MAY 2nd to MAY 7th

Solomons, Maryland to Cape May, New Jersey

Tuesday, May 2nd

We were off the dock at Zahniser's at 0800 and headed to a nearby marina for fuel and pump out. The seas were very calm, almost glasslike, and the weather was very mild. We were off that dock and underway to St. Michaels by 0905. On our way out we took some pictures of the screwpile lighthouse from the water as well as the many masts at Zahniser's.

I finished shopping by noon (didn't buy much) and headed back to the boat for lunch. We then went to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and, as usual, had a blast.

We learned quite a bit about the early boating on the Chesapeake and about two boats in particular, the Skipjack and the Bugeye. Both boats date back to the mid 1800's and both shaped the early commercial boating in this area. The bugeye was basically a large canoe boat, built using six or seven large logs. These boats were fully decked with a fixed sailing rig, ranging in size from 50 to 80 feet long. The last bugeye, the Edna Lockwood, left the oyster fleet in 1967. The Skipjack was easier and less expensive to build and operate than the bugeye and thus was built in very large numbers, especially after 1895. In 1890 there were more than 890 skipjacks in operation on the Chesapeake ...today there are only twelve skipjack boats in operation as oyster harvesting boats.

Thursday, May 4 th

St. Michaels , MD to Annapolis , MD

We were in no rush to leave St Michaels— The weather was perfect and the waters were very calm. By 0800, the temperature was already 72 degrees and the winds were an easy NW 10 mph. The total trip was to be only 25 nm and, even at slow speeds, would take us a pretty short period of time. We were off the dock at 1015—ready for Annapolis . It was an open route with calm seas and picturesque landscapes on both sides. We saw the usual small fishing boats and with some tankers thrown in for variety. We actually saw very few boats until we reached Annapolis Harbor . This Harbor makes for a beautiful entrance given the location of the Naval Academy . It's so spectacular to see from the water.

Unbeknownst to us, during this weekend, Annapolis was hosting one of the stops of the Volvo Ocean Race. Annapolis Harbor was filled with boats waiting for the arrival of the seven boats currently competing in this around-the-world race. In addition to the usual sightseeing boats and pleasure boats there are several vintage sailing boats, rather majestic looking.

Jean made her way around all the boats, got some fuel and we were all ‘docked' by early afternoon. We spent some time doing ‘boat ‘things and get settled. After a short walk to town to find out more about the Race we headed back to our dock for a front row seat as the Race sailboats entered the Harbor at 4:30 pm . It was quite a beautiful spectacle. There are huge crowds to greet the boats, horns blaring, sails out, and music playing. There was even a Fire and Rescue boat giving the racers a water salute from their vessel!!!!!

The Volvo Race first began in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, conceived by Britain 's Royal Naval Sailing Association and sponsored by the Whitbread Brewing Company. The first Race course was 27,500 nautical miles with just four legs starting and ending in Portsmouth , England . Volvo took over management and sponsorship in 2001. The Race has evolved greatly since its beginning and now covers 31,250 miles. This year, it has nine legs beginning in Vigo , Spain and ending in Gothenburg , Sweden !!!!!! Leg five took the racers from Rio de Janeiro , Brazil to Baltimore , Maryland . From Baltimore the racers are making their way to Annapolis for a waterfront festival in their honor. And to think…this is all happening the very weekend that Jean and I are in Annapolis on our journey!!!!!

Back at the dock, we were positioned next to a Marlowe—Jean's dream boat. This particular boat, 65 feet with a dark blue hull, is owned by a woman named Dot who currently lives in the Annapolis area. Dot and her crew of two plan on cruising for a few months each summer and winter in the United States and nearby islands. Jean was also quite envious because Dot owns a beautiful little dog—Dash—a Lakeland Terrier. We invited Dot on board Ocean Flyer for a cold drink and told her how much we ‘love' her boat. It was a fun evening. Dinner on board for me and Jean was light—sandwiches—we need to do some food shopping.

Friday, May 5 th

At port

This morning was gorgeous and already warm by 0800. Priscilla's brother John is arriving at about noon , flying in from Providence . John, an avid boater, is joining us as we travel from Annapolis to Cape May , NJ and then onto New York City . Jean and I are doing errands and boat things until he arrives. After a quick lunch, we're off to the Festival and to see the Race boats.

Our first stop was to go aboard two very large, ceremonial sailboats, the Pride of Baltimore and the Virginia. Both boats are more than 100 feet long and made of brilliant woods. They are really beautiful and the Virginia dates back to the late 1800's. The Pride of Baltimore is actually a reproduction of a vintage boat, having been made in 1997.

From here we went to the Chock —a Coast Guard tug in port as part of the festival. John, who was discharged from the Coast Guard in 1969, quickly struck up a conversation with the ‘Coasties' on duty and reminisced about his days on the Coast Guard buoy-tender, the Hornbeam . From John we learned that buoy tenders are named after trees and tugs are named after parts of a boat—hence Chock .

From here we went to see the Race Sailboats and they were all truly glorious. These boats are quite beautiful, with very sleek bodies, sails and very bright colors.

John and Jean finished up at a hardware and boat supply store while I checked out the stores in town!!!!!

We enjoyed cocktails on Dot's boat and also had the opportunity to meet some of her friends. We followed this with dinner at a local restaurant. What a day!!!!!

Saturday, May 6 th

At port

This morning was a lazy morning marked by a tasty breakfast of scrambled eggs along with a wonderful apple bread, homemade by Paula, John's wife.

John and Jean decided to do a few boat things, especially, installing some screens around the windows in the galley. They worked on this task forever. Later on in the morning John and I went to a great Amish Farmer's Market to get a huge order of goodies. Dot was kind enough to drive us around Annapolis to several markets, in order to get everything that we needed. Now we definitely won't starve.

In the early afternoon we headed back to the Water Festival to see more of the exhibits and displays. Jean had the opportunity to speak with some of the NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) representatives at the Festival. They had brought along one of the boats used to scan the waters to help in navigation. We all were given an overview of the process involved and we got to see the electronics and accompanying graphics used to survey different parts of the Chesapeake and other waters.

Later in the day we decided to take a guided walking tour of the Naval Academy . Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft established the first Naval School at Fort Severn in Annapolis in 1845 and 50 students attended classes taught by four officers and three civilian professors. In 1850, the Naval School became the United States Academy , the undergraduate school of the U.S. Navy.

Our tour guide was excellent and knew EVERYTHING about the Academy. We toured many of the buildings including the athletic building with the famous ‘walk of athletes'. This is a large hallway which has pictures of famous Naval Academy athletes. In this section of the building you can also see two Heisman Trophies (won by Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach) and other athletic trophies. We also saw the Superintendent's home and gardens as well as the homes for many of the officers.

We continues onto Tecumseh Square . It is in this square that daily, all four thousand midshipmen line up and march into Bancroft Hall for lunch. All four thousand eat at the same time!!!!! It's in the building at Tecumseh Square where all four thousand midshipmen live also—for all four years.

This building houses many murals of significant naval battles as well as two flags from two battleships. In this building is also a replica of the famous Don't Give Up the Ship flag.

This part of the Chesapeake is a busy channel for container ships as they make their way to Baltimore. We saw a huge car-filled container ship—it passed pretty close to us. In some ways, even the container ships have a certain beauty to them. There's no question that we've enjoyed cruising the Chesapeake . James Michener has written a novel, Chesapeake , which we now want to read. In our travels we saw some notes that Michener made while doing research for his book. In one note he wrote…”What appeals to me most about the Chesapeake Bay is that it forms a neat enclave, a beautiful world of its own, laden with history and meaning and significance for the future. It's a compelling magnet, offering a universe of problems which will always be of importance to our nation”.

As we continued along, the waterway became more narrow. As we began to approach the C&D canal( Chesapeake and Delaware ) the waterway became very narrow with beautiful, large houses with manicured sweeping lawns, on either side of the water

During this passage we passed under many bridges and could actually see many different towns. We passed by Chesapeake City which looked quite charming and cute. Along this waterway we also saw a ship—the Delaware Responder —which we believe was an oil spill clean up ship. We passed Goose Point which is the demarcation for leaving Maryland and entering Delaware . Shortly after passing Goose Point, we saw a worker 187 feet above us walking along an large electrical conduit that traversed the canal. He was properly harnessed, wearing a hard hat and checking the lines for something. We all agreed that we didn't want that job—and on a Sunday also.

At 1145 we finished cruising the C&D Canal and entered Delaware Bay . At the end of the Canal was a very long jetty with many people fishing from the rocks. We also passed the Salem Nuclear Power Plant—pretty ugly!!!!! By this time the waters were very calm and the boating was easy. Later on, the waters got very choppy and the last five miles, before we reached the Cape May Canal , we were rocking!!!!!

We entered Cape May Canal at 2:55pm and Jean slowed the boat down to almost a crawl. This area is known for its shoaling and many boats run aground in this canal. We were following a sailboat for most of the way, somewhat confident that his draft would be greater than ours—therefore he could lead the way.

We easily found our way to the Marina and after getting fuel, we were in our slip and comfortable in no time. The boat was filthy from the full day on the water and John INSISTED on washing it even though it was cold and windy. Jean and I reluctantly agreed. John did a great job!!!!!!

Dinner was a great meal—fettuccine with chicken and asparagus in a cream sauce—homemade by Jean. Yum!!!!

NOW AVAILABLE!

May 8 through May 14 th

Cape May , New Jersey to Troy , New York