The first weeks of our trip! I'll get caught up with my next post...

It’s the second week of November 2008 now, but to catch you up on how we got to this point here’s our recap:
Ken, brother Pete, and Pete’s friend Dave sailed from Cohasset to Block Island on October 8-10 stopping in Plymouth and Pocasset. Ken picked a good crew--two merchant marine engineers. In Block Island they were met by Heidi on Friday night and the next day Pete and Dave took the ferry back and Ken and Heidi continued across to Atlantic City, an overnight-plus sail that was relatively easy because of the warm weather and almost full moon. We had the company of several small birds that landed on our boat in the crossing and also two large woodpeckers (!!), one that flew right into our cabin and one that circled the boat.
From Atlantic City and a good night’s sleep at anchor in a creek in the marshes there we sailed to Cape May NJ and anther overnight. The following day we sailed up the Delaware River against the current, still with warm weather, to anchor behind the small island (Reedy Is.) just before the entrance to the C&D Canal.
We entered the C&D Canal -- in Delaware -- and it takes you to Maryland by mid-day. We stopped in Chesapeake City and had our first taste of the camaraderie of cruisers. We tied to a dock there and met a young couple from Canada who are planning to sail to New Zealand and a retired couple from upstate New York, headed to Stuart, Florida. We shared exploits and got some assistance with charts and the wifi network at the dock and “bonded”.
After two more days and stops in the Sassafras River in the upper Chesapeake Bay and Lake Ogleton outside of Annapolis we settled in Weems Creek just north of Spa Creek where the city of Annapolis is. The Bay is full of migrating birds and we got a sense of this in the Sassafras with the loud noise of flocks of geese.
Ken stayed with the boat for another week completing projects, until October 27th then flew home; Heidi traveled back by bus on October 19 to work for two more weeks. Ken was able to move the boat to a Navy mooring for the time between 10/17 and 11/2.
November 2
We’re back in Annapolis in Weems Creek. Pete helped us get here and will drive our truck back. To celebrate we all went to get steamed shrimp at a places called Heroes near here and we watched the Patriots game. The next day we are getting settled with all our gear. Pete stayed overnight on the boat and bought us a couple of bottles of wine for the trip before he left. We bought some new charts today and a guidebook to the Bahamas. BU had given me a gift certificate that we used toward these items.
Wed we left the Creek in drizzly weather and sailed across Chesapeake Bay to Little Choptank River to anchor for the night. It’s chilly so we have the cabin heater going for the evening before we go to bed. Today was Voting Day; we already voted with absentee ballots last month.
November 5
This morning we got the news that Obama had won. This is great and sets the tone for the rest of the day! It’s one of the days when we can sail without also using the engine to get us going at a decent speed. So with a double reef in the main and no other sails up we crossed the Bay again (it’s narrow here) in a very fast time and anchored in the Back River of Solomon’s Is. We saw many pelicans today, big birds compared to the other sea birds we see, and always fishing, flying low to the water or diving from about 30 ft. to scoop up fishin their big bill-pouch. Never knew that pelicans came to Maryland. The next day remained extremely windy so we decided to check out the museum in Solomon’s, called Calvert Marine Museum. It’s a well-run one, with many interesting exhibits. They also have a lighthouse on stilts that was moved there and is authentic to about 50 years ago. They take you on a guided tour of it. On Friday we left early with several other boats and found the weather better, calm wind and warming temperatures. That night we anchored in Antipoison Bay (John Smith was suppose to have received an antidote for a stingray bite from the Indians during a visit here). In south Chesapeake Bay. We sat out in the cockpit that night and watched the sun set. Pretty little spot.
On Saturday is was raining again; we headed out and the conditions turned nasty, wind right at us and waves making the trip uncomfortable. We didn’t go as far as we had planned, and took a chance on heading in to a narrow opening to a harbor half way to Norfolk, our ultimate destination. We had to thread our way in and then it opened up a bit and turned out to be a great place to anchor. Since it was early we dinghied to shore to a marina down further in the harbor (Horn Harbor) and walked around a bit. We found a couple loading their boat for a trip similar to ours, but they plan to be gone “a few years”! They nicely took off some time and volunteered to drive us to a pizza place they knew nearby and we also had drinks with them in their borrowed house next to the marina. The jeep ride to Matthews, VA was fun and the pizza was good and there was live folk music there to entertain us.
Sunday we left early from Horn Harbor and got to Norfolk, VA around mid-day. Inside Norfolk is where the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) starts, and it will be our “highway” to Florida for many weeks to come. Norfolt was strangely quiet, maybe because of being Sunday. We stopped at the city docks of Portsouth, across the river from Norfolk and then left to go under 3 bridges (only one had to be opened for us) and to the entrance to the Dismal Swamp Canal. Right before the first locks on the canal we tied to two posts and enjoyed the peaceful setting -- close river banks on either side, herons fishing nearby, and no other boats in sight. Today was one of the sunny days, which have been few and far between, but our foul-weather gear is keeping us fairly dry and warm.