Southern Chesapeake and a Boatyard

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

We get an early start from Norfolk, passing through the very busy harbor.

NOAA Facility, Norfolk VA

Huge US Navy presence in this area.  This ship, according to Google, is a "fleet replenishment oiler", supplying fuel for Navy ships, jet fuel for aircraft aboard carriers and other supplies.

USNS Patuxent

We also passed several container ships and a mix of small boat traffic.

Norfolk Ship Channel

I'm always fascinated by the container ships.  Here you can clearly see the individual containers that will be lifted onto a truck frame for transport to a final destination.

Container ship

Naval Station Norfolk is an impressive sight!  Sorry for the dark photos; sun is at a bad angle.

Naval Station Norfolk

Naval Station Norfolk

This is the infamous "Warship 56", the one shooting from the Atlantic across the Intracoastal Waterway as we passed Camp Lejeune three weeks ago.  Her official name is USS San Jacinto CG-56.

Warship 56, Naval Station Norfolk

Naval Station Norfolk

This lighthouse marks a shoal at a turn in the channel.  Since 1871, various lighthouses placed here have been destroyed by ships that missed the turn.  This sturdy structure was built in 1914.  Made of cast iron filled with concrete, it has survived to the present and transitioned to modern times with solar panels and a collection of antennas.

Thimble Shoal Lighthouse

We are finally in Chesapeake Bay and enjoying calm winds and smooth seas.

Chesapeake Bay

We stop for the night at an anchorage in Antipoison Creek.  Seriously, that is the name!  The anchorage is surrounded by some nice waterfront homes with boat slips.  Much to our surprise, one of the locals cruised by in their boat and invited us to the local yacht club.

Antipoison Creek

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

We again get an early start, enjoying calm seas as we continue north.

Chesapeake Bay

Robert has decided we need to take advantage of our location near some well-regarded boat yards to have some preventative maintenance done on Sauvy B.  We call ahead to Washburn's Boat Yard in Solomons MD and they can fit us in on short notice.  So here we are, stopped again and off-schedule.  Remember the part about plans but no schedule?  Well, this is not the plan and not the schedule.  Oh well ...  Robert has been feeling a slight vibration from the engines and wants to get a mechanic's diagnosis.  Washburns quickly diagnoses worn cutless bearings and Robert decides to have the propellers balanced, too.  So the boat is pulled out of the water, props are removed, and we are back in the water to wait for parts and work to be done on the props, which will be shipped to a specialist in Baltimore.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

The weekend is here, boat yard is closed, and we have their shop truck to use for sightseeing.  We have spent the morning redoing our schedule for the next 3 weeks.  Just enough time left today to drive to a nearby winery for a tasting (not ready for prime time!) and stop at a bay-front park for a walk and a swim in the Chesapeake (brrrr, still pretty chilly, but Boka doesn't seem to care).  The Calvert Cliffs, in the background, extend 30 miles along the waterfront.  Miocene in age, they contain numerous fossils.
 

Flag Pond Park, Calvert County MD

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Today we will visit the Calvert Marine Museum, a short drive from our boat yard.  Turns out to be a very nice facility, compliments of county funding and dozens of volunteers.  Exhibits cover area maritime history, paleontology and invasive species (marine and botanical).

Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons MD

This historic lighthouse was relocated to the museum grounds after it was decommissioned.  Interpretive signs listed interesting excerpts from the keepers' log books during it's service life from 1883 to 1962.

Drum Point Lighthouse

Living quarters were contained inside the lighthouse.

Drum Point Lighthouse

The keeper's entire family lived here.

Drum Point Lighthouse

Rooms were surprisingly spacious and included three bedrooms.  A privy was located outside the main living quarters in the early days.

Drum Point Lighthouse

The museum has a nice collection of small boats common in the Chesapeake from the days of the Indians.  These log boats are made from hollowed-out logs (1 - 9 logs connected side by side).  The logs used were from native trees, either loblolly pine or tulip poplar.

Calvert Marine Museum

We happened to see a tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) blooming at a nearby park.  The leaves look similar to sweetgum, also native here, but they are not related.

Tulip poplar

Calvert Marine Museum

The active Patuxent Small Craft Guild builds a variety of boats for personal use and for sale as fundraisers.

Patuxent Small Craft Guild

Beautiful workmanship!  We were able to tour on-site workshops used to build models and full size boats.

Patuxent Small Craft Guild

We cross the Patuxent River to make one last stop of the day at St. Mary's City.  English settlers first arrived here in 1634 aboard The Dove.  A replica is docked on the shore of St. Mary's River, which joins the Potomac River a few miles to the south.

The Dove

Site of the first capital of Maryland, little remains of the early town.  Nearby St. Mary's College was founded in 1840 as a women's boarding school.  Today it is a coed liberal arts college with an active sailing program and riverfront docks.  The nearby river is a popular anchorage, especially on summer weekends when cruisers are invited ashore to enjoy concerts on the college grounds.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

The props are back and our parts have arrived!  We are again hauled out of the water.  Sauvy B looks huge out of the water, but she is dwarfed by the size of this lift.

Haulout

She is supported by blocks, ready for work to begin.  We will stay at a nearby hotel for a couple of nights until she is back in the water.

At Washburn's Boat Yard

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The new cutless bearings have been installed and the newly polished props are in place.  Rain has delayed putting protective paint on the surfaces with more in the forecast.  Bah!

Shiny props

We hope to be back in the water and heading north by Friday or Saturday, at the latest.  Well, that's the schedule, anyway!