was the prudent thing to do.  Stay tuned.

Well I think we are through the worst of it.  The boat blew around a bit then the rain and lightning started.  It rained pretty hard for about 15 minutes then you could hear pieces of hail hitting the windshield and decks, then all of a sudden the rain just stopped.  There was still some lightning and thunder, but I think the worst is over for today.  I guess it’s almost time to go to bed.  Tomorrow will be an early morning again.  We have to make up some of what we lost today.  I believe it will be an 85 mile day instead of a 65 mile day.  Plus, the wind is supposed to be back again tomorrow. That should make moving up the Chesapeake Bay fun.

So boys and girls, until we have internet again……

P.S. Hi Tyler

And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 30

Yesterday we anchored out again and had a pretty restful sleep.  The lapping of the water on the hull actually stopped for a while signaling that the wind had pretty much died down.  But then later in the early morning it started up again telling us the winds were again picking up.  The wind was primarily coming from the east, and since we were heading mostly north, that meant the wind was on the beam.  And, today we were crossing Albemarle Sound.  Yippee.  The last time I did this with Rick, we had stiff winds creating beam to rollers that had the boat rolling from side to side like and amusement ride.  And to top it off, Rick was trying to cook some breakfast, bacon, eggs and toast.  If you have been following along, you know the bacon was burnt, the eggs were like sawdust and the toast, well that was pretty much ok.  I’m not saying the overcooked food was because of the wind and rollers, but it did make standing up in the galley a little hard.

So we took some more spray over the bow, coated the windows with salt water, all in a day’s adventures I guess.  Oh, and along with all the rollers, spray and wind, we were dodging crab pots across the sound.  The pots were so close to the charted course, you almost ran over them.  These guys have all the water in the sound, and they have to put crab pots on the rhumb line through Albemarle Sound?  Come on!!!  It was a relatively short day; we were going to Coinjock to stage for the push to Norfolk tomorrow.  And yet again, the weather looks crappy for the next several days.  Rain, thunderstorms, and wind.  What else can we get here?  Maybe some hail thrown in? 

It is about a 65 mile trip to the anchorage we plan to stay in which should be pretty well protected.  We have several bridges to negotiate tomorrow along with a lock.  This will be Jan’s first lock, and it will probably be raining to boot.  I’m not sure how this will go but I will be sure to let you know when it’s all over.  Oh, and because of the high winds with thunderstorms, we took the bimini down again, so there is no shelter on the flybridge from the rain.  So, when I am negotiating the lock or anchoring I will be doing it from the flybridge, and Jan will be out on the foredeck.  It looks like a pretty wet day tomorrow.

Today’s travels took us 38.8 miles.  So far we have traveled a total of 1145.5 miles from Ft. Myers Beach Fl.  Today we were on the water for 5 hrs. 19 mins.

So boys and girls we will have to see how this all plays out.  Until then…..

P.S. Hi Tyler

And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 29

So boys and girls what is the word for today?  Can you say W-I-N-D?  It never lets up!  After spending the night in a great anchorage, with no cell service, no internet and no light, we were completely off the grid.  Lying in bed this morning you could hear the water lapping hard against the boat.  That was the first sign there was some wind building out there.  Today was supposed to be about 55 miles, relatively easy compared to the last several days, so there was no urgency to get started early.  As it was we had the anchor up at 8:00 and were on our way.  With the wind blowing right in your face at probably 20+ mph, and a little chill in the air we decided we could operate from down below.  So downstairs we went.  We made our way up the Pungo River as the wind continued to get a little stronger.  If you have ever observed a body of water with strong winds blowing parallel to the flow of the water, you will see lines of foam in line with the wind.  You will also see white caps, or if the body of water is large enough, waves.  Well, there were waves and long lines of foam on the water. 

Eventually we left the Pungo River and entered the Alligator – Pungo Canal which connects the Pungo River with the Alligator River.  Along the canal, the wind was beam to, so we weren’t heading directly into it anymore.  But, you could see and feel the boat heel a little like a sailboat from the wind pushing on the superstructure.  The only other thing that was annoying was the current.  We fought the current which slowed us down, but I knew eventually we would reach a point where the current would be in our favor and give us a push.  So you just deal with it.  There is absolutely nothing, I mean nothing, no cell, no 4G, no way to communicate along this canal except with smoke signals, and nothing to see but trees, stumps, and grasses as far as you can see.  I asked Jan if she was hearing banjos yet.  She said she didn’t hear them playing, but she thought she heard them tuning up.  20 miles of nothing, that is the Alligator – Pungo Canal.  I have anchored at the northern end a couple of time, and you are completely, totally isolated from the rest of the world.  If you want peaceful and alone, this is the place.

Eventually we made it to the Alligator River and turned back into the wind, in big water.  By this time the wind had picked up a little bit and we were bashing our way along getting sprayed on.  What’s a day without some spray over the bow all over the windows?  It’s old hat by now, almost child’s play at this point.  Some bridges won’t open if winds are over 25 or sometimes 35 mph.  So as we were heading up the Alligator River I called the Alligator River Bridge on the radio when we were about 10 miles out to make sure they we still operating.  The bridge tender assured me they were.  We were going to stay tonight at the Alligator River Marina which is just on the north side of the bridge.  The woman told me they were closing the store at 2:00 since it wasn’t high season yet and I was on my own docking, and maybe some other boater might give me a hand.  Well thank you ma’am for all your help.  We decided to check it out and see how hard it might be parking this monster in 20+ mph winds there.  I hate trying to gently bring this to a fixed object like a dock, gently, in high winds.  It’s almost impossible to do unless you are nose to the wind.  Then you might have some control.   After we cleared the bridge we turned into the marina to check it out.  It was 2:40, so no one was around.  The best alternative was nose in to the slip, that way you were facing pretty close to the wind.  But, the finger piers were short, and the shoreline was rock, so you were trying to dock on a short pier, and stop short of the rocks with no help to grab lines.  I don’t think I saw any cleats on the dock to you were tying to pilings.  The outer pilings were sitting alone with no means to get to them, so you had to lasso them on the way in from the boat.  The whole thing looked pretty difficult under the circumstances.  So we made a U-turn and left.  We did find an anchorage not too far away that is somewhat protected from the wind which has subsided somewhat, so we dropped anchor and settled in for the night.  I can hear the water lapping loudly against the hull as I write this.  So there is still wind, not nearly as strong, but we are secure.  I loves me some Rocna!

Tomorrow is on to Coinjock.  The weather looks like we might get some storms Friday, so we might have to layover for a day there.  We’ll have to see what it looks like tomorrow.

So boys and girls, until then……

P.S. Hi Tyler

And Back to the Chesapeake – Day 28

After yesterday, we both hoped today would be much less stressful.  After being talked into it, first order of business was to put the bimini back up.  Of course today was mostly cloudy, and we even had some rain.  Good choice.  Maybe it will be beneficial later in the week.  Nonetheless, we were under way at 8:00 on the nose. We made it around Morehead City, up Adams Creek, across the Pamlico Sound all without incident.  No bridges to negotiate, no trouble spots of any concern and here we are anchored in Slade Creek about 5 miles from Belhaven N.C.  The spot is great, nice and wide, good water and good protection.  What is lacking is cell phone access, and any type of internet.  We are totally off the grid here.  So by the time you read this it may be a few days.  Tomorrow we are heading up the Alligator River to the edge of Albemarle Sound where we hope to be in Alligator River Marina.  After that it is a short hop to Coinjock, the jump off place to Norfolk and the Chesapeake. 

Today’s adventure, or lack thereof, took us 73.1 miles for a total of 1039.1 miles.  Travel time today was 8hrs 38mins.

So boys and girls, until next time…..

P.S. Hi Tyler