11 days with the fam..........

So off to NY we went:

• A weekend at 204
• Down to Teagan's home to see the gang and to ship out the remaining equipment that we had stored for Grey Hound.  Thor should be receiving the crate and pallet anytime now.
• Over to Otium's weekday home to check up on Jeff & Cathy.
• Over the river and through the woods to Casa de Appel for Katie's graduation party and a butt-kicking game of frisbee golf.
• Back to Jeff & Cath's after a quick stop to see Rob & Darcy
• Up to Sackets Harbor for dinner with the Chief & Mom.
• And to wrap it up, back to 204 to see everyone again and we met up with Amy so Anne could drive back to Annapolis with her & Evan.
• 1600 miles in 11 days with a Chevy that could only get 19 MPG!  GM you should be ashamed to have a new car with that lousy mileage!!

Some of the highlights:

The Mob

Marie, Katie & BobO

Teagan getting her way!

Hanging out in NY

We are now visiting with family and friends in upstate NY.  Jason is keeping an eye on Nati for a few days and then we'll do some cruising in the Chesapeake.  Hope to find some new anchorages.  We have never spent much time in the Chesapeake during the summer so we are looking forward to seeing what it has to offer.

Stand by for more updates...........

Meanwhile.....our neighbors last night

As we pulled into the dock to drop off the crew and showers we had a couple of "oldies" on the other side.  They had a get-together with 15 other old motor yachts over the weekend.  Both boats were in "Bristol" condition and we may see them again if we make it up to the Georgetown area this summer

1966 Christ Craft - Roamer

1981 Hatteras

A new Captain!

Evan now has his first night on board Nati!  A good time was had by all and nobody had to walk the plank on a beautiful weekend in Lake Ogleton.  The water was warm enough to swim and just like Teagan, a dinghy ride is the perfect solution for a youngster to fall asleep for a nap.

Never thought Nati came with a pool but............

Evan trying to stay "cool"

He like his life jacket!

Our v-berth seems to fit well also.  A little more decor and the bunk should be perfect for crew, big and small!

On Saturday we were able to sail down the Bay for a couple of hours........yes, we actually did a "day sail".  I'd say the mighty crew looks ready for more!

Thomas Pt lighthouse in the background

J&E hanging out

Our first weekend in Annapolis

We have been around town for a few days and have had a chance to see A & J along with Evan.  For a start we left the dock and saw the start of the Annapolis to Bermuda race.  About 25 boats entered the contest and the start with no very spectacular.  2 its of wind is not much to write home about but is was fun to see all the big boats.  They probably had a very slow down the bay last night.

Almost time for the horn

Capt. Jason at the helm

And they are off!

After the start we headed over to Mill Creek for the night and then for Saturday we are going to have the gang over for a sleep over.  Evan's first night at sea!!

Sunset at Mill Creek

Annapolis, MD

Well, we have made the decision.  Nap'town will be our home for the summer.  The journey all the way north to Lake Ontario would be just too far for the short time we would be there.  For this summer we will be making our way to NY via rented car.

It will be fun hanging around with Amy, Jason and Evan.  Big "E" is no longer a little baby.  He is moving at mach 1 and I fully expect that he will want to be driving Nati around the Bay by the end of the summer.

Nati's home for a few weeks

Solomons Island, MD

We have crossed another state line.  We made it to Solomons Island early so we could beat another nasty frontal system coming across the country.  Us and a bunch of other boats raced north and made it into our anchorage with a few hours to spare before the sky opened.  Nati is clean once again.  Now if only the rain man would apply a few coats of wax!

Note the stained glass sailboat on the steeple

Another side of Solomons Island 

And of course......just when we thought she was hanging around central NY we find out otherwise!

Reedville, VA

Our direction finder at it's best!

NOAA FORECAST:  "Today SE winds 10-15 and then going NE late in the afternoon."

OK, so we'll leave at the crack of dawn and will be in Deltaville by 1pm.  No problem.....  Yea, no problem.

The winds stayed due north at 8-10 its all day long and to top it off we had rain for the whole day.  So, why not just keep motoring all day long and make some real distance.  That is what we did and after 11 hours of going north we set a new record for one day with Nati (75 miles) and drop the anchor in Reedville.

We liked the town and the holding for anchoring is great.  Last century, Reedville was a very active fishing port for a keystone fish in the Chesapeake, menhaden.  They are also known as pogies, bugmouths or alewife.  They keep the Bay clean  (or try to) by filtering the water for microorganisms as it feeds and are a food source for striped bass and haddock.  At one time there were 12 factories set up on creek.  Now there is only one.  For us personally that is just fine because if you are downwind of the only factory, you won't like it at all!

One smelly factory!

Where once a factory stood

Crazy Crab......umm good!

We stayed 2 nights so we could have dinner at Crazy Crabs.  It has great food and has a class of it's own





Some more shots of the town......

From another time long past

Once a fishing captains home

One tough boat!

Into the Dismal Swamp

By staying at Goat Island it gave us plenty of time to make the 11am lock at South Mills.  It was a pleasant motor and Anne actually got a bald eagle flying by.  It is in the left top of the picture by very small.  Just the same it was cool to see.

Just at the lock we caught up with Sangaris (Manta 42) and Kianda (Allied Seawind).   Kianda is from New Brunswick and a long ways from home.

We decided a break was in order for the day so we stayed at the NC Welcome Center.  We had 3 boats there for the night, one of which was Kianda so we were able to meet them.  The welcome center has a very nice park which tells a lot about the Dismal Swamp and the history of the canal that was dug in the 1800's, and is now part of the ICW.  We also had a good meeting with the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly.  Normally we are running around fields trying to get a good shot for Teagan.  These guys wouldn't go away!

Nati in the Dismal Swamp

They liked the color blue!

From the Dismal Swamp is was onward into the Chesapeake.  Almost a full circle.............

From mile marker 0 at Hospital Point in Norfolk:

• We left Hospital Point on 10/24/11 with Grey Hound.
• Sailed down to Stuart where we did our switch to Nati in January.
• Spent a good portion of the winter in the Florida Keys.
• Have put 1,561 miles on Nati after we anchored once again at Hospital Point on 5/29/12.
• Sailed and motored 2,701 miles after leaving Norfolk in October and arriving back there in May.

Not a bad winter if you ask us!