Wednesday, June 17, 2009

June 14 - 16, Days 1-3 of our Great Loop Trip, Home to Cape May, NJ

Linda, Kaycee, and Gerry - right after breakfast and bike loading - now ready to shove off.

Departure Day - send off party.


Dale, Don, Kara, Grace, Lisa, & Gerry

Kara, Cam, Karen, Dale, Grace, and Lisa.
Jimmy, Lisa, and Dave - who drank all the champagne???

The whole gang (minus the Janssen's)! Thanks for the send off!!! Many thanks to Edna for letting us use her dock and the fantastic champagne and snack send off.

Jimmy & Karen Mullins - Thanks for letting us stay at your house, keeping us overfed and all the empanadas and hosting the parties, and - and - and - and.

Gerry, Kara, Cameron, and Linda

Dave and Luke Kapp
Passing by the Naval Academy in Annapolis on our way to the Bay.

1st day of our Great Loop Trip - Home to Still Pond
Couldn't have asked for a better day. Friends (Edna & Terry Marsteller, Peter Pelling, Jimmy & Karen Mullins, Dale & Don Boyce, Kara Etzold, Cameron McCartney, Lisa , Dave, Grace, and Luke Kapp -(missing because we forgot to tell them we were leaving from Edna's - Torrey, Matt, Tyler, & Trevor Janssen) gave us a champagne toast and snacks for a send off from Edna's dock.
We sure miss all you guys!!!!
Temps in the 80's with a nice breeze from the north. Anchorage at Still Pond full when we arrived, but emptied towards evening. Had steak and Karen's potato salad for dinner. Linda made room for us to get into bed. Slept very well - love this bed.

Still Pond

June 15, Day 2 - Still Pond to Summit Marina North
Heavy fog to start and cold temps. Had to wear jackets. Caught favorable current in the C&D canal and had a 2.5 knot boost. Boat was going over 10 knots - we were flying. Stopped at Summit North Marina to wait for current to boost us to Cape May - 5:00 AM tomorrow. Got a call from Shawn Beal - going to meet us in Cape May tomorrow. Changed priority to get organized - well - sort of. Day turned sunny and breezy. Threat of T-Storms this afternoon, but tomorrow looks great for a trip down Delaware Bay. Still finding junk to toss out. Good thing too! We need all the room we can get.


Foggy morning at Still Pond
Chesapeake City Bridge

June 16, Day 3 - Summit Marina North to Cape May, NJ
Day 3 started with a plan to stay in Utschs' Marina in Cape May and meet Shawn and AJ Beal there. However, things sometimes do not go according to plan. Winds were predicted to be under 10 knots. However, they were more like 15 gusting to 25. The seas were 6 feet at times. We know this because we heard the local fishermen commenting on the seas and, of course, fishermen never exaggerate. During the course of the trip, Shawn called to say they were not going to be able to make it. We were sorry about that, but because we thought we were having company we had incentive to get things organized and ready in the forward cabin for guests ... so now that is done. In spite of the weather, we made good time because we were riding the current and arrived in Cape May at around 2:00 p.m. We topped off the fuel tank and headed for our slip. Dockage was a bit of an issue with the high winds, but the dockhands were very helpful and we successfully docked and disembarked. However, we did immediately drink the wine that was in the "goody package" they provided. We took a short walk and got a late lunch at a local restaurant. After listening to the weather for the next few days, we decided to extend our marina reservation for a couple of days. Hey, we have over a year to complete this trip ... why be in a hurry.

Ship passing Salem Nuclear Power Plant - Delaware Bay

Ship John Light - Delaware Bay

Other "followers" - must think we are a fishing boat.
Cape May Ferry Terminal


Short video of Delaware Bay

2 comments:

Glade and Shawn said...

Great photos and video! Also, the Spot Tracker link on your blog is another fun way to "follow" you. Cool stuff! We're looking forward to more updates on your great adventure on the Great Loop.

Unknown said...

How do I use the SPOT tracking? Sorry we missed the send off party, looked like fun. Now for some vicarious living!! Wish I was going along....Pat