Mike and Yonetta's Great Loop Adventure

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

C&DCanal to Delaware City

We have now finished the Chesapeake Bay and left Maryland behind. Today we traveled the C&D Canal between Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay and got our first look at the Delaware Bay. We are spending tonight at the Delaware City Marine before we take off on the 56 mile trip down the Delaware Bay. We need to make sure the weather is good for this full day of travel in the open waters of the bay. At this time the weather forecast for tomorrow is NOT good which is why we chose a marina tonight. The weather is thunderstorms, high winds, possible tornadoes. We will probably be right here until Friday. We did arrive in time today to take a tour of Fort Delaware out on the island in front of Delaware City. There is so much history all along the eastern coastline. Fort Delaware is where the POWS from Gettysburg were taken we found out today. This is a terrific old fort and many people are even in the dress of the period and give talks as you walk throughout the fort.

Exiting the C&D Canal

Entering Delaware City

Fort Delaware

Monday, June 10, 2013

Annapolis

Back out into the Chesapeake Bay today. The seas were moderate to rough. Our destination today was Annapolis, Maryland which is just off the Chesapeake up the Severn River.We traveled about 54 miles today. I did forget to mention yesterday that we had made it into Maryland. The Solomons are also in Maryland. Several large tankers were seen in the distance today. We passed by a large oil unloading facility today. We are anchored on a mooring ball tonight that was put out by the Academy for a first come first serve basis. Luckily there were a few left when we arrived. We would be required to vacate if a hurricane came so the navy can put their boats on. Lets hope we never hear those words. The storms, winds, and rain have been enough for us.

Platform to Unload Oil

Annapolis MD

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Sunday at The Solomons

Today we made our way to the Solomons on the Patuxent River. About 18 miles up the Chesapeake from Tangier we encountered a shipwreck a few hundred yards off the shipping lane. As you can see by the holes rusted through the hull this ship has been here a long, long time. We also sounded our deepest water of the trip so far at 125 ft. Weather today was good and so were the seas. We are now anchored in the Patuxent River where we have taken the dinghy in to see the streets of Solomons. People quit often want to spell our last name this way. Oysters, clams, and fish were processed, canned and shipped on ice from here in the Solomons earlier years. This is a beautiful old maritime settlement.

Old Shipwreck

Solomons

Tangier Island

We spent Saturday afternoon and night in Tangier Island. This quaint old town deserved a blog of its own. You really feel like you have stepped back into time. This is a watermans community and crabbing is the livelihood here. Everthing here is brought in by boat. Most who come here remain here it seems. A few family names dominate the entire small town. There is a school here for all grades and it has about 75 children. The population is 650. It is a very religious town and does not have a single bar. We sayed at Parks Marina which is the only public marina and it is run by Mr. Parks who is 82 years. This town has more cats than people it seems and the graves are in the front or back yards of each home. If you are ever near here you should boat in.

Tangier Island

Graves

Crab Pots

Crab Shacks

Plenty of Cats

Up the Chesapeake to Tangier Lsland

Saturday June 7th we finally got underway. The first few hours were overcast but fine until the thunderstorm winds caught up with us. This is one ride we will not soon forget. As the pictures show everything was thrown around on deck above and below. This lasted about and hour and we were glad when the front passed and we were close to our destination of Tangier Island. As the captain says we laid to for about 30 mintues. Which means safety of crew and boat comes first and destination comes second. In other words we went off course to handle the waves because there was no other place to go. In the end we were fine and actually nothing of any value was broken. We usually prepare the cabin for crossing large bays. The sun came out and we went on to Tangier Island.

Storm Clouds Coming

Upper Deck (I was on the Floor Too)

Inside the Cabin

We're Back

We returned late on Thursday night June the 6th. Our plan was to leave out on Friday morning but tropical storm Andrea had plenty to say about that. We had to remain at Deltaville Marina for one more night as the winds were gusty and there was plenty of rain.We were in a great spot and the people there were very helpful. On Saturday we did not have any signal to blog so I am behind and will do several enteries tonight.Our time home went all to fast. We enjoyed seeing family and friends. We picked up the cats from Dave and Kayla and took them to our daughter in Kokomo. Our grandchildren Laura and Caleb will help to take care of them and give them the attention they need. It was hard to say goodbye again for me, but Mike is anxious to return. The yard looked great, thanks Owen and the house and mail were all in order thanks to Dan.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Portsmouth and Norfolk

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in Portsmouth and Norfolk Virginia. The history of this area takes you back to the beginning. George Washington was here and the naval shipyards were and still are a major force in this area. Navy ships abound as well as large shipping areas. We were able to find a free dock right in the middle of it all. This area makes mobile bay look small. I now understand all of my past history lessons. We toured the Battleship Wisconsin, saw several historical homes and visited the MacArthur Memorial. Below are several pictures to give you an idea of what we saw. We left out this morning and began our trip across Chesapeake Bay. Mother Nature was very much in our favor and we enjoyed the 58 miles to Deltaville across the open bay where we are now tied up in a small marina preparing to close up the boat and come home for our weeks visit. We have met our goal ahead of schedule and the MY THERAPY has done her best for us. We have at this point put on over 2,600 miles of the trip. We are anxious to see family and visit friends for a few days. The next half will take us longer and up through Canada. This blog will pick back up when we return. What a first half!