5/7/10

We were up early, sliding out of our Rhode River anchorage in a gentle, cool, breeze as the sun started to cast a rosy glow over the river scenery. Our destination was the West River fuel dock, just down the Rhode River, into the West River. The goal was to be riding the tide up the Bay out of the West River by 0830. Reasoning: the high winds that were due that afternoon were forecast to be in Baltimore around 2pm. We wanted to be tied tightly to a dock by then. Well, as with so many plans, it did not quite work that way. We finally left the fuel dock @ 0910. Another blessing of our current economic times; low staffing numbers, complicated by some of today's WHC attitude. Anyway, press on. The ride up the Bay was fairly fast, helped by wind, tide, and seas to surf down. Of course, as we passed the Bay Bridge and turned onto the heading for Back River, the wind kicked up with a great deal of determination, turning Back River into a frothing chocolate washing machine. Up the river to good ol' Weavers Marine, our home, once more, for the coming season. With mixed feelings, we unloaded bags, and bags of stuff, closed the systems down, shut seacocks, and promised Scooter we'd be back real soon to clean, refit, renovate, inside & out. He's a great little boat, and we can't wait to go some more.

Many thanks to Bob S. for coming down to pick us up in the Excursion. It swallowed all that gear, all those bags and had room left over. The drive up 83 was , well it just went by in a blink. A quick dinner in town, a quick drive home to the greenery in Bloserville, and the day came to an end.

In the future; clean up the weeds, clean up Scooter, make plans for the next trip; hopefully in June. So, stay tuned. We'll keep you abreast of changes we make to Scooter's systems and appearance, and let you know where we'll be headed next.

Thanks so much for following along, it's been a blast having you aboard.

Be safe, keep the grass short and the beer cold. Have a great summer.

5/5/10.

Up the Bay! Has a fun ring to it, doesn't it?Today was certainly a gorgeous day for boat travel on the Chesapeake. Cool temps, calm seas, great visibility; could not have been better. 'Course, it all evens out. We are anchored in the Rhode River expecting the wind to be calm & then shift to the W/NW. It is howling out of the S now; whitecaps and all. Hopefully it will die down, or, perhaps, switch to the other side; that would be the side we planned on for wind protection. If not, well, we'll sleep lightly, I guess.

Last night we spent the night tied to a dock in Olverson's Marina in Lodge Creek. Qaint place; all the walkways are covered, as are most of the slips. Great for a rainy day, but I'm not sure how much snow load they might take. Hope Virginia stays warm. Pretty place, tho', lots of neat old boats and friendly folks. They knew where we were from and what boat we were on in the first 10 minutes that we were there. The courtesy car we went to town in was one of several Jeep Grand Cherokees that are kept on the premises for boaters use. 'Nother good idea. Lovely countryside around Callao, VA; gently rolling hills, quiet creeks and farms. Nice place to visit. I suspect that we'll be back on our Potomac cruise.

We got an early start this morning, easing by this little lady doing the home on the dock thing. Ospreys abound all around the Bay these days; neat birds. Tidal currents played havoc with our speed, so we elected to duck into the Rhode River for the night. We've enjoyed being here several times before. Matter of fact, the esteemed Mr. Strayer and I began Scooter's trip south from this same anchorage in November. For that reason as well, it seemed a fitting place to break the trip home. Tomorrow morning, wind & weather permitting we will head under the Bay bridge to Back River and our summer home at Weaver's marine service. Scooter has a refit list awaiting action before heading out again in the upcoming weeks. The captain also has a list that will need attending to! "Git 'er done" will have to be the rallying cry for May. Just gotta love retirement, sooo much spare time!. No problem, mon! Be safe, be hoppy; we'll catch you on the flip side!

5/3/10

Hey! Here we are in VA. We are in the eastern branch of the Corrotoman River, which comes off the Rappahnock River. There, now you know as much about it as I do. Let me get you there from our last posting. Last we spoke (geez, Chuckie, that's only a figure of speech) we were anchored in the Little Alligator River just south of the Albemarle Sound waiting, & hoping, for the wind to die down. Wasn't bad in the morning, so off we went, past the nasty shoal between G9 & G7 and into the sound. Wow! What a ride! And that was before the winds kicked up. Sorry, no pics, I couldn't let go of the helm. Besides, you've seen one big breaking wave beside you, you've seen them all. Suffice it to say that we were really glad to get the crossing over with. That led us up the Pasquotank River thru Elizabeth City, NC. We did not stop here, as we wanted to make the 1:30 lock opening into the Dismal Swamp Canal. Could've, 'cause we didn't. The trip up this river, thru the woods was a real eye opener. Top left is a picture of the river just north of Elizabeth City; basically the beginning of the leg to the canal. Under that is the river midway thru the upriver journey. It is gorgeous, lots of greenery, wildlife, & curves galore. Always a surprise when Bubba comes blasting around a tight corner in a full bore bass boat turn. As you will see, there is not much room. It got tighter as we progressed; but still an amazing trip that brought us to the South Mills Lock. This lock is the first lock when going north in the canal. One makes a hard right turn, then an immediate hard left turn, all blind turns due to brush and find yourself sitting in front of the lock; as did Scooter and crew. Hot 'n sticky were the operative words that afternoon. The lock keeper shows up, opens the lock, you tie up to the wall, he fills the lock up, opens the gates, jumps in his truck, & runs down the road to open the drawbridge. From there Scooter entered the Dismal Swamp Canal enroute to the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center. Great complex; had AC! We rafted to a Canadian boat for the night, as we were just a bit to long for the available dock space. Next morning, off we went, headed for Deep Creek Lock & Bridge. This leg was about 18 miles long; all of which is run at NO WAKE speed, about 6mph. While a lovely trip, it is, I must say, different. As you can see, it is a tight squeeze for a 38' boat that is 13' wide. Won't be any turning around if the bugs get bad! Thru the Deep Creek Bridge, then into & thru the lock; incidentally this lock is the oldest operating lock in the US. From there it is a mere hop, skip, & jump to Norfolk harbor & mile marker zero. Thus endeth the ICW portion of the trip. We continued winding our way up the Elizabeth River, past the Navy yards & base to the Poquoson River. Anchoring again in Cheasapeake Bay water felt pretty good in the present, sad in the thought that the trip is ending. Ah, well, press on! Today's leg took us from Chisman Creek on the Poquoson, to our present spot. Tomorrow may well find us in Olverson's marina off the Potomac River. We'll need fuel, some groceries, etc & his facility has a courtesy car & the dock is free to MTOA members. We'll see how it goes.

Be safe, be happy; we'll catch you on the flip side