|
July 2004 Update July 9 we left Portsmouth at 0745. Our stay in Portsmouth was very enjoyable.
The winds were non-existent so we had to motor down the river to the
Chesapeake Bay. This leg takes you
past the Norfolk Navy Yard. As we approached the area of the yard we had to
cross to the west side of the river to avoid the security area around an
incoming Navy ship. Once in the bay
we headed north to Chisman Creek just south of the York River and dropped anchor
in a very pleasant anchorage with several other cruisers.
We attempted to head north the next day but the winds were strong out of
the north so we stayed a second night in Chisman Creek. The winds shifted to the south on July 11 so we headed
north to our next stop at Deltaville. We
took a slip at Dozier Marina. Friends of ours from Atlanta have their boat there
so we thought we would hook up with them however they had left the day before.
Another cold front was working its way south and brought some more ugly
weather causing us to stay a couple of days. The marina did have a courtesy car
that we borrowed a couple of times to get supplies. Deltaville is spread out so
having a car available was a nice touch. We
also met up with Jim & Joyce (Sea Pebbles) who had left Ft. Pierce a couple
of weeks before us. The weather cleared so on July 15 we headed north to Mills
Creek just south of Reedsville, Va. We
had to wind our way around some shoals to get to Mills creek but the reward at
the end was worth the ride. A great
anchorage with good protection from all wind angles, it reminded us of many
anchorages on Lake Lanier. We will
visit that anchorage again. July 16 we headed to Solomons, MD. We wanted to drop anchor in the harbor but a large regatta
was taking place there that weekend so headed up the Patuxent River to Cockold
Creek that turned out to be a lovely anchorage. The next morning July 17 we decide to get an early start so
we would not interfere with the racing. To
our surprise we encountered 150 sailboats entering the Patuxent River finishing
an overnight race from Annapolis. It
was a great picture with a rising sun. Unfortunately
the winds were again very light so we had to pay close attention so we would not
get to close to the racers and block their wind.
Once past the racers we settled in for our ride to the West River.
Another front was on its way with a forecast of heavy thunderstorms so we
took a slip at the West River Marina. We
stayed 3 days. While there I had a
rigger come by to adjust our rigging. July 20 we took a short 3 hour ride to Annapolis. It was exciting for us as we had never visited Annapolis by boat. We took a mooring ball in the City anchorage ($25 a night) and paid for 3 nights. Our time in Annapolis was great walking the city, eating at our favorite restaurants and just relaxing. We experienced the Wednesday night racing for the first time. The finish line was right in front of us so sat on the forward deck with our drinks and watched the boats finish. It took about 2 hours for the 150 boats to cross the line. July 23 – We are finally headed to what has been our destination, Baltimore. We left Annapolis at 0845 and arrived in Baltimore Harbor at 1415. When we got here we took VILKAS on a trip through the inner harbor before heading to our slip at Anchorage Marina in Canton. We are going to be at the marina for a couple of weeks. Ugne’s parents live in Baltimore and this is where Ugne and I met back in 1965. All of our kids were born here at Union Memorial Hospital. Our daughter and her family are coming up to visit with us; they will be staying with Ugne’s parents. Did I mention that it was going to rain again? As it turns out July has been the wettest July in 54 years. Mill Creek Anchorage
Capitol Dome Annapolis
Baltimore Inner Harbor |
