Delaware City Sojourn

Since we spent a full four weeks in Delaware City, I thought I would capture some of the additional adventures we had while there. Due to Ryan’s generosity in loaning us his car we were able to explore the surrounding area more fully in between boat repairs. Some of the highlights of our visit included a couple of visits to nearby New Castle, a charming small town that is filled with historic homes and a lovely waterfront. On our second visit there we were joined by our boating friends, Liz and Steve, and we had dinner at an old tavern named Jessup’s that featured an endless list of beers and a menu with old-fashioned recipe selections. 

On another day we explored Wilmington where we strolled along its waterfront.  We also spent time touring the Nemours Estate, former home of Alfred DuPont. It’s a fabulous property with formal gardens reminiscent of Versailles.  The DuPont family owns so many properties in Delaware, it is quite amazing. Many of them are open to the public and it would take at least a couple of weeks to explore all of them.

We also spent a day visiting Longwood Gardens, another former DuPont property, with its stunning gardens. Ryan’s mother works there and she kindly gave us complimentary tickets. 

On the 4th of July we drove down to Havre de Grace, a charming little town that was hosting an old-fashioned Independence Day parade. The streets were lined with local residents and we had a lot of fun watching and joining in the festivities.

In the meantime, various repairs were being done on Zendo by Jonny and the staff at Delaware City Marina.  The injection pump was rebuilt and reinstalled, solar panels were installed (a long, labor intensive process), the rub rail paint was stripped, and new batteries were installed. In addition,  Zendo was hauled out for the bottom to be painted and a new depth gauge installed.  All in all, a lot of work and quite an expensive month!!

The people at Delaware City Marina are great and we feel very comfortable there.  The weather was beastly hot at times and we yearned for a swimming pool to cool off. But thankfully our AC managed to function well (fingers crossed).  

Archie got a much needed haircut and benefitted from the lovely shaded park next door as well as the miles long walking trail that ran all all along the C&D Canal.

Stephanie and Ryan met us for dinner on the last night of our stay so they could pick up Ryan’s car as we would be cruising up to Philly for a week’s visit.  

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.

Kinsale, VA

Saturday, October 17 was an absolutely beautiful day. The exact opposite of the day before. How lucky as this was the last day of our 2020 cruise. In the morning, Jonny went to meet with the manager of nearby Washburn Boat Works to discuss the list of repairs that Zendo needs before next year’s cruise.  While he was gone, Lynn did her exercise routine and walked around Calvert Marina. We’re surrounded by some pretty impressive vessels.  Zendo is the little boat in the picture below

  

At noon we left Calvert’s for what we expected to be a five hour cruise to White Hall Marina in Kinsale, VA. It is located on the Yeocomico River which is off of the Potomac River. The weather was perfect - sunny skies,  calm seas and little boat traffic with temperatures in the high 60’s.  We passed Pop’s Dream, a 30 foot Catalina like the one we used to have.  It brought back a lot of happy memories of sailing on Biscayne Bay.

We had turned off of the Chesapeake and onto the Potomac River and were just about an hour from our destination when Jonny saw a very small boat with 5 or 6 people on it somewhat tentatively waving us down.  It looked like they might be in trouble, so of course we headed over to check it out.  Their outboard engine had apparently broken down and they were stranded in the very middle of the Potomac which is a very wide river!  Through a combination of their English and our Spanish, we were able to determine that we would tow them to Lookout Point Park at the mouth of the river from which they had apparently launched their boat.  They were ill equipped at sea, lacking a radio, lines, etc.  Jonny rigged up some of our lines and had to jump on board their boat to secure them for the tow.  They definitely didn’t have the necessary skills to deal with the challenge.  Fortunately, the four men and one woman all wore life jackets.  So we took off in the opposite direction that we were originally headed and towed them 2 - 3 miles to their launch point.  Luckily, we were able to bring them all the way to a dock where they could tie up and disembark safely.  As you can imagine, they were most appreciative and we were glad to be able to help them.  What an event to cap off our last day of travel!

By this time the sun was getting low in the sky and the temperature was dropping.  We cruised back across the Potomac and turned up the Yeocomico River.  We arrived at our home port of White Hall Marina and tied up on the face dock at 6:30 just as the sun was setting.

We had recently learned that our marina had been sold.  The previous owner lives next door and will continue to manage it for now so we’ll keep Zendo here for the winter as planned.  It’s too early to know what we’ll do after next season.  But we celebrated the end of our travels with Jonny’s Perfect Manhattans!

This 2020 cruise was a shorter one than previous years.  Covid required us to leave later than we usually do and because of that we chose a shorter journey.  Concentrating on the Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound proved to be perfect because we got to see so many friends and family who live nearby.  We revisited favorite locations and found some new very beautiful anchorages.  We are grateful to all those who provide support to us from afar with family and home responsibilities.  We know how fortunate we are to be able to keep living the dream we’ve created for ourselves!

Solomon’s, MD (return trip)

We left our Annapolis anchorage at 8:40 on Friday, October 16 for a long day of cruising to the Solomon’s. The weather was snotty - rainy, windy and cold.  We kept the Stratoglass on the flybridge fully closed, wore warm clothes and used blankets to keep warm during the six hour journey.  Fortunately, there was a following sea so it wasn’t terribly rough. However, it was uncomfortable enough that Lynn couldn’t read, write or go below. We didn’t even eat lunch and munched on Kind bars instead.  Lynn even napped a little which is very unusual.

It was still raining when we arrived at Calvert’s Marina in the Solomon’s.  Jonny donned his full set of rain gear and fortunately two dockhands were there to help us tie up.

Once we got settled, we relaxed on board and Lynn made a delicious new chicken recipe with Israeli couscous, lemon and feta. It was a big hit.

That night we did our usual Friday night routine watching the PBS News Hour, Washington Week and Firing Line. After that we watched another PBS show, the Lifetime Emmy Awards.  It featured a wide array of fabulous musicians and took us for an entertaining walk down memory lane, revisiting the music of our youth.

There is only one more day of travel on Zendo for us this year.  It’s always a bittersweet feeling.  We love cruising but we also love our Miami home. We’re so fortunate to have the best of both worlds!