The weather is improving and we have plans to do a run from Chesapeake City, across the C & D Canal, down the Delaware, into the Atlantic to NYC and then up the Hudson to the Nyack Yacht Club. We have a full moon tonight for the night sail on the ocean and west winds. Our buddy boat has radar and we'd both like to get home! We are estimating 30-35 hours of straight sailing.....which we think is awesome!
This is a photo of Bill and Jill just after they took their wedding vows. Plus I'm including a picture of the home-town ladies who are now all retired from teaching but managed to arrive in North Carolina for Jill's big day.
We took a mooring ball for four days at Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace, MD so that we could rent a car and drive to Ocean Isle Beach to attend Jill Brewer's wedding. Ranger stayed with Lorrie and Gordon and we stayed at our time share in Atlantic Beach. The marina here at Tidewater is very nice but a bit off the main channel. Their specialty is Catalina and Hunter Yachts! This is a photo of the boats still on their cradles waiting for launch although the marina itself was almost full with 200 boats in their slips.
We welcomed friends, Sharon and Jerry Bricks, from Dansville aboard our anchored sailboat here in Back Creek, Annapolis. We visited the Naval Academy today and had lunch at Chick N Ruth's Cafe. The weather is a bit chilly and rainy here but when I checked the Dansville report it said sunny and 70....what the heck! We all had a great time anyway.
We had a delightful stay at Solomon's Landing Condo and Marina Resort this week-end. Matt and Marty, cruising friends of Lorrie and Gordon, retired here and usually sail the Bahamas on their 40' Catalina. We arrived in time for the opening celebrations for their spring sailing season complete with fireworks...that Ranger didn't really care for. We rode our bikes to the Calvert Marine Museum and toured the Drum Point Lighthouse that dates from 1883. The museum had a nice display of river otters who were very cute and playful. In addition they had a marine shop where we saw small wooden boats being hand-crafted.
We spent three days between the Great Bridge and Lock in Great Bridge and loved every minute of it. There is a town wall to tie up to for about 7 boats which is adjacent to a park with picnic tables. Stores, restaurants, ice cream, and a laundromat are all just a short walk from the waterfront. We cruisers even got together Monday night for a potluck dinner and a sing along with guitars.
We had a delightful visit with Bill and Mary White at their home in Merritt, NC which is north of Oriental just a tad off the ICW. Bill hosted both Waves of Grace and Mystic at his private docks located in front of his beautiful home...complete with water and electric! Mary cooked some delicious meals for us and we shared stories from our winter together in Marathon. We even found time to play Mexican Train Dominoes which was a favorite in Boot Key Harbor.
These "sailors' beach chairs" were lined up along the Oriental waterfront at the city park. Oriental has 800 residents but 5,000 boats in the area. It is a cruisers' delight!
We had an eleven hour day today from Wrightsville Beach to Morehead City on the ICW. Our original plan was to travel the ocean today but the forecast was predicting high winds. They certainly were high this afternoon, blowing a constant 20 knots and gusting to 24. We wanted to anchor in Beaufort but the holding is not very good in gusty winds so we put in at the Sanitary Restaurant docks for $10.00 and slept well! Lorrie and Gordon were at the Yacht Basin Marina across the street which was beautiful.
We visited Nancy Weider at her "winter home" in Ocean Lakes for a big ham Easter Dinner. Jim and Linda shared the meal as well as Nancy's brother-in-law, Steve and his nephew. The weather was beautiful and the beach was filled with northerners on vacation.
When we pulled out of our anchorage on the Waccamaw River a few days ago this nice 34# danforth anchor with 30' of chain was wrapped around our own anchor chain. Walt hauled it aboard and is in the process of cleaning it up. Now we have four anchors and this one is a biggie!
We spent Easter week-end at Barefoot Landing with a $9.00 per day rental car! What a deal! Lorrie and Gordon joined us for a luncheon of wings, house chips, and beer at Buffalo Wild Wings and then we all headed for the boaters' super store-Walmart, of coarse. We spent the evening with Jim and Linda at the Calabash Restaurant for some delicious seafood.
This is an early morning photo as we continue north on the Waccamaw River towards Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach where we will spend Easter. We spent the night in an oxbow just off the ICW with three other sailboats.
