We enjoyed a great outdoor concert in Easton Town with Gayle & John
St Michael's Museum - How's this for a duck shooting gun!
The crew "stack out" on this traditional Chesapeake sailing boat
Ooops.......
Pet tries his hand at getting oysters the old fashioned way - using oyster tongs
Double ended car ferry on the Tred Avon River
POTOMAC RIVER
Making our way up the Potomac River to Washington DC we had to pass under some power lines
We passed by some beautiful houses
The Auckland Harbour Bridge? No - this is the Potomac River
Plenty of room to get under this bridge
Moore mansions on the Potomac
Mt Vernon - George Washington's Estate which is on 500 acres & open to the public
This lighthouse is one of the many lighthouses that used to line the Chesapeake Bay & it's tributaries in days gone by. Each year in Maryland State they hold the "Chesapeake Lighthouse Challenge". the participants have 2 days in which to visit 10 allocated lighthouses including this one at Fort Washington on the Potomac River.
Our last obstacle before reaching Washington DC was the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. It was 75ft high, the same height as our mast - Hmmmmm!!!!
Luckily the tide was low
We just scrapped through with what seemed like inches to spare
WASHINGTON DC
Arriving in the Washington Channel
We had a great view of the National Monument from our anchorage in the Washington Channel which was only minutes walk to the National Mall & all the sights
Spot Sali's black mast at her anchorage in the Washington Channel
The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum housed 163 flying machines, including the Concorde & the Enterprise Space Shuttle (test vehicle). It was all pretty amazing & interesting
Pete takes time out from sight seeing for a spot of fishing
And look what he caught!! A stroller belonging to our neighbours John & Nichola on their boat "Seraphin". They lost it off the dock they previous day, luckily it was empty at the time
A Visit to the White House was definitely on the list of things to see
We even got to meet the Obama's who were very hospitable & welcoming
Pete also made friends with some other locals
And we met a lovely couple at the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial
With the Kiwi dollar being so low Pete decided to join the "bread line" at the Roosevelt Memorial
Pete checks out the Thomas Jefferson Memorial that overlooks the Tidal Pool. The Tidal Pool is surrounded by Japanese cherry trees which were a gift from the nation of Japan
The Armed Forces put on a great display of precision drill marching at the Jefferson Memorial. They were tossing their rifles with bayonets attached & catching them blind
We walked up the National Mall to Capitol Hill & checked out the Capitol Building where Congress meets
Looking down the National Mall from the Capitol Building we could see the National Monument & in front of the Capitol building a group of Asian people carried out their exercise routine (similar to Tai Chi)
They still use traditional wooden fishing boats
I took my 1st trip up the mast
The tractor lends a helping hand to push Sali up the hill to her new resting place for the next few months
TANGIER ISLAND
Tangier Island is slowly sinking
They still use traditional wooden fishing boats
These freestanding jetties & huts are used by the crab fishermen
The crab fishermen separate the crabs that are getting ready to shed their shells, they are placed in holding tanks on the jetties & are moved through the tanks as they progress through their stages of shedding. Once they have shed their shells they must be removed from the water within an hour or so before their new shells harden. Once they are taken from the water their shells remain soft, they are cooked & eaten with their shells on
Since we were in crab country it would have been rude not to try them - wouldn't it?
DELTAVILLE
Preparations for our departure - we made Sali some new covers to keep the leaves out of the cockpit while she's on the hardstand
Preparations for our departure - we made Sali some new covers to keep the leaves out of the cockpit while she's on the hardstand
I took my 1st trip up the mast
Birds eye view of Deltaville from the top of the mast
The tractor lends a helping hand to push Sali up the hill to her new resting place for the next few months
We left Annapolis on 10th July & made our way over to Easton on the Tred Avon River, eastern shores. We had ad little incident on the way when the alternator needed some attention. Pete took the stairs that lead from the cockpit down to the main salon so he could get access to the engine & fix the alternator; meanwhile I was up in the cockpit on watch. Unfortunately I had an attack of Alzheimer's & forgot that the stairs weren’t there, I stepped down from the cockpit & literally flew down the 1.6m drop landing on my back in the main salon. Thankfully I only got a few scratches, bruises & whiplash, but the best part was that it cured my sciatica which had been troubling me for the last 4 months!!!!
Anyway we arrived in Easton & anchored 500m from John & Gayles house (Pete’s friends who he hadn’t seen for 25 years). We had a great weekend with them catching up on the last 25 years & reminiscing about old times. John took us on a tour of the boat yard he manages & showed us through the beautiful 50 & 70ft boats they are currently building. Saturday evening they took us to Easton town where we enjoyed an outdoor concert. The 2 musicians were from Uganda singing about world peace & harmony in their native language & used traditional musical instruments. Easton is a lovely area & like most of the small towns in the Chesapeake is very quaint with some lovely historical buildings. John & Gayle also lent us their car to return to St Michaels, where we had taken Grant, Laura & the girls, so we could visit the maritime museum. It was very interesting with some great displays on the ship building & fishing history of the area.
Chesapeake is steeped in history with 2 British wars & the Civil war taking place in the area. St Michaels is know as “The Town That Fooled The British” because during the 1812 war the British arrived at St Michaels at night intending to bomb it, however the locals had been pre-warned so they turned the town lights out & hung lanterns on trees near the town, as a result only one house was destroyed. Eastern shores is know as “the Breadbasket of the American Revolution” as it provided wheat flour for the American Revolution. Today it is still big on agriculture with crops such as wheat, corn, tomatoes etc grown throughout the area.
From Easton we made our way to Washington DC which is about 100nmls from the entrance of the Potomac River. We had an overnight stop on the way up & had to go under 2 bridges & power lines. The second bridge, Woodrow Wilson Bridge, is a new bridge just before Washington with a clearance of 75ft, the same height as Saliander so we had to make sure we went under at low tide. Pete tied a stick on top so we would have pre-warning if we were going to hit. Thankfully we managed to scrape through with what appeared to be inches to spare, but was probably a foot or so – whew! We anchored down town in the Washington Channel which is only 10 minutes walk to the memorials & museums. There were 6 other cruising boats also anchored there & we had the full use of the Capitol Yacht Club facilities which included a dinghy dock, laundry ($1 per wash), wifi, bar & free coffee, all for $15 per day. On Saturday mornings the club put on a full cooked breakfast for club members & visitors for $5 each, a great way to meet the locals & everyone was very friendly & helpful.
We had a very busy time in Washington, there is so much to see & do. We did 7 Museums, the Zoo, the Monuments, the Botanic Gardens & George Town all in the space of 7 days –makes me tired just thinking about it. It was very hot so the museums were good cause they’re all air conditioned, they were also very interesting. I must admit we were a bit museum’d out by the time we left, I think you need a good couple of month to do justice to all the museums which are huge.
We had an overnight stop on our way down the Potomac & made our way over to Smith Island & Tangier Island on the eastern shore. This group of islands are rather unique as they have long been the home of the watermen & their families, community life revolves around crabbing & fishing, & each new generation have traditionally become watermen, with all the skills being passed down through the family. They also have their own unique way of talking & if you hear them conversing amongst each other you would think they were talking a foreign language as you can’t understand a word of what they’re saying. However times are changing on the island, as in the rest of the Chesapeake, the fishermen have now their season cut back by 5 months & they are no longer allowed to pass their quota down to the next generation. This means school leavers are having to leave the island to find work & as a result the island population is slowly depleting. Not only that, but the islands are also sinking, so island life may well be a thing of the past before too long – very sad for the people who are quite upset about it all. However on the bright side they are trying to promote the islands as a tourist destination. Some of the smaller islands are now wild life reserves so they also run eco tours & have set up a lovely museum based around island life.
The waters surrounding the islands are shallow for quite a way out & therefore ideal depth for the crab pots which laid down in rows & marked with colored bouys. We normally stick to the channels to make sure we avoid the pots, however we decided to be more adventurous & cut through the middle of the pots. You have to keep a sharp eye out though, so we wiggled our way through to the main Chesapeake channel without any mishaps. After another overnight stop we arrived at Jackson Creek, Deltaville.
We anchored out side a marina with great wifi & for $10 per day we can use their facilities which include a laundry, swimming pool, TV room & bikes which are great for getting to town which is quite a hike & the shops a re very spread out. It’s still very hot, the temperatures are up in the mid 90’s which is a recipe for thunder storms. Sure enough most afternoons we receive a deluge of rain along with the thunder & lightening. It’s actually a blessing cause it cools the air down. We took the local bus to Walmart & Home Depot one day. We weren’t sure how far the stores were, but were told it would take about an hour to get there. This bus is a door to door service & goes off the beaten track to pick up its’ passengers, unfortunately there were a lot more passengers on board the day we went & we appeared to be going round & round in circles as we noticed we passed the same places several times. So our 1 hour trip turned into 2 hours for what we found out was only a 20ml trip, luckily we had all day!!!
We’ve met a lot of locals who are all very friendly, with lots of offers of assistance etc. We got friendly with one particular lady, Thyra, who lives next to the marina. She took pity on us walking in the hot sun & gave us a ride back from town one day. Thyra & her friend Theresa also took us to dinner last week, we had a great night & wonderful dinner.
We had a great reunion with our Kiwi friends Cathy & Werner when they arrived back at their boat, Legend II, which was on the hardstand at Deltaville. The rest of the time has been spent decommissioning Saliander & getting her “winterized” for her long holiday on the hardstand. Oh - Pete also rescued a local man when he tipped over a bank on his ride-on lawn mower & got pinned underneath. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt too bad, just a little sore.
Sali was hauled out of the water on 4th August. That was a bit of an experience as there was only a small gap under the keel when she was on the travel hoist. They had to grade the gravel drive way so she wouldn’t scrape her keel & used a tractor to push her up the hill to the storage yard. We had 2 more days of packing & preparing Sali before our departure for NZ on 6th August.
Anyway we arrived in Easton & anchored 500m from John & Gayles house (Pete’s friends who he hadn’t seen for 25 years). We had a great weekend with them catching up on the last 25 years & reminiscing about old times. John took us on a tour of the boat yard he manages & showed us through the beautiful 50 & 70ft boats they are currently building. Saturday evening they took us to Easton town where we enjoyed an outdoor concert. The 2 musicians were from Uganda singing about world peace & harmony in their native language & used traditional musical instruments. Easton is a lovely area & like most of the small towns in the Chesapeake is very quaint with some lovely historical buildings. John & Gayle also lent us their car to return to St Michaels, where we had taken Grant, Laura & the girls, so we could visit the maritime museum. It was very interesting with some great displays on the ship building & fishing history of the area.
Chesapeake is steeped in history with 2 British wars & the Civil war taking place in the area. St Michaels is know as “The Town That Fooled The British” because during the 1812 war the British arrived at St Michaels at night intending to bomb it, however the locals had been pre-warned so they turned the town lights out & hung lanterns on trees near the town, as a result only one house was destroyed. Eastern shores is know as “the Breadbasket of the American Revolution” as it provided wheat flour for the American Revolution. Today it is still big on agriculture with crops such as wheat, corn, tomatoes etc grown throughout the area.
From Easton we made our way to Washington DC which is about 100nmls from the entrance of the Potomac River. We had an overnight stop on the way up & had to go under 2 bridges & power lines. The second bridge, Woodrow Wilson Bridge, is a new bridge just before Washington with a clearance of 75ft, the same height as Saliander so we had to make sure we went under at low tide. Pete tied a stick on top so we would have pre-warning if we were going to hit. Thankfully we managed to scrape through with what appeared to be inches to spare, but was probably a foot or so – whew! We anchored down town in the Washington Channel which is only 10 minutes walk to the memorials & museums. There were 6 other cruising boats also anchored there & we had the full use of the Capitol Yacht Club facilities which included a dinghy dock, laundry ($1 per wash), wifi, bar & free coffee, all for $15 per day. On Saturday mornings the club put on a full cooked breakfast for club members & visitors for $5 each, a great way to meet the locals & everyone was very friendly & helpful.
We had a very busy time in Washington, there is so much to see & do. We did 7 Museums, the Zoo, the Monuments, the Botanic Gardens & George Town all in the space of 7 days –makes me tired just thinking about it. It was very hot so the museums were good cause they’re all air conditioned, they were also very interesting. I must admit we were a bit museum’d out by the time we left, I think you need a good couple of month to do justice to all the museums which are huge.
We had an overnight stop on our way down the Potomac & made our way over to Smith Island & Tangier Island on the eastern shore. This group of islands are rather unique as they have long been the home of the watermen & their families, community life revolves around crabbing & fishing, & each new generation have traditionally become watermen, with all the skills being passed down through the family. They also have their own unique way of talking & if you hear them conversing amongst each other you would think they were talking a foreign language as you can’t understand a word of what they’re saying. However times are changing on the island, as in the rest of the Chesapeake, the fishermen have now their season cut back by 5 months & they are no longer allowed to pass their quota down to the next generation. This means school leavers are having to leave the island to find work & as a result the island population is slowly depleting. Not only that, but the islands are also sinking, so island life may well be a thing of the past before too long – very sad for the people who are quite upset about it all. However on the bright side they are trying to promote the islands as a tourist destination. Some of the smaller islands are now wild life reserves so they also run eco tours & have set up a lovely museum based around island life.
The waters surrounding the islands are shallow for quite a way out & therefore ideal depth for the crab pots which laid down in rows & marked with colored bouys. We normally stick to the channels to make sure we avoid the pots, however we decided to be more adventurous & cut through the middle of the pots. You have to keep a sharp eye out though, so we wiggled our way through to the main Chesapeake channel without any mishaps. After another overnight stop we arrived at Jackson Creek, Deltaville.
We anchored out side a marina with great wifi & for $10 per day we can use their facilities which include a laundry, swimming pool, TV room & bikes which are great for getting to town which is quite a hike & the shops a re very spread out. It’s still very hot, the temperatures are up in the mid 90’s which is a recipe for thunder storms. Sure enough most afternoons we receive a deluge of rain along with the thunder & lightening. It’s actually a blessing cause it cools the air down. We took the local bus to Walmart & Home Depot one day. We weren’t sure how far the stores were, but were told it would take about an hour to get there. This bus is a door to door service & goes off the beaten track to pick up its’ passengers, unfortunately there were a lot more passengers on board the day we went & we appeared to be going round & round in circles as we noticed we passed the same places several times. So our 1 hour trip turned into 2 hours for what we found out was only a 20ml trip, luckily we had all day!!!
We’ve met a lot of locals who are all very friendly, with lots of offers of assistance etc. We got friendly with one particular lady, Thyra, who lives next to the marina. She took pity on us walking in the hot sun & gave us a ride back from town one day. Thyra & her friend Theresa also took us to dinner last week, we had a great night & wonderful dinner.
We had a great reunion with our Kiwi friends Cathy & Werner when they arrived back at their boat, Legend II, which was on the hardstand at Deltaville. The rest of the time has been spent decommissioning Saliander & getting her “winterized” for her long holiday on the hardstand. Oh - Pete also rescued a local man when he tipped over a bank on his ride-on lawn mower & got pinned underneath. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt too bad, just a little sore.
Sali was hauled out of the water on 4th August. That was a bit of an experience as there was only a small gap under the keel when she was on the travel hoist. They had to grade the gravel drive way so she wouldn’t scrape her keel & used a tractor to push her up the hill to the storage yard. We had 2 more days of packing & preparing Sali before our departure for NZ on 6th August.
