Monday, September 23, 2013

The first week

Anchored in Brigantine
 
Okay, I know it's been over a week now since my last post, but living this life of leisure is exhausting and we are still adjusting. We had a couple nice days sailing from Barnegat to Atlantic City and then down to Cape May. We had friends and future Gemini owners sail with us from Atlantic City to Cape May. It was a little swelly, but a beautiful day.  We were going to drop them off at a marina in Cape May and let me just say that our approach was less than stellar. Lesson learned, we need to keep a pad and pencil near our VHF for directions! After dropping our friends off and filling up with a whopping 8 gallons of fuel, we left the marina, anchored off, and set out in the dinghy to explore. One of our intentions for this trip is to explore new places and meet local people. And so far we are succeeding. I believe we found the Cape May equivalent to our Broadway Bar and Grill! We actually met a scallop boat captain who has been to the Broadway for the fisherman's happy hour at 7:00am!
 
Anchored in Cape May

 The next morning we were up with the sun and headed through the Cape May Canal and up to the Cohansey River. What a beautiful spot! It was hard to believe we were still in New Jersey. According to Bud's mom we are not supposed to talk to strangers, but we like to call them characters. And boy did we meet a character, his name was Charles. He was a neat guy with great stories. He even offered us his truck to explore and since we already had dinner plans, offered to make us breakfast the following morning. We were at a dock with fresh water and Bud wasted no time washing the boat. I've never seen any man so excited to see a hose! Although I must say I was equally as excited to see bathrooms with a shower. So after the boat, Captain and 1st mate were squeaky clean, our guests arrived. It was the Smith clan! Our son-in-law Dave came with his parents and his brother, sister-in-law, nieces and nephew. What a great dinner and visit!

The Smith clan
 
The next day (I think it was Friday, but to be perfectly honest we have already begun to lose track of the days) we were up and out early to catch the tide leaving the Cohansey. The weather was beautiful, but no wind. We traveled 20 miles up the Delaware Bay, and then caught the flood tide through the C&D Canal. After the canal we traveled 12 miles down the Chesapeake and tucked into the Sassafras River for the night. Another beautiful spot. We explored a little by dinghy and attempted fishing (again, skunked), but the birds were amazing. We saw a few bald eagles and a few thousand ducks. Apparently it's duck season, as the shots that rang out the next morning proved.
 
Anchored in the Sassafras River
C&D Canal

 Saturday we continued down the Chesapeake, heading for Middle River, MD. Second lesson learned, read the right compass rose heading so that you don't end up in restricted waters off the Aberdeen Proving Grounds! My bad. Nobody came after us, so I guess we weren't that much of a threat. Oh, have I mentioned all the crab pots in the Chesapeake? What a pain in the rear. I guess I should be thankful that I'm exercising my eyes and have become an expert crab pot spotter.

Docked in Frog Mortar Creek, Middle River - Thanks Dani!
 
Middle River has been a welcome break. We have good friends that live here, and have had seen family and friends every day. We will be leaving Wednesday morning and I have a feeling we will miss all of the company we've had the past few days. Not sure exactly where we will head from here, all I know is that it will be SOUTH!

~ Jen & Bud

Sunday, September 15, 2013

The Adventure Begins...

 
    OK, so we didn't get that far...but we're on our way!  We had a nice breakfast with family, and quickly departed. Quicker than I thought it was gonna be, but I'm probably better off. I didn't even have time to bawl, and Bud didn't have to pry me off of the dock.

 
    The kids escorted us to the Mantoloking Bridge, and after a few more waves goodbye to family, we were on our own.  After talking about this trip for years, Bud confessed that he never really believed it would happen, but...here we are. Ready for the adventure!


 

 
~ Jen & Bud