We have been so lucky on the days we choose to travel. We left this morning for Oxford and the sky was blue and there was hardly a breeze, and if you can imagine our boat floating in a bathtub, that’s about as wavy as the bay was.

This was about a 4 hour trip of 30 miles over water (7 miles by car to Oxford from St. Michaels !!) passing through an area called Knapps Narrows. This is a shortcut into the Choptank River which leads to the Tred Avon River where Oxford is located. It’s not even a quarter of a mile long, but has a draw bridge that you have to wait for to open.

Oxford is another of the truly small towns we have been experiencing. When I say small, I mean small, the main street is only 2 blocks long!! But leave it to Bren to find a consignment shop with something she needs for the condo. We’re going back with her fabric swatches to check the color tomorrow AM to make sure it matches before she buys.

We had our mail forwarded to general delivery at the post office here. When we checked it had not arrived. Hopefully it will be here tomorrow. We were advised to check back after 9 AM (they’re only open from 8-10:30 on Saturday). If it’s not here by tomorrow it means we will have to stay until Monday. That will mean we will pull out of the marina we are in Sunday and drop anchor just outside the harbor, so we can dinghy in to check the post office on Monday.

We decided to have dinner out tonight at a place called Schooner’s Landing. This is a low key place with “ambiance”, you know, kind of rustic but the food was great. I am working my way through crab cakes and this place had some really great ones.

On the way over, we passed a hair salon and Bren is going in tomorrow for a little snip here and there. Right down the street is the Cutt’s and Case shipyard. This is a famous boatyard specializing in wooden boat repair, restoration and construction. I have read much about them in WoodenBoat magazine over the years and tomorrow will investigate the place and some of the phenomenal boats they had in the showroom we walked past.

We have certainly been playing the weather right by listening to the forecasts and staying put when necessary. This morning is overcast and grey with the winds a howlin’. Perfect weather for me to go to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and for Bren to relax onboard until I get back.

This is a very nice museum, I would call it a mini-Mystic Seaport without the old town that Mystic has on its’ grounds. This place has a restoration shop where I got a quick lesson in what are called log canoes. If you can call a 50 foot boat a canoe!! It seems these fishing boat hulls are made of at least 5 split logs that have metal rods driven into them to hold them together, and then they are shaped into a hull. Quite impressive.

The museum has one fairly new building called “At Play on the Bay”, where a history of water sports on the bay is shown in models, clothing, photos and real boats on display. One impressive boat that was in a room of its’ own was a 1952 , 30 foot Owens cruiser. This was a beauty with all the woodwork perfectly varnished. I was able to go aboard to look at the layout, which was very much like our first boat “Funnybones”.

I stepped out onto the aft deck around 10 pm last night into the pitch dark and looked up into the most amazing sky!! I could not believe the number of stars and the constellations that were present. This is just something you don’t get to see when you’re near a city because of all the background light.

As dark and calm as the night was, Brenda and I were treated to a 4 am wake up call gratis of the local fire department!! The sound of sirens tend to travel very well over the water. We did manage to get a bit more sleep, but wound up getting off to an early start by raising the anchor around 7:30. The sun was up and the day was just beautiful, without a cloud in the sky. We were on our way to St. Michaels. Four hours later we were tied up at St. Michaels Marina with a 170 foot Feadship Megayacht tied up directly behind us. I always thought we had a pretty large boat, but we look like a dinghy next to this dark blue hulled baby!!

We had a quick bite to eat and walked a couple of blocks to Talbot Street, the main drag, to check it out. Much better than Rock Hall, at least most of the shops are open and there are lots of people around.

Tomorrow I am heading for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum while Bren is either going to check out the shops or relax a bit on the boat as the weather is supposed to be rainy.

This harbor has to be the most scenic of all we have seen so far. It’s fairly small and in a u-shape. It’s surrounded by a luxury spa on one side, the St. Michael’s Inn and Marina, and lovely homes on the opposite side of the harbor, with the marina we are staying in sort of in the center. You can see the maritime museum from our boat and just next door to that is the Crab Claw restaurant, which has the reputation of being “the” place for steamed crabs. Hmmmm, maybe I’ll stop for lunch!!

After a night of storms and wind the day began bright and sunny but with a good breeze blowing. Listening to the NOAA weather channels is a bit confusing in the Chesapeake because they divide the forecast into two separate areas denoted by specific locations. In today’s case one of the forecasts was for 2-3 foot seas and 10-20 knot winds, while the other was for 1 foot seas and 10-15 knot winds.

When we left for Chestertown, it appeared that we had the 1 foot seas forecast. You know what happened next!! Yup, as we traveled the seas mounted coming from behind and to the right, causing the boat to slew back and forth. This makes it difficult to hold course. However, after about a half hour of this we had turned into the Chester River and everything flattened out.

It’s about a ten mile trip up the river to Chestertown through farm country punctuated with beautiful homes along the shore line. It seemed the wind kept increasing until we got to Chestertown where it was blanketed by the town itself. We dropped anchor after about a three hour ride right in front of the main street, at which point the wind died completely. How nice is that!!

After lunch we lowered the dinghy and went to town to see the sights. When we arrived at the dinghy dock and tied up, we realized there was no ladder to get us off the dock and onto the street!! Back into the dinghy to search for another location to land, which fortunately was sort of just around the corner at a bulkhead.

We had noticed a magnificent wooden boat about 70 feet long tied up near us, so Brenda walked over before even I could to talk to the owner. It turns out the boat is a Trumpy. These were the crème de la crème of boats from the thirties through the sixties. This particular boat was previously owned by the Firestone family of tire fame and was now in charter service between the Chesapeake and the Florida Keys.

We finally began walking through the historic end of town where the architecture was just beautiful. Many of the homes date back to the early 1800’s and are very well kept. The streets are all tree lined and peaceful to walk down. We were able to enter a couple of galleries and shops. At least this town was open for business, including my favorite place Dunkin’ Donuts!!

After returning to the boat we relaxed by watching a fleet of sailing dinghies racing, followed by a number of rowing shells being coached up and down the river. Since Washington College is here in

The weather forecast was correct. We awoke to high winds driving waves up against the hull of the boat and grey skies. It pretty much remained this way the entire day.

We did take advantage of the cooler weather to walk into Rock Hall. Talk about a small town, the main street here is about two blocks long and as it turned out all the stores, galleries and museums were closed on Monday. I guess we should have cut short our trolley ride yesterday, if only we had known. One store that was open was Durding’ store. What a quaint place. This store had an original soda fountain area , pharmacy with all the old style wooden storage drawers and an original wooden telephone booth, along with a pressed metal ceiling. We wound up having a little ice cream to ease the disappointment of all the other stores being closed!!

It was a short hop to Rock Hall today. The waters had a 1-2 foot chop coming from the starboard aft quarter so the boat tended to slew mildly, but the ride was basically pretty smooth. After we arrived at the marina, we found out there was a shuttle bus to take us into town. For a $3 per person fare you get to use the shuttle for the entire day. You get on board and the driver stamps your hand to prove you paid your fare and off you go.

We decided that we would just make the whole loop on the trolley to get the lay of the land. Well, since we were the only people on board we got a tour of all the other marinas surrounding Rock Hall. Of course one of them, the Sailing Emporium supposedly had the best gift shop in town and we made a stop there (according to the driver he gets paid to advertise!!). Bren wound up buying a sun hat to match her pool cover up. Real funky with little fish and seahorses, ha, ha.

From there we returned to the marina where there was a swing at the top of the dock. We sat down to relax and enjoy the view when we met two couples from the Jacksonville area, specifically Amelia Island and St. Augustine who were chartering a trawler from Baltimore. It turns out they have been chartering different trawlers before purchasing their own. We invited them aboard our boat to see it and they were so enthusiastic and grateful that they invited us to stop at their own dock in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island on our way down.

It’s the people you get to meet personally on the water that really what makes this kind of trip so great.

The search is on!! The search for fresh fruit and vegetables that is. We stocked the boat with enough food to last what seems like forever, but there is always a need for veggies after a few days. Who’da thought that here in Annapolis, where there is a constant stream of voyaging boats that it would be next to impossible to find fresh fruits and vegetables. Especially with the Naval Academy, don’t they know that sailors used to get scurvy!!

One of the cruising guides mentioned a market in town here just a few blocks from the marina. So Brenda and I set off to see the town and find the market. The street where the market was supposedly located was a very narrow one lane street lined on both sides with quaint old homes dating from before 1800. Lovely with brick lined roadway and sidewalks, but no market!

We stopped a young lady who told us the market had closed and even she missed having it in the neighborhood. So we kept on walking and sightseeing our way through the streets until we got to Maryland Avenue, where Brenda found what she needed, antique and craft stores!! But also, a produce truck that was delivering to a restaurant. Bren tried to negotiate with the driver to buy some things right off his truck with no luck, but he mentioned that there was a supermarket about a half mile away, just over a bridge that was only a couple of blocks away.

So off we went. By the time we crossed the bridge we knew this driver only drove this half mile and never walked it!! We could see an intersection ahead about a quarter mile as we were walking past a church. Brenda had had enough and said she was going to church, to sit on a bench that is outside, while I continued on.

Victory was at hand, there was a supermarket at that intersection, and while I began shopping, I called Bren to walk up and meet me. We caled for a cab to take us back to the boat and asked him to tell us the mileage on the trip back. Well, we had come three miles from the marina in our quest for fruit and veggies!! However, all is now well with the universe!!

I had mentioned in my last post about meeting a couple from Baltimore here at the marina. When we left on the trek, we asked them to join us for dinner and we agreed to meet later that evening. Well, between all the walking we did and a knee problem of the woman on the other boat, it was decided to sent us guys into town for a couple of pizzas and have dinner on their boat. We had a lovely evening getting to know these folks and learning more about the Chesapeake.

We have decided to head for Rock Hall on Sunday as the weather for tomorrow is calling for winds over 20 mph with gusts to 30. Not a good day to travel.

At the moment, I am sitting at the dock in Annapolis, surrounded by Megayachts and directly in front of me is the Annapolis Yacht Club, one of the oldest clubs in the country. Tonight, there was an awards ceremony outside on the deck of the club for the winner of the Rolex Women’s Keelboat Regatta. There were attendees from New Zealand, South Africa, France and the US among those I was able to hear being introduced. Doing the introduction was Gary Jobson, a sailing and ESPN celebrity, who has sailed in the America’s Cup races and does commentary for ESPN on these type of events.

From here we will be backtracking slightly to go to Rock Hall either on Sunday or Monday.

There is never a dull moment when boating. Around 1:30 in the morning a boat apparently came by at a high speed and the wake almost knocked us out of bed!!

By the time we awoke and were ready to leave, there were only a handful of boats remaining in the anchorage. So, we hauled anchor and got underway for our trip up Delaware Bay.

It was another sunny, calm day and there was not even a ripple on the bay. Perfect conditions for a boat ride. To make it even better, we had the current pushing us towards our destination. Delaware Bay is the main shipping route into Philly, so the goal was to get across the shipping lane quickly. Always good to have a push from the current in that instance. We did get passed by a huge tug boat pulling a gigantic barge. This thing had to be as long a football field. Then a giant tanker passed us by just before we entered the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, which takes us into Chesapeake Bay and our destination on the canal, Chesapeake City.

We arrived at the anchorage at about 1:30 PM and found a place to anchor with only a few boats around. There is a free dock here, but there were two boats tied at the time we arrived and not enough room for us. Of course, by the time we were anchored, both the other boats had left!! Anyhow, we stayed put and lowered the dinghy so that we could visit this small but quaint town.

The buildings date from the late 1800’s and many have been turned into bed and breakfast’s and restaurants. A nice town for a short visit.

Today was a close to a perfect day as one can have. I’ll explain why it wasn’t totally perfect shortly.

As predicted, the weather and the ocean were fabulous. Blue skies with hardly a cloud, the seas running only about 1-2 feet, and we’re making 9.5 knots over ground, which for this boat is flying!!

We left Atlantic City at 7:30 and arrived in Cape May at a little after 11AM. We decided that since we had been to Cape May by car twice before, we would fuel up the boat and anchor for the day to relax and just fool around in the dinghy. Now, according to the cruising guides there are anchorages east or west of the Coast Guard station. In the westerly anchorage there is also a yacht club with moorings. As we approached the area we had about 9.7 feet of water under the boat. Now we only need about 4 feet to stay afloat, and since there was another trawler at anchor I felt we would be ok here.

After anchoring and having lunch, we lowered the dinghy and took off to explore the area. There were several condo developments right on the harbor which were done in a Victorian style, for which the area is well known. We also went up and down a few creeks and past the commercial docks. There were an amazing amount of commercial fishing boats tied up here, some rafted together 4-5 deep. We then went back to the boat and I raised the dinghy back aboard and we spent the afternoon reading.

It was a good decision to stay put here in Atlantic City today. We awoke to the boat straining at the dock lines here in the marina as the winds were howling. The entire day strong winds of close to 20 knots kept blowing until almost 8 PM when they started to calm slightly.

Even though there were strong winds, the skies were only somewhat overcast, so we hopped on a Jitney and went the “tourista” route on the board walk. It’s quite a scene as you walk past the Showboat, Taj Mahal, Bally’s and Resort’s casinos and then come up to the Steel Pier which is basically an amusement park out over the ocean. As you keep walking there are all sorts of ticky-tack businesses selling salt water taffy and tee shirts!! We had fun and returned to the boat a bit tired from all the walking. As an example, we walked into the Showboat Casino from the Jitney and it was almost a three block walk through the casino just to get to the boardwalk!!

By the way, I forgot to mention in yesterdays post, that as we entered the inlet here we were greeted by three dolphins swimming across our bow!! Very cool. I have never seen dolphins in all my years boating here in the northeast.

Tomorrow we will head for Cape May as the forecast is for sunshine, winds out of the north at 5-10 mph and only 2-3 foot seas. It is about a 3-4 hour run from here to Cape May and should be a nice ride. We had originally planned on staying 2 days in Cape May, but having stayed 2 days here in AC, may only stay for one day before heading for the Chesapeake.

We awoke this morning basically at the crack of dawn. The sun was just beginning to rise at about 6 AM. Bren and I had decided to just get up and go as early as possible to take advantage of the usually calm early morning seas, and it was a great decision.

The anchor was up and stowed by 6:30 and we headed out of East Rockaway Inlet with the sun, a bright orange ball, starting to cast its glow on the windows of the buildings that are by the inlet. It was beautiful, and so were the seas. The ocean was just about flat, with 1-2 foot rolling waves about 10 feet or more apart. The sky was clear blue, there was barely a breeze and we set our heading for Barnegat Inlet, about 50 miles south. If things started to get snotty on the water, we would duck into Barnegat and anchor for the night, but if all remained calm it was on to Atlantic City, a total of 80 miles away.

Every once and a while you get to enjoy a phenomenal day on the ocean. This was turning into one of those magical days!! By 12:30 we were passing Barnegat and heading for AC. By about 2 PM the winds started to pick up, right on the nose, but the seas remained pretty calm. But as any boater will tell you, about 30 minutes before reaching the inlet at Atlantic City, the wind picked up and the waves grew to about 2-3 feet very closely spaced. Not terrible, but making for a somewhat wet ride. Once through the inlet all calmed down again.

As the day progressed we had been listening to the forecast for tomorrow, and it was not looking good (2-4 seas, 10-15 mph winds with gusts to 20). Soooo, we decided to spend the night at Trump Marina. So here we are as I write this, comfortably docked just steps from the casino. Guess where we’re headed shortly???

P.S. - we’re back and the Donald can rest comfortably knowing we made a contribution to his casino.

Today was the day for final preparations for our trip. We awoke to a beautiful day with bright sunshine, a cool breeze with no humidity and an excited feeling!! After a trip to the supermarket one more time, I brought our car over to my sister-in-law Sherri’s house for the winter and hopped a cab back to the yacht club.

After lunch, we began unplugging everything, taking in all the lines and saying our final farewells to our friends at the yacht club. We set off about 3:30 for Bannister Bay where we will overnight before heading out at the crack of dawn tomorrow. While our scheduled port is Barnegat Inlet, the ocean forecast is for waves of only 1-2 feet, ideal conditions, so if this is the case we will spend about a 9-10 hour day and go as far as Atlantic City, where we will anchor for the night. By doing this we only have to spend about 3 hours on the ocean the next day to get to Cape May.

We are both very excited that we are finally on the way south. This is the beginning of a long time dream to travel the ICW and visit all the wonderful towns and cities along the coast.

The time has come to point Heart’s Desire in a southerly direction for the trip down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) to our home in Florida. We’ve spent a lovely summer here at our yacht club in New York, visiting with friends and just relaxing.

We have now been waiting for the past week for the effects of hurricane Ophelia to pass since we have two days on the open ocean to get from East Rockaway on Long Island down to Cape May, New Jersey, as well as an additional day traveling from Cape May up Delaware Bay to the C & D Canal into Chesapeake Bay.

It looks like the seas should be calm enough for a Monday departure. The plan is to spend the night at anchor in Bannister Bay, adjacent to the inlet, on Sunday night in order to get a very early start on Monday. The ocean tends to be calm in the AM and by mid-afternoon the winds tend to pick up giving an uncomfortable ride. We should be at our first destination, Barnegat, New Jersey well before this happens.

We plan on spending about a month cruising Chesapeake Bay and all the lovely towns before heading for Norfolk, VA, the start of the ICW. As of right now, we still do not have a slip for the boat in FL, but will begin calling those marinas where we are on waiting lists, towards the end of Sept. If we can arrange for slip space we plan to continue to FL, otherwise either we will store the boat for the winter in the Chesapeake or head back to Long Island and haul out for the winter.

Stay tuned for further updates!!