Merchants Row Archipelago

One nearby cruising ground that we had never really visited is the group of islands between Deer Isle and Isle Au Haut. Known as the islands of Merchants Row these are as beautiful a cruising area as you can find anywhere.

So this past Saturday we headed south from Castine in perfect weather. In 3 1/2 hours we dropped anchor near the northern shore of McGlathery Island and rowed ashore to a sandy beach for some dog play, then a hike across the island.

After a calm night at anchor, we did a much longer hike about 3/4 around the perimeter of the island. Then at mid-day we made a short run over to St. Helena Island for more exploring. We anchored near the NE tip of the island (where the nifty cairn was - see below) and had to bushwhack some before we found trails that lead to an old abandoned granite quarry.

By 3 pm we were pulling anchor for the return to Castine. This is a great area to visit and we will definitely be returning.

A Cruise Downeast

We are back from a week's cruise downeast into Washington County. We (Sheila & I & 2 pooches) departed Castine on Sunday 8/22, returning on Saturday 8/28. We had only loose plans as to itinerary, and this is how it worked out:

Sunday night: Little Cranberry Island (aka Islesford), just south of MDI. [on the hook]

Monday night: Winter Harbor, just west of Schoodic Point. [rented a mooring]

Tuesday night: off Great Beach of Roque Island, east of Jonesport. [on the hook]

Wednesday night: Shorey Cove on north shore of Roque Island. [on the hook]

Thursday noon: stop at Mud Hole, on Great Wass Island.

Thursday night: back to Winter Harbor. [rented same mooring]

Friday night: Northeast Harbor, on MDI. [rented mooring]

As to weather, since Maine has had the best summer weather in memory this year, we were worried about getting a boring week of sunny & warm, sunny & warm, etc. Not to fear! This was a week of more typical Maine variability, with a calm-but-cloudy day Sunday, strong NE winds on Monday & Tuesday, some serious rain late Wednesday afternoon, thick fog on Thursday morning, and finishing with glorious weather on Friday & Saturday. Nothing boring about all that!All in all, we had a great trip. There was a mix of stops in civilized areas and more wild areas, protected waters and open ocean, beach walking and woods hiking, good scenery and great scenery. Once we were east of Schoodic Point we lost most cell phone contact, and that was a good thing. It was fun having Riggs and Katie aboard, with their enthusiasm for exploring islands and beaches. Riggs continues as 'worlds best boat dog' and Katie wins the 'most improved' award as by the end of the week she was much more comfortable at sea. Best of all was having Sheila aboard who gave good marks to the recently completed shower setup.

Vinalhaven, Rockland, and back

On Saturday the 4 of us cruised down to Seal Bay on the east side of Vinalhaven. This was the 3rd time we've overnighted there but the first time in peak season and yes, there were many boats there. We were able to drop the hook in a tight area between 2 rocks which was fine on the calm night. The dogs explored the nearby shore and we had a nice supper.Late the next morning we cruised westwards through the Fox Island Thorofare and saw some beautiful boats on our way to Rockland.We stopped at Journey's End Marina to buy 120 gallons of diesel ($2.50/gal - 1st fillup since New Bedford MA and enough to last the rest of the season.), then moved to the town dock so we could walk around downtown Rockland for an hour or so.It was an easy 3 hours back to Castine and we rowed back to the dock at 9 pm through wicked mosquitos!

Something a bit different

This past Friday was a beautiful day. Sheila was again up in Milo emptying her mother's apartment (almost done!) so the two pooches and I cruised down to Pond Island for an overnighter. The dogs love the beach there and played and swam for an hour or so after we dropped the hook. We were back aboard Spray, leaving an empty stretch of beach, when two light planes flew in from the west at very low altitude (maybe 100 feet up).

They circled a couple of times and then one came in and, to my surprise, landed on the sloped beach right where we had been playing.

Since the beach is soft there the plane rolled to a stop in a very short distance, and had to really goose its engine to turn around and taxi back up the beach.
The second plane came in and landed too, although on its first try it bounced up and circled around for a second attempt. Each plane had only a pilot aboard and they got out and chatted for a half hour or so.
Finally each plane took off and they headed back to the west. Runways? They don't need no steenking runways!

Overnight getaway

Sheila has been dividing her time lately between her job and trips to Milo ME to empty out her mother's apartment (Mom's in a nursing home), so its hard to get time for cruising. Last weekend we squoze (squeezed?) in an overnight trip, leaving Saturday afternoon and returning Sunday.

We planned to overnight at Pond Island but on Saturday afternoon the sea breeze had kicked up and the typical 3-4 foot rollers were coming down the bay. The bouncing wasn't too bad but it was making Katie anxious, so I suggested we turn in behind Holbrook Island, and we dropped anchor within sight of Castine village. This turned out to be a great anchorage since a short dinghy ride brought us to the north end of the island, which we and the dogs enjoyed greatly.

We had a supper of spaghetti and green beans and a pleasant night. In the morning we had coffee and doughnuts and another visit to the island. By 9 am we were on our way down to our original goal of Pond Island and we got there early enough to have the island to ourselves for a walk around its perimeter.

We returned to Spray and camped on the flying bridge, reading books, noshing, and enjoying the warm day. I took a row around Pond Island. Since it was a beautiful Sunday in July, more and more boats arrived and by 1 pm we shared the island with maybe 15 other boats.

We stayed the whole day and had an easy run back to Castine. It was a real nice getaway.

July 4th in Camden

Do those people above look hot? From left that's Allen, Barbara, Sheila, Janet and Jarlath (Katie & Riggs in front row). We had all just had some lunch in Camden's waterfront park and the temp must have been in the upper 80's.

We had left Castine aboard Spray at about 11 am and cruised for about 3 hours, down the east side of Islesboro Island, up through a portion of Gilkey Harbor, and down into Camden Harbor. Conditions were calm and out in the bay it was probably in the 70's - very comfortable. Amazingly, even on the 4th of July, we were able to get a slip at Camden's town dock right in the inner harbor (Camden really welcomes visiting boaters). Once off the boat, the heat really hit us as it was maybe 15 degrees warmer in town.

After lunch, we proved how batty we were by walking to the northwest and climbing Mount Battie, which rises 780 feet above the harbor. It was a short, strenuous, and HOT climb, but still enjoyable and with great views of the town below and much of Penobscot Bay. There is a stone tower up top which provided some shade, and there was a breeze too.

Climbing down was easier. We had ice cream at Camden Cone and boarded Spray for the return to Castine. It was nearly 6 pm and the bay was glass calm and the air out there felt great. This time we went up the west side of Islesboro, and about halfway up the island we tied to the dock at Warren Island State Park for a quick visit. We moved quickly too since it was dusk and the bugs - especially Satan's insect the Deer Flies - were nasty. We hiked to the beach at the south end of the island where Katie swam and we skipped some stones.

Back aboard Spray we continued up the west bay and rounded Turtle Head as it grew dark, keeping a keen eye out for lobster pot buoys. As we approached Castine Harbor, we could see various fireworks displays and added a display of our own by firing off a flare: ooooh! It was an amazingly calm and balmy night. We felt our way to the Castine Yacht Club dock to drop off passengers, then Sheila and I (and pooches) groped our way into Hatch Cove and clipped onto our mooring at about 10 pm. We were pretty tired so rather than hassle with gathering the gear and getting to shore, we instead shared some wine bread & cheese and then prepared to sleep aboard Spray.

Before we hit the hay we had a nice surprise when Alan Snapp, who rents cabins on the north side of the cove, set off his own fireworks show right off our starboard side. Not a bad show either.

This morning was beautiful and still glass calm. We had coffee on Spray and then rowed to shore for wonderful showers and breakfast. All-in-all it was a great trip.

Another Day Trip - Warren Island State Park

Wow, has it really been 4 weeks since we've taken Spray out? It seems that something always comes up to mess with our plans for boating. This weekend we had planned to spend at least 2 days aboard but Katie Bopp took sick last week and wasn't well enough on Friday for a planned trip to Camden.

So we went for plan B: a day trip today since Katie B. is apparently recovered. I was thinking maybe Great Spruce Head Island but Sheila suggested Warren Island, on the west side of Islesboro. Warren Island is a Maine State Park, with some great campsites and hiking trails, and we had never been there, so why not?

We left Hatch Cove at about 10:45 this morning and had an easy run out of Castine Harbor, across a very smooth Penobscot Bay to round Turtle Head, on the north end of Islesboro Island. We enjoyed the warm weather on the flying bridge and had a nice lunch as we headed southwards down the west side of Islesboro until we saw the ferry that runs from the mainland (at Lincolnville Beach) to Islesboro. Warren Island is just opposite the Islesboro ferry landing, at the west entrance to Gilkey Harbor, and the State maintains a large dock there and several moorings.

We tied to a mooring at about 1 pm and rowed the dinghy (Sheila's Monhegan skiff 'Razzle Dazzle') to the dock. We hiked the trails to the south end of the island where there is a decent beach. Both dogs went swimming to retrieve thrown sticks. Sheila and I stayed dry. We then hiked the remaining perimeter of the island, noting that about half of the campsites (all very deluxe looking) were occupied. There was a crew dismantling a huge circus-tent that had been used for a wedding yesterday. We were told that there were over 150 guests, which must have taxed the rustic outhouses.

Back aboard Spray, we worked the Sunday NY Times crossword for a while, and set sail at about 3:30, heading south through Gilkey Harbor, which is line with an impressive set of estates of the Dark Harbor community. Once around Pendleton Point we turned north up the east side of the bay and back to Castine, where we picked up Spray's mooring at about 6 pm. It was a great day trip and I think we'll go back to Warren Island soon.

Unfortunately I forgot to bring a camera so I can only post a couple images from the SPOT tracker site, showing Warren Island (above), and the entire loop of our trip (below).

Day trip to Bucksport and back

Today Sheila and I (and of course Katie & Riggs) took a picnic lunch out to Spray at about 10:30, untied from the mooring in Hatch Cove, and headed out of Castine Harbor. As we passed the town dock we saw the crowd remaining from the just-completed Memorial Day ceremonies. We headed out into Penobscot Bay and turned north into a cool breeze. We attacked our picnic lunch almost immediately once underway.

With a rising tide, it was an easy 2-hour run up the bay, which narrowed to become the Penobscot River. We passed under the new and old bridges that connect Verona Island to Prospect ME (photo above), and tied up to the spacious Bucksport town dock. Bucksport has done wonderful things in the past 10 years or so in opening up its waterfront, including a 1+ mile long brick shore path. We walked half the path, stopped to have ice cream, and then finished the shore path.

When we were back aboard Spray, the wind had totally died down, and we moved to Spray's flying bridge to bask in the sun. After about a half hour traveling south, the southerly sea breeze started up as if someone had thrown a switch. The breeze and resulting waves built quickly so we were soon back down in the warm salon. As we continued towards Castine, the waves on our bow increased to 1 foot, to 2 ft, and by the time we reached Castine harbor, we were bashing through 3-4 ft waves. This made Katie nervous while Riggs just slept through it all. We turned into the harbor and surfed back to Hatch Cove and tied back to the mooring at 5 pm, where we finished our picnic food.

So it was a good trip and a nice break from the work I've been doing on Spray, which has included exterior varnish and paint work plus a new floor for the forward stateroom. Lots of summer left for more cruising and more chores.

This is Bucksport from the water:

Seal Bay

I've been home barely a week and we've already had a nice overnight cruise aboard Spray. This past Saturday we untied from the mooring and headed for the Castine town dock, where we took on a few groceries and filled our water tank. We then headed south down Penobscot Bay, towing Sheila's Monhegan skiff 'Razzle Dazzle' : past Cape Rosier, past Western & Pond Islands, past Butter, Great Spruce Head, & Eagle Islands, and on to Vinalhaven Island.

Seal Bay is an inlet on the east side of Vinalhaven and is probably the most beautiful spot in Penobscot Bay, with amazing granite formations and lots of good paddling options. We dropped anchor between Hay and Burnt islands at about 3 pm and within an hour we (Sheila, Riggs, Katie & I) set off in Razzle Dazzle for a rowboat circumnavigation of Penobscot Island. Its about a 2 hour row, with time for exploring nooks and crannies, and must be done near high tide.

We returned to Spray and made a nice supper of pasta and green beans and spent a comfortable night at anchor.

Sunday's breakfast was pancakes, then another long row around Seal Bay. We had lunch aboard Spray and then pulled anchor for a really pleasant cruise back to Castine. There was surreal fog rolling over some of the islands (top photo). We were back at the mooring in Hatch Cove by 4 pm.

One of the goals we have in cruising this summer is to try to get Katie more comfortable when cruising. She did pretty good on this trip, but still gets nervous in rougher conditions. Hopefully she will eventually adapt to boating as well as Riggs has.

Today I got going on some varnish work on Spray, plus I changed her engine oil. Lots more maintenance work to do this summer, and lots more cruising of the Maine coast, too.

Home again

It took only 3 days for Dennis, Riggs, and I to cruise from Gloucester MA to Spray's home port of Castine ME:

On Thursday, Dennis and I started the day in Gloucester with breakfast ashore. The locals at the restaurant were entertaining, and the food was good. We left our rented mooring at about 0800 and entered the Annisquam River with a slight following current. We had to wait at a RR drawbridge for a train to pass, and after we passed through, the current had shifted against us. But we had an easy cruise inside Cape Anne, and probably shaved 5 miles off the trip by taking this route.

Once out in the Atlantic, we beelined towards Portsmouth NH, which we reached by noon, with a building following sea. We pressed on up the coast and pulled in to anchor near Biddeford Pool. It was an interesting anchorage, like a lagoon surrounded by beaches.

Friday presented calmer conditions, and we were able to make an early start and cook fried eggs while under way. We made it up to Tenants Harbor by 3 pm, and tied to a rental mooring. Sheila and Katie drove down to meet us and Katie and Riggs had an energetic reunion. Later we 3 had a nice supper at the East Wind Inn.

Sheila slept aboard Spray and accompanied us on Saturday's final leg to Castine. After an oatmeal breakfast we were cruising by 0800, and rounded Owls Head by 0900, to enter Penobscot Bay - familiar waters! There were building NW winds so when we reach Isleboro Island we hugged its lee shore until we angled off towards the Castine bell buoy. It got a bit bouncy there which was no surprise as that area is often the roughest in the bay. By 1230 we were tied to a friend's mooring in Hatch Cove, and a few minutes later Dave Wyman and Don Small arrived aboard Dove to welcome us back.

Still aboard Spray, we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, with a couple beers to celebrate. The we loaded some gear, two dogs, and 3 crew on Spray's dinghy and made for the Hatch Cove dock. Home.

Sheila had earlier tried without success to get the lawnmower going so the lawn was a tall field of dandelions. Dennis and I got the mower to start and I did a quick pass at its highest setting. My sister Marsha arrived from Ellington CT and Sheila made us a nice supper.

On Sunday Dennis and Marsha headed back to CT, with Sheila & I and 2 dogs riding along. They routed to Tenants Harbor so we could get Sheila's car and return it to Castine.

Yesterday morning Dave Wyman and I resurrected Spray's mooring, which she is now safely tied to (below). I've been slowly moving some gear to shore, and getting going on a long list of chores.

I have several projects planned for Spray, and we hope to do some coast-of-Maine cruising this summer. I'll post some blog entries on these activities as they occur, so I hope you will check back now and then.

Its good to be home!

Here comes Maine!

Its been 6 days since the last blog entry, and 2 of those days involved no travel, yet we still have covered all of Long Island Sound, Rhode Island Sound, Buzzards Bay, the Cape Cod Canal, Cape Cod Bay, and Massachusetts Bay, to land us here in Gloucester MA.

Two of the travel days were looong ones:

- Last Friday Riggs and I did all of L.I. Sound, from Manhasset NY to Essex CT, something like 90 miles. The weather and currents were mostly favorable, and we wanted to get into Essex before the start of what was a very windy weekend.

- Yesterday we had B.I.L. Dennis aboard and went from just east of Essex, all the way to Onset MA, at the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal, with a fuel-up stop in New Bedford MA, again maybe 90 miles. This time we were driven by the desire for an early-morning entrance into the Cape Cod Canal to catch the flood current.

In between we hunkered down for the weekend gales, with Spray safely at a mooring at the Essex Yacht Club, but Riggs and I living in luxury at Marsha & Dennis' house an hours drive north in Ellington CT. A real bed, great meals, hot showers. Wow! Riggs even learned a new game.

By late Monday afternoon we (now including Dennis) were back aboard Spray, and headed out the CT River, then east 10 miles or so to anchor in Jordan Cove. Tuesday was our marathon run to the Cape Cod Canal. Today was a pretty good run too:

- Anchor up by 0600. Through the canal with 4-5 knots of assisting current,

- then into Cape Cod Bay, heading NW past Plymouth MA,

- then turning straight north for a 28 mile run across MA Bay, directly to Gloucester. We had fun playing chicken with the 'Nosmo King' tanker shown below.

Tomorrow we are gonna try the Annisquam River shortcut thru Cape Anne, then up past MA & NH to pull into Portsmouth for the night. We'll probably set foot in Maine!! Stay tuned.

NJ: Done NYC: Done

Recent weather has been saying 'GO', and so we have. In the 3 days since last report we have completed the NJ section, all done on the 'outside', and today we went through NYC and are now ready for Long Island Sound.

Tuesday morning was calm in Atlantic City NJ, so after the ordeal of the NJ ICW the previous day, we instead went out Absecom Inlet, and turned north. It was pretty easy cruising, but since we're about a mile off shore, there is nothing close by to watch, and it almost seems we are standing still. Sure enough, we eventually reached the Barnegat Inlet, as the afternoon wind started up. We were in and safely anchored by the time the wind built to a screaming pitch (I think 35+ knots), until the sun went down, when the wind wound down.

Wednesday we went back outside again, and it was a duplicate of Tuesday, and when the wind kicked up, we were rounding Sandy Hook, and anchored behind the jetty at Atlantic Highlands before the wind again really got going.

This morning we were in no hurry, since the flood current up the East River wouldn't start until after 11 am, so we cruised slowly towards the Verrazano Narrows, fought a 3 knot current to get into NY Harbor, then cruised up the west side to snap a few pix of Lady Liberty, and headed to the south end of Manhatten.

The East River was a piece of cake, easy following current, and nearly no traffic. We were under the Throgs Neck Bridge, and into L.I. Sound, by 1:00, and tied to a free visitors mooring here in Manhasset by 2:00. Plenty of time to walk Riggs and then buy some badly needed groceries.

Tomorrow, eastward down L.I. Sound, at least as far as Port Jefferson. Stay Tuned.

Wide water and Narrow water

So over the last few days, we've covered some wide waters (Chesapeake and Delaware Bays), and some narrow waters (C&D canal and NJ ICW).

Last Friday we left Solomons MD at 0815, after taking on 100 gallons of diesel (@ $2.65/gal) and topping off the water tank. It was a nice calm day on the Chesapeake and we made our goal of Queenstown MD, some 55 miles farther up the Bay, in time for a walk around the lovely town.

Saturday was the perfect cruising day: calm waters, warm & sunny, and favorable currents, and we had made the top of the Chesapeake (Chesapeake City, at the entrance to the C&D Canal) by 1400 hr, and instead of dropping anchor as planned, we kept going, across the C&D, and nearly half way down Delaware Bay before finally pulling into the Cohansey River in NJ to anchor for the night. It was tough to find a spot to land Riggs for 'necessities', but we managed. Totals for Saturday: about 90 miles traveled over 11 1/2 hours. A record for the entire cruise.

On Sunday we got an early start out into the lower Delaware Bay, but soon the current and wind turned against us, and it was a rough ride down to Cape May, where we entered the protected waters of the NJ ICW, and traveled a mere 6 miles before dropping anchor in Sunset Lake. At least we were able to dinghy ashore to a park to play ball.

Today was a grueling day. The NJ ICW has not been maintained well, and has some shoaling issues. Fortunately we've hit a time where high tide is mid-day, so morning travel is on a rising tide, and there is extra depth for mid-day travel. But when we pulled anchor at 0800 hr, the tide was still low, and we had barely traveled a mile north before we ran aground. We we right in the channel too. With the rising tide we waited maybe 20 minutes and were able to back off and resume travel, and made maybe 300 yards before running aground again! Fortunately, the bottom here is typically soft mud, plus Spray has a deep skeg that protects the propeller, so a little patience is all it takes. As the tide rose, we had one more bump on the bottom, and some scary depthfinder readings, but we did OK.

Until the bridges. Just before reaching Atlantic City, there are 4 drawbridges to deal with. The first one, Dorset Avenue, was being worked on when we arrived, and we had to 'hover' for 20 minutes before the crew could be moved aside, and one span lifted for us to get through. The next bridge went OK, then we again waited 20 minutes for a RR bridge to open (they had a train coming through - the nerve!). The last bridge went OK and we were free to pull into the'Brigantine' anchorage overlooking th Atlantic City hotels.

You just might remember that we were stuck in this anchorage for 5 nights back in October while two nor'easters passed through. Well, when we dropped anchor today we had strong, warm SW winds (30+ knots) to deal with. It made for a hairy dinghy ride to a beach for Riggs, but has since calmed down.

We are moving north faster than does the boating season. In the lower Chesapeake we were about a week ahead of the beginning of the boating season. Here we are about a month ahead. So today we saw maybe 4 other boats, and are the only boat anchored here.

Tomorrow we fight our way another 40 miles up the NJ ICW. Stay tuned!

Working our way up the Chesapeake

And work it can be. Chesapeake Bay is a bit over 200 miles long. We entered it at the south end on Monday morning, after leaving Hampton Creek near Norfolk. 4 days later we're only a bit more than half way up the Bay, due to strong NW winds that are conspiring against us.

Actually, on Monday the winds were gentle, and we made good time, traveling about 50 miles to anchor in protected Jackson Creek, at the mouth of the Piankatank River (west side of Ches.), and near the town of Deltaville VA. Monday was sunny so we (Riggs and I) spent the day on Spray's flying bridge. A couple hours after we dropped anchor, Margaret & Bob aboard GB32 'Thumper' dropped the hook right next to us. We had shared a dock with them back in Oriental NC (see earlier blog).

For Tuesday the NWS was predicting strong NW winds, and we woke to those and so decided to hang in Jackson Creek for another night. We took a long walk to Schroeders Boatyard in Deltaville, to see if sailboat 'Heron' with skipper Don had pulled in yet. We had shared anchorage with Heron 3 times in NC and knew that Don's goal was Schroeders for storing Heron for the summer. After a 3 mile walk we arrive to find that Don had just pulled in 30 minutes earlier. I helped him pull his foresail off Heron and he gave Riggs and I a ride back to Spray. We had supper that evening at a restaurant and found that 'Thumper's crew was there too.

So Tuesday was a fun day, but the strong NW winds that started the day fizzled before noon. It would have been an easy day to make some progress up the Bay.

For Wednesday the NWS was again predicting strong NW winds, but I wasn't to be fooled twice. We left safe, protected Jackson Creek at 7 am and headed up the Bay. Ooops! This time the NWS was right. In fact they understated the wind strength. We had 3 hours of 25-35 knot winds and nasty 3-4' waves, thankfully mostly off Spray's bow, before we headed up Cockrell Creek to the town of Reedville VA. We had only made 15 miles of progress but were glad when the hook was set. Reedville has some beautiful old homes, probably funded by the menhaden fishery - a good size fishing fleet and a (at times) real stinky menhaden processing plant (think fertilizer, fish oil, etc) are just south of town.

For today the NWS was again predicting NW winds, and today's travel started with crossing the 8-mile-wide mouth of the Potomac River, which has a looong NW fetch as it empties into the Chesapeake. Our strategy was to get moving early, before the winds built up, so we were moving before 7 am. This might have helped a bit, but only a bit. The rollers coming down the Potomac and crashing into Spray's port bow were impressive.

Spray is a great boat. She lived up to her name, with every external inch of her covered in salt spray both yesterday and again today, and she rocked and rolled, but she never hiccupped and got us safely through. Riggs too handled the nasty conditions like the World's Best Boat Dog that he is, mostly sleeping through it all on the helm seat (I stand in these conditions).

After crossing the Potomac, we passed Point Lookout and hugged the west shore as best we could, and the rest of the day's trip was easy enough. We're now anchored in the boater's mecca of Solomons MD and have done some exploring and grocery shopping.

Tomorrow, if you can believe NWS, should have great cruising weather: moderate SW winds and 80 degrees. We'll get some fuel and water, and then try to get 50-60 miles farther north. Stay tuned.

Ready for the Chesapeake

What a change in surroundings over the last two days, and what a variety of experiences.

Saturday morning we were at one of the free slips in Elizabeth City NC (ICW mile 51). Riggs did some ball chasing, then I did some grocery shopping (at a CVS store of all places). We shoved off at about noon and headed up the Pasquotank River, through Turners Cut, and were at the South Mills Lock in time for the 3:30 lock-thru, which lifted Spray by 8 feet and put us in the Dismal Swamp Canal. Only 4 miles later we (and a sailboat we locked-thru with) tied up at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center (ICW mile 28) for the night.

A few minutes later a fella walks up and invites us all to an outdoor dinner being held there to celebrate the 80th birthday of a man named George Ramsey, who has much history with the canal. What a great time! Some 75 of his friends & relatives were there, several of whom work either at the Visitors Center or for the Corps of Engineers. Several people spoke in admiration of George, and there were some great jokes. It was a canal-fest and it was catered southern style with fried chicken, BBQ pork, hushpuppies, many salads, and of course, sweet tea.

This morning we set off about 8 am and had a liesurely 17 mile ride to the Deep Creek Lock, at the northern end of the canal (ICW mile 11). We locked through at 11 am and dropped 8 feet, back to sea level. In a few miles we were in super-busy Norfolk VA (ICW mile 0!!). We worked our way out to the Hampton Roads shipway, dodging th big traffic (below) and finally tucking up the Hampton River, where we are anchored right off downtown Hampton VA. Sowe're poised to enter the Chesapeake tomorrow and work our way north. Stay tuned!

Cruising the Outer Banks

Tonight we are tied to one of the free slips in Elizabeth City NC, ready to head up the Dismal Swamp Canal, either tomorrow or Sunday, and then into Chesapeake Bay.

We were here back in November, with Dave Wyman aboard, and stayed 2 nights. We then spent several days exploring the western reaches of Abermarle and Pamlico Sounds. So when Riggs and I left Oriental NC (ICW mile 182) this past Wednesday we aimed Spray off the ICW, towards the eastern waters behind the narrow barrier islands that are the Outer Banks of NC.

Our first stop was Ocracoke NC, about a 40 mile cruise from Oriental, over wide-but-shallow waters that are typical here. We anchored in the Silver Lake anchorage and went ashore to walk around the island, which is accessible only by boat (including car ferries) or air. It was a bit touristy but still pre-season.

On Thursday we made a long run (60 miles or so) up Pamlico Sound to Roanoke Island and the town of Manteo. We liked this town better, with its nice waterfront park. Its probably very busy in summer but this time of year it was quite nice.

Today the NWS web site predicted 5-10 knot west winds on Abermarle Sound with 1 ft waves so we headed out to find 20 knot winds and 4 foot waves, fortunately on our nose so still tolerable. But it was a long bouncy run of 45 miles into the Pasquotank River and up to Elizabeth City (back on the ICW at mile 51). Now we have light SE winds that are making for a somewhat bouncy night in the slip. We originally planned 2 nights here but the winds are supposed to increase tomorrow so maybe we'll cruise upriver a bit and drop anchor. Stay tuned.

And now we slow down a bit

Hello from Oriental NC, a very boater friendly, dog friendly, and just plain friendly small town on the Neuse River. We arrived here yesterday and we're still here for a 2nd night. Why? Can you say 'Free Dock'?

Yes, we're in the very hospitable 'Sounds' are of eastern NC, where Dave Wyman and I explored some of back in November. This area has welcoming towns that often provide free dockage to cruisers, and Oriental has a single finger pier for this, providing coveted free docking space to two boats. When we came here in November, the dock was full so we anchored up in nearby Greens Creek. This time we were luckier, as I'll explain below.

We started yesterday in Swansboro (ICW mile 229), lifting anchor at 7:30 or so, heading up Bogue Sound to Beaufort NC (mile 204), then turning inland up Adams Creek to the Neuse River and Oriental (mile 181). There happens to be a webcam that points at Oriental's free dock, and I could access that as we approached and see that one side of the dock was open (and at the other side was a boat that looked like Spray's twin). It was great to know ahead of time that I'd be doing a port-side-tieup so I could get the fenders and lines ready, and by 2 pm we were tied up in the heart of Oriental. Our neighbors, Bob and Margaret from CT had arrived just a bit before on their 1988 GB32 'Thumper', which they keep in beautiful condition. In the pic above, that's Spray on the left and Thumper on the right. Across the street is coffee shop 'The Bean' (below), the nerve center of town and a great place to hang out.

There is a 48 hour limit on the dock here, so tomorrow we'll shove off. Since Dave and I explored the western reaches of these sounds, I think now we'll look at the eastern areas, beginning with the town of Ocracoke NC, which is out on the outer banks barrier islands, and reportedly has a good anchorage. This area apparently has poor ATT coverage, so I'll have to report on it when I'm back in civilization. Stay tuned.

The 50+ mile/day club

We're in lovely Swansboro NC (ICW mile 229), where we visited early last December. I've got to like a town that has apparently named a street after me (above). I wonder who the William Main person is.

Its a bit odd. Back in December it was freezing cold yet we averaged maybe 30 miles/day as we cruised south in this region. Now its a beautiful spring, the weather is great, and we race through the region, often covering in a day what you could drive in an whole hour, 50 or 60 miles or more. You would think we would have raced south to the warmer temps, and dally on the way north to savor the spring.

It must be that on our way south it was all brand new, and we had to explore each town more. Plus the days were pretty short then. Now its all familiar (well, vaguely), and the days are long, and we've been away from home for almost 7 months, so lets keep moving.

And moving is what we've been doing. Here are our travels since Tuesday:

- Wednesday we left Beaufort SC (ICW mile 536) and traveled 65 miles to the Wappoo Creek anchorage (mile 471), just west of Charleston SC. That was a long day. Riggs played ball chase at a nearby boat ramp.

-Thursday we crossed Charleston Harbor, and up the ICW to Georgetown SC (mile 403), for an even longer 68 mile day. As we walked around charming Georgetown (ignoring the huge paper mill) we were surprised to stumble onto a Tea-Party rally. Riggs barked whenever a speaker told a lie.

- Friday night we anchored in Calabash Creek, just below the SC/NC border at ICW mile 342. We had an interesting time running aground in the creek before finally finding enough water to anchor in.

- Saturday we made it to busy Wrightsville Beach NC (mile 283). The boating season here is well under way and on a nice Saturday the boat traffic was crazy. On shore there were hundreds of college kids. Is it still spring break?

- Today we moved another 54 miles to here in Swansboro. Upon pulling in we stopped at Casper's Marina and bought 120 gallons of diesel ($2.50/gal plus 7% tax) and filled the water tank.

As I write this I'm dealing with a dragging anchor. The bottom here is apparently not very anchor-friendly and the tidal currents are significant. Its all part of the fun of cruising!

Tomorrow: Through Beaufort NC and hopefully inland to Oriental NC. Stay tuned:

Out of FL, through GA, and into SC

Maine is beckoning, so we are making continuous progress to the northeast. The weather has been perfect, the ICW is curvy and shallow in spots, and the tidal currents are a pain. Dealing with the currents reminds me of bicycle riding: you notice the uphill runs more than the downhills.

Since last report in Fernadina Beach FL, we've made these daily journeys:

- Last Friday we bought 100 gallons of diesel at the Florida Petroleum dock ($2.89/gal, ICW mile 716), crossed into GA, and made an easy run up the inside of Cumberland Island to anchor off of the Plum Orchard estate (mile ~ 700). We had a nice time walking the estate grounds then crossing the island to the Atlantic beach.

- On Saturday we made a long run up to the Duplin River anchorage (mile 649), where we could walk around the southern end of Sapelo Island.

- On Sunday we meandered the GA ICW to end up at remote Queen Bess Creek, off of Bear Island (mile 606). It was tricky to land Riggs for his business there but we made do (actually he did).

- Yesterday we complete the GA section, crossed the Savannah River into SC, and anchored in the New River (mile 570), off of Dafuskie Landing. We had a nice supper at Marshside Mama's cafe, which is as casual a restaurant as you'll ever find.

- Today we ended up anchored off of beautiful Beaufort SC (mile 536). The great weather is still here and we enjoyed walking the town, and picked up some groceries.

Tomorrow should get us close to Charleston SC. Stay tuned.