June 2020 – Around the Great Loop on the Answer

Week 55: June 18 – June 23

After three days, the wind finally died down but heavy fog moved in. Then, it started to rain. Our plan had been to leave to catch the rising tide but we still had a shot to leave later in the day and make it to Atlantic City before dark. We impatiently waited for the fog to lift. Unfortunately, it only thickened and it looked as though we were staying in Avalon another night. The only positive thing that happened on Thursday was seeing a turtle on one of Kodey’s walks.

Friday morning we left around 5:30am with clear skies but there was a threat of patchy fog. All went well for a few hours when we needed to stop at the JFK bridge due to fog – could barely see the bridge – and anchored for 1/2 hour. Fog cleared and we continued to Atlantic City. We arrived at Kammerman’s Marina at 10:22am, the earliest we ever arrived at a marina for a night. Kammerman’s is a small marina that is still undergoing renovations from Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The docks need much work but we were only planning to stay for one night and a small marina works better with a dog. The Golden Nugget is huge and depending on where we may have a slip could be a very long walk to get Kodey to land.

Since the weather and wind looked good for the next four days, we were hoping to be back in New York by Tuesday. Watching the tides and wind for the next few days is critical and it seemed that if we left very early daily, we would have less wind, a few hours of rising tide, then slack tide and would be at a marina before low tide and increased winds.

Saturday morning we left around 5:30am again and while the weather and wind cooperated, it was basically a white-knuckle ride because of the water depth even though it was a rising tide. We arrived safely at Holiday Harbor in Waretown, NJ, right near the Barnegat Light. Upon arrival, we were visited by a gold looper who completed the loop in 2005.

Sunday was another early day since we have found the wind to be less earlier in the day and also less boat traffic on the NJ ICW. We were heading to Manasqaun and the Brielle Yacht Club and arrived around 9:00am. Manasquan is an extremely busy location and we were very close to the railroad bridge at the opening to the ocean where we would be heading the next morning. Lots of traffic on Father’s Day and fairly rocky tied up at the fuel dock.

We woke up to another good weather day and the ocean was magnificent. The railroad bridge was closed so we had a ten minute wait but then it was a smooth ride up to Staten Island and the Great Kills Yacht Club. Because of COVID-19, the yacht club wasn’t really open since New York was just entering Phase II. We spent a quiet day and night on the boat and planned to leave the next day for home. This would be our last night on the loop.

On Tuesday morning we left even earlier than usual – 5:17am. We had a pleasant ride up through New York Harbor with little traffic – a few ferries, one high speed from Atlantic Highlands and a few Staten Island ferries. There were a number of ships anchored in the harbor but we only had one behind us moving towards the Passaic River. We were fortunate to be able to get some great photos of the Statue of Liberty but since we were traveling alone, we were unable to have our photo taken with the statue in the background.

Once we were back on the Hudson River, we felt like we were home even though we still had a number of hours ahead of us. We were back in familiar waters. One of our yacht club members works in NYC and sent us a text that he would be at the Intrepid and will be taking photos as we passed. After a number of photos, we continued up the river only to receive another message to look for him north of the George Washington Bridge. It was very cool to have photos of our last leg of this journey.

At 12:08pm we crossed our wake at Peekskill Light “FL12” and back in our slip at 12:20pm. We were greeted by a number of yacht clubs members who were also prepared to catch lines and help us dock.

After 384 days, we are back in New York. Here is a snapshot of our “loop” by the numbers:
Total Days: 384
Marinas: 111
Marina Nights:293
Miles Traveled: 5,674
Engine Hours: 787.1
Looper Cards: 178
States Visited: 19
Times Grounded: 4
Times Kodey Swam: 2
Highest Temp: 101⁰ Chattanooga, TN
Lowest Temp: 29⁰ Panama City Beach, FL

A Looper Playlist:
Cruisin’ the Great Loop with Susan, Peter & Kodey (the Answer) compiled by our son-in-law Jeff.

Week 54: June 11 – June 17

We woke up on Thursday morning to high winds – 15-21kts. Definitely not a travel day. Since we spent three nights at Rock Hall Landing, we decided that we would skip the next planned stop and go directly to Delaware City Marina to stage for our trip down Delaware Bay. It is another long trip where you need a good weather day.

While waiting at Rock Hall Landing, we met another boater who is interested in our boat. He heard from the dockmaster that we were planning to sell the boat once we completed the loop. We advised that we previously met two others also interested and that we would contact all three once we completed the loop in a few weeks and after we cleaned her up and fixed a few things. After all, she has traveled for over 5,000 miles and needs some sprucing up. Although we would miss the boat after fifteen years, we are thinking of a different type of boating and would like the boat to go to someone who is really interested in a Manatee.

Friday was projected to be a good travel day and when we got up, we left almost immediately. The first ninety minutes were a bit uncomfortable but the rest of the 62 mile trip was great. We arrived at Delaware City Marina and advised the dockmaster that we were interested in the Zoom information session (Go/No Go) for traveling down Delaware Bay to Cape May. The Zoom session proved worthwhile. Although I had used the Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System (CBOFS) that I discovered from Marvs Weather Service, I had never looked further to see that there was one for Delaware Bay. Having the dockmaster explain some fine details about how to read the animated chart was extremely helpful. It looked that the next day would be “glorious” on Delaware Bay if we left later in the morning. He advised not to leave before 8am but said that 9am would even be better and that the day would improve even more in the afternoon.

We left on Saturday morning right before 9am and had a great trip. In addition, we had a push because of current and it only took us 6 1/2 hours to make the 62 mile trip to Cape May. Since we normally run at 8mph, this was a real bonus. We went to South Jersey Marina right in the historic district of Cape May and planned to stay for two nights after two long days. Although little was open, we walked around Cape May, a nice seaside town.

Monday we planned to go to Atlantic City. The winds were a bit higher than we normally travel but we would be in the NJ ICW and generally we have traveled in higher winds in more protected waters. We needed to plan our departure for a rising tide since the NJ ICW is shallow. Even though we did everything we were advised to do, we grounded – IN THE CHANNEL – and needed to wait over an hour for Sea Tow to come and pull us off the shoal. Sea Tow advised us not to stay in the middle of the channel but to act as a running back and head the boat directly to the markers so we would be crisscrossing the channel. He then advised that the next section towards the bridge was tricky and offered to lead the way since it was only a short distance. We took him up on his offer and noticed how low certain sections of the channel really were.

As we continued, the wind picked up significantly. In addition to the wind, we lost time with grounding and figured we would not get to Atlantic City while the marina was still open. I searched for another marina closer and it was difficult to find a slip. Eventually, I found one at Avalon Marine Center. There is really nothing there and too far away from anything but we figured it was only for the night and wouldn’t matter. The wind continued until we arrived in Avalon. When we arrived, the wind was at 24kts and there were strong currents so it wasn’t a pleasant entrance. The marina owner advised that there would be an additional two days of these strong winds so while we would be ready to leave daily, we resigned ourselves that we would probably not be able to leave until Thursday.

The wind continued as projected, along with some rain so it really would have been nice if there was something to do or someplace to go.

Week 53: June 4 – June 10

Week 53: Deltaville, VA to Rock Hall, MD

We left Yorktown early to head to Deltaville. The ride was smooth and we had a slight push so arrived at Doziers Regatta Marina before noon. This is the first marina where we stopped that has a courtesy car still in use since COVID-19 began to shut everything down. We borrowed the car for a quick run to the grocery and hardware stores. The marina also had a pool and laundry. Peter and Endeavor went for a swim and I did laundry.

Deltaville has marinas on both the south and north sides of Stingray Point. Doziers is on the north side and the first of a number of marinas on Broad Creek. Many of the marinas on the Chesapeake are tucked inside creeks and that adds additional mileage each time. I have started to identify protected marinas that are not too far off Chesapeake Bay. While this cannot always be accomplished, it’s worth a try.

Doziers was a nice place with friendly staff. They have a large porch with a dozen rocking chairs so you can sit and chat and wait for the “spectacular sunset” that is advertised. Unfortunately, the two evenings we were there, no visible sunset because of cloudy weather. Originally we were staying for one night but the weather shifted and Saturday was projected to be a much better travel day. We did have incredible rain during the evening into early morning but all was fine as we prepared to leave.

It is Saturday, June 6th and our one year anniversary on the loop or as our daughter and son-in-law commented, it is our loopiversary. At times it is hard to imagine that it has been a year and yet other times it feels like we have been gone forever.

Continuing north, Solomons Island was our next stop. It is a long travel day but there is little between Deltaville and Solomons that has been recommended as a good place to stay. Solomons has lots of marinas but I used the notes I had from Paddy Wagon and made reservations at Calvert Marina. There is little on that side of the Patuxent River but with most tourist options closed, it did not make much difference where we stayed. As it turned out, we were pleasantly surprised to find Maggie Jo on the dock across from us. Endeavor was planning to secure a mooring ball on the south side of the river but had some boat issues with clogged fuel filters so stopped at a marina with mechanics.

The next day was used to relax from the long trip and then we planned to travel with Maggie Jo to the next marina, Herrington Habour South on Monday. It was one of the places recommended by other loopers and they also had reservations for one month as they are travelling back home for two weeks for their son’s wedding and to see family. They also need to slow down as they have to wait for the Erie Canal to open in July (last locks do not open until August 10) to make their way back to Wisconsin.

Endeavor took a dink ride over to see us and explained that process needed to fix their fuel filter issue (fuel needs to be polished) and Monday would be the first day that the mechanic may be able to do the work. As it turned out, they sent us a text later on Monday to advise they needed to wait until Friday for work to be completed so they moved over to Calvert Marina where dockage was close to half what they had been paying. After the work is done, they are now planning to go to Annapolis for a few weeks instead of their original crisscross plan. At that point, they may begin their journey north.

We spent Monday evening at Herrington Harbour South in Herring Bay. Peter was happy to find that there was a large swimming pool and the marina was practicing social distancing so he went for a swim. There was a market/deli that had outside seating so we had dinner with Maggie Jo since we would not be seeing them again until they travel north and stay at a marina near our yacht club later this summer. We left the next morning and had a calm, peaceful ride to Rock Hall. Everything was fine until we were close and had some skinny water near the entrance to the marina. There are only a few markers until you get to marina channel. Following the sail line on Navionics was very helpful.

Again, the plan was to stay in Rock Hall for one night but the wind picked up with projection of rain on Thursday so we adjusted once again. We took a walk to tour the town but nothing was open in the immediate area. There is a restaurant and a few boating stores open by the marina but the town was desolate. Wind was 13+mph on Wednesday with gusts of close to 20+. By evening the wind was continuing to pick up and during the night it was 25+ providing a very rocky night.

Week 52: May 28 – June 3

Our plan was to stay in Hampton an extra day before moving on. Endeavor decided to take advantage of the marina’s deal – pay for 3 nights and get the fourth free. We were more interested in moving on but as it turned out, the weather changed and there was rain and it was projected for a few days, along with increasing wind. We also stayed the 4 nights. No real restaurants open in the area but we did go to the Bull Island Brewery to sample their craft beers.

With Endeavor we toured Hampton which was mostly shuttered but we went into a hardware store that was established in 1895. Lots of history in the town, too bad things were closed. Another interesting spot was the F.W. Woolworth building where the first sit-in, an act of civil disobedience against a “white-only” lunch counter was held. We had hoped the the Virginia Air and Space Center would have been open, and I would have liked to have seen their restored antique carousel. Mentioned to Peter that it looks like there will be a number of road trips to visit sites unavailable at this time.

The weather finally shifted but it was projected to be a little windy with some waves. Endeavor was also ready to leave so we agreed that we would travel to Yorktown together and then we would head north and they would begin their crisscrossing on the bay. As we left Hampton, things seemed fine but after we got into the actual bay, the winds picked up to 10-18+mph with waves of 3′-6′. This was our worst travel day yet. Lots of things were thrown around the cabin with minimal damage. One light bulb, the harp for the lamp, and one wine glass. Even our worst days on Lake Michigan could not compare to this ride. We were rolling and had waves crashing that reached the bridge. We could not wait for it to end. Unfortunately, it was a few hours later that we finally saw improvement when we entered the York River to Yorktown. Needless to say, Kodey did not sleep on this trip and was practically on my lap most of the time.

We finally arrived at Riverwalk Landing greeted by a strong current in the marina. Again, we did not plan to stay more than a night but the wind/weather dictated otherwise. We contemplated moving across the river to a marina in Gloucester on Sally Creek but things calmed down and we stayed put for another two nights. Things were calm in the marina except for one night when the Navy Seals were doing maneuvers in their Hovercraft and throwing some pretty big wakes.

The marina is right in downtown Yorktown and there are a number of small beaches that are open. There were many groups of people on the beach, some family groups and some smaller ones. The children were playing in the sand and were swimming. Peter also decided to go for a swim but said the water was colder than he thought it would be considering the crowd of people swimming. There are lots of signs around town…mostly rhyming…to remind people to wear masks and social distance.

Yorktown is a very nice little town with lots of Revolutionary War history. While the museums weren’t open, we were able to walk around and view the monuments and battlefield. We also saw Cornwallis’ Cave. Virginia had just opened up a bit and there was a restaurant on the waterfront with outside dining. We went out for burgers and beer with Endeavour as part of our “support the local restaurant” plan.

Our next stop will be Deltaville and after the rough ride we had to Yorktown, Endeavor decided not to cross the bay but to travel north with us. The wind/weather look good for a few days but as we know, things change quickly.

Week 51: May 21 – May 27

Thursday arrived and it is still raining and windy. Arthur is still hanging around but it looks like the projection of Friday as the best travel day is still viable. We wait out the weather and make sure that everything is ready to leave early in the morning. We also decided to order from the local pizza place, Nunzio’s Brooklyn Pizzeria since we have not supported any local place this week. Food was fine but I’m not sure it lives up to NY pizza.

When we got up, the wind and weather were as projected. We were going to Morehead City and that is a 67 mile day so we left early, 6:32am. It turned out to be a great travel day and we were in our slip by 2:36pm. Long days on the water usually call for an early bedtime so we stayed on the boat and ate left-overs while New Hope met up with their friends for dinner.

The next day, New Hope traveled by car back to Southport to transport their car to Morehead City where it will remain until we arrive in Virginia. Peter and I took a walk into town. You can see that places are beginning to open with restrictions and we decided to take advantage of outside seating at Sanitary Seafood for dinner when New Hope got back. Peter’s cousin told us that when he was a child they would go there for dinner and the food was good and suggested we eat there if the place was open. The restaurant has been in town since 1938. It is located right on the water where the fishing boats come in so you are able to see the daily catch. It’s fascinating to see the fisherman fillet the large fish so quickly. Dinner was excellent with large portions and lived up to his cousin’s memories and the other recommendations we received.

While we were in Morehead City, we met Endeavor, a 37′ Nordic Tug. The boat was purchased in Beaufort, SC but the owners were bringing her back to Michigan. Since we were all heading to the same place, we invited them to join us. They planned to leave the next morning also but didn’t think they were going to travel as far as we planned.

Since we lost time to Arther, we decided to skip one of our stops in Oriental, NC and travel close to 70 miles to Belhaven. However, since we also needed to cross open water, we made a reservation at the half-way point too just in case the water was too rough. The day started out fine but within an hour, very heavy fog moved in and there was almost no visibility. Peter and I put on our life jackets for the first doing the loop.. After a half hour the fog lifted and visibility returned. While we expected some water issues on Pamlico Sound, we didn’t expect the Neuse River to be so bad. The Neuse was not nice but we journeyed on since we really wanted to get to Belhaven. I called the mid point marina right after 9am to cancel our reservations. As it turned out, Endeavor traveled with us the entire trip, actually in the lead, but they anchored out in the bay near the marina.

Belhaven is a small marina, a relatively new start up. New Hope had stayed there the previous year and said it was nice. The dockmaster was very helpful, the owner offered us his truck or a ride to the grocery store if needed. They had free laundry which is always nice, including detergent and softener, and provided bath towels and toiletries in the restrooms. The town has not really started to open up but you could see that it was a cute little town.

Since there is little to do in any town now, we are traveling more frequently in order to finish the ICW to get to the Chesapeake and really begin our journey back to NY. We only stayed in Belhaven one night and were heading to Alligator River Marina on the Alligator River. This is pretty much a must stop since it is right before the Albemarle Sound where you need to watch the water for a good weather day and also to make the final decision to take either the Dismal Swamp or the Virginia Cut. We postponed our departure time since there was dense fog. It cleared in about an hour so we still had plenty of time to get to where we were going.

While we were underway, we hit a milestone. We completed 5,000 miles on the Loop on the Alligator River at Mile Marker 104!

The marina wasn’t much but they are doing renovations and additions since it was originally only a gas station with a grill and a dock. They now have some new docks and have restrooms/showers. The restrooms/showers were from their purchase of property from Mobil Oil and while they were functional, they looked like they were used by all the workers at Mobil, a bit gritty. Renovations seem to be still in progress. However, the grill was working and New Hope said that it offered “must have” southern fried chicken. While we usually do not eat fried chicken, we trusted a southerner’s word. Yes, it was excellent.

The decision of the Dismal Swamp or the Virginia Cut was not too difficult. While the Dismal Swamp offers a more scenic route, with historical ties to George Washington, it is shallow with lots of debris and that would present a stressful trip. It also has two locks instead of one on the Virginia Cut but after all the locks we needed to manage on this trip, one more lock would not matter. However, we were more comfortable traveling along the ICW since the depth is more consistent.

The next stop would be Coinjock Marina, the last marina in NC since we would exit the cut in Virginia. It would also be the last time we would travel with New Hope as they would be leaving their boat at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, VA to have work done while they go home to their farm in Virginia. They plan to return in a few weeks to explore the Chesapeake and then travel the Great Loop next year.

We all went out for dinner to celebrate both our 5,000 miles on the loop and the end of another buddy boat experience. Dinner was at Coinjock Marina where they are known for their “Famous Prime Rib”, another excellent dinner with friends.

The next morning we woke up to fog but not as bad as the previous days. We waited a bit and then took off. This section of the cut ends with a number of bridges and the one lock. Many of the bridges were either high enough or had swing bridges that were open. We did need to wait at the Centerville Turnpike Swing Bridge with New Hope. Endeavor travels a bit faster and made the bridge. The bridge tender told them that we would have to wait so they waited for us on the other side. We were close to the last bridge and the lock and New Hope would be stopping before the bridge. We traveled with them for 18 days, 563 miles and 10 marinas. It was a good few weeks. We all got along even though they are Trumpers and Evangelical Christians and we are not.

After New Hope was secure at Atlantic Yacht Basin, we waited for the Great Bridge lock to open. Although the lock was only 1-2′ (we had a 1′ lift) it was probably one of the worst lock experiences and the the worst lockmaster we encountered. He could not decide if he wanted us to tie up on the port or starboard side so I was switching fenders a few times. He finally decided that we should come to port and stood there waiting for me to throw a line. When he caught the line, he started pulling us and with the current in the lock turned us around. While we were on the port side of the lock, we were tied on our starboard side facing backwards. Peter needed to do a 180 degree turn to get out.

After we exited, we continued traveling with Endeavor through Norfolk and stopped in Hampton, VA for a few days. We completed the AICW at mile “0” at 2:17pm.