Cape May, NJ

 Cape May, NJ

After a 57-mile cruise down Delaware Bay, we arrived at Utsche’s Marina, a looper favorite, on Saturday, the 21st. It was a beautiful, sunny day and fairly hot. After a quick boat cleaning, we launched the bikes and went for a ride. 

Cape May is a National Historic Landmark treasured for its beautiful Victorian architecture. We have seen many nice examples of this type of architecture in other small towns along the way, but nothing on the quality and scale of what Cape May offers. Many of the homes are impeccably restored to their original state, with new construction keeping many of the elements to blend nicely together. Right next to the Marina was a very old, established eatery called the Lobster House, where you can eat out back sitting on an old schooner. The food was surprisingly good. About 1.5 miles to the south was the Cape May mall area. Not a mall like you think but an area that they permanently closed the streets so that all the shops and restaurants open onto the mall area. Sue found the local watering hole called C-View, that is the oldest tavern in Cape May. Are you all starting to see a theme here? 

We were not the only loopers in town. There wound up being over a dozen in our marina and another dozen at the marina next door. Where there are loopers, there is bound to be docktails. 

 

Mother Nature again reared her ugly head and kept the winds up such that the sea state would not allow the “Pleasure” part in pleasure boating. So we were stuck in port once again, sort of! Cruising on your own boat seems so exotic and sometimes it is and other times you wonder; “What were we thinking”? As we all know, shit happens. Well, the fairy godmother of shit paid us a visit. A fierce current, a mishandled dock line by a dock hand, and a boat that does not have a lot of power caused the dinghy to get caught between the boat and a piling. Note to self, do not use said inflatable as a fender. Bad things happen. 

Well, we all know that the shit fairy never just drops off one load; they always come in threes. Our other two were the chart plotter went down and the salon AC froze up. First, the dinghy. That involved getting the dinghy off the boat, loaded into a truck, and hauled 3.5 hours away to Annapolis for repair. That was after much begging and groveling with Annapolis Inflatables as they were backed up three weeks. So we dropped it off, returned to the boat, and repeated two days later. Good news is the dinghy is all healed up and ready for action. 

The AC service took an additional round of begging, bribing, and offers to clean the shop to get him to come to the boat and add some juice to the system. Good news there: also, AC now blows snow out of the vents. Bad news is now we will never see warm weather on the trip! Chart plotter is still currently at the helm. Every so often, it needs a slap on the side of the CPU to get the screen to come back. We have procured a shipping box, so it will be heading out for repair tomorrow. 

We needed to keep it in play in case we got caught in fog during our Jersey coast run to NYC. So hopefully the fairy will leave us alone for a while. So on with Cape May. We took a bike ride down to the lighthouse at Cape May Point. On the way back we stumbled onto Cape May Winery. No love for Mike as they did not sell beer. Sue really missed her wing women! 

On Sunday we went to a little church right on the Marina property right next to the Cape May Canal. Homey little church with a pastor that delivered a good message. We needed to do a little praying to see if we could get back on the right track. 

        So this is Sue typing now. I couldn’t get enough of the Victorian homes and toured the Emlen Physick Estate. Owned by a 20-year-old doctor, this 18-room house tour gave me insight into life in a Victorian home. The dining room table was set with an interesting vase with artificial celery in it. The tour guide explained that celery was considered a delicacy, hard to come by, and impossible to grow in Cape May’s sandy soil. The Victorians did not allow food to be touched with your hands. No holding a chicken drumstick. The celery was placed in a crystal vase and served with tongs and eaten with a fork and knife after cutting it into small pieces. The next home I toured was my FAVORITE. The house in the photo is a vacation rental. Formerly the Baltimore Hotel, it was purchased by the Girls Friendly Society.    

It is a charitable organization that empowers girls ages 5 to 25 to develop their full potential through confidence-building programs, community service, Bible knowledge, to name a few, and is deeply affiliated with the Episcopal Church. My grandmother was my mom’s leader. When you were in high school, you could work during the summer at this house in Cape May. My mom, as a young girl, jumped at the opportunity to work with other girls for the summer at “Holiday House.” Eight girls could stay the summer and had a chaperone that lived at the house. The girls worked to get rooms ready for vacationers, plan activities for the young children on vacation, serve meals in the dining hall, and help to run the day-to-day operations of the hotel.    Sadly, this is the last of the GFS houses. My mom remained friends with the girls she “worked with” at Holiday House. As I closed the squeaky porch door behind me, I could imagine my mom walking through the very same doors, ready to lend a hand to a vacationer.  

 

Chesapeake City and Delaware City

Chesapeake City and Delaware City

 On Thursday we arrived at Chesapeake City, a very small little town that doesn’t have much going on. 

It is almost at the southern end of the C&D canal which stands for Chesapeake Delaware canal which connects the Chesapeake Bay to Delaware Bay. The canal was the brain child of a guy named Augustine Herman all the way back in the 1700’s. Although construction did not begin until the 1800’s it is still a major shipping channel.

They had to develop a way to maintain the water level in the canal, so they built this pump house that lifted over a million gallons of water a height of 18’ with a steam engine. 

The canal originally had locks, but they were removed in the late 1800s after they dug the canal deeper and added the pump. It is amazing the ingenuity back then that solved so many problems with so few resources. The canal carries a current on the ebb or flood of over 2.5 mph. 

There is a great restaurant and Tiki Bar called the Chesapeake Inn. They have live music Wednesday-Sunday. 

Delaware City

On Friday, we delayed our departure from Chesapeake City to take advantage of the favorable tide. And favorable it was. Next Chapter cruised at 12 mph for the long 17-mile cruise to Delaware City. 

The ship in the picture was really a lot bigger than it appears, as we contended with her in the what suddenly seemed like a very narrow canal. The closer she got, the smaller the canal seemed to get. 

One of the problems you run into when you have a lot of current pushing the boat is the amount of water going across the rudders is reduced there by reducing your steering, which causes the captain’s lower sphincter to tighten significantly when in close quarters with a big ship. 

What was also neat about cruising the C&D Canal is that we went under a bridge on Route 1 that we have driven over a number of times heading to Maine. Steve knows all about that! Not the one pictured but the one with the large yellow cables that come down from two large poles in the center. 

Delaware City is another one of those very small towns with not much there. However, taking your boat into the marina and experiencing the dock master, Tim, is worth the trip. First off, you have to pull in a narrow shoaled inlet from the north and enter a very narrow creek with a lot of current. You do not enter the creek without permission from Tim, the dock master! He will yell at you and tell you to go back out and wait to be called. Then, once you get in and get your assignment, you approach the dock.  Have your lines ready! When you hand over the lines to Tim and his assistant, they take control of your vessel. Once they have the lines, he will tell you, “Hands off the controls.” They then proceed to spin your boat around in the current with nothing but the lines from the dock. It is both fascinating and hair-raising all at the same time.  

Every day at 4 p.m., Tim gives a weather briefing in the chaotic office/marine parts store. Everyone gathers around and listens carefully. It’s clear that Tim is a pro at what he does. He goes over a bunch of forecasting models and also looks back at what happened the day before. We were lucky that our forecast was good for the morning, but we still had to wake up at 5 a.m. and leave at 5:30. The currents in Delaware Bay can run as fast as 4 mph, so weather is only part of the equation. Current timing is even more important. So, we had a bit of a delay. The weather forecast wasn’t quite right early in the morning, so Tim suggested we wait and see what the actual conditions were. Then, at 6 a.m., we were given the green light to start our engines and get ready to leave. 

As organized as the docking on the front side was, it was the same on departure. One by one, Tim launched each boat back into the canal. We had over a dozen Looper boats in our flotilla that morning, all heading down the Bay. Luck would be on our side as we had a beautiful 63-mile cruise to Cape May. We had favorable currents for the first 4.5 hours of our 6.5-hour planned cruise. Next Chapter actually reached 13 mph for a few brief periods. A new record for her. We reached the entrance to Cape May Channel with only one more hurdle to clear. The Ferry! We were instructed that if the ferry was at the terminal, not to cross her stern as the prop wash would push us up onto the shoal right across the channel. When the ferry is unloading, they keep the props turning to keep her pressed tightly against the dock so the cars can safely unload. The good news was the cars were already unloaded and the engines turned off. We made it safely to Utsche’s Marina and enjoyed a well-deserved early beer. 

So I will remember walking with fellow loopers, Chris and Kim, Dave and Cathy, to get some dinner at Cathy’s Crab House. The road we had to cross was relatively busy, so we crossed the road at the crosswalk. Turns out people in this town don’t like slowing down to allow folks to cross the street. We got “yelled” at by a driver for trying to cross the road. Turns out it’s safer to cruise in shallow, narrow waters than cross the road in Delaware City. Dinner was great, conversation easy, but crossing the road downright terrifying.  

Harve De Grace

Harve De Grace

Yep, it is actually the name of a town in Maryland. A really nice town. It was only a short 22 miles from the anchorage we were at in the Sassafras River at George Town. We actually ran into some folks at our port today at a Tiki bar that lives on the Sassafras River. Small world. On the way to Harve de Grace, we ran into a convoy of three other Looper boats headed to the same location. More on them later. 

We anchored up right in front of the lighthouse at the end of town. A short dinghy ride, and we mounted up on the bikes and went exploring. There were a lot of antique stores, some of which were actually nice. Although Sue did not find anything, I actually scored! I bought a used replacement 9/16 socket that I had been missing. Oh, the simple things in life! 

The picture to the right is a coffee mill from the late 1800s. Some of you may remember we had a much larger one in our kitchen that was made by the same 

company. This was about half that size but complete. They wanted a mere $1250 for this fine example! 

Through the town were beautiful restored Victorian-style houses, some of which have been converted to inns and B&Bs. 

As it got closer to happy hour, we went into the Tidewater Inn on the water. Well, don’t you know we ran into the other group of loopers. We wound up staying as it was trivia night. Had lots of laughs and enjoyed hearing about some of their challenges along the way. What was also interesting was hearing what caused them to want to do the loop. Most of these folks were retired from law enforcement communications in California. All of them had migrated to the East Coast. Maybe they finally saw the light! 

Unfortunately, we did not have a restful night at anchor. We were awoken to our anchor alarm at 1:30 a.m. After wiping the sleep out of our eyes, we thought we were dragging anchor. After 2 1/2 hours, we had reset the anchor. Yes, it was windy and rainy. We share this so you all don’t think this looping stuff is all butterflies and rainbows. Needless to say, we slept in a bit and had a late departure in the a.m. I know, Jim, I can hear you saying it right now. LOL. 

I was not totally convinced we were dragging. Turns out after playing with the app, we use it appears it is not working properly. Great. We pulled anchor and headed up the Elk River for Chesapeake City. 

Natty Boh Rapsody

 Natty Boh Rapsody

On Friday, after a short 20-mile cruise from Rock Hall, we cleared the Key Bridge and pulled into Baltimore’s inner harbor area. We tied up at the Anchorage Marina in Canton, just a short walk from the Fells Point area. It was pretty overcast and looked like it could rain at any time. The attached picture of the Key Bridge was actually taken on our way out today.

   I know what you all are thinking, as was the Admiral, “Baltimore? Have you seen the news lately?” Well, truth be told, I was a little cautious myself. The good news is we felt very safe. The rule to follow, that was told to us by the dock master, was to stay within 5-6 blocks from the waterfront. The really good news is we loved the inner harbor area. There is a bar and/ or restaurant for every day of the year within a two-mile walk on the Promenade. Baltimore really got it right when they put in a 20’ wide brick walk/bikeway all along the water. You can ride bikes for over four miles in one direction and never cross a major road.

Baltimore has retained its industrial roots by converting many of the buildings into stores, restaurants, museums, and living space. So once we got settled in, I jumped on the bike and went exploring. As biking can make one a little thirsty, I wandered into an old place called “The Horse You Rode In On”. The bartender shared with me that its claim to fame is that it is the oldest continuous running bar in the country. He said that back in Prohibition, Maryland did not adopt the federal law banning alcohol. I guess back then the states could get away with things like that because they were not as financially dependent on the federal government.                                              

We also were very fortunate to have our first guest on board. Sue’s cousin and his wife, Ed and Laura, drove over from Philadelphia and spent the night. We had a blast going out to dinner in Canton Square and enjoying after-dinner cocktails aboard Next Chapter. 

We were planning on leaving Baltimore on Monday but decided to stay in port as a strong line of thunderstorms we forecast to cross the upper bay with lots of wind, hail, and lightning. The captain does not like those conditions on the high seas. So we stayed and went to an impromptu Looper docktails. We were able to pick the brains of a couple that had completed the Loop, called Gold Loopers. Lots of valuable information. 

We cast our lines this morning and had a beautiful trip

up the Sassafras River all the way to Frederick Town. 

Note to self: there truly is no town here. However, we were treated 

to a bald eagle catching a fish and landing on a tree next 

to the river. We watched him eat his dinner as we ate ours.  

 

So as I waited for my cousin Ed and Laura to arrive from Berwyn, Pennsylvania, to be our first “visitors on the loop”, I found my thoughts revisiting a childhood memory of going to see Ed and his family in the Philadelphia area in the 1970s. This was going to be a very exciting visit for my then 7-year-old self. The sequel to “Planet of the Apes,” called “Escape for the Planet of the Apes,” would be on TV at 8:00 on the weekend we were visiting. The Sunday night arrived, and the four Cassell kids (Sam was a baby) gathered upstairs with my three cousins to watch the highly anticipated movie. If you recall, the theme was generally that the humans would destroy their own planet with a weapon THEY made. That evening, Cousin Ed reminded me that I was the youngest, which we all know I was on snack duty. The movie began with me downstairs making Jiffy popcorn, a bowl of Nerds (that disgusting, tangy, crunchy candy), some ding dongs, and Cheese Wiz. Up the stairs I went making my snack delivery. At this point in the movie, Cornelius and Zira reveal that they can speak “human”. Now, Cousin Ed gave me drink orders…I guess with all that Jiffy Pop popcorn, the cousins were thirsty. Some Tang was made, Hawaiian Punch poured, and a few cans of Tab to keep everyone hydrated. Would I ever get to watch the movie? Would Zira have her baby ape? At some point, Ed pointed out that my brother Mike had hair under his nose, and perhaps he was growing hair like Cornelius, the leader of the apes. By now, I was jacked up on punch and terrified that my oldest brother might be, in fact, part ape. I went to bed early that night. I still had a great time seeing Ed, who always had a way of making an evening fun, and just like those many years ago, I again served my cousin some snacks and reminisced about anticipating a visit with the cousins.

  

Even the smallest of towns have something to offer

Even the smallest of towns have something to offer

What to say about Rock Hall? Well, it is one of those sleepy blue-collar towns where grass yards are big, life is quiet, and most work hard on the water to make their living or work to keep the boats working. We had a very short ride from our quiet little anchorage to tie up at the town wharf. 

Once we were secured, we mounted our urban assault vehicles (read bikes) and hit the town. If you can call it that. There was a nice produce stand and a couple of shops. Yes, Lisa, I think you would have found something to buy!

After about a half hour, we pretty much saw all there is to see, so we went exploring on our bikes. Well, it wasn’t long before we hit pay dirt and stumbled across the local watering hole called Maggie’s Tavern. It has been owned and run by Maggie for the past 75 years. 

We couldn’t resist. I mean, they had 10oz Bud cans for $1.50, come on! I know, why 10oz cans? It’s a mystery, I guess. Well, walking into a place like that has its risks. First off, there is the local welcoming crew that hangs outside talking up a storm. Then there is actually going inside, where once you break the threshold, all eyes turn so that you are clearly identified as a non-local. That was followed by someone saying, “Here we go”. 

It wasn’t but a minute, and Jeff, a local who grew up here, came over to chat us up. Before long, others would reach out to strike up a conversation or show a political funny on their phone. You can only imagine their political bent here. We listened as the watermen talked about their woes of poor catch, bad weather, and regulation changes. However, they all often smile and laugh. This is real America. Working hard, dreaming for a better future for their families, but reasonably content to just be here. 

So, this is Sue now…I had to laugh because the first thing I saw at Maggie’s Tavern was a big plastic “Frosty” sitting on top of a table. When I asked about it, Jeff said that Frosty stays on the table but gets a costume put on him for various occasions. Upon a closer look, I did in fact see green garland still wrapped around his neck from St. Patrick’s Day. Memorial Day is quickly approaching, and I can envision Frosty holding an American flag to replace his broom!!  and I can envision Frosty holding an American flag to replace his broom!!  

We Are On The Move Again

We Are On The Move Again 

 As much as we loved our time in Annapolis, we started to get antsy to get moving again. The forecast today was for a small craft advisory with winds at 15 knots and gusts up to 25 but only 2-foot seas. What I noticed the past couple of days is that the winds would die down for a short window in the afternoon. Since we only had 20 miles to cover, we decided to see if we could sneak through that window. As luck would have it, we had a great ride over to Rock Hall, Md. We pulled into the back side of the town and dropped the hook in a beautiful creek where we will spend the night. Winds are still pretty gusty, but being at anchor is so much more comfortable and scenic.

 

I decided to also include a couple of pictures from the Naval Academy. Both shots are taken in the dorm room complex, which, by the way, is the largest coed dorm in the country. I don’t know about you all, but my dorm never looks like this!

                                                                         Entry Foyer

This is Remembrance Hall

This is where the young cadets sign their commitment after the first two years of the academy. Up to that point, they can walk away if they don’t feel the military is for them without owing a dime. The room is filled with names of those alumni who have either died in combat or operations along with famous military leaders that gave their lives in service to the country. The purpose of the room is to give a clear message to the midshipmen of the gravity of what they are about to sign up for. It is a very moving, somber place that will really give one the appreciation for those that made the ultimate sacrifice. 

 

I know you have all been waiting for this moment, as by now I am sure you are all tired of my blogging, so without further ado, here is Sailor Sue!

Greetings, family and friends!! Tomorrow marks one week on the loop. I haven’t dropped any lines in the water, pressed a wrong button, or fallen overboard, so I consider this a pretty successful week!! We met a couple who are from Montreal, Canada, who are also on the loop. Last night, they invited us aboard for an “aperitif,” which I was hoping was the same as “NIGHT CAP”. I was correct, and we sipped Bailey’s over ice while the fellas talked nautical things, Maria and I looked at videos of her grandchildren. Turns out, Maria is not conversational in English. I decided to use good old Apple and asked Siri to translate into French. I soon was going on a walk with Maria and looking in the shops. Shopping. The universal language of women. 

    As we enter into week two, I look forward to the next “aperitif” and continued improvement in my boating skills. If they don’t improve, there is always Bailey’s!!!

Sailor Sue signing off

No Greater Fear than Fear itself

 One of my greatest fears of this trip was being trapped in the boat from bad weather. Well, as luck would have it, for the past two days straight, it has done nothing but rain and blow. The good news is we passed the test! Neither Sue nor I went crazy.  

So, Annapolis. What a wonderful place. Lots of restaurants, cool bars, and a number of museums. The tour of the Naval Academy is not to be missed. It is easy to see why such incredible leaders come out of that program. The campus is absolutely beautiful. The Boat Yard restaurant has some of the best crab cakes we have ever had. Yes, Jim, you would have thought you had died and gone to heaven. 

We are also getting into the "Looper Lifestyle". First, we reached out to the local harbor host for some area intel, and before you know it, he picked us up to reprovision and later grabbed us to take us to a special locals restaurant on the Severn River. When the sun finally peeked out, and a little pep talk for Sue, we went hull knocking on other Looper boats. It is truly a community of like-minded people. So friendly. We got back to the boat, and don't you know, Looper boats from Montreal came and knocked on our hull! 

We are hoping to move on to Baltimore tomorrow, but the weather is still looking a bit windy. Time will tell. 

Running from Weather, Kinda

  After a wonderful night on the hook in the Little Wicomico River, Thursday morning we had a delayed start due to a brief small craft advisory which expired at 10 a.m. The problem was the inlet we came in was shoaled in and we were on a falling tide with low scheduled at 12:30 p.m. So we got on right at 10 a.m. hoping that the winds had settled enough but the tide was still high enough we could get out. With a little weaving we were able to sneak back out into the Chesapeake and head to Solomons Island. We decided to anchor in the south basin, close proximity to the famous Tiki Bar. We went for a walk which included the Calvert Museum then onto the Pier for a happy hour beer. 

We were aware of an approaching blow, so we got on the move pretty early this morning. The forecast was for gale-force winds late Friday night. We did not want any part of that, nor did we want to get weathered in at Solomons Island. So on we went. We had nice following seas, thank you for all who wished that, all the way to Annapolis. We were fortunate to be able to tie up on the wharf right in downtown. 

I took a walk over to the Naval Academy, where I saw Bill. He told me that one of our friends had touched him inappropriately while they were attending the prestigious academy. Paul McGowan may be able to shed some light on that subject. 

So, it looks like we will be here for a couple of days, hunkering down from the weather. Hopefully, this will be Mother Nature’s last punch. Off to Happy Hour! 

 

Cast off Day

Finally The Day Has Arrived

  After three years of endless frustrating boat upgrades and repairs, a pandemic, and skyrocketing fuel prices, we finally set sail at 07:24 this morning to embark on a dream that had been simmering for years. Leaving was a bittersweet experience. We were filled with excitement to cast off, but we were also sad to bid farewell to so many wonderful friends. As with everything in my life, nothing is ever easy.

When we pulled away this morning, we were greeted by a thick fog with a visibility of only about 400 yards. It was a completely new experience for us, and we had to play a unique game of water Frogger to navigate through the Bay Bridge shipping channel. Fortunately, the fog lifted about two hours later, and we were rewarded with a beautiful day on the Bay.

Our original plan was to anchor in Cockrill Creek, just off the Great Wicomico River. However, the pleasant weather prompted us to push on to the Little Wicomico River, just before the entrance to the Potomac River. It’s so peaceful here at anchor that I can’t help but think that Jim is envious!

Tomorrow, we’ll be setting sail for Solomons Island. Tiki Bar here we come!