[If you missed Part I of this post, you can see it here.]
We knew of the Deltaville Maritime Museum as we had walked the grounds there many times, but had not taken the time to visit when open; we highly recommend it
We very much enjoyed visiting The Deltaville Maritime Museum
The summer wore on and by the end of August we began to get ready to sail again. We visited the Deltaville Maritime Museum and made one last trip to the monthly farmer’s market – essentially a craft market with one produce stand and two or three other stands selling fresh local honey, pork, and eggs. On a cloudy and blustery Saturday morning, we left Jackson Creek with wind on the nose and motored the short distance into Chesapeake Bay, then turned northwest and then west towards the entrance to the Rappahannock River. Our destination was Carter Creek, a small tributary approximately five miles upriver. We spent several days anchored off of the Tides Inn Resort, enjoying the small town of Irvington, VA, about a half-mile walk away. Thanks to the dockmaster at the resort for allowing us use of their dinghy dock.
An amazing double rainbow over Tides Inn Resort, following a late summer squall
From Carter Creek, we sailed the short distance west to the Corrotoman River and stopped at an anchorage adjacent to Yankee Point Marina. This area of the river is quite remote and we enjoyed a peaceful three days there. Our friend Jorge, who sails his Pacific Seacraft 37 SCALLIWAG out of Yankee Point, spent some time with us and drove me to the small town of Kilmarnock to top off provisions. While at Yankee Point, our deck washdown system failed. This presented a bit of an issue; the bottom of Chesapeake Bay and it’s many tributary rivers and creeks is mostly a primordial muddy goo. A washdown system draws water in from around the boat and is essential to clean the anchor and chain to prevent the foul smelling stuff coming aboard the boat. Technically, the washdown system worked but the flow of water had been reduced to a trickle. We managed to get the anchor and chain mostly clean. Of course, we discovered this as we were leaving the Corrotoman River to sail back into the Rapphannock and west to the town of Urbanna, VA.
Our dinghy SCOOTS at the Yankee Point Marina dinghy dock with JO BETH at anchor in the background
Our friend Jorge worked one summer as pilot of the Merry Point Ferry on the Rappahannock River; we used the ferry to cross the river with him during a grocery run while we were anchored at Yankee Point
Old boathouse, Urbanna, Virginia
We motor sailed under an overcast sky up to Urbanna where we hoped to find the parts we needed to fix the washdown system. We anchored in Urbanna Creek, across from the quaint downtown and Town Marina. We took the dinghy to the public dinghy landing and walked the short distance to the Town Marina to ask about any fees for using the marina showers and laundry. They charged us a minimal fee of $5 for the time we were there.
The next morning we returned to the marina and asked the dockmaster on duty, a different person than we had spoken with yesterday, if the facility had a loaner car, explaining the problem with the washdown system. They didn’t, but the dockmaster, a marina resident in something of a voluntary role, handed us keys to his car and gave us directions to the two closest hardware stores. He also invited us to the weekly marina cookout going on that evening! We were unable to repair the washdown system, but we did purchase a new hose for it. During the cookout, (fantastic cheese burgers!), we were able to do laundry.
The ‘Mitchell Map,’ on display at the The Urbanna Scottish Factor’s Store and Museum…
During a walk around Urbanna, we stopped by the town museum, The Urbanna Scottish Factor’s Store and Museum. The building is the original factor’s store; essentially a ‘company store’ that sold goods and services on ‘store credit’ to the colonists. The building, dating back to the early 18th century, has been carefully restored. The major holding of the museum is a hand drawn and museum restored first edition map of the eastern half of the United States, published by John Mitchell of England around 1755. It is quite impressive, measuring approximately six and a half feet wide by four and a half feet tall and was glued together from multiple panels of paper. It was used during the Treaty of Paris negotiations following the U.S. Revolutionary War in determining the boundaries of the new nation. Seeing it is certainly worth a stop.
After three nights at anchor, we left Urbanna on a sunny Saturday morning to make the 60 mile trek north to a favorite anchorage of ours in Mill Creek off of the Great Wicomico River. It is a beautiful and quiet spot, well sheltered and protected, surrounded by woods and a few cottages and homes. We spent one night here and the next morning at first light, we were underway for Calvert Marina at Solomons, Maryland. While bringing the anchor in, I noted the bow mounted navigation light, which I had replaced with a new unit in the spring, was filled with water. One more thing to fix. Fortunately, the manufacturer, Signal Mate out of Baltimore, Maryland, replaced the faulty light at no cost.
The day was flat calm, the bay like a mirror. We had an uneventful motor run, arriving at the marina at sunset. We spent a week there, provisioning with food, replacing the damaged bow navigation light, and fixing the deck washdown system. The problem with the washdown system turned out to be a failure of the anti-siphon valve in the deck fitting where the hose attaches. It isn’t really needed given the way the system is installed and plumbed, so I removed it. Repairs to the foot switch would wait until the next stop to visit friends in Deale, Maryland.
Our friends Dale and Gale own Integrity Yachts, a yacht brokerage business, and also sail out of Herrington Harbor near Deale. They had a marina slip they weren’t using and offered it to us for as long as we wanted. We readily accepted. We spent a week and a half there; I replaced the faulty windlass foot switch with a spare and we more or less chilled out, exploring the small community of Deale on foot and by dinghy.
From there, we spent a quiet week in Annapolis secured on a mooring in Spa Creek. The trip to Annapolis from Deale was an exhilarating one. It was a sunny Saturday with a light northwesterly breeze, and boats were out in abundance. As we were making our approach to Annapolis Harbor from Chesapeake Bay, we found ourselves crossing the US Naval Academy sailboat race course with a race happening! We did our best to stay out of everyone’s way, but as soon as we had cleared the Navy race course, we were approaching another race course. This one was for the J-Boat National Series. J-Boat is a class of one design sailboats of varying sizes. We discovered later there were roughly five different sailboat races going that day, all clustered around the mouth of the harbor. Unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures of the racing boats and their colorful sails; we had our hands full monitoring all the boat traffic and watching where we were going!
While in Annapolis, we saw old friends, had dinner at our yacht club, and generally relaxed. I also had some bloodwork done for my primary care physician; Doctor Dave said my numbers were great and he dismissed me from continuing care for the stroke. After Annapolis, we sailed the short distance to the Magothy River for a weekend rendezvous with other Pacific Seacraft owners. The Magothy is another favorite spot on the bay with plenty of lovely anchorages, coves, and creeks to explore.
Moored in Spa Creek, Annapolis Harbor
We left our anchorage in the Magothy on an overcast and blustery Monday for a sail to the city of Baltimore where we spent a wet and dreary two weeks anchored near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The anchorage is not great; the bottom condition is poor due to the amount of trash and debris; however, the resources and provisioning opportunities are phenomenal, with Safeway, Harris-Teeter, and Whole Foods grocery stores, a neat liquor and wine shop with a bar, and a great hardware store minutes away. A large West Marine is also a short walk away and there’s a public landing and dinghy dock which are free to use.
While in Baltimore, we were able to connect with friends Herby and Maddie from the yacht WISDOM [check their YouTube Channel, Rigging Doctor] for dinner and to catch-up, and had dinner with our friend Frank from the yacht DESIRE. Lisa also reconnected with friends Bob and Renee from her high school, who entertained us twice at their fabulous home. We were able to shower and do laundry, and thoroughly enjoyed Renee’s cooking magic and meeting their little granddaughter, Scarlet. We really appreciated them coming into town to pick us up and making time to visit.
Baltimore Harbor, with a foggy, drizzly, nighttime view of the Domino Sugar Plant on the Inner Harbor
Passing under the Bay Bridge
On a rainy and drizzly morning, as we were in the process of weighing anchor to get underway, the anchor windlass stopped working. The issue seemed once again to be with the foot switch which I had replaced just a few weeks prior while in Deale. We used the manual function of the windlass and were soon underway. The annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race was beginning in a couple of days and several of the participating vessels were making their way into the harbor to prepare for the race start. The collection of these fabulous craft was a site to see.
The beautiful Rhode River…
From Baltimore, we sailed south to the somewhat remote Rhode River, where much of the shoreline is owned and cared for by the Smithsonian Institute. It was absolutely lovey and quiet, and has become one of our treasured spots along the Bay. After four days at anchor and several hikes along the wooded shoreline, we left the Rhode River on a blustery, sunny morning. We traversed the Bay from west to east, making for the Choptank River and small town of St. Michaels, Maryland. We had a ripping downwind sail across the bay using only the jib, making good speed and enjoying the warm sunshine. Once in the mouth of the Choptank, we needed to turn more upwind towards St. Michaels, but because of the sea state, needed an additional push from the motor to bring the bow into the wind so we could set the mainsail.
As I was at the mast readying the mainsail to hoist, Lisa started the motor and put it in gear. Suddenly, there was a horrific, grumbling and grinding sound from the engine. She stopped the motor and yelled “something’s wrong! The engine sounds horrible and it’s vibrating like crazy!” I returned to the cockpit where she started the motor again; I looked at the engine through the forward engine compartment hatch, and could see the engine was shaking violently. “Shut it down!” I called out. Back on deck, I checked to see if we had entangled a crab pot marker in the propeller; fortunately, there was no evidence we had. The winds were somewhat lighter now, but the chop on the water still present. Sailing would have been possible, but a difficult, slow, and wet endeavor, and it was well into the afternoon. “I’m calling for a tow,” I said, ‘we can just drift while we wait. There’s no traffic close by, and we have plenty of room.” The towboat said he would be on site in about 45 minutes. Out of an abundance of precaution, I made ‘Security’ calls on the radio, giving our position, direction and speed of drift, and stated we were disabled and awaiting a tow.
In less than an hour, we were under tow and bound for the tiny harbor of Oxford, Maryland, where the closest boatyard was located. Our worst fear, which seemed confirmed by the engine symptoms, was a total failure of the transmission or the transmission dampener plate. It was a Saturday, so once we were secured at a boatyard service dock, we would have to wait until Monday before anything could happen. We spent the remainder of the weekend relaxing and exploring the tiny town. On Monday morning, we met with the yard foreman. Less than half an hour afterward, a mechanic was on the boat. After hearing the motor run and watching things, he agreed with our assessment of the problem.
He left and returned a few moments later with more tools and dropped into the engine compartment. A moment later, I heard a ‘what the…?’ followed by a laugh. “I’m gonna make your day Cap’n,” he said grinning and held up a handful of bolts, nuts, and washers. “The shaft coupling bolts…all of’ em…fell out of the transmission coupling. I’ve only seen that happen twice in forty years.” He held one up, now frowning. “These ain’t the right bolts anyway. These are stainless steel, way too soft. They should be hardened steel. That’s why they dropped.” He looked at them closer. “No Loctite on ‘em either. And, they’re 3/8” standard. Should be 12 millimeter, for this coupling.” He looked at me. “When’d you put these in?” he asked. “I didn’t,” I answered. “They went in three years ago at a boatyard in Florida when we replaced the shaft and bearing. The mechanic there installed them.” He paused a moment. “Three years? I’m impressed! I wouldn’t think they’d a lasted three months before shearing. Can’t be done like this; ain’t gonna work at all. Ought a have sheared by now.” He climbed into the cockpit and stepped off onto the dock. “This will be an easy fix, then we’ll test it and be sure. Back in a bit.”
We were tremendously relieved and a bit sheepish it was something so simple. I had been so frustrated by all that had happened that I didn’t investigate the problem. The repairs were finished in an hour or so for less than $200.00. We had been prepared to spend several thousand on a new transmission. We topped our food stores via Instacart and left Oxford the following day at noon, motoring on the windless Choptank River seven miles east to the town of Cambridge, Maryland.
We really enjoyed our visit to Cambridge, with dinner out at a couple of restaurants and purchases from a fantastic wine shop. The tiny harbor was incredibly busy with crab and oyster boats moving at all hours and in all weather. We anchored directly in front of City Hall and across from a crab packing house [said to be the oldest in the country!] where we bought fresh crab so good you can eat it right out of the container. We also enjoyed dinner at the Cambridge Yacht Club one evening and of course, dinner at Ava’s Pizza, a fixture on Maryland’s Eastern Shore of the bay.
We fell in love with the little town of Cambridge, Maryland
Cultural icons at Ava’s Pizzeria, Cambridge…who knew there was a Bob Ross channel
Anchored in San Domingo Creek, off of St. Michaels. Maryland…another favorite spot…
After a week in Cambridge, we sailed for our original destination of St. Michaels and anchored in San Domingo Creek where we experienced some of our very first chilly Maryland mornings. It was our second visit to St. Michaels. Of course, we had to go for another fantastic pizza at Ava’s. After a week, we made a motor sail back to Solomons to provision and get ready to start moving south.
Tea kettle on for a steaming pre-dawn cup while anchored in San Domingo Creek at St. Michales
While in Solomons, we spent time with friends, performed some much needed maintenance tasks, and began looking forward to warmer weather. This trip would also be our first overnight sail since my stroke. However, I had to attend to the windlass electrical operation problem. The weather while we were in Baltimore had been very wet; in the two weeks we were there we literally had one afternoon – about five hours – of partly sunny skies and dry weather, with no water falling from the sky. The design of the foot switches used with the windlass makes them prone to water intrusion if not properly sealed when installed. Given the persistently rainy weather we’d had, it seemed I had done a poor job of bedding and sealing the switch in Deale. But when I disassembled the switch, it was pristine inside and bone dry. It turns out I had sealed the switch just fine, perhaps even too well, as I inadvertently did some fiberglass damage to the foredeck and damage to the switch housing when I removed the cover.
I retrieved my voltmeter and began testing the windlass circuit, moving backwards from the foot switch terminals. The switch was getting power and the wires and connectors were in good shape. Next, I checked the control/switch box which provides regulated amounts of power to the windlass and contains a solenoid to activate the windlass motor when the foot switch was engaged. The control box was receiving power, but the solenoid inside was not engaging and had failed. Problem found!
A new switchbox and two foot switches were ordered [one is a spare] from Defender Marine. [Kudos to the technician at Imtra, the manufacturer of the switch box and switches who found me the best price online!] I purchased the needed fiberglass repair materials at the local West Marine store, repaired the damaged fiberglass on the foredeck and prepared it for the installation of the new switch. I also removed the old control box from its place in a locker at front end of the forward cabin. The entire job took a full day to complete; the actual removal and installation of the new foot switch took about two hours, including the necessary deck repairs. The remaining six hours were spent with Lisa and I taking turns lying on our backs, wedging both arms and hands into a tiny space over our heads and behind us, to secure the new control box to the bulkhead with two screws. Lisa finally completed the box installation and I’m happy to say the windlass is now functioning properly.
Under sail from Solomons, Maryland to Portsmouth, Virginia
We left Solomons at noon on a beautiful Saturday after taking on fuel at Solomons Yachting Center. We passed out of the Patuxent River with a light northerly breeze pushing us into the Bay. As darkness overtook us, we were approaching the wide mouth of the Potomac River and headed towards the deeper waters of the Bay to avoid the turbulence around the river mouth. The evening was cool and we had a dinner of steaming hot chili. I went to bed around eight-thirty and then relieved Lisa at one in the morning. After a briefing on conditions and traffic [including a fast-moving 1000’+ container ship that caused a big steep wake she had to turn into], she went below and crawled into bed. I settled into my watch. We were well past the Potomac River and approaching the mouth of the Rappahannock. A small cruise ship heading to Yorktown was to our west, five or so miles to the southeast was a cargo ship heading to Baltimore. I glanced at the time – 01:55 am. A few minutes later, I made a slight course change and checked the time on my phone as I prepared to note the course change in the log. It read 01:11. After a second of confusion, I realized Daylight Saving Time had changed! It would be a long night.
As we passed south of Deltaville, VA, traffic on the bay increased; there were Coast Guard cutters, ocean going tugs pushing and towing barges, and large commercial fishing boats, all moving north. Three or four other sailboats were moving south along with us. We passed a ship anchorage for the port of Norfolk as dawn approached. Just after sunrise I woke Lisa and she soon came on deck. By eight o’clock, we entered the traffic lanes of Hampton Roads, dodging large cargo ships and cruise ships. An hour later we turned into the Elizabeth River and headed for our anchorage off of Hospital Point in Portsmouth, VA. By ten in the morning, we were anchored and secured. I was exhausted.
Portsmouth, Virginia neighborhood
For nearly two weeks, we floated contentedly at anchor in Crawford Bay, a wide area of the Elizabeth River, which courses from Chesapeake Bay between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia and flows southward. Metropolitan anchorages are often a strange but welcome place to be, compared to many of the remote places we anchor, where we’re typically surrounded by nature or a mix of nature and humanity. Here, it’s high rise buildings, churches dating back to the 1700’s, museums, coffee shops, and a continuously busy and noisy naval and commercial port – the naval dockyards, container terminals and coal yards are especially noisy and work around the clock.
It’s not a bad place to be; we have a longtime close friend living here on her boat at Tidewater Yacht Marina and we were surrounded by so many resources it made our heads spin. We feel rich beyond measure when we have to choose which grocery store to shop or which restaurant to visit. Wi-Fi is readily available and cellular service abounds. It’s an easy place to become spoiled, a place known to cruising sailors as ‘sticky.’ There’s a reason cruisers fondly refer to Vero Beach, Florida as ‘Velcro Beach.’ Baltimore is equally similar.
After a week in Portsmouth, we were taking a morning walk, making it a round-about long way to a local coffee shop we enjoyed. We had been conversing when a moment of quiet fell over us. Lisa then broached a subject she was clearly uncomfortable talking about. “I want to suggest something and you’re not going to like it,” she began. After a pause I said, “ok. What?” She took a deep breath. “I think we should go back to Solomons, to Calvert Marina. I think we need a break, especially you. Despite the crazy speed you bounced back with, I don’t think you’ve recovered as much you think you have, or as we thought you had. The trip here really knocked you down.” More silence. She continued. “Plus, we can use the time to replenish the cruising funds - it’s inexpensive there.” We continued walking, fall leaves crunching under our steps. After a moment she asked, “what do you think?”
The truth is, I couldn’t argue. Undeniably, I had a rough time following the overnight trip; I had been exhausted for days. And, I was having tough time performing some tasks on the boat. It wouldn’t be smart to try and sail all the way to the Keys with me in this condition. There was no countering argument for me to make. After a quick moment, I agreed. We would need to contact Calvert Marina and make arrangements. We also had to wait another ten days or so for favorable weather to turn northward again; not a bad thing as we got to spend more time with our good friend.
We’ve been back in Solomons for three weeks now after making another overnight run, this time with much less traffic, and are settling in. Ironically enough, we passed friends on SV BOGAN and SV ZIGGY while coming north, both sailing south to warmer climes.
A dawn passing with our friends Brian and Hillary on SV ZIGGY as they head south
Good things will come from this. Winter is a time for slowing down, for resting. We’ll still be making blog posts and videos. We’ll catch up on much needed maintenance aboard JO BETH. I’ve found part-time work at the local West Marine and we’ve made the boat reasonably comfortable for the Maryland winter. We bought our friend Kent’s Toyota Camry before he takes off on his cruise; having a car makes all the difference in the world. I know now just how much I needed the time to continue healing, and how we both will benefit from this break. Still, it’s tougher than we’d like. But it’s manageable.
In Other News…
The first ‘real’ video for the YouTube Channel will be released early next year, 2025. Please click on the YouTube icon on the lower left portion of the page to see our channel, and please subscribe and click the notifications bell. It costs nothing, and these actions will help push our channel into the YouTube universe. This blog will continue to be updated, but the posts will become less frequent, and oriented towards my photography.
The Consulting for Cruisers Service launch is nearing, and should also be ready early next year. If living and cruising aboard a sailboat (or powerboat) is something you’re curious about, and you believe it’s a way of life suited to you, then let us share our combined years of sailing and live-aboard experience, as well as my knowledge and expertise from a successful career as marine surveyor, to make your dream a reality. Please contact us via the Contact page for information regarding services and pricing.
On a similar note, I will also be working with our friends at Integrity Yacht Sales. You can reach me through the Integrity Yachts website, or through here to find out about buying the boat of your dreams!
The road into our friend Stu’s neighborhood was lined with beautiful Magnolia trees filled with fragrant blossoms such as this one; it is available, as are any of the photographs in the blog, as a print, digital file, or desktop wallpaper file
Regarding Bill Ballard Photography, I’ve found a great lab with which to work to deliver museum quality prints to your doorstep. Digital files will make gorgeous screen savers and wallpapers. Matted, ready to be framed prints will look amazing on your walls or desk, and next year’s 2026 calendar will serve as a reminder to keep on dreaming! Please contact us via the Contact page for information regarding image sizes and pricing. These should be ready to begin deliveries by early spring, 2025.