Archive for the ‘Cruising Tips’ Category

Salty Spouse – Sometimes You Gotta Get Lucky

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Aboard Salty Spouse at Fairlee Creek, MD:
Sometimes you just gotta get lucky. After spending two weeks on the hard in Oxford, Inza and I were heading for St Michaels for shoppng, laundry and visiting with friends. We anchored in Dun Cove the first night out so as to be able to pass through Knapps Narrows near high tide in the morning. Turns out delivery of her new eyeglasses in Washington was delayed, so she had to round up a different person to pick them up for her. The numerous phone calls involved that morning delayed us about an hour and a half. We passed through the drawbridge with no delay, and headed out the west side onto Chesapeake Bay. The channel is well known for silting in at red “4″. As we rounded the marker, our depth indicator showed we had only 0,2′ under the keel. As the tide was ebbing, and still had more than 3 hours to go to low tide, had we been about 20 minutes later we would have been literally stuck.
A week later, we stopped at the North East River Yacht Club on Thursday night, and anchored out off the club Friday night, as it rained on Friday. Saturday morning after breakfast we weighed anchor, and moved out into the middle of the river to raise the mainsail. We were facing directly across the river raising the sail when Inza called out, “What’s that”, pointing up the river. Seems a minute or so earlier someone had fired the starting gun about a mile up the river to start a poker run. About 40 cigarette boats were screaming down on us side by side.We were clearly the stand-on vessel, but it was too late to hide behind the Rules Of The Road. I told Inza to head strait at them on a reciprical course, so as to present the smallestpossible target. Turns out we were just downstream from a flashing red channel marker, so the maniacs had to choose one side or the other, and we were spared. We are going back this week, and guess what? – there’s another poker run scheduled!
After arriving in Baltimore last week, during happy hour in the cockpit, Inza noticed that the high bilge water alarm light was on. A check of the bilge confirmed the high level, (we have a slow leak on our hot water tank I am planning to fix). Apparently the bilge pump float switch had failed to start the pump. The next day, I confirmed that the float switch had failed. Luckily, the nearest West Marine was 1 block away, and they had a replacement in stock.
Now, if I can find someone to crank me up the mast to replace my anchor light bulb………  

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Salty Spouse Cruising Updates

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Aboard “Salty Spouse” at Plaindealing creek, Tred Avon River, MD
It took us 3 weeks to get here. The following are changes we noted along the way:
- At Alligator River Marina, the air conditioned lounge TV is now hooked up to a dish antenna, so instead of only one channel, you get a major selection. Still cold water wash machines and morning newspaper, however. You still have to follow your eyes, not your chartplotter at the mouth of the Alligator River!
- At Deep Creek on the Dismal Swamp Canal, the propane fill station at the hardware store is gone! The store is closed.
- At Jackson Creek, Deltaville, green 5 and red 6 markers have been replaced with buoys. the channel is still OK, but stay a bit wide of both green 7 & 9 to avoid the inner edge of the shoal. Deltaville Marina still offers their vehicle for an hour to go into town for a buck.
- The mouth of the Potomac is still rough, sorry
- Woodburns Grocery at Slomons have made a major rearrangement of their food displays – cheeses are where the veggies were, etc., but they still have a wide variety of upscale items.
- There’s major construction going on at the LNG dock at Cove Point, but the security zone size4 has not been changed.
Reef early, Scott & Inza

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Daddy Duck and his two ducklings

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

The story of the Mann’s, Lord’s and Rebholz’s trip up the Chesapeake and James.

We are into day 12 of our Chesapeake/James River trip. So far boating has been good but hot. Our 1st overnight stop was at Midway in Coinjock. They were out of gasoline which then required us to go across the river to Coinjock Marina. Apparently they had been out from sometime. The Chef opened the restaurant for us (normally closed on Monday) because they “remembered Pamlico Mann”. Ed didn’t remember him however. All that had the fried scallops agreed they were the best they had ever had.

On to Norfolk the next day. Bridges caused us problems. Those that were ‘Normally Open” were apparently “Normally Closed” on this trip. So our travel time was an extra hour and a half.   Lots to do in Norfolk. We stayed at Waterside Marine, the rates were reasonable, the service great. There is a large mall with Nordstroms and Dillard’s within 6 blocks. A great Italian restaurant called Sirena Cucina on Granby about 8 blocks away. There is a free bus service on Granbyand some adjoining streets so you don’t have to walk. Take the Victory Rover Navel Base tour if you have any interest in the Military. You can also jointly purchase tickets to the tour Naval and the Battleship Wisconsin. We did go across to Portsmouth, an while it has good restaurants, it seemed a little over rated.  The showers and head are a long ways and not that great, but not terrible. Has a OK laundry.

Moving on to Cape Charles, the entrance to Bay Creek Marina is a little tricky. Stay close to the Red 2 and 4 markers. What a great top of the line Marina.  Big slips, most are 18 or 20 feet wide. The town is small and not a lot to do. Well, some of us didn’t have enough. There is a great old time hardware store and the Irish restaurant was very good. Ask for John. At the Marina is one large boutique  shop with lots of interesting, one of a kind items. They had free wine and chocolate tasting on the weekend. The Marina also has a great restaurant called Aqua that we recommend. Despite being jammed on the 4 th of July they handled the crowd well and the food was great. There is a beach to walk on but it was too hot so we settled for the pool. The shore and head here are great though depending on dockage they can be a long way away. Washer/Dryer are free but they only have one.

Next on to Doziers in Deltaville. This was to be our relaxing time, but it was so hot that we just tried to stay in the A/C. The marina has two courtesy station wagons, both without A/C so driving was like running in front of a blast furnace. The highlight was going to Cocomo’s for dinner. They have recently opened under new management. They picked us up in a stetched limo with air. The ride was great and I think the food was good too. J&W Seafood had great crab and shrimp. Judy made terrific crab cakes and we grilled shrimp twice. Good showers and head here. Washer/Dryer expensive, $2.00 each load washer and dryer.

Then on to Hampton, VA. We found out late that we had reservations at the Hampton Public Piers during the Backbeard Festival. Now that may not sound like a big deal, after all Blackbeard is from our neck of the woods. Well, he also had big ties to Hampton for this is where Lt. Maynard sailed from and where Blackbeard’s head and crew were returned to after Maynard won the battle at Ocracoke inlet.

First docking here is a challenge even without the festival(worse than Washington as finger piers stick out into the river). There is current, tide and winds to contend with. Add the festival and the temporary dock problems and it became a circus.

 All you Navy guys will love this. Apparently the city contracts with the Army to bring in some barges using an Army tug. Well, they got the barges here OK, just before we arrived, but then the fun began. The army decided that the 60 ft. tug they brought in was too big to maneuver the barges into the proper space, so the left after a lengthy discussions and called for another tug. Well, on their return the 60 ft tug blows an engine and the other tug, which is on it’s way has to stop and tow the 60 ft tug back to Ft. Houston. The tugs (one 80 ft and two small working barges) finally arrive at 8:30 pm. Now to get a picture of this the river here is about 2/3 the width of Broad Creek withMarinas on both sides and we are moving these two 80 ft barges into position 100 ft off the end of a dock. The piling that had been set to help anchor the barges proved no match for the tug, so now that it is leaning over it is more of a hazard. We they finally got the barges in position sometime after midnight, although we had all retired. The showers are private but the  head is shared with the public and since this was party weekend you can imagine. o washer/ dryer.

The festival itself was a mixture of the Ocracoke Festival (all related to pirates and sea music) and Summerfest. Lots of street vendors, 3 stages, reenactments of both pirates and British camps, several sea battles ( Blackbeard’s final) and like all good festivals, lots of beer and all that goes with it. The locals really get into this and lots of people are dressed in period costumes. They have acts going on all over including several on the docks. The parties on the docks lasted till 3:00 am although it didn’t impact us a lot. Today we will finish the Festival and do some shopping. Next is Two Rivers and Williamsburg – up the James River.

First real screw-up happens when John tries to leave the slip with a stern line attached. The boat immeadiately swings to port and into the sail boat next to us. No damage as we still had a fender out just in case the wind blew us that way. Moral-take your time and dont rush.

OK we forgot an important part.

“Daddy Duck – I think we have a problem.”

What are you getting us into?

Now onto Two Rivers Marina at Governors Landing. This is a beautiful trip up the James River about 35 miles. The river is wide although there is a deep channel to follow. Twin Rivers has a Williamsburg address but its about 25 min to Colonial Williamsburg. The marina is very nice and they were very accommodating. They have golf carts to get arround the development which has 700 homes but is probably twice the physical size of Cypress Landing. The transient boaters have access to the ammenities incuding the golf course, pool, beach, fitness center and resturant. The resturant has a formal and relaxed dinning room. Formal requires a jacket, we think. Overall this was a great stop but you are a long ways from shopping, resturants or Colonial Williamsburg. We rented a car at Enterprize. The head and showers are very good, the washer and dryer are small but the good news was the $0.75 for the washer fell into an open box so you could recycle it.  Price of fuel seemed a little high and dockage was $2.00 a foot.

We left for Smithfield Station on Thursday. Again a nice ride and the Pagan River is very nice. The dregged the river in October 2009 so we had good depth except one location. Smithfield is a very nice marina. It is family owned with a hotel, excellent resturant and a couple of shops right here. They treat the slips as hotel rooms so you get all the same ammenities. Not sure about the washer/dryer and the shower is a long was away.

The city is small but very nice,  just 1/3 mile walk. The walk in passes a string of beautiful old homes (there is a self-guide walking tour). There is also 5 art galleries, so it is somewhat like Washington except for the buildings are smaller and not empty. 

Sunday we start the long trip back stopping in Coinjock Sunday night. 

John & Shelly Rebholz, traveling with the Mann’s and Lord’s

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Know your Harbor from the “Salty Spouse”

Monday, June 21st, 2010

After thirteen years of cruising our 36’ sloop, “Salty Spouse” up and down the East Coast my wife, Inza and I have just about seen it all when it comes to harbors. When it comes to passing judgment  on a harbor, we recognize that Mother Nature started the process of its creation and then mankind came along and embellished it, for better or worse. So exactly what, in our opinion, makes for an ideal small boat harbor?

First, it should be about one mile long, ½ mile wide, with its axis oriented about 45 degrees to the prevailing wind. In addition, it should provide shelter from the storm winds, NE, NW and SE on the East Coast. This size and orientation facilitates both shelter as well as a variety of recreational uses. The entrance should be wide and deep enough to provide unstressful passage by cruisers, and should also include shoals or jetties to break up waves trying to enter. The limits of those shoals or jetties should be well marked, preferably by charted lights, buoys or daymarkers. Once inside, there should be no obstructions such as rocks and wrecks lurking below the surface. Three or four foot shoals are OK provided they are marked so as to avoid embarrassing visiting boaters. The shoreline should be lined with a mix of tall pine and hardwood trees which extend done to the water’s edge providing both scenery and shelter. The bottom needs to be anchor friendly at those locations one would wish to drop the hook. A small beach near the entrance available to both locals and visitors to use would be great.

Nearly every decent harbor, geographically, has had a village or town build up around it. The exceptions are remote islands, or those places where public or private ownership has seen fit to restrict development. Every good harbor should have at least one marina, and also provide free public docking for short periods of time. Time limits in force should be clearly posted to avoid inadvertent violations. There must be a balance between the space allocated to docking and mooring and that available for other uses. Nothing is more disheartening than to come into a harbor that looks attractive on the chart, only to find it filled wall to wall with docks, moorings and pot buoys.  The place is no longer a harbor; it’s a parking lot for boats.

Once ashore, an attractive, well maintained village is a real asset. A mix of cottages and larger homes along the shore line adds to the scenery. Signs and a welcome centerin town  facilitate a visitor’s understanding of the history of the place, and can transform a walkaround from merely exercise to a delightful experience.  Periodic activities or festivals create a welcoming atmosphere in town, and lead to cruisers planning their schedules accordingly. There should be at least two eating establishments available within walking distance of the docks or landing, (competition helps maintain quality). Fuel, water, ice and light grocery shopping round out the basics.

Spotting an ideal harbor is not rocket science. Just look around on any sunny weekend. Do you see canoers and kayackers paddling the shore, families towing their kids on tubes, small sailboats tacking back and forth, larger sailboats and powerboats passing in and out, watermen tending to their calling? If so, you’ve arrived, enjoy your stay. By the way, know any nearby harbor that fills the bill? 

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Cruising with the “Salty Spouse”

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

With the new boating season about to start, most skippers, (and admirals) would like nothing better than to look forward to anchoring somewhere new, not too far from home. Right? Let us suggest Vandemere Creek, off the Bay River.  Been there, done that with our 36’ fixed keel sailboat! It is actually closer than Dowery Creek Marina, quiet, well sheltered, pretty, deep by local standards, and easy to get into. Now, before you run and get your charts out to verify what we’re going to say, it only shows on NOAA Chart 11548, Pamlico Sound Western Part. It does not show on any Maptech or ICW chart. The creek entrance is located on the north shore of the Bay River, about 5 miles west of the ICW.

Heading south on the ICW, watch for the Bald Eagle near the Hobucken Bridge. After reaching QG “27” on the ICW south of Hobucken, proceed due south for a bit before turning southwest  into the Bay River towards Fl R “4”. This maneuver will let you avoid the unmarked shoal on the west side of the ICW across from QG “27”. The Bay River itself is hazard free all the way around “4” to “5” and northwest up to the clearly visible commercial buildings at the Vandemere docks. The entrance to Vandemere Creek is well marked with reasonable sized, numbered floating spar buoys that delineate a normally 8’ deep channel. The channel is wide enough to handle opposing traffic, and entice dolphin to come in – honestly. You will not have the sun in your eyes  entering or leaving the creek.

You’ll find the first pair of buoys well off the old commercial docks, a green past the docks and a red off a large house north of the docks. Go from the pair to the green, then from the green to the red. Beyond the house, paired buoys mark a short, narrow side creek on the left, but you want to bear off to starboard there to pick up a solitary green, “5”. Turn at green “5”, pass between the next pair and you are in. At this point the creek runs nearly east and west, is 8’ – 9’ deep and plenty wide enough for a four-boat raft to swing safely. A mix of tall trees grows right down to the water line. Three fairly new docks grace the south shore, and a couple of small sailboats anchor in shallow water near the north shore. Two large sailboats tie off at one of the docks.  Pot buoys on both shorelines clearly show where the deeper water is. Both shore lines are nearly undeveloped, (read, little boat traffic), and with the broad Bay River nearby, the water skiers don’t come into the creek. Noisy patio restaurant? Nope. Bustling Marina? Nope. Cell phone reception? Yep. TV reception? Yep. 3G wireless internet reception? Yep. Nearest towboat? Oriental – 22 miles. The creek carries 5’ – 6’ for over a mile winding inland, so if the peace and quiet gets to you, launch the dinghy and explore.

Happy Cruising.     Inza & Scott Mackenzie, “Salty Spouse”

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