Entries about icw

In the fall of 2000, Bob and I took our boat RosalieAnn from Maryland down the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) to Key West, and then down to the Dry Tortugas. Then we visited the Bahamas briefly and came home. I wrote up the trip and emailed it to family and friends. This illustrated document is about the beginning of the 2001 trip.

Our boat at the dock

This was the first trip I wrote up on VirtualTourist after I joined in 2002, because the 2001-2002 trip was the first time I made extensive use of a digital camera to take photos and because I kept a detailed expense spreadsheet. I labeled each section as a LEG

Our boat has two separate sleeping cabins, each with its own head (toilet) and sink. The main saloon has two bunks, a corner settee, a dinner table around the base of the mast (which goes right down inside the boat) and the galley (kitchen) which has a stove, sink, a large refrigerator and freezer.

Layout showing the V-berth at the front, the cockpit in the middle (white area) and the aft cabin on the left

There is also a separate shower, but when we are cruising we normally use the forward cabin (called the V berth because it is in the bow and is V shaped) as a garage to store stuff. This year we packed all the stuff from the garage (including Scuba gear) into the shower which was full to the top, so that our guests could use the V berth.

Cut-away view

Getting ready to leave Tuesday 23 October 2001

After Rob and his family and Beth and family left, we started getting ready to move on the boat. I had several last minute loose ends to tie up
a) getting prescriptions for 6 months for me (Bob got his on the base with no problem),
b) finding out what had happened to one of the items I'd ordered,
c) mailing back shoes that should have been tan but were black,
d) trying to get a final bill from the Washington Post guy etc.

FInally did A after a number of calls - should have been quite simple, but the drugstore wouldn't believe me. B said that they'd tried to call me and couldn't get through the caller intercept, so they just gave up - had the item shipped to Rob. C was no problem. Never did get in touch with D.

Packed up and went down to the boat, got things stowed. Drove Bob's car back followed by the marina truck, and dumped all the water and refilled the tanks with fresh water. Max and Lucette, the couple that helped us take pictures of the boat under sail,

Under sail

are riding with us until the middle of Nov. They were driving up from FL where their boat, the 33 foot version of our boat, is docked. I called them on the cell phone about 6 p.m. and they were just approaching the Gov. Nice bridge to cross into Maryland from Virginia. We figured it would be 8:30 before they would be there and Bob asked if I thought I could walk to Scheible's for dinner as the marina restaurant was closed. I said yes. But Scheibles was closed, so we went on to Courtneys. We were walking back to the marina when Max and Lucette arrived.

On our way Wednesday 24 October 2001

We started the engine at 9:20, and finished removing the dock lines and were 3 miles out in the Potomac by 10 am. Winds were from the SSW, so we sailed a bit out of the Potomac,

Under sail

but then had to motor into the wind which was up to 19 knots against us with 4-5 foot waves in the Bay. We saw a topsail schooner Mystic Maid as we came out of the Potomac (probably coming back from the races) and lots of menhaden boats off Reedville.

Mystic Maid

We bypassed the Great Wicomico where we anchored last year to go up Indian Creek off Fleets Bay to the Chesapeake Boat Basin.

Arriving at Chesapeake Bay Boat Basin

We are on the T head (along the end of the dock and not in a slip). The bathrooms/showers are sparkling clean and newly decorated. There is a lounge with cable TV and an internet connection and a marine store. We got a ride into town to Jimmie’s Café in Kilmarnock for dinner - I had the pork chip special and it was almost 3" thick, and Bob had fried oysters. Max and Lucette had crab cakes

Thursday 25 October 2001

We expected a front to come through Thursday with strong winds. It did. We had gusts up to 29 knots at the boat, and Indian Creek is very protected. We didn't have any waves there. We heard all kinds of people (on the VHF radio) having trouble out in the bay including a guy who was sawing through his anchor chain. There is an SSCA Island Packet with several cats anchored up past the grain silos and a trawler named JEMIMA which wanted to get to Deltaville, but came in here because they were getting beat up by the waves. They said the waves off the mouth of the Potomac were particularly bad. They are headed for Hilton Head.

For dinner, we tried to get an Italian place to come for us, but the girl was new and had an attitude. So we went back to Jimmie’s Café and Bob had shrimp and I had swordfish.

Friday 26 October 2001 - Fixing the depth sounder

We are still here. Our depth sounder wasn't working, and we consider that pretty important. It warns us when we are about to go aground. I thought it would be clear enough (sun and clear water) so I could freedive and see if it had barnacles. However, I thought it was too cold to go in without a wetsuit (water temp about 66 deg F) and I found I couldn't get down under the boat with the wetsuit on because I was too buoyant.

So Bob got out the scuba gear (putting it on was like a Keystone Cops routine - I did it in the dinghy and eventually I had to fall out sideways). Even with a weight belt, I still couldn't go directly under the boat, so I worked my way down the keel of the boat from the bow and found the transducer and scraped all but one stubborn barnacle off. Bob went up to check the depth sounder while I scraped off the prop. The depth sounder still wasn't working, so I went down the keel again, missed it and went almost all the way to the stern, came back and chipped the last barnacle off. I used 1000 lbs of air.

Bob discovered that the depth sounder had another problem - instead of the wires screwing into a socket they were just taped together. The marina store had the materials to fix it. While we were doing this, Max and Lucette biked into town. They discovered it was uphill all the way. There is a museum in town which is supposed to be interesting but they didn't go (they are not museum people). We heard many people in trouble on the radio, and the CG asked one of them if he had flares, so Bob looked at ours and found they were expiring next month. He was able to replace these too with ones that are good until 2004. Bob grilled salmon and we had salad, new potatoes and green beans for dinner.

Saturday 27 October 2001

Winds were supposed to abate today, and they didn’t. Max walked into town and got a Washington Post and milk. We sat around listening to the VHF

Our bunk - Bob asleep on the right

and watching the TV in the boater’s lounge. Max and Lucette went into town and got pizza for dinner. We are intending to maybe go to Yorktown tomorrow, or if the winds are favorable maybe we can get all the way to Salt Ponds.