Tag Archives: #chesapeake

Back Underway~~~

We had a beautiful breeze behind us from Saint Michaels to Solomons Island, Maryland. Leaving at high tide also meant we could ride the tide most of the way south and have a bit more speed than we would otherwise. We made it to our anchorage in Mill Creek about 7.5 hours after our departure. We had perfect conditions and smooth sailing from beginning to end.

Saw this fisherman as we departed Mill Creek in Solomons Island. Nice morning to be on the water.

We anticipated a moderate breeze overnight however; it was completely calm and 66 degrees. In other words, perfect sleeping conditions. No need to worry too much about the anchor holding and a great temperature as well. An early morning rain rinsed IRENE down a bit, I made coffee to go, and we pulled the anchor up for another full day underway to our next anchorage. We weren’t sure if the conditions would hold so we had plan A and plan B. It turned out to be a wonderful day to be on the move and we made it to an anchorage just north of Deltaville, Virginia on the Chesapeake’s west shore in Little Bay (just inside the bigger Fleet Bay). Approaching the channel from the north was so much more direct than the last time we stayed here when we were heading north and had to go a few miles out around the point. Two days of perfect conditions for traveling. We could not ask for more, but we we did get more. We had an unplanned day on our anchor in Little Bay. Turned out to be productive and as my friend Zac would say, “a day up, not off”. A day up is for doing things that elevate your spirits and your body. So there’s time for tasks, rest, reading, making things, boat maintenance, writing, organizing, all the things you do, when you do what you do.

Plan B. Little Bay anchorage. High tide over the little island beach (taken from our cockpit).

As I was doing my today things, I was reflecting on the physical aspects of living on a boat. You may be surprised to learn that living on a boat requires a lot of movement. Even when you are standing at the wheel you are balancing your body and kind of moving with the movement of the boat. David calls it “isometrics”. Today, in addition to “isometrics”, my movements included: washing windows (inside and out), emptying and reorganizing my personal cupboard (it’s home to my books, writing and art materials, technology things, cards, papers, and a collecting basket). I cleaned fruit, scrambled eggs, made coffee, and sat down to type a few words here. Now it is afternoon and I have been swimming and have been making tiny sketches in my journal inspired by the Shanty exhibit at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum & Marina. I am still moved by that little ark.

From where we sit now, we are about 50 miles from Norfolk. Norfolk is the busiest harbor on the east coast. It’s also enormous. The plan is to stop on the north side in Hampton, VA. Then, get through Norfolk early the next morning to make it to Chesapeake, VA, where we can stay on a free wall for a couple of nights before beginning the next big leg south. Through the eastern rivers and across some big bodies of water between Virginia and Florida.

Our next extended stop is in Charleston sometime in mid-September. We will visit Jay and his family, see their new house, and support them any way we can. I will be flying out for 4 days while we are there to visit friends in South Dakota for a brief retreat for body, mind and soul. I am looking forward to it.

In the meantime, I am trying to reconnect with the enthusiasm I had for the children’s book I have drafted and take the next steps towards publication. Or, maybe I won’t. I have dozens of passion projects brewing most days and prioritizing any one of them over the other will likely be based on which one has the most natural momentum. Project roulette.

Family Postcards

Hollis and Xander in the backyard at the new house in Charleston. Let the adventures continue…

Ronin and Leda are on a roadtrip with their parents, exploring the west. Camping in the Badlands in South Dakota this week. That’s a powerful place.

Gus (2007 – 2022) left his earthly body last week. His spirit is everywhere. If you had the pleasure of meeting Gus, you know he was a very happy gentleman who loved unconditionally. He ate with abandon and enjoyed his walks to the park. Emma took care of him for the past year and half and she gave him extra life. Fly high sweet Gussy. You have been a great friend and teacher. Until we meet again, Godspeed you home.

On August 16, 2022, Miss Isla Ray Yesh turned 3.

Saint Michaels, Maryland

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Sunrise at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum & Marina.

We took a long pause in Saint Michaels. One of those pauses that is evidence of time being a construct created solely for the matrix. We took a deep pause anchored by a long strand of “now moments” that ask you to be fully present to appreciate them in their timelessness. We took a deep pause expressed as energy that spins super-fast, all while staying in one place. We paused deeply while surrounded by the pace of people and their land activities; as frequencies of that energy that rarely seemed to pause. And those 10 days on the earth plane passed in the blink of an eye. A quantum blink.

From our arrival at David’s sister Kathie and husband Dan’s home on Pintail Point, until the last ride back to IRENE, we were treated to an abundance of generosity, beauty and love. I won’t attempt to chronicle the fullness of our experiences but I will list a few that standout, in no particular order:

We had our own little guest cottage to retreat to (which David did daily for naps and to nurse an ear infection).
Each morning we were served the most delicious coffee (dispensed from some contraption that would take up almost all of Irene’s kitchen shelf), served with Vermont maple syrup and cream.
Kathie prepared and served up the freshest meals made with the best ingredients.
We visited the Amish Market and the Easton Farmer’s Market and procured many of those ingredients from their neighbors.
Got to cook on their fabulous AGA stove that is always on always hot and just an amazing piece of cast iron work. What a delight.
One day I told Kathie about a new movie that I wished to see and that evening, she walked into the cottage and bought that movie “on demand”, just for me. White wine, a cozy couch and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris on a big screen. It was lovely.
We were treated to an amazing meal at our favorite St. Michaels restaurant, Limoncella.
And one night, we all piled into Dan’s fancy electric car and went to Justine’s to eat the best ice cream ever.
Kathie took me shopping with her and gifted me with the softest sea-green sweater you can imagine.
Kathie and Dan also welcomed David’s son Jay and his family and two dogs for two nights on their journey to Charleston, as they embark on a new life in a new city and in a new home. (They even took them to the Watermen’s Celebration the Maritime Museum and served up crab cakes afterwards!)
They welcomed my dear friend, Wendy, too. It is always UPlifting for me to be in her brilliant presence.
Mornings and evenings, we sat on the deck overlooking the Miles River and enjoyed the company of one another while feasting on senses on the robust beauty of the natural world. Inside and out, this home, like the meals and the company, is a treat to be savored.

IRENE stayed at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Marina in “downtown” Saint Michaels. She was tied safely to her slip on the Watermen’s Wharf (Dock W). She truly looked like she belonged there; an aspect of the mariner’s story and an artifact from the ongoing timeline. I visited IRENE on several occasions to check on her. There, I saw her through the museum visitor’s eyes and appreciated her tug boat roots alongside the many beautiful and significant boats on display. My favorite exhibit was the Fishing Shanty / Ark. A tiny floating cabin used by watermen before there were roads and fast cars, for living in while they were fishing for shad and herring on the Chesapeake Bay and far from home. They would tow the shanty behind their boat and haul it up on shore when they reached their new fishing grounds. In winter, oystermen and hunters would use them. When there were many in the same area, they’d be a “shanty town”. It reminded me of the life and art created by Harlan Hubbard back in the 1940’s, when he and his wife Anna, lived on their Shantyboat along the shores of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. I was transfixed by that little Shanty / Ark and stood there after the museum was closed just to peer through the glass like a kid in a toy store window…. imagining sitting at the little table, sleeping on the tiny bed, making tea over the burner, displaying my favorite shells and flowers on the window sill; like an alter to life on the Chesapeake.

Time spent in the company of others also makes space for talking. Stories, ideas, books, places, memories, they are all on the table. I could listen to stories and other folks wisdom for hours. One thing Kathie said in a moment around the table, is that she views our life on the water as a “spiritual journey”. David and I never discussed the idea completing the American Great Loop or living a life on the water quite this way, so this was a new paradigm for me to consider. I am so happy she shared this point of view as it has given me a lot to ponder.

David says, “Yes. He does see his life on the water through a spiritual lens” and it resonates with him. I hear that however; the way I see it, “we” are not on a “spiritual journey” per se. Rather, “we” are eternal spiritual beings on a physical journey. In this incarnation we are born into separation form source energy and this life becomes a journey where an ego emerges to keep our physical bodies safe from harm and perceived harm. A mind develops to connect us to our experiences, to our creativity, as well as other frequencies and inspirations. The ego suggests that we are on a spiritual journey because if the we wake up and remember that we are part of the divine, the ego is diminished. We would recognize that we are all connected, we are all one. We are the higher power. We are the source. We simply forgot. I believe the journey we are on is to remember.

Where Did I Leave Off?

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David and I have had some long-haul days since we left Point Pleasant, NJ. A full day south to Atlantic City, followed by a full day to Cape May. A New Jersey, Atlantic Ocean wrap, blessed by following seas and slow rollers. And then, surprise, the long ride up out the Cape May Canal and up the Delaware Bay, and down the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal to Chesapeake City, Maryland, was fairly uneventful. It was fast with a following tide and calm through a morning fog that burned off into an overcast afternoon. By evening we were on the community free dock in Chesapeake City, MD. We spent two nights on the that free wall. Met some lovely people and from our perch there, witnessed a lot of boat traffic on the canal and in the basin. I love that little canal town in all its quirkiness.

Once you exit the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal heading south, you are in the Chesapeake Bay. It’s not a bay in the sense you may equate with “a bay”. It’s like the way Lake Michigan is kind of a lake-ocean. The Chesapeake Bay has over 11,000 miles of shore line along six states. It’s a very big bay. Mariners take entire summers to explore the Bay’s rivers and estuaries and even then, simply could not see her entirety. We have never ventured into the two largest cities along the Chesapeake, (i.e. Baltimore and Washington, DC), but we have thoroughly enjoyed smaller communities like Annapolis, Oxford and St. Michaels. In fact, we are in St. Michaels now, enjoying a week on land at David’s sister and brother-in-laws home. IRENE is in a slip at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum in downtown St. Michaels. She looks great there all shiny after a water line cleaning while we were on our anchor in the Wye River.

IRENE and pals at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum.

I have been thinking about clearing and cleaning. I mean, we think about those things all the time when we wash the boat, clean our spaces, do laundry, unclutter and organize our environments. It expands us. It creates more space around us for getting bigger energetically. Yesterday, I went to the boat to check on her, to make sure the AC was running and pick up a few things. It felt good to be on her, largely because we left her cleared and clean. Now I am reflecting on how we (our bodies) transform our own energy, do our energetic hygiene, get unstuck like cleaning out a messy space. Expending energy to expand energy. Exercising, eating well, eating light, drinking lots of water, reading a good book, writing, appreciating the beauty of absolutely everything, forgiving the hard stuff and loving large as the Bay; these are the unlimiting things that are the bulwark of infinite gratitude. We should all be as radiant, shiny, bright, and sparkling as IRENE. So here I am, polishing up my field, expanding my energy and keeping my frequency turned up.

David is having a more difficult time being big and bright right now as he has been suffering from an enormous head and ear ache. Sometimes it’s easy to go with the flow, but sometimes, we have to go in spite of the flow. We have to grow against the flow. You see this in nature all the time; plants growing in the rivers against the current, flowers emerging between rocks, trees reborn after hurricanes, and more. Their roots hold tight. Take note people, it can be done. It has to be done because life is school and it’s not designed to be easy. So prayer warriors, send big love to David as he lays low and strong while simultaneously enjoying the puppies, appreciating the beautiful flowering trees, hearing his favorite music, eating sweet watermelon, and taking shorts walks outside in the sun and wind. Everything passes, so be present for it while it’s here. I promise, you will never be bored.

Rainbow following rain in the East Bay.
Gaia sure knows how to cleanse her field; lightening, rain, wind and some thunder for dramatic effect.

We Keep Heading North and Discovering More Beauty In This World Than We Had Ever Imagined

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These American rivers are miracles. Each one is so profoundly beautiful that it’s difficult to fathom the work of the creator. What forces combined to create these beautiful waterways, shores, fauna and other elements? As we are traveling, I am also reading a book by John Sledge, “The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History”, and it has my captured my attention and my imagination. He is a wonderful writer and really puts the power of water, tides, currents, ebb and all into perspective.

After leaving Kent Island, MD, we headed up the Chesapeake and under the famous and humongous Bay Bridge that connects to Annapolis. The waterway was filled with ships awaiting pilots to take them down the Bay, likely to Norfolk, or up to Baltimore. We passed under the bridge and by Baltimore and all the rivers and creeks along the way.

The weather was extremely hot and humid and we decided to take advantage of the lack of wind and waves and continued moving. Ultimately, we knew that the remnants of tropical storm Claudette would be headed our way so we opted for a getting diesel and a pump out and a deep bay to anchor in and took a 7 mile detour down the Sassafras River in Georgetown, Maryland. It was beautiful and unlike any other place we’d seen yet. Incredibly green, high, high river banks and beautifully landscaped farmhouses and homes. I’m not sure what a Sassafras Tree looks like, but imagine there were many.

We stayed in a wide creek next to Daffodil Island and in the middle of the night it was completely dark except for the stars and moon. We left at sunrise, 7 miles back out the Sassafras to the Chesapeake and onward to the Chesapeake Delaware Canal. We stopped at the last stopping place at Chesapeake City, Maryland to wait out the inclement weather on a dock. It was LIVELY! The boats that had decided to anchor in the river basin adjacent to the marina were all getting blown so hard they were sailing on their anchors. It was quite a show with all the captains scurrying in 20-40 mile an hour gusts in pouring rain to not bang into one another and to move to safer waters or to just keep moving. One sailboat decided to go to a space on the dock which was brave and crazy and proved to be quite an ordeal for everyone on that dock just trying to lend a hand in a driving rain.

It rained all evening and a good part of the night and today calls for big NNW winds and more rain so here we sit with a plan for an early start a couple of hours before high tide in the morning, readying ourselves for a 10 hour day~~~~~

We are at the border between Maryland and Delaware and will be in New Jersey by the end of travel tomorrow. We have come a long way and we have a lot of territory ahead of us.

Oxford, Maryland to Kent Island, Maryland~ Back on the water with the wind and waves

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Thursday, David’s sister, Kathie, brought us back to the boat with her SUV piled high with our provisions. She helped us unload and move back aboard. What a trooper xoxo

We spent Thursday night on IRENE in Oxford at Campbell’s Marina. They had done a wonderful job servicing her and gave us a thorough walk through of the work they had completed. What a different feeling when we set early yesterday morning without worrying about the engine temperature and a myriad of other little things.

Once outside Oxford and the Tred Avon River, we turned up into the Big Choptank River and we felt the dramatic impact of the south wind building up the Chesapeake. There were long rolling waves that continued to grow throughout the morning as we heading north up towards the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. After 4 hours we decided to pull into a marina to sit out the afternoon’s waves.

Underway on the Big Choptank (that’s Tilghman Island off to our starboard side https://tilghmanisland.com/)

We found a marina just off the Chesapeake in Price Creek, Queen Anne’s Marina, on Kent Island (a few miles south of the bridge). Turns out that it is “home” to a lot of incredibly friendly and kind people. From a gentleman on a sailboat who helped us safely dock on a tricky T spot, to the marina manager Tina, sweetheart of kind hearts, who gave us her car to go out to lunch, everyone is nice. Especially sweet is the handsome family that played at their boat all day, crabbing, fishing, and picnicking; four littles with the world’s calmest mama. We could learn a lot from how gently and actively she leads her pack.

Here they are, the pack of littles, Collin, Cole, Callie, Caleb, and their crabs. (IRENE in the background.)

We thought we would be taking off again this morning however; the weather forecast has other plans for us. Also, since learning yesterday that Canada will not be reopening the border until at least July 21st, we feel less in a hurry and have opted to sit out a predicted bad weather afternoon here.

Since there are quite a few commercial fishing boats in and out of the creek, we will likely spend some time to watching them and then later, we will observe the storm- heavy rain with thunder and lightening. This will be our entertainment. Other than that, we will be planning the next legs of the trip, reading and enjoying life on IRENE.

PS: Received these images of Isla via text yesterday. Gotta love her style and smile.

Be the Ship

Observations from a life on the water.