We didn’t actually intend to but we are sure glad we did! Our goals on our trip south have been ever evolving. Plan number 1 was to sail from Newport,RI to the Eastern Caribbean (possibly via Bermuda). When we are taking bigger trips or are unsure about a certain passage we call up our favourite meteorologist (Chris Parker) and get his advice. He is also a sailor so it tends to be well tailored to sailing decision making. We asked him for advice and he said we were better off heading further south to Norfolk, VA or Beaufort, NC and launching off from there to avoid getting caught in winter gales. We decided he probably knew what he was talking about and dutifully headed south along the coast with the goal of staying offshore until the bottom of the Chesapeake.
Kevin had a work trip coming up and was going to leave Kata and me to look after Avion in Norfolk or Beaufort while he went away. As is often the case, the seas had different ideas to our plans and kept building, so we decided to tuck into the Delaware and reevaluate after some sleep. With weather windows offshore looking less than ideal and a time crunch to get somewhere before Kevin’s work trip, we decided to take the (much longer) inshore route, by way of the C&D canal.
The C&D canal is so named because it connects the Chesapeake and the Delaware. After a trip up the Delaware, during which we must’ve lost our friendly avian hitchhiker to the promise of better food on land, we dropped anchor near the canal entrance to wait for favourable currents to go through. This anchorage became our first experience of running aground in the dinghy! Kata hadn’t been to shore in a while so we wanted to get her on land for a run around. We saw that there was a dinghy dock and headed towards it. There was supposed to be enough depth for us coming in but it was dead low tide and when we were still fairly far from the dock we came to an abrupt stop. The bottom was a thick sludgy mud (so maybe more of a muffled abrupt stop) and neither of us particularly wanted to get out and push while sinking in mud. As you can probably imagine, Kata was very unhappy with us for taking her all the way near land and then stopping with it just out of reach. She was being quite vocal about it. Turning back around was not an option! Our dinghy would have to learn to be a punting boat for a bit. It was a tedious process of me giving Kata verbal reassurance that we were indeed going to land (and not just teasing her) and of Kevin pushing us through the mud with the oars. Eventually we made it, to everyone’s relief, and Kata had her much needed run around!
Sailing through the C&D canal is prohibited. Sailboats must motor through. It is commonly used by large commercial vessels and maneuverability is vital. From a sailor’s perspective it’s not particularly thrilling but it is fun to see the sights and the very calm water allowed us to take turns getting work done while underway.
Knowing we were going to Annapolis, we rushed a little to get there. We still had a number of friends who were there that we wanted to catch up with before they left. We stayed one night in an anchorage on the way down, and then headed straight there. The wind was very low as we were coming in but I was determined (read: stubborn) not to enter Annapolis, the sailing Capital of America, under engine power. The result of this was coming in under sail at a brisk 2.4 kts SOG.
Once we dropped anchor we went right out to Dinner with our friends on SV Ingenuity and SV Atlas. It was lovely to be in same place again and discuss plans for the next year of cruising. Although we are often in similar places we are all constantly moving so often miss each other and it’s great to have opportunities like this. We got to catch up with many friends in Annapolis, even including some land based friends, Isa and Brian, that came to visit! It was lovely to have some social time again.
Soon it was time for Kevin to head on his work trip and leave Kata and me behind. We had found a very nice marina for a great price since it was off-season and I made use of my alone time on the evenings and weekends to get some boat projects going, while Kata took an appropriate number of naps in between some nice long walks around the area. At first we still had some friends around and I even had a lovely visit from our Flagler Beach neighbour, Ed. Soon enough, however, the temperatures started to really drop. With sub zero (Celsius) temperatures on the way, all our friends on boats had left and doing boat projects became a little less desirable. Additionally, all the boats in the marina started disappearing. Some leaving to chase the warmth south and others being hauled out for the winter. One day I went to fill up the water tanks and discovered there was no water coming out of my hose. Turns out all the dockside water had been turned off for the winter! OK…I was ready for Kevin to return now.
With Kevin back it was time for one last coffee outing and a quick trip up the mast to check on our radar reflector (it had been coming a bit loose on our last passage). Then it was high time to go warm up! Goodbye Annapolis. I’m sure we will visit again one day!
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