Delaware City, DE

The first thing we did early on Saturday, June 11 was to take Archie for a walk in the pretty town of Chesapeake City.  This historic town on the C&D Canal has a number of lovely houses and storefronts.

We had a short cruise of only to hours to reach Delaware City.  The weather was overcast and cool and of course, the waters were calm because we were in the canal.  We arrived at 11:15 and two young men helped us tie up at the dock.  We knew we would be here for up to a month because we’re having work done on Zendo. They wanted to be helpful and placed us by the fuel pump thinking that we would be hauled out shortly.  But our haul out dates are uncertain and we insisted on being placed further down the dock in a more attractive setting.

That afternoon Stephanie and Ryan came by on their way home from a week at the Delaware shore. We hadn’t seen them since Christmas so it was very exciting!  They drove us to their apartment in Philly and we went out to dinner at a cool restaurant called American Sardine Bar where we ate outside because we had Mr. Archie with us.   This was right up Jonny’s alley because he loves sardines.  We each had interesting items to eat and just enjoyed being together again.

Ryan kindly loaned us his car while we’re in Delaware City because he is working from home.  We are most appreciative!  The next day we used the car to go to Lums Pond State Park that had an off-leash section for dogs.  The park had wonderful trails through the woods and streams with watering holes.  Archie played with several large dogs including one named Jughead!  He’s never met a dog he doesn’t like and before long he was running “zoomies” with the big dogs and even following them into the water.  He looked like a drowned rat and was as happy as can be.

Having a car is a real blessing around here since the closest grocery store is five miles away!  On the way back from a shopping excursion, we discovered Fort DuPont State Park, located on a beautiful promontory. We look forward to doing a lot more exploring over the next few weeks.

Back at our marina there is a beautiful walkway that runs along the C&D Canal all the way to Chesapeake City.  We’ve been walking on it each morning. It is quiet and peaceful and a lovely way to start each day.

The only thing missing from this marina is a swimming pool.  Fortunately, the weather has cooled off and we’re not feeling the need for one for now.  And there are plenty of things to do to keep busy.  Since we won’t be traveling on Zendo for up to a month, I’ll be putting the blog on pause until we resume our cruise!

Chesapeake City, MD

We left Rock Hall Marina at 7 a.m. on Friday, June 11 to try to avoid the worst of the weather that was predicted. We hadn’t expected the cruise to be particularly rough but as we got into the Chesapeake Bay, the water became pretty choppy and there was a steady rain throughout the day.

Jonny and I were fine with it but we were worried about Archie who has had a habit of getting carsick (though we thought he was starting to outgrow it). He did OK for awhile but then he couldn’t “stomach it” any longer and over the course of the next few hours, he got sick four times! Pobrecito!!  If we had been more prepared for a rough passage we would have given him the CBD chewies that our vet had prescribed.  Though I tried to lure him into eating one, he was having nothing to do with it. So I held him in my arms to try to soften the ride and he weathered the storm.

As we entered the C&D Canal, things calmed down considerably and he was fine. We reached charming Chesapeake City by 12:50 and hoped to get a free spot at the town dock. But it wasn’t to be. The cruisers there probably chose to stay and wait for a better weather day.  We did have a Plan B and that was to drop anchor in a little calm bay which proved to be a very comfortable anchorage.  Jonny donned his rain gear and set us up for our first anchorage of the season.  

We always love anchoring but now we have an extra complication in that we need to find anchorages that have a place we can dinghy to so Archie can “do his business” on shore. It was easy with this one because there is a convenient dinghy dock right in the middle of town.  Jonny loaded Archie to take him for a walk and I stayed blissfully dry onboard.

We spent a quiet afternoon onboard, nice and cozy in our cabin.  Dinner included delicious pan sautéed fish, summer squash and couscous.  

This was obviously Archie’s first time anchoring out and he did really well.  He likes being on the dinghy and we have a backup pad of artificial turf on the aft deck in case he can’t wait to go on land!

We are really looking forward to the next day when we go to Delaware City where Stephanie and Ryan will meet us. We haven’t seen them since Christmas!

Rock Hall, MD

Jonny woke up very early on Thursday, June 10 to try to see the solar eclipse. Unfortunately our view of the eclipse was blocked by an array of trees. Regardless, it was a beautiful sunrise and a good way to start the day.

After taking Archie for a long walk, we left by 8 a.m. to cover as much ground as we could as we head to Delaware City for our repair work.  The day started off clearer than expected but then became quite overcast. The skies in the distance were very foggy and often threatening.  Rain was predicted for most of the day but we lucked out as the storms were surrounding us but not engulfing us.

Originally we thought we might stay near Annapolis, but the cruising was going so well that we decided to reach Rock Hall Landing Marina on Maryland’s eastern shore. Staying here would make Friday’s cruise, which is also expected to be rainy, a lot shorter.  Archie did very well during this 8.5 hour day even when we ran a little “fire drill.”  At one point in the afternoon we thought it would pour and we ran around closing all the Stratoglass but we managed to thread our way between the storm clouds and stay dry.  Archie was relatively unfazed.

We arrived at Rock Hall Landing Marina by 4:30 where the dockhands helpfully tied us up to the dock. Rock Hall is a cute town with historical significance.  George Washington took several packet boats from this landing during his extensive travels throughout the

Once Archie had his walk, we decided to scrap our plan to eat aboard and walked to the Waterman’s Restaurant next door.  Jonny ordered the local rockfish which he loves.  And Lynn had a most delicious crab cake.  We had warned our dock mates who were traveling on a beautiful sailboat not to worry if they heard Archie crying since we decided to leave him onboard in his crate.  When we returned from dinner they reported that his plaintive cries only lasted about ten minutes!

Our days seem to be structured around walking the dog and so after one last walk we were ready to relax and prepare for the next day’s trip. We are “on the move!”

Solomons Island, MD

Today, June 9, was the first day of our 2021 cruising season! We spent three days getting Zendo ready and enjoying the remote Virginia Northern Neck (between the Potomac and Rappahonock Rivers) location  of our marina in tiny Kinsale, VA. This year we are accompanied by the newest member of our family, Archie, our 9 month old Poodle mix (Miniature Poodle, Cocker Spaniel and Cavalier King Charles). He loved being able to run freely through the marina’s extensive grounds and surrounding countryside.

Archie warmed up to boating with a test drive on our dinghy which he loved.

We also made a quick run on Zendo to a nearby boatyard for a haul-out to scrape the barnacles off of the bottom and the running gear in particular.  The running gear was so fouled with barnacles that the bow thruster wasn’t working at all and our cruising speed was greatly diminished. Fortunately, the clean up solved those two issues but we definitely need to have the bottom painted when we do our next haul-out in Delaware City.

Temperatures have been very hot and luckily for us our White Point Marina has a deliciously refreshing pool which we took full advantage of every afternoon.

Finally, we were ready to depart on Wednesday morning at 9 am. We headed out of the Yeocomico River which led to the wide Potomac River and onto the Chesapeake Bay. It was a clear and calm day and we easily made the trek to Solomon’s Island in a little over five hours.  Archie was a trooper settling into doing what  he does best, sleep!

We arrived at Calvert’s Marina by 2:20 and tied up at a t-dock. Upon arrival, Archie hopped onto the dock which we don’t want him to do (yet). We were located across from their pool which was very inviting.  . It has been beastly hot every day with temperatures in the nineties.

We planned to go for a pre-dinner dip in the pool but an impending thunderstorm caused them to close the pool early. So we cooled off by showering onboard and spending a relaxing evening planning the following day’s cruise.