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September 26, 2009 2:44 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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After the Rendezvous, a group from the MTOA Chesapeake Bay Cruisers headed out for a week-long cruise. We joined them for the trip to Onancock, along with FOOTPRINTS and GOT THE FEVER. The anchorage is a little small, so the three DeFevers rafted together about a mile from town. We call this an "inverse Oreo".
I was able to watch the Giants beat the Cowboys in the first game played in Dallas' new stadium, so the week started out perfectly. We tried to explore Onancock on Monday, but a lot of things were closed. The husbands were smiling at the wives frustrated attempts at shopping...
Our next port of call with the cruise group was Kilmarnock, VA on the Northern Neck (just south of the mouth of the Potomac River). The other two DeFevers peeled off to start heading south, but we had about eight other boats to keep us company.
Kilmarnock is the home of the famous Bob Smith (Mr. Lehman engine) and his family-run company American Diesel. We brought our bikes ashore and made the trek to a place we trawler folks consider to be "Mecca". It's pretty incognito - probably to keep the groupies away.
Gail kept us laughing, and Bob and Brian gave us the Grand Tour. Pistons and parts, machine shop, and a number of old engines with interesting stories to tell.
We loaded our bike bags with some parts purchases, and headed off to Savannah Joe's BBQ for lunch with the rest of the MTOA gang.
The MTOA folks left on Thursday to continue their cruise northwards, and we're staying at anchor in this area for a while to visit some friends and to enjoy some quiet time after a busy summer and the flurry of the Rendezvous. We miss all our cruising friends, but we'll see them along the waterway, here or there... that's just how it is: lots of waving hello and goodbye.
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September 26, 2009 2:15 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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After the Rendezvous, we linked up with our friends on FOOTPRINTS and GOT THE FEVER to take the tour boat over to the famous Smith Island - it's the only inhabited offshore island in Maryland, home to an insular crabbing and fishing community.
The island was first charted by John Smith in 1608, and it is impressive that the community continues to thrive since the island is primarily low-lying marsh, with little protection from strong weather.
We were lucky to have an unusually high tide on the day we took our tour, and the boat showed us some of the other small communities on the island that are not normally accessible by deeper-draft boats. The islanders have a hard life - everything must come in by boat, and winters must be challenging.
The unusually high tide also meant that many of the streets on the island were flooded with about 4-6" of water. Luckily we brought our bikes, and they made it easier to get through the water.
We stopped at a little local cafe for lunch and a slice of the famous Smith Island cake - made with many thin layers with icing in between. The area is also well known for soft-shell crabs, but I don't like the idea of eating something with little legs sticking out. The cake was great though - the best Smith Island cake I've had.
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September 26, 2009 1:44 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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After leaving Baltimore on the 9th, we headed to Mid-Shore Electronics in Cambridge for some warranty work on our autopilot. As usual, our friends at Mid-Shore took great care of us and they fixed our problem. The weather was a little too windy for a sea trial, so we got a nice quiet afternoon aboard to get ready for the big MTOA Northern Rendezvous the following week.
We headed down the Bay towards Crisfield, meeting up with our friends on FOOTPRINTS (another DeFever 49) and anchoring in the Honga River. We wanted to be close to Crisfield so we could get into the marina early so I could settle in to watch the Giants game. A gal has to have priorities! Crisfield is the self-proclaimed Crab Capital of the World, and a perfect place to hold a big trawler rendezvous since it has a huge protected basin with plenty of slips.
We had 73 boats and about 176 people for the Rendezvous, and it was an exhausting few days catching up wtih old and new friends. Jim gave a presentation about "Docking with Spring Lines in Heavy Weather", and he had a good crowd in attendance (about 70 people).
We had a marvelous time as usual, but it was good to wrap up some of our volunteer obligations for a while.
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September 8, 2009 7:08 AM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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I did not make that title up - it's the name of the company that offers Segway tours in Baltimore. Jim has been fascinated with Segways and has wanted to try one for a long time. He's been such a saint helping me get through this difficult summer that I wanted to surprise him with something that he would really like. We got our friends Heidi and Peter from SPARTINA in on the scam to get him over to Little Italy, and we were all excited since none of us had ever tried one before.
The tour guide gave us all a little orientation to the Segway and some training and practice, then we were off for an hour-long zip around the Inner Harbor and Fells Point.
Our guide had a degree in history so he was very interesting to listen to, and he gave us wireless earphones so we could hear him even while we were cruising along.
We started out on wide sidewalks and empty side streets, and eventually graduated to cobblestones and crowded, narrow sidewalks with lots of pedestrians. The Segway is very intuitive and it doesn't take long before you find that it just seems to do what you want it to. We were all grinning from ear to ear, and I think Jim was pleased.
The tour company offers rentals and tours in Annapolis and DC, so we'll probably find more opportunities to play with the Segways in the future. I'm sure Jim has already looked up the weight and dimensions so he can ponder where to stow a pair on the boat. He never stops dreaming!
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September 1, 2009 9:22 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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I'm sorry that we haven't blogged in such a long time, but it has been a hard summer for us. We've been busy taking care of family things and a few boat chores, and we haven't had much time for ourselves. We've been camped out in Baltimore for the summer, and (when we've actually been here) it has been an unexpected delight. We're staying in a marina in the Canton area, next to Fells Point and the Inner Harbor. It's a nice neighborhood with lots of little cafes within walking distance, as well as a wonderful knitting shop (A Good Yarn) that specializes in teaching.
The Inner Harbor is only a 2 mile walk...
...but despite the tourist attractions, this is still a busy working harbor and the tugs going by occasionally give us a little rolling wake. This is the city pier where some of the Moran tugs are docked, and it was also used as a police station in a TV series a few years ago.
We managed to cruise to one little rendezvous a few weeks ago, but the highlight was this Bittern (which looks like a small heron) fishing from the back of our boat.
Next on our to-do list was to get hauled out for new bottom paint. We're using better paint so we only have to haul out every two years. It's always interesting to see something so large and heavy (about 32 tons) lifted out of the water. This yard had an 80 ton lift, so it was no problem.
Jim worked hard putting wax on the entire hull (all the black), and I did some minor fiberglass repairs and paint touch-ups, and cleaned the engine room. We're back in the water now, and won't have to do this again for a while - thank goodness.
Our plans are to leave Baltimore in about a week, heading for the big MTOA Rendezvous down in Crisfield on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake. After that we'll cruise around the southern Bay for a few weeks and then begin our meandering trip south to the Keys for the winter.
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