Potomac

Usually, we just cross the mouth of the Potomac but it looked like good weather and the current was with us so we explored. State boundaries on the river are marked by small orange and white buoys really not too different than the signs that mark the highway and say welcome to Massachusetts etc. But it was odd to pass a buoy that said State Border MD and VA. . For the most part the Potomac is MD water and VA starts at the high tide mark along the south side. I wonder how that decision was made? People who live in Va cross state lines every time they go into the water. We visited an island that is eroding rapidly. By the shore fossilized shark's teeth are appearing. In theory they are 10,000 years old. I thought that if they were that old they would be bigger. Also Blackbeard is thought to have visited these waters but no doubloons or pieces of eight appeared.

Hauled and Boarded

We made Baltimore in a screaming squall. Dark clouds replaced blue sky in a slow but determined way and there wasn't too much to do about it. Near the Key Bridge, the wind piped up to about 20 knots as rain and whitecaps took over a previously placid sea. The visibility was almost gone with grey everywhere. Tom sighted a buoy and kept the bow into the wind . Half an hour later the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler and the storm was over ! We hauled out in Baltimore. In addition to usual maintenance things , the pump was running every 1/2 hour or so. We could rationalize that when we had a wooden boat but Brilliant is not wood. Happily , Brendan arranged for us to be hauled at the yard he used and the Willises put us up in their home for wayward sailors. Turned out that the Cutlass bearing had backed itself out all the way to the prop. We got a new bearing put in, tightened the stuffing box and problem was solved. After Tom made Brendan and I slave over bottom paint, wax, buffers and varnish, we were launched and put in a slip for the night. Some of the staff were working on a boat in the next slip. They called that boat the "spider boat " because they found 3 Black Widow spiders on board. They told us that it had been fumigated , and that no one would work on it until the spiders were gone. I wished we were in a different slip. We were almost asleep that night when a black kitten jumped through the companionway and began to make itself at home. We put it ashore twice but it really wanted to be a boat cat. It prowled, it pounced , it pawed. Once it tried exploring the screen over the midship hatch. We saw the little paws but before any of us could move the cat had fallen through the screen and landed in the cabin- on it's feet! Ashore it went again and this time we closed the hatches. Not too early the next morning we raised sail heading for the Eastern Shore. The rigging and stays were covered in spiderwebs! Black cats and spiders, Early Halloween? Baltimore has a great feel to it these days. Fells bars are fun and nicer than I remember, I think we put a good dent in the oyster population. Hospitality at the Willis home for wayward sailors was extraordinary as usual. On our way again. Great layover.

Baltimore after delays and delays

We finally made it through the East River on the 24th . After Hell Gate, Roosevelt Island splits the East River into 2 channels. The West channel goes along Manhattan , the UN, Tudor city and other NY landmarks. The East Channel is crossed by a drawbridge about a mile after Hell Gate. This drawbridge, coming so soon after Hell Gate is the reason we always try for the West Channel of the river. With the West Chanel still closed for security, there weren't other options. The Drawbridge needs 15 minutes notice before opening. We calculated and decided to call just as we passed hell Gate. As it turned out we tore through Hell Gate at about 10 knots and saw the bridge loom up at about the same time as we requested the opening. Tom eased the throttle and turned around to wait but the current was still strong and we were traveling backward at a pretty good clip. The bridge still wasn't open. In 15 minutes ,( seemed longer) we finally got through. It seemed we were barely under way again when we were met by Coast Guard and NYPD boats. The river was closed for an hour near the heliport. Nobody , really nobody could go past. The Staten Island ferry was stopped, commercial tugs and barges were warned to stay out, everyone waited. Eventually the helicopter left and we heard radio announcement that south bound sails on the East river were allowed to pass . New York is an adventure even on water. We sailed off to Sandy Hook and Atlantic Highlands, planning to spend the evening. It was a great sail. We ended up waiting in Sandy Hook for tropical storm Kyle's winds and seas to pass. We were there for a long for 5 days.

After such a long wait, we planned to sail the whole coast of NJ through the night, put fuel on in Cape May then run Delaware Bay and catch a fair tide through the C and D canal . Sailing down the coast of NJ was wonderful . The wind was a little too calm for sail alone but the ocean swells diminished as we motorsailed . The stars twinkled and the lights of Atlantic City showed up almost 20 miles out. It seemed that every boat that waited for weather was out, commercial traffic, fishing boats, other sailors heading south . It was really busy. Every time Tom turned the helm over to me, he would say "stay out of the shipping lanes!! " I think he was nervous but tired enough to close his eyes anyway. The radio was lively most of the night. Several times we heard "south bound sail at ...lat and long, this is the north bound freighter or ATB directly astern of you". Those boats are huge; can you imagine looking up at night to see one directly astern? Staying out of the shipping lanes was good advice! As we got toward Cape May,dawn was beginning and rumors started coming over the radio. The general gist was that the C and D was closed until further notice -- a freighter was aground . There was a lot of discussion but we hoped the mess would be cleared by the time we got there . Delaware Bay is 50 miles long and that takes us a long time. As it turned out, by 1030 am all was cleared up. A freighter had gone aground but was off and hadn't leaked. We caught the current and flew to Chesapeake City and a night asleep in our bed instead of the cockpit. Made Batimore the next day.