September 30 to October 2, 2016-Visiting Natalie and Mike's home

September 30
Another rainy day however it was nice to relax cozied up in the boat.  I am being picked up by Michael at noon to go see his and Natalie's townhouse.  It will be the first time I see their place.   While Natalie worked, Michael drove 3 hours to pick me up.  Steve didn't want to leave the boat so he stayed behind.  Don't worry, he was meeting up with friend which he has not seen in 30 years when he lived in Annapolis.

Steve, Michael and I had lunch at Mission Barbecue before taking off . Michael and I set off and dropped Steve off at a barber before leaving.  

After 3 hours of conversation, Michael and I arrived at their place.  Natalie came home from work at 5:00pm.. What a cute place they have.  It is nice to be reunited.

Weird feeling not to be bouncing around in the boat.  It will be stay at home and pizza night. 

Coconut fudge for dessert.....yum! 

 

October 2, 2016

I enjoyed my stay at Natalie and Michael for the past couple of days.  They live a little under  3 hours from Annapolis.  Friday night was pizza night and relaxation time.



On Saturday, Natalie and I did some shopping and she even brought me grocery shopping.  we made sure to get Steve a couple of cases of beer.  That will hold him for awhile when I get back.

Michael and Natalie gave me a tour of Yardley, the town where they live. We then went for dinner

Great News!  I felt the baby kicking ...what a thrill!
  

On Sunday, I managed to get a quick workout before we headed back to Annapolis around 9;30 am. Steve was waiting for us on the GaYa.

Natalie, Michael and I took the water taxi to the boat with all the groceries.  It was nice being reunited with Steve again.

 

After I unpacked all the groceries, Steve, Michael, Natalie and I went to Pussers for a bite to eat on the patio.



















After Natalie and Michael left, Steve and I went boating with one of his old friends which he knew 30 years ago. Marc took us on his 43 ft. Sports Fishing boat and brought us sightseeing on the Severan River. I even got to ride the boat. 

 

 

September 28 & 29 2016 Arriving and touring in Annapolis

September 28, 2017
Left Sassafras anchorage at 7:00am.  Left Blue Lady behind.

Started raining around 10:00am but it wasn't too bad.  

12:30- Arrived at Annapolis on a mooring across from the Chart House.  For $35/night, they provide a shower and laundry facility.  Yahoo!

Put the dinghy down and will go explore once it stops raining.  

2:30pm-Paid for a night on a mooring ball. $35.00/night which includes showers and laundry.  We took a shower and went back to the boat to change in order to go out for hors d'oeuvres.

3:00pm-Went in town on our dinghy to McGarvey's for Crab balls and oysters, beer and wine. Steve was reminiscing from the time he went in the exact bar 30 yrs. ago.  We walked around town and found a beer store.  Steve bought a pack of beer. 

 

5:00pm- it started raining so we headed back to the boat.  We talk to Sue from a boat called Serengeti who was moored right behind us.  We are trying to get access to Wi-Fi.  No luck tonight.  

Tonight for dinner it will be left over meat pie.  

5:30pm-  the wind is picking up and I think it will be a little rocky tonight.

September 29, 2017 Touring Annapolis

We knew there was heavy winds coming thru but I never thought our boat would be on a heal while it was on a mooring.  She sure blew.  Guess Annapolis is greeting us.  All you can do it weigh it out.  We have no TV or Wi-Fi.  Not sure if it is because of the storm. This is suppose to last for a couple of days.  

8:00am-  had coffee and breakfast on the boat .  The winds are calmer.  It actually sounds worse when you are down below.

   10:30am- went to shore to do laundry. Thought it was perfect weather for that.  I am standing outside of Starbucks for Wi-Fi. 

Walked around town.  Lots of cute shops. 

1:00pm- Came back to the boat to do some knitting while Steve read.  It is sure weird whe you don't have wifi or TV.  It is good sometimes to just be without any stimulants.  You tend to pay attention more to what is happening around you. 

4:00pm- Steve and I went to the Chart House for Happy hour.  Had hors D'Oeuvres and drinks? You could see our boat from the restaurant.

 

Came back to our boat seeing that my daughter, Nicky, text us and said another storm is on its way. 

Steve purchased Wi-Fi for a month however it is slow.  Better slow then none. 

 

September 27, 2016 Summit Marina

September 27, 2016

7:30am- Steve went to the Summit Marina office and they will be able to take our boat out of the water today at 1:00pm.  We will see what is going on with the propeller.

Meanwhile,  I took advantage of the sturdy dock and did my weight bearing exercise.  Felt so good afterwards. 

12:30pm- Tom, from the boat Blue Lady from Toronto, happened to be at the Marina since he stopped last night since his dinghy got holed.  Funny how life works out because we had repair glue to fix his dinghy, In return, he used his dinghy to tow us to the lift.  The owner wanted to charge us $123.00 for towing us 500 yards to the lift.  We thought that was ridiculous so Tom offered his dinghy.  It saved us from taking ours down.  How convenient.

 

1:00pm- Our boat got pulled out of the water.  Great news !!! The prop was not damaged.  We went over a crab trap.  Couldn't believe how they allowed Steve  and I stay on the boat while they brought the boat out of the water. That was fun in itself.  It only cost us $162.00 to lift her out of the water.  Someone is on our side.  It could of been a costly thing.  Steve kept saying:"Thank you, thank you, thank you. "

 

Our rope cutter on our prop named "shark" really didn't do its job.  Maybe we should rename it "Guppy" Crab Pot "1" - Shark Cutter "0".  At least we can still laugh about it.

2:30pm--Left Summit Marina toward Chesapeake area. Back on the road again.  Blue Lady wanted to follow along with us.  

4:30pm- Met up with Elk River.  Gorgeous drive along here. 

Arrived around 7:00pm at an anchorage in Sassafras.  We covered 25 miles.

September 26, 2016 Towed at Delaware Bay

 

September 26, 2016

 

5:00am- I heard Steve wake up and he said :"Are u up?"  He saw the 3 Quebec boats leaving already that were anchored in our area. So off we went and caught up to them.  

It was pitch black.  The moon was bright crescent and the stars were unbelievably bright.   It was kind of an eerie feeling to motor in the dark. Seeing that we were in the bay, it isn't rough. 

We  are now leading the pack while the sun was rising. 

8:15am- Passed the Wine house lighthouse shoal light.

In the distance is the Fourteen Foot bank light.

There were a lot of huge markers all along the channel..

         
















10:45am- Went by the Sao Domingo Sand

11:00- In 6 hrs., we covered 40 miles.  

12:00pm- Steve needed a break, so I took over the helm.  It was so exciting because waves were coming from behind and I felt like I was surfing.  One wave even came in from the stern. Math at was a first. The boat would go 9.5 kn on a wave.  

1:00pm- Going by Three Island Nuclear plant.

At 1:50pm- We covered 74.3 miles when our propeller gave way and started making strange noises and vibrations. We called Ctow.  We were able to sail toward the Delaware  Marina without an engine until CTow showed up. The winds were in our favor.

Captain Jim towed us approximately 5 miles outside of the Delaware marina.  The plan was to hook up beside us to bring us into the marina however the winds were gusting .  Our boats started colliding due to the rough seas and we broke Ctow's tow post.  It ripped it right out. We were yelling at him stating that he is going to pull out our cleat out but suddenly his tow post came right out.    He said he has never seen that before.

He had us anchor outside the mouth of the marina in 18 knot winds in 40ft of water in a flooding tide.  He called in for a bigger Ctow.  He told us it would take 40 minutes.  I was surprised I never got sick through the whole process.

5:30- After an hour wait, Steve was hungry so  I made us both a sandwich and coffee.  Might as well make ourselves comfortable while waiting.  We even had chocolate macaroons which Natalie bought us when she visited the other day.

7:00pm- Finally, Captain Ray from  Ctow showed up with a 37 ft unit.  He decided to tow us to Summit marina which is 5 miles away.  The ironic thing was that we would have stayed there anyways so it was in our favor.

 

8:00pm- Steve was tired so I told him I would steer the boat while it is being towed.  When we arrived at the marina wall, Captain Ray hooked up beside us and told me he will give me power but I have to steer in the boat.  I was very proud of myself.  We were finally safe at a dock.

9:00pm- Now that we are settled, we are going to munch on chips (comfort food)and watch the Presidential debate.  Tomorrow is another day. What an adventure!

September 25, 2016 Cape May

September 25, 2016
8:00am- Left Atlantic City Golden Nugget Marina.

We fuelled up yesterday so we could get an early start.

The sea is about 1 ft. chop with a 4'foot swell.  Steve put up the Genoa and made the ride smoother.  The wind is coming over the starboard quarter.

When we swirl down a wave we hit over 9 knots.  Didn't think the GaYa had it in her.  

It is amazing how shallow it is around Atlantic City.
 

10:00am-  In a distance, we can see 5 sailboats heading the same direction.  Guess everyone takes advantage of the good sailing weather.  Our AIS is telling us that one of the boats is named Sofira. She is 52 ft long,13 ft wide and going 6.9 knots.  Don't you just love technology.

10:45am- We just passed several boats

11:00am- the seas got a little rockier.  Between Zofran, crackers and ginger ale, I managed my sea sickness well.  

Steve was on his own though since I choose not to move unless I have to.  I keep hydrated however, darn, I then keep peeing.  It is not like Steve who has a special male tool that he could pee straight in the ocean.  He always says:" I am going to raise up the ocean's water level".  I on the other hand have to go down below in the washroom.  Do you know how hard that is when you are being bounced around?  It is all part of the adventure though.

12:00pm- We are about just under 5 miles from Cape May.  We are hearing other sailors talking between themselves on the radio about anchoring outside the Coast Guard station in order to get an early start in the morning.  We might just do the same. 

1:20- Arrived at an anchorage in Cape May.  Very beautiful. 

3:00pm- Steve and I took the dinghy down from the boat and thought we would go explore.  WOW!  Unbelievable to see the wealth!  Beautiful condos on the water and gorgeous fishing boat.  Brent (my son-in-law who fishes) we found you your boat.

Better keep working though! 

 

There was a neat boat which was turned into a restaurant.  We were tempted in going however I had meat pie cooking in the oven. 

 

We scoped out the bridge which we would have loved to go under to avoid going out into the ocean however our mast height might not make it so we will have to go the long way and go out into the ocean early tomorrow.  

Came back to the boat after exploring, and had to bring up the dinghy and motor.  Now that we are in salted water, we needed to run fresh water thru our dinghy motor before covering her up.  We have to keep every as clean as possible.  

Steve is managing to catch up with his reading while I am knitting.  It is hard to do anything when there is so much activity around you.  Always getting stimulated.

Had a wonderful meal and topped it off with coffee and dark chocolate macaroons which Natalie and Michael bought for us yesterday along the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Boy were they ever good.  

 

What a gorgeous evening.  We covered 34.90 miles today 

September 24,2016 Atlantic City

September 24, 2016
9:15am still in Atlantic City trying to decide whether to continue on.  It is raining and it will be a bumpy ride.

We went to Hannah's Casino for breakfast earlier and then Steve decided to play a slot machine and made enough money to pay for our breakfast.  He was a happy man.
 

Steve really liked the name of this boat and wanted me to take a photo of it.

 

The weather is suppose to stay this way all day.  We decided to get diesel and get ready to take off in the morning.

 

What a great thrill when we found out that Natalie and Michael came to see us in Atlanta City.  After Steve and Michael had a few beers and I kissing my future grandbaby, we all went down to the boardwalk for dinner. 

Kissing my future grand baby

We had a great meal at Chick and Pete's

 

 

 

We walked along the boardwalk.

We even walked on the Atlantic Beach.  Perfect weather

Michael and Natalie bought us some yummy treats such as fudge and chocolate coated desserts..  They are spoiling us.

 

 I was so excited that they even brought us for groceries.  Now we are all stocked up.  Yahoo!!  I didn't have to carry water bottles miles to my boat.  They drove us straight to the boat.  Thank you Natalie and Michael for making our day so special!