Leaving Chesapeake Bay Behind

** Norfolk, VA to Great Kills Harbor, NY **

We covered a lot of miles making our way from Norfolk through Chesapeake Bay, across the C & D Canal, down Delaware Bay and skirting the entire coast of New Jersey on the Atlantic Ocean, our first outside run. Four hundred and fifty miles over twelve days.

With the rendezvous over, we shifted into cruising mode and were heading north on Chesapeake Bay traveling with our rendezvous dock mates, the Bohonek family, on Live the Dash. Leaving Norfolk early to beat a front with strong winds moving in, we secured reservations in Deltaville 60 miles north while underway. The weather deteriorated as we moved north though we tucked in before the big blow and relaxed in the boater’s lounge with the crew on Live the Dash. We retreated to our boats for the remainder of the day. Withthe weather crappy at best, and town a little further than we all wanted to walk, we dined on board and chilled for the evening. After an active rendezvous with events from morning to night, it was nice to be still.

Dreary day on the Chesapeake; Reed with Sherman in the boaters lounge

The Chesapeake was shaken and stirred the following morning and we held our departure until late morning, and then even later when a shit storm developed in the engine room of Now or Never mid-morning. The Captain went to conduct his engine room check prior to departure (and the first mate kept saying she was smelling things) and discovered the bellow to the aft toilet exploded in the engine room sending the contents from the holding tank all over our engine room. As he opened the engine room door, he was asking “what is that smell?” Then proclaimed “Oh shit!”, yes oh, shit. During the looper crawls, many commented on how clean our engine room was, something our captain has always prided himself in maintaining, this was no longer the case. It was undescribable, so bad, he told the first mate to stay clear, and she obligingly did.

Only photo suitable for public viewing

Not knowing where or how to approach the situation, he started with gloves, a roll of shop towels, and our shop vac. This may be one of just a few times he has been thankful that his sense of smell was all but eliminated from a work related dive accident and subsequent surgeries. It was Saturday at the marina, cold and overcast, luckily not too many people around to see Tasha illegally dump the contents of the shop vac. We had no other options. Nonetheless the sight and the smell in the engine room were still not good after a couple of hours, but, deciding it was good enough (and he had enough), he would tackle it later, we were off to Solomons Island, 62 miles away. The Bay was in better shape from the delay and this was a bonus.

We returned to Solomons Island Yacht Club and enjoyed a great evening with Harbor Hosts Doug and Susan as well as a large group of loopers. It was a difficult night for our first mate as she struggles with motion sickness and the yacht club is not protected from easterly winds. They blew all night long and the boats, including Now or Never, were bobbing like a bobber on the end of the line.

Solomons Island: Harbor hosts at yacht club and power squadron meeting with loopers

Tasha was more than ready to make a short, very short cruise, across the harbor to meet up with Live the Dash at Calvert Marina. The captain needed to continue to clean the engine room and then perform our 200 hour oil change. Thankfully Calvert is tucked further into the harbor and the winds were not an issue at dock though they continued to blow in the Bay. Ee stayed put a second night at Calvert and were able to partake in a Power Squadron Meeting featuring loopers (us included) discussing the great loop.

Our next port, fifty two miles north took us to Annapolis along with Live the Dash. This was a favorite stop last year and we were excited to go back. With the Naval Academy classes just having wrapped up and the pre-festivities of commissioning week in full gear, Annapolis was hopping. Docks were hard to come by and a tip from another looper had us snagging mooring balls in protected Spa Creek, back from the hustle and bustle of the harbor, and in tucked away with the town folk of Annapolis. Score!

The US Naval Academy and the tradition of The Herndon Monument Climb for Plebes

Annapolis is not only a Navy town but a boater’s town. Nestled at the end of 22 public streets that end at the waterfront, you will find parks with free dinghy docks. Being the capital city, you would think large town, think again, Annapolis is smaller than our hometown of Columbus, IN, being home to just over 40,000 people plus the 2500 midshipmen. Many cities have little to no dinghy docks and certainly not 22 dinghy docks. This was such a treasure and provided access to everywhere in the city. The city being so accessible and small, we were able to cover a lot of ground and visit many different areas.

Life by dinghy

Our dinghy became our wheels, and we used it more in the three days in Annapolis than most of our entire loop. Cold, rain, dark, chop, we were exploring not only the town but the waterways around Annapolis.

We returned to Chick and Ruth’s Delly we enjoyed last year, as we wanted to share the experience with the Bohonek’s. It did not disappoint.

Chick and Ruth’s Delly

Our crew celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary in Annapolis taking in lunch at Pusser’s, a drink at McGarvey’s, and ending our day with dinner at Choptank with the adult crew of Live the Dash, Emily and Jordan. Not a bad way to celebrate, with friends while on our long planned incredible journey.

25th Annivesary celebration lasted all day in Annapolis!

The mooring balls were a great find and helped with our cruising kitty at $35 night, we would have loved to stay longer. We packed as much as we could into a three night stay and were not really ready to move on. But that’s the problem for the crew, we have two years on board, over 8000 miles, and now just about halfway around our loop. Most complete the loop in a year and 6,000 miles. We have a goal to get to the Great Lakes this year. We must motor on.

Spa Creek Annapolis mooring field

We anchored in Sassafras River (just below the C&D Canal) forty two miles north of Annapolis while the crew of Live the Dash moved on to Chesapeake City to meet up with family. The down time was welcomed and the anchorage recommended by the crew of Tropical Horizons proved to be fabulous. Sassafras is large river off the Chesapeake that narrows, you can tuck behind some bends in the river for protection, but on this night, with light winds, we didn’t need to head up far and stayed closer to the Chesapeake for an easy departure in the morning.

Sassafras River Anchorage

Another milestone, with our anchorage at Sassafras River, this marked the furthest north we’ve been on this trip and we’ll continue to trend that way through most of the summer. We passed the waters to Baltimore which was our furthest north last year. All new cruising territory ahead and we would be leaving the Chesapeake behind in the morning. A new excitement in our blood, just what we envisioned on this great loop journey.

It was a quiet, peaceful evening with dinner on the grill and a good night at anchor. Our last night on the Chesapeake Bay. We would bid farewell in the morning. Heading to the C & D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal the following morning, we cruised alone for the first time in more than a week. It seemed a bit odd, how quickly we got in the groove of moving with Live the Dash. But before long we were cruising by the Chesapeake Inn & Marina and Live the Dash took their position behind and we continued to Delaware City where we docked in a one way canal and dined out in the small village. This would be our only stop in our 13th state on the loop. Delaware, check!

Delaware City, DE

The village restaurant touted a discount for first responders present and retired. Tasha mentioned it to the waiter, and he asked for ID. Our captain doesn’t carry his police ID’s, so we just dropped it. Jordan from Live the Dash spoke up and indicated there was a picture of Dave on facebook in his uniform (Tasha had just posted a police week tribute). He proceeded to show it to him as proof and that sufficed. Facebook photo for the discount win! Meanwhile, Dave was rolling his eyes at Tasha and Jordan.

The New Police ID

Making the 60 mile run to Cape May, New Jersey we had a good day to travel Delaware Bay, to our 14th state on our loop. We were hoping for a quick turn around to head north though the winds and waves were a little more than the crews wanted to tackle so we stayed in Cape May two days. This gave us the opportunity to explore Cape May by bikes with Jordan and Reed. Sunshine, 80, one of our first warm days. The Victorian homes, the downtown area was full of shops and eateries, and the beach made for a pretty cool town. On the advice of a dock master in St. Mary’s who spent his Coast Guard career in Cape May, we visited Congress Hall.

Cape May, NJ

Congress Hall is touted as America’s first seaside resort. In an iconic setting along Cape May’s famous beachfront, it is a true American classic celebrating its third century. Established in 1816, by Thomas Hughes, a prominent Cape May businessman and originally called the ‘Big House”, it was renamed to Congress Hall in honor of Hughes’ election to Congress in 1828. Step back in time to the large lawn, the flag lined hallway, and the beautiful bar. It was a good stop in our Cape May adventure.

Congress Hall, Cape May, NJ

We ate in the heart of downtown, Reed provided a little entertainment on the piano, and Tasha and Reed dipped their toes in the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey, state #14. A little consumed with our trek to the city, we were glad the weather made us slow down and enjoy Cape May.

Cape May, NJ

Rising before the sun, and pulling out Cape May into the Atlatic OCean, it appeared to be a good day on the water. This would be only our second big water run. The first was in November of 2021 and the crossing from Apalachicola to Clearwater Beach. Anxiety was running high, just the fear of the unknown, what were we about to get ourselves into? We hoped to make about half the 140 mile run up the New Jersey coast to Barnegat Inlet, NJ. The water was not rough, but we were navigating big swells in the ocean. Not bad for the boat, not bad for the Captain, and not a bad ride, but the aft drop, twist, twist, rise movement did not fare well with the first mate. She had prepped for it, though the potions were not working. Thirty miles in, she told the Captain we needed to divert to Atlantic City which was about twenty miles short of our intended run.

There was a lot running through Tasha’s mind – she wanted off of this circus ride and didn’t want to get back on. Could she get a car and drive to New York? Could they wait in Atlantic City 4 days until the weather looked perfect? Could she tough it out and just get it over with? The captains were plotting their own plan and decided to speed up and see if that helped. It did, not enough that Tasha was feeling great or taking in the views but enough that when we got to Atlantic City, she indicated that we should keep going. We were on the move and burning fuel, traveling much faster than our normal 10 mph.

With the faster pace, we arrived at Barnegat Inlet earlier than planned for slack tide. This has proven over and over to be a trickly inlet if you don’t properlyy plan and hit it at the right time (one friend crashed and burned and had $130,000 worth of damage), it’s not a happy place. Now or Never arriving first didn’t like the way it looked. Large waves breaking and crashing at the inlet. With shoaling in the inlet these large waves would not allow for dependable navigation and our Captain wasn’t too keen to proceed through. Jordan volunteered to take the lead, but upon seeing the waves himself wasn’t very excited either.

Tasha already feeling like crap, envisioned getting stuck on shoal or worse and couldn’t imagine taking a beating with no way to get off the boat. Dave asked if we should just move on, Tasha indicated yes. Dave radioed to the Live the Dash crew our suggestion and it a hot minute the decision to run all the way to Staten Island was being implented.  Tasha still feeling bad, but happy it would be over this day, and she didn’t have to get on the carnival ride again and relive it the following day. Ten hours and 137 miles later, we pulled into Great Kills Harbor at Staten Island. The harbor and a mooring ball never looked so good. All were thrilled to be there.

Our first glimps of the city heading into Great Kills Harbor with Live the Dash

We both took mooring balls from the Richmond County Yacht Club. The docks at Great Kills Yacht Club were booked and this was a great alternative and a way to save some money for NYC. The moorings were $50 a night and we would stay four nights before moving to the city. That fee allowed us full access to the Yacht Club and a launch service. We launched our dinghy and had easy access to shore.

Our arrival at Great Kills Harbor and Staten Island, New York would mark out 186^th cruise to our 15^th state of New York (13 & 14 flew by with Delaware and New Jersey) while actively on board 680 days.

Arriving a day earlier than planned gave us plenty of time to start planning our New York City adventure.

Buddy Boating (from google)

• Buddy boating with friends – you in your boat and they in theirs – is great fun and has its advantages but needs to be done correctly to be a success. Compatible cruising goals and humor are very helpful in establishing a float plan that allows for privacy as well as togetherness.

Buddy boats – Live the Dash and Now or Never

We haven’t buddy boated much as we’ve always been out of synch with the annual looping migration. Our last venture was with the crew of Freedom, leaving Marathon, FL and cruising together for eleven days until Remy needed to go home. We said goodbye to Judy and Dave in Melbourne in April of 2022 and that was the last of our buddy boating.

We didn’t plan it, it just kind of fell into place as we continued north from Norfolk. We just seemed to have clicked with Bohonek family (Live the Dash) at rendezvous and talked about leaving in the morning, just making it to the next port, Deltaville was our goal. From there, we just kept talking about what was next? And by the time we got to the C&D Canal we were planning our run down Delaware Bay, up the Jersey Coast, and into New York Harbor together.

It’s been a lot of laughs, a lot of fun, and a lot of strategizing weather and ports. We’re enjoying the dynamic of cruising together and spending time with this sweet family. Jordan and Emily took off from Fort Meyers with their two children Lauren and Reed (11 & 8) in March ready to Live the Dash. They explain their philosophy and boat name to others as Life is short, you never know what tomorrow brings, and you have to live those years in between birth and death to the fullest. That they seem to be doing just that and we’re happy they have included us. They left behind their active life in Minnesota to make this adventure as a family, leaving Florida in March.

The Live the Dash Crew

Lauren and Reed home school on the boat each day (although we hear summer break is coming soon), Emily works full time, Jordan cooks and drives, and Sherman the doodle, is always available hugs and kisses. We’re not sure why they like hanging with folks their parents age, but we’re enjoying it. We’re just waiting to see whow long until the tire of us cramping their style. But it sure has been nice to have others to bounce ideas off of and plan the adventure forward.

After cruising with them the first few days, we learned they were behind us and passed us the day we were at the beach (grounded). They were one of the boats I messaged about the hazard ahead while we were stuck on the sand bar, they wished us well, took photos of us as they passed by, and proceeded to write about us in their blog.

Photos Live the Dash took of Now or Never grounded and shared on their blog

These are their words – “Coming through one of the cuts (a narrow channel in mariner) we came upon a dredge and what appeared to be a bikini beach party with boats scattered about. Much to our surprise on approach they weren’t in bikinis, they were folks just like us that had run aground with the shoaling. The boat ahead of us took one for the team and made JUST ABOUT around the dredge when the cabling caught his dinghy and ripped it clean off the back of their boat. Thankfully with my fearless crew, we snuck around the dredge unscathed and carried on!”.

Live the Dash did carry on and themselves had an accident later that same day (they hit a uncharted sunken shrimp boat!!) and spent a couple weeks in the boat yard. So maybe the fact that we have a lot in common and our same day dumb luck keeps us boating together.

Both crews are loving the adventure, the comradery, and found humor in our day at the beach. Yep, seems we were meant to cruise together awhile. Looking forward to channeling our New York State of Mind next.

 Cheers!  David, Tasha,  

                  & Remy forever in our hearts!

Life on board and playing in the fountain in Chattanooga, TN

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