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CONTINUING TO CRUISE IN THE CHESAPEAKE:  6/1/01 thru 6/23/01
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Annapolis, MD to Rock Creek -- 6/4/01
Fred and I anxiously waited for the arrival of my sister and her kids.  They arrived in Annapolis around 3:00pm. YEA!  It was so great to see them.  I can't believe their finally here.  We managed to get their luggage aboard in just a couple dingy rides and the adventure was beginning.

Annapolis, MD to Rock Creek -- 6/5/01  (Log written by Diane, Phillip & Annette)
Left Annapolis after a successful night sleep. For the sail to Rock Creek we had a beautiful, sunny day with 5-10 knots of wind.   We put up the Spinnaker and Phillip did a great job of flying the chute.  Phillip said it was "fun"!    After a terrific sail, we arrived in Rock Creek.  We were going to swim, but seeing jelly fish changed our mind.  Later Phillip & Annette, better known as Crab Cakes and Sea Nettles, were successful in capturing several jelly fish in a bucket.  Crab Cakes later took us for a very close-up view of the shoreline in the dinghy - speed is his thing!   Crab Cakes tireless efforts fishing unfortunately produced nothing, so we had to settle on hot dogs and metts for dinner.

Diane, Phillip & Annette
 

Phillip flying the Spinnaker!!!  Hold on!
 

Annette enjoying the ride
 

Rock Creek to Baltimore, MD -- 6/6/01 - 6/7/01  (Log written by Diane, Phillip & Annette)
Got an early start and after another great sail up the Patapsco River, we docked the boat successfully at Anchorage Marina in the Inner Harbor - dock# C23.   We quickly ate lunch and we were on our way.  Took the Water Taxi to Fells Point, then transferred to another taxi that took us to the Inner Harbor (downtown Baltimore).  After landing, Diane, better known as Tour Guide Barbie, led us to the aquarium.  We spent the afternoon frolicking thru the National Aquarium in Baltimore.  Sea Nettles and Crab Cakes saw their first dolphin show.  Sea Nettles thought it was "cool" and also enjoyed spending lots of time in the gift shop.  Tour Guide Barbie, Sea Nettles and Debbie, better known as Flounder,  purchased matching dolphin shirts.  The guys were too embarrassed to get one as well even though we know they wanted one.  We spent lots of time around the outside seal pool after touring the aquarium.  Sea Nettles favorite thing was the Dolphin show.  Crab Cakes liked the rain forest exhibit.  Fred, better known as Tour Guide Ken,  enjoyed the sting ray exhibit.  Flounder's favorite was the dolphins, but the large Tarpon were pretty cool as well - and Crab Cakes impersonation of a Tarpon was something to see!  Tour Guide Barbie liked the Sea Horse exhibit.  After wearing ourselves out at the aquarium, we took the taxi back to the boat, enjoyed a nice chicken & stuffing meal and the guys took off to the grocery to get us a special treat -- ICE CREAM!  After we ate the whole 1/2 gallon and the boat sat lower in the water.

Dolphin show at the Aquarium

The next day, we tried to get an early start, but Sea Nettles was stuck in her berth getting her beauty sleep.  We did manage to get on our way in time to get to the USS Constellation to see the firing of the 20 lb. Parrot Riffle.  Crab Cakes  was lucky enough to retrieve the firing pin from the deck.  We continued our tour of the Constellation.  The self guided tour was very informative and made us appreciate our own accommodations.  Next we went to the Lightship Chesapeake.  This was used as a floating lighthouse.  It even survived a hurricane.  It was probably not a fun place to be anchored for 3-years.  Next we went to the USS Torsk submarine which  was the last American naval vessel to sink a warship in World War II.   We were lucky enough to have a personal tour from a gentleman who served on a similar vessel during World War II.  We all learned a great deal from him and his perspective on things made it even more meaningful for us.  We couldn't imagine sleeping next to a torpedo every night along with 80 other sailors in a very small space.  Nor could we imagine being under water for 8-9 hours in a row without fresh oxygen.  It was tricky navigating thru the small passageways and even smaller hatches and we couldn't imagine doing it as a job.  Our next stop was the US Coast Guard Cutter - Taney.  It was the biggest ship we toured yet and it is the only surviving warship, still afloat, that was present and fought during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  They showed a great movie on Pearl Harbor which helped us understand what it must have been like during the attack.  Of all the ships we toured that day, this is the one Crab Cakes would have wanted to serve on.

USS Constellation - Baltimore Inner Harbor

USS Torsk

US Coast Guard Cutter - Taney

We ended our day with a trip to Ft. McHenry - which inspired writing of the Star Spanglled Banner as a result of the battle of Baltimore during the war of 1812..  After a well made movie on the battle that inspired our national anthem, it was time for a look around.  Being dressed in our matching attire (dolphin shirts), the ladies took off for an inside tour of Ft. McHenry.  The guys, being too embarrassed to be seen with us any longer, headed back to the boat and the West Marine store.  While exploring the fort, Sea Nettles ended up in jail.  Tour Guide Barbie and Flounder also ended up in jail after trying to help her escape.  Sea Nettles liked all the cannons.  The exhibits were well done and very informative.  The flag was flying proudly in the fort on another beautiful sunny afternoon.  While waiting for the water taxi, Sea Nettles entertained us and the squirrels with her new penny whistle.  What a treat!    We got back to the boat late and all were very tired.

Ft. McHenry

Annette pleading for a release

Facilities we found at/around the Anchorage Marina - Hail on channel 9:
* Laundry
* TV and Game Room - with Internet Access
* Swimming Pool
* Floating Docks
* Close access to the Waterway Taxi to take you to downtown Baltimore - $5.00/day for unlimited rides
* Grocery - Safeway
* West Marine
* Dock fee - $1.00/ft. w/Boat US discount; $5.00 for electric
 

Baltimore to Rock Hall -- 6/8/01 - 6/10/01  (Log written by Diane, Phillip & Annette)
Again, Sea Nettles was stuck in her berth and awoke as we were close to Rock Hall.  It was another beautiful, sunny day, but we didn't get much sailing in as the wind was not cooperating.  Crab Cakes did get a chance to raise and lower the main sail and roll out the genoa several times.  Boy were his muscles bulging.  We arrived in Rock Hall and Tour Guide Ken found us a great anchor spot.  After lots of scouting for jelly fish, we determined the waters were jelly fish free.  So off the back of the boat went Crab Cakes, then Sea Nettles.  Tour Guide Ken, Barbie and Flounder shortly followed.  Many sponge fights ensued over the next three days with the girls always being victorious!  :-)   We ended a fun day of swimming with a game of charades.  There were many creative words, the best was Tour Guide Ken who came up with museum.  Sea Nettle was surprised to find a beach covered with shells.  She collected a few wishing she could have taken the whole beach with her.  Saturday we took the trolley into town and had a nice dinner at Waterman's courtesy of Tour Guide Barbie.  Founder ate Crab Cakes and Crab Cakes ate Flounder.  Tour Guide Ken & Barbie enjoyed crab melts.  Sea Nettles had pizza.   A wonderful dinner was had by all.  Then we walked to the ice cream parlor and all enjoyed a special treat.  We caught the trolley back to the marina, got in the dingy and Crab Cakes gave us another thrilling ride back to the boat.  That evening we played Cincinnapoly.  Crab Cakes and Flounder were out pretty early on and while they were outside enjoying the stars, Tour Guide Ken, Barbie and Sea Nettles were battling it out.    Sea Nettles ended up victorious with a bank account of $3,176.

The next day, Crab Cakes climbed to the top of the mast and waxed all the stainless fittings.  He did a great job focusing on the task at hand even though he had a beautiful view of Baltimore from up there.  The only casualty was a dropped rag which Sea Nettles bravely tried to rescue, but was unsuccessful.  The last night at Rock Hall the Cincinnapoly game turned out to be a nasty tie between Flounder and Crab Cakes.

Phillip taking Fred for a tour in the dingy

Annette doing her sponge balancing act Cooling off

Phillip on his way to the top of the mast.  Waxing the stainless fixtures.  What a guy!

Rock Hall to Annapolis -- 6/11/01 - 6/12/01  (Log written by Diane, Phillip & Annette)
After an early morning voyage, we arrived in Annapolis around 10:00am.  We went ashore to check out the Naval Academy.   It started out with a movie that gave us an overview of life at the academy.  We headed off with a guide on a walking tour.  Had a hard time not leaving the tour to jump in the large olympic size pool.  It was hot and boy did it look good!   The stain glass in the chapel was gorgeous and John Paul Jones crypt was eerie.  He was the one that said "I have not yet begun to fight".   The officer's homes were beautiful.  The campus architecture was unique.  Finished up the afternoon with what....more ICE CREAM!  Sea Nettles said "this trip has been a lot of fun".

Inside the Chapel at the Naval Academy

Annapolis, MD -- 6/13/01
The last day..     :-(
Its hard to believe our adventure is over.  Time went by so fast.  Diane was kind enough to take me to the grocery in the morning while the kids and Fred hung out at the boat.  They took off shortly after noon.  It was so hard watching them leave - wish the adventure could have lasted longer.  We'll just have to look forward to them coming again sometime!  Fred and I headed back to the boat and the afternoon/evening was tough.  It was so quiet and we missed them a lot, but we reminisced on all the fun things we did with them.
 

Annapolis, MD -- Preparation week for the NE 600 Cruising Rally - 6/14/01 thru 6/23/01
Thursday we found ourselves parked in front of Fawcett's again - Ego Alley.  Something I said I'd never do.  Oh well, guess you should watch what you say you'll never do again.  :-)    We needed to get to a dock since we were having a mechanic do some 50-hour maintenance work on our engine.  One of the things we had him do was check the alignment of the prop shaft.  Unfortunately the news was not all good.  First of all, our engine was out of alignment - so he fixed that, but soon discovered thaat it appears our prop shaft is bent.  So the loose strut we had earlier probably caused the shaft to bend.  This means that the boat will need to be hauled out of the water in order to fix it.  It also means that our trip to Maine with the cruising rally is in question.  I knew there would be bugs to work out, but this is ridiculous.  Not to mention the cap on the coolant started leaking again.  We thought we had this fixed after finally getting the right cap (3 tries it took Yanmar/Mack Boring to get the right part).  So back to the drawing board on that one.   We're hoping it's just not seated correctly.  Once the engine cools, we'll remove and put back on.  Keeping my fingers crossed it works.  I'd like for one thing to be resolved.  We have a call into the builder and Monday should know more about what we're going to do with the shaft.

We spent the evening in Ego Alley.  Went for ice cream and who did we run into, but some friends we met while in Beaufort, NC - Jim and Allie.  Their on their way north and came to Annapolis for a couple days.  It was great seeing a familiar face.  Hard to believe they were here at the same time we were.  Had fun catching up with them over some ice cream.
 

Early Out parked in Ego Alley - Annapolis, MD
 

Friday the 14th brought the arrival of the Buckley's.  YEA!   They found our boat on Ego Alley.  We had fun catching up with them.  Then they took off for a rehearsal dinner for the wedding they were attending in Annapolis.  We got together with them on Saturday before the wedding they were attending and motored out to watch the start of the Annapolis to Newport race.  It was fun watching the big racers and their pre-start maneuvers.  It was amazing how well they handled their boats in prestart maneuvers.  It was also interesting to see that even these "professional" teams could screw up a spinnaker set.  There were all types of boats in the race - some of the ones that stood out were:  Donnybrook, Chessie Racing, Blue Yankee, Trader and American Promise.
 
 

Annapolis, MD -- Preparation week for the New England 600 Cruising Rally - 6/14/01 thru 6/22/01

SUMMARY OF NE600 RALLY TRIP:
Annapolis, thru the C&D Canal, down Delaware Bay, outside the coast of New Jersey, up the Hudson River, thru Hells Gate to Long Island Sound, thru the Race, up to Newport, thru the Cape Cod Canal to Provincetown, then cross Gulf of Maine to Camden.

Jim and Marjie Favors who run the NE600 Cruising Rally

The week was full of seminars, inspections and workshops to assist the vessels in preparing for the trip to Maine.  Seminars covered things like emergency sail repair, weather briefings, offshore passagemaking, diesel engine troubleshooting, offshore safety equipment demonstration, handling watches at night, provisioning, etc.  This week also gave us an opportunity to talk with the other participants in the rally and get to know them more.  We met lots of great folks and are looking forward to our journey north with them.  It was pretty neat to see that a large number of people on the rally were either from Ohio or Michigan.  Its a small world!    The evenings were filled with cocktail hours which gave us additional opportunities to talk with other folks.  Wednesday evening came and Peter & Fred ensured we were back on our boat to watch all the boats finish from the Wednesday night races.  It was a lot of fun watching them sail past.   They had a Bon Voyage party for us on Thursday the 21st.
 

Annapolis, MD to Schaefer's Marina in the C&D Canal - 6/23/01
The big day is finally here.  We're all very excited to get underway.  It looks like the wind is going to cooperate for nice sail up the Chesapeake Bay. The racing division got off to a clean start. About half the fleet was in this division along with two other Caliber 40's. It was an overcast day but the wind held up all day from the south pushing the fleet in the right direction. We didn't sail the spinnaker since the wind was dead behind us. One of the other Calibers had a wisker pole which helped them edge us over the finish line. We may have to look in to getting one for ourselves.

We arrived at Schaefer's Marina about 6PM. The rally boats took up most of the docking facilities and look good all flying the yellow NE600 flags. This was the first time everyone had there boats in the same place since we were all scattered around Annapolis.  We really enjoyed getting tours of the other boats. It is amazing how different they all are.  There was a steel drum band playing that added to the cruising atmosphere so we sat outside and drank some rum drinks and margarita's to celebrate our first successful day of the trip.

The Rally Boats lined up at the C&D Canal
 

The Crew of Early Out in the C&D Canal - Peter, Debbie & Fred
 
 

Schaefer's Marina in the C&D Canal to Newport, RI - 6/24/01 thru 6/26/01 (Overnight sailing)

The next leg was really the longest leg of the jouney with two planned overnight sails, one along the New Jersey coast and the other down Long Island Sound with a sail up the Hudson River past the sights of New York City.  One heart stopping moment came after the wind died and then we were motoring. On a regular check of the engine compartment Fred noticed a large bolt laying next to the coupling that ties the engine to propeller shaft. The same coupling we had aligned twice trying to get rid of a vibration problem. We quickly threw the boat out of gear and pulled all the gear out of the lazarette and took a closer look.  All the bolts in the coupling were in place and tight so no problem there. The large bolt did not seem to match the coupling or anything else below deck for that matter. Fred spent some time looking closely to find where this bolt came from, only to find an additional bolt by the autopilot drive and a hose clamp under the engine platform. After much searching and scratching our heads we decided it must be left overs from the comissioning process that were previously hidden under the engine platform and had vibrated free with all the movement.  The sail down Delaware bay was uneventful. We were able to get the spinnaker out and sail for a couple of hours which is always fun.

The wind proceeded to die shortly after we came out of the Delaware Bay and made the turn north up the Jersey Shore. We motored all night along with the rest of the fleet. It was nice sailing at night out in the ocean knowing you had company if anything went wrong.  The chatter on the radio also made the watch go more quickly. We used a 2 on 4 off watch schedule. Fred took from 10 to midnight, Debbie took from midnight to 2AM and Peter took from 2-4AM with Fred finishing off the formal watch schedule from 4-6AM. The night along the Jersey coast was uneventful. We could see the lights of Atlantic City for almost 4 hours. We did get to learn a great deal about the different lights that commercial traffic use at night. We had several tugs towing barges more than 200 yards behind them. This is signified by a 3  vertical white lights over a green. The scary part is that the barge they are towing is barely lit at all and makes no noise. So after the tug passes, you really had to look out for the tow that may or may not be directly behind the tug.

We made our approach to NY Harbor well after day light. The Verinzono bridge is fairly impressive when you sail under it for the first time. We were a little late to make it through Hell's Gate with the current behind us. This is nasty spot that can produce swirling current and turn a boat like ours around like someone flushed us down the toilet.  To wait a few hours until the current turned around, we anchored right next to the Statue of Liberty. It was a beautiful sunny day and we all took showers off the back of the boat and enjoyed a nap. About an hour from when the tide was to turn, we picked up anchor and motored up the Hudson as the sun was setting behind the city. What a spectaluar ride that was. Once we got to Hell's Gate it was just as docile as could be and we motored right through before we even knew it.

We motored out into Long Island sound on another windless night. We kept the same watch schedule so I was able to waive at Stamford, CT where my sister and her and her family live about 11:30PM  as we motored by. We will stop by and visit them on our way back down in September. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful except for passing a few tugs with tows. Of course we are experts now at identifing these dark monsters.  :-)

One of the highlights of the trip was when we came to the end of Long Island Sound and went through the "Race". This is an area of high current when the tide is running and the depth of the water change is also quite dramatic. This leaves standing 2 foot waves. We went through with about 3 knots of current behind us which made it feel like we were in a 40 foot white water raft for a few seconds. Very fun on a calm day, probably not so fun on a rough day.

After the race we made our turn for Newport. The wind picked up to 5 to 10 knots but was very flukey. Fred was going crazy after listening to the engine rumble for almost 48 hours straight so we shut it off and put up the spinnaker for a few moments of silence--ahhh! Unfortunately we were only making 2 to 3 knots toward our goal which would have put us there well after dark so back on came the engine--boo!

We pulled into Newport about 4 PM and found our mooring ball. It sure felt good to turn off the engine and sit back and enjoy cocktail hour.  As we were enjoying our drinks a couple of guys sailing a Lightning (19ft. boat Fred sailed with his family growing up) came close to the boat and Peter made a comment to them about what a nice boat they had. As it turns out they were both in the Navy in a training program for officers in Newport and they were very happy to have some more company for nice evening sail in 10 knots of wind.  It was great to sail a Lightning again.
 

Anchored next to the Statue of Liberty - waiting for tide to change before entering Hells Gate

Sailing past New York...pretty cool!!
 
 
 

Newport, RI to Provincetown, RI - 6/29/01
We picked up a new crew member, Kathy, in Newport for the remainder of the trip. We knew she would liven up an already exciting journey. We got an early start out of Newport. As the fleet headed out around Brenton Reef we start the race with 10-15 knots of wind on a close reach. Unfortunately the wind did not hold and the need to make it through the Cape Cod Canal with the current behind us won out and the race was cancelled so everyone turned on their engines. We made it to the canal in time to receive a 4 knot push which made us move through the canal at 10 to 11 knots.  whew!

After a quick passage throught the canal the next leg of the race was looking better. The race was to take us from the exit of the canal to a mark just off Provincetown where we were planning on spending the night. Reports from boats in front of us said 20 knot winds with 5 foot seas. We started the race and quickly decided that the reports did not apply to where we were. So up went the spinnaker. With an ominous sky and reports of a rough ride ahead, only one other boat put out their chute. We were moving on everyone. When the winds did get up to 20 knots we were surfing down the small waves and hitting 10 knots again, only this was a little more exciting. After we had enough distance on the fleet and the seas began to build we took down the chute with several miles to go before the finish. What a fun ride!

One of the boats in our fleet, a  brand new Island Packet 380, did an accidental jibe which tore the boom right off the mast. One of the crew was knocked off his feet and over the side trying to secure the boom. Fortunately he grabbed the life line as he went over and saved the crew from a man overboard drill. The only injury was a fat lip and some loose teeth.

In Provincetown most of the fleet were on moorings where we could get into town on the complementary shuttle service. If you have never been to Provincetown it is a very unique place. Lots of great art and entertainment. People watching never gets dull here.  Since we had an additional day layover here, Debbie went whale watching with the group and saw lots of whales - even saw a Humpback whale broach...so graceful for such large animals.  Kathy & Peter checked out the art galleries while Fred checked out the library and later his eyelids!  :-)

Our cheerful crew - Peter & Kathy