The Naked Yacht

WARNING: this post contains material that may damage your health! Well, not really, but it does contains a fair amount of technical detail on the procedure for putting Follyfin to bed for several months. Ergo, it may not interest many of our readers!

Most of this post was compiled whilst still in the USA. Just didn't get round to completing it until now, 3 weeks after arriving home! So it is in effect the closing post to our 7th season of sailing aboard our own boat. This was the 7th time we prepared her for the winter break, so it is timely to record the winterising/decommissioning procedures more or less as they happen... Skip to EPILOGUE if irrelevant to you, dear and faithful reader.

DAY 1, whilst still at anchor in Swan Creek

Skipper: Service the engine. Involves changing the oil, and oil and fuel filters. Renewal of fan belt. Extraction of cooling water impeller. Clean out air intake chamber. General clean up of oil leaks from recently repaired gearbox (!)

First Mate: being on hand to help Skipper at a moment's notice with any task requiring an extra pair of hands BUT make sure not to get in the way! Provision of copious cups of tea, drinks of water, beer, whisky, wine, as necessary and of course food to fuel the worker(s), meals etc. 

Other tasks:  General tidy up in and on chart table; cupboard clear out; write blog post. Enjoy swim and sundowners as this is the penultimate day at 'sea'.

DAY 2, still at anchor in Swan Creek

Skipper: Dismantled blue water equipment on stern of yacht, i.e. battery charging - wind and water - generator (Duogen) and wind-steering system (Hydrovane).

First Mate: As above for day 1 AND continue sorting out paper work and throwing away a lot of it...otherwise much the same as day 1.

DAY 3, berthed alongside floating pontoon in Tidewater Yacht Services marina, Baltimore, having motored the 16nm from Swan Creek that morning.

Skipper and First Mate (combined effort): Whole afternoon spent removing the two sails, the jib and the mainsail. Each one has to have its battens removed before it can be taken down, lifted ashore and folded (quite complicated to get it right) and inserted into bag. Lift bags back onto boat and stow below.

First Mate: As for day 1

DAY 4, berthed alongside at Tidewater

Skipper: remove all running rigging - reefing lines and sheets - and any other lines, e.g. Jack stays, preventer lines and associated speed rings, lazy jacks, traveller, kicker. Replace all rigging lines with mousing lines. Coil and label all lines as they come off, then stow in forecabin locker.

First Mate:  As for day 1; plus clean and wash dinghy, inside and out, fold and put into bag.

Together: using main halyard, lift life raft off the stern and stow below. Almost ready for haul out.

DAY 5, berthed alongside at Tidewater

Skipper and First Mate: climb up 65ft mast (him) whilst being belayed from below (her) in order to remove anemometer. Repair TV aerial whilst aloft. Bind in halyards to mast to prevent them escaping and flapping in wind.

Skipper: bring remainder of Duogen in-board so it no longer sticks out from stern. Flush outboard engine with fresh water. Pour spare diesel from emergency cans into main tank.

First Mate: As for day 1; plus clean big white ball fender; take inventory of stores to be left on board. Refreshments supplied on demand.

DAY 6, admin day. 

Together: Borrowed courtesy car from boatyard. Once we had fathomed how to operate this so-called 'smart' BMW, visited West Marine chandlers for antifreeze, US Customs & Border Agency to cancel our Cruising Permit, and finally the laundromat for two large loads of washing.

Skipper in p.m., drained all the sinks, heads and showers and poured antifreeze through. Later, Reed the Rigger visited Follyfin to diagnose the suspicious noise heard in the saloon under the mast when sailing close-hauled. He reckons that the mount on top of the pole that supports the mast at deck level has become bent, thus allowing the mast to move slightly when the sails are in use. Remedy is to jack up the supporting pole from the bottom and slip an extra sliver of stainless steel under the existing rigid stainless steel plate that sits under the mast on the sole of the boat. Sounds like £££ but it has to be done to be safe in the future.

First Mate: as for day 1.

DAY 7, Follyfin hauled out of water at 08:00. After thorough pressure wash of the hull, she was moved into her winter storage position. By 11:00 she was settled onto her supports.

Skipper and First Mate: remove Bimini, fold and stow. Remove spray hood, fold and stow. Main halyard and topping lift brought down and replaced with mousing lines. The boom, normally held in position by the topping lift, is safely lowered to rest on the side of the cockpit, and the kicking strap (aka the Vang) normally connected to the boom similarly lowered to rest on the coachhouse roof.

Skipper: finish winterising the engine, antifreeze to replace cooling water.

First Mate: wash anchor, anchor chain and rode, store it on pallet on ground beneath bow of boat. Place covers on winches, helms and table. Supply succour to Skipper as above.

DAY 8: last day in USA. Morning spent packing and generally tidying up. 

Skipper ticking off last items on extensive checklist; it has >30 items. 

First Mate: empty fridge, dispose of surplus perishables and bottled water. At 16:00 contacted Uber for ride to airport for 19:00 flight. Phew - its over!

EPILOGUE

So that's it from the Skipper and me for several months. We are not looking forward to the wet and cold of a UK winter, having spent the last two in or near the Tropics. But we are really enjoying being back on land, especially not having to worry about weather and, for me, loving having a proper cooker on which to produce meals, not to mention unlimited water on tap and showers whenever we want them! So it only remains for us to thank you all for reading this blog recording our adventures aboard Follyfin - until next Spring when Follyfin will once again be afloat!

Our home in winter...fresh snow, pretty but cold!

The C and D Canal

Backtracking a little, our east-west, early morning passage through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on Sunday 16 July was memorable. Follyfin and her crew had a tough time the previous day, criss-crossing 50nm up the Delaware river as we tacked north-west up from the ocean. As usual we had a head wind! But having rested peacefully at anchor overnight behind Reedy Island, just 5nm south of the eastern entrance to the canal, the 06:00 start was well rewarded.

Reedy Point Bridge, looking east 07:00 EST, Sunday 16 July 2017

This canal was first proposed back in the 17th century by Dutch mapmaker, Augustine Herrman. Benjamin Franklin approved it about 100 years later but the construction did not begin until the early 19th century. It took 2,600 men with only shovels and picks, digging by hand - can you believe it? - 5-7 years (sources differ) to build, originally 66ft wide and 10ft deep. The canal finally opened in 1829. It provides a 14-mile shortcut between the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay, cutting 300 miles off the maritime route between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Of course, much of the 'know-how' came from the UK where canal-building had been established for a few decades before that. It is now the most heavily used canal in the USA and the third busiest in the world. Luckily we did not encounter any of the commercial behemoths which are known to frequent this canal, thanks to (ahem) good planning: our west-east transit took place on Independence Day national holiday, and the east-west transit was early on a Sunday morning.

We reached the last bridge at the western end of the canal an hour and three quarters later. It was a beautiful day...

Chesapeake City Bridge, looking west 08:45 EST, Sunday 16 July 2017

But all these early starts had taken it's toll...

Of course there was no wind so we were motoring as we headed on out into northern Chesapeake Bay. A good opportunity to get quite close to some ospreys sitting on nests (before they got frightened and flew off) on channel markers, which seem to be their favourite places for raising their families. Herons also find them convenient resting places to dry their wings.

We reached our chosen anchorage spot, Worton Creek on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, by mid afternoon. Being Sunday there were many small boats anchored in this beauty spot; unbuilt up, clean, sheltered and quite shallow, this is a lovely place to spend a quiet afternoon sunbathing and swimming - even though the water is murky green, a far cry from the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas, BVI and Caribbean. However, by evening Follyfin found herself all alone for the night, with just ospreys, bald eagles and southern crested eagles (thanks for ID, Kevin) for company.

Great place for sundowners!

Monday morning was spent pottering and watching all these magnificent birds but perforce, by 11:30 reality had intervened. Badly in need of provisions, we motored on south (into wind of course!) about 10nm to Rockhall, a lovely little bayside resort much frequented by the boating fraternity around these parts. With one small grocery store and an excellent coffee shop, aptly named Java Rock, it fitted our requirements perfectly. We moved from there on Tuesday, about 2nm around the corner to find a quiet anchorage where we could spend three days beginning to decommission Follyfin before putting her to bed for 9 months in Baltimore. So now we are at anchor up Swan Creek, thankfully with a paddle, until tomorrow, Friday 21st July.

Fish, fish fish!

After a long fish famine, caught a nice one this morning as we sailed south from Atlantic City...just a nice size for two. Not sure what species it is, but it looks like good eating [tough luck Smitch!]. To record the conditions: clear blue sky, sunshine, SW4 wind, mainly south swell, time 08:25, sailing close-hauled, course over the ground 165deg true at speed ~5kt, approx. position 39# 12'N 74# 20'W. Hoping for a repeat.

Well, just one hour after I penned that last paragraph, we did catch another fish! Same species but slightly smaller [missed out again Smitch!]... 

Decided to cook both for supper after anchoring inside Cape May Harbour. Delicious!

P.S. This post is being uploaded from Rockhall in the northern Chesapeake Bay, about 12nm from Baltimore where we will leaving Follyfin next week to fly home. Looking forward to getting back to normal land-living again!

Brits in USA

Anchoring overnight behind Liberty Island provided an excellent view of her backview, not often seen by your average viewer:

A round tour of the island on board Follyfin provided a great thrill for the grandkids, but an even bigger thrill awaited them the following day when all four of their grandparents, plus Warren's godmother Smitch (a school friend of the First Mate from several decades ago) gathered on board Follyfin for a delicious brunch provided by their parents.

Spent one night at Newport Yacht Club which is only 10 minutes walk from where the family lives. Very convenient! Sunday 9 July, after our brunch and saying farewell, Follyfin set sail again down the Hudson River back to our Atlantic Highlands anchorage. The only difference being that we had acquired an extra crew member: Smitch. She joined us for the overnight passage down to Atlantic City.

That passage turned out to be a bit more arduous than expected, since the wind had turned from the north to the south and then the south-west, the very direction we were now going. So a rhumb line route of 73nm turned out to be 146nm with all tacking we had to do, and a passage that should have taken about 15 hours actually took 27 hours. Needless to say, by the time we berthed in Kammermans marina in Atlantic City, we were all exhausted. But Smitch stood up well to the challenge.

This morning we all went to explore Atlantic City, which is credited with having the first proper board walk in the world, having been built in 1870. Today of course the backdrop is all big casinos, hotels and restaurants, and the beaches are crowded with holiday-makers. Both features are big tourist attractions, so there are lots, lots, LOTS of people.

As you see, wall to wall people!

Waved goodbye to Smitch who caught the Greyhound bus back to NYC, so we are now preparing to retrace our steps back to Baltimore where we will be putting Follyfin to bed for the winter... a little early I know but that's because we have a special wedding event to attend in September, that of son Ivor to Marina. Actually we are really looking forward to coming home after 4 months on the water so to speak. Home comforts are calling!

We did it our way!

London to New York via Trinidad.

Shortly after dawn today, 8 July 2017

On the last lap

Having successfully met up with John, Elyssa and young Isaac, and shared some delicious crepes with them,

we then proceeded to 'do' Annapolis. They had to move on after showing us how to get into the US Naval Academy, which dominates the town, sitting on 340 acres of prime real estate. Its buildings are modelled on those of our British Royal Naval Academy at Greenwich but of course on a much bigger scale. Everything in USA is on a bigger scale than in the UK... The chapel there is more like a cathedral. In its crypt lies the body of John Paul Jones, in an amazing marble and granite mausoleum. He commanded the US fleet which outwitted the British in the War of Independence.

Walking was exceedingly hot, which is all right whilst in air-conditioned places like crypts but quite debilitating otherwise. So we took the easy option of the 60-minute trolley bus tour to see the town and main attractions, one of which is the WWII memorial.

The view across the river shows the dome of the state capitol building. After the British surrender in 1782, Annapolis served for a few months as the US capital. The Maryland Statehouse is built of wood and is impressive inside and out. It is unique, being the oldest statehouse still in continuous use. Wilting fast by mid-afternoon, frozen yoghurt provided welcome refreshment.

Guess who opted for M&M sprinkles, and who for chopped almonds? Both equally delicious!

Another couple of days would be needed to see all the sights of Annapolis - we may return some day to this attractive city with all its history - but time pressed so off we went again, north to Baltimore. Downtown looked majestic in early morning sun.

Our purpose was to check out a boatyard where we might safely store Follyfin over the winter. That accomplished and being British, we preferred not to stick around for the Independence Day celebrations (for obvious reasons!) and pressed on towards our final destination...through the Chesapeake and Delaware canal from west to east, then down the Delaware River towards the Atlantic Ocean and the open sea again. An unwelcome reminder of home was spotted plying its way up the Delaware river main channel.

Ineos is the very unpopular company which is trying to frack the beautiful U.K. countryside, including vast tracts of Yorkshire....the less said about that the better.

It was a long day of independence for us, eventually dropping anchor in Cape May harbour after dark. Wednesday 5 July, Follyfin was off again, this time out to the open sea and hopefully some proper sailing. Sad to leave the Chesapeake Bay behind with it's tasty seafood delights,

we had become rather tired of motoring rather than sailing, and of the extremely hot, windless and humid conditions. But of course, the 'best laid plans of mice and men do oftimes gang aglay' and our 120nm coastal passage north from Cape May to Sandy Hook took 27 hours instead of the planned 24. However we did manage to sail without motor for 8 hours out of the 27, which was very nice. And now we are lying at anchor here behind the breakwater at Atlantic Highlands, poised to head up the Hudson River tomorrow to rendezvous with son Warren and his family. They live right beside the water in Jersey City.

'Sailing Capital of the World'

More like Piccadilly Circus afloat!

Arrived here this morning - it's 95 degrees F! Due to meet with 'Little' John and his young family tomorrow. He sailed with us in Croatia over a decade ago. Much water under the bridge since then!

Excuses, excuses... and grandkids

Have been in stealth mode for the last couple of weeks - partially self-imposed and partially enforced by circumstance. Since my last post was uploaded from the Apple Store in Norfolk, Follyfin and her crew have been very active: sight-seeing, meeting people, making passage either with no wind or contrary wind and … spending a week with son no. 1 Warren, daughter-in-law Lara and their family, who took an AirB&B house on the Chesapeake Bay coast at the pre-arranged rendezvous of Reedville, Virginia. Of  course I had assumed that (a) I would have plenty of time to compose and post about our happenings from the previous week, and (b) these switched-on, always-connected millennials would have good strong wifi in their rented house. Both wrong!! So even if I had had time to write the text, I would not have been able to post it.

Never mind. We had a great time with grandchildren Noah (3.5) and Bella (2), who are a full-time occupation, both on the beach and on the boat, so no time for creative writing anyway.

 

 

Though conditions were not right for taking the family out for a sail aboard Follyfin, they loved the dinghy ride out and back when they came for tea on a sunny Sunday evening.

 

Three generations of Bennett Boys

Our departure from Norfolk a couple of weeks back was delayed partly by the weather - we had a cold spell and northerly winds which are not good when one wants to sail north - and partly because we wanted to enjoy the annual ‘Harborfest’ weekend in Norfolk. Tall ships, little ships, war ships dress overall and congregate in the harbour. We had a prime location to view some of them on their way there, as well as the fantastic firework display on Saturday night which alone was worth the delay. A Bahamian steel band complete with colourful dancers processed through the park area to kick the celebrations off.

 

   

 

Finally on Sunday 9 June we bid farewell to Greta and Gary, the OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) port officers in Norfolk on whose dock we had been berthed, and headed north up the Chesapeake Bay, past the large US Navy establishment with its many menacing fighting vessels berthed in readiness for anything. 

 

Our destination was Yorktown, scene of General Cornwallis’ and the British surrender to George Washington and the Americans in the war of Independence. Mind you, it did take them 100 years to erect a fitting monument to the event! We can recommend the almost brand-new Museum of American Independence in Yorktown. We could have spent a couple of days there and still not ‘done’ it all.

 

 

That same evening we met up with a fellow CA (Cruising Association) member in the same anchorage as us so celebrated in the time-honoured way. We had been tracking each other since in the southern Bahamas. But next day we turned north again to Fishing Bay, Deltaville on the Northern Neck peninsula, and witnessed yet another splendid sunset.

 

The rivers and land features in the parts have some curious names, mainly derived from when the native Indians were the most numerous inhabitants, e.g. Rappahannock, Corrotoman, Potomac, Patuxent, Piankatank, Wicomico, and Point No Point, Stingray Point and many more. On a small creek off the Corrotoman River, Follyfin was honoured to be the first visiting boat to berth on a brand new private dock belonging to Lydia and Bill, OCC stalwarts who had recently hosted an OCC rally to which 25 boats had joined. Follyfin was supposed to be one of them but her crew’s gale experience further south had prevented her arriving on time. 

 

Follyfin (port) and Dragon Run (starboard; our hosts’ yacht). 

Nevertheless we were made very welcome at their beautiful home, which has waterfront on two sides,

 

 

and were helped a good deal as we caught a lift into town for some essential provisioning. Lydia and Bill also introduced us to soft shell crabs at a local restaurant. Amazingly you eat the whole thing, claws and all! The local oysters were also excellent.

 

 

From there we headed north again to Reedville to meet up with the family...which brings me right back to the beginning. Annapolis will be our next major stop and we are on our way there now.

Moving on North

Thursday 8 June 2017

Nearly 2 weeks since the last post but we have been busy. We stayed in Georgetown SC for Memorial Day weekend, savouring more wonderful culinary treats, Carolina Grouper - a fish - being one of them. Memorial Day falls on the same Monday as UK Whit Monday so we felt right at home. Took a walking tour of the town with Debbie who grew up there and has a fund of anecdotes and historical knowledge. She introduced us to joggling boards.

 

They are very springy 

 

and designed to bring people together. 

Apparently they were introduced from England but this was the first time we had heard of them and were rather taken with the idea. Debbie also showed us some very old trees

 

 

And many historic and palatial houses, many of which had palmettos growing in their gardens, giving a clue to the climate here, very mild in winter, hot and humid in summer.

 

 

By Tuesday 30 May it was time to leave, our ‘wounds’ having healed sufficiently to weather the next 170nm ocean passage north to Beaufort, North Carolina. We saw several Pelican Parties on the way out to sea from the long Georgetown river.

 

The passage was slow for most of the way with Follyfoot having  to motor-sail until Wednesday afternoon when the wind strength suddenly increased from force 2 to force 7, gusting 8 in the space of 10 minutes. Luckily it was in the right direction for us and accelerated our passage. But we were still later than anticipated and had to anchor at 21:30 in the dark inside the shelter of the coastline. Dianne, the very helpful Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) port officer for Beaufort had previously advised of a suitable spot. Thursday morning we moved on into Beaufort Docks marina and enjoyed a full American breakfast.

 

View from the breakfast balcony, Follyfin just visible in the distance.

Dianne came to meet us and helped us sort out all our needs - US Customs and Border Agency, US phone, US VHF and provisions. You need a car for just about everything here in the US! We also enjoyed cocktails and a couple of meals out with her, including some of her home frozen shrimp (more the size of prawns as we know them in UK). Well beyond the call of duty for her I am sure!

 

Saturday 3 June saw us preparing for the next stage of our adventure - a 200 (statute) mile cruise up the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), through North Carolina and into Virginia. This required Skipper to climb the mast - three times - to remove the aerials and lights at the top of the mast, reducing its height by about 3ft. This meant Follyfoot should pass unscathed under several 65ft fixed bridges en route on the ICW. By 11:00 we were on our way.

Of necessity, we mainly motored, with occasional help from the foresail, along parts of at least five rivers, four or five ‘land cuts’ or canals, crossed two wide and shallow ‘sounds’, and cruised through swampland and forest on either side. Most of the time the landscape was completely deserted.

 

 

But occasionally some very upmarket homes were spotted,

 

as well as some very large (and frightening) commercial vessels.

 

 

The one passed just after we had dropped anchor in pouring rain.

We spent three nights at anchor alongside the waterway in blissful peace and solitude except for the frogs….and biting bugs!

 

 

This is just one example; there were bigger ones and smaller ones and very small ‘no-see-ums'. Skipper became expert at swotting the wretched things.

Then there were the bridges.

 

 

Just squeezed under that one at 63.5ft. Phew!

 

Approaching the city of Norfolk

And many ospreys and eagles were seen on the way, the former nesting on top of the ICW channel markers. Regrettably I didn't manage to get a good osprey photo but it was such a treat to see so many of them after they had almost disappeared from the UK.

On Tuesday midday we arrived in Norfolk to a warm reception from Greta and Gary, the OCC port officers for this area. Not only did they assist with our first-ever experience of mooring between four posts, but they have since made us so welcome and comfortable with use of wifi, lifts to supermarket and in search of gas bottle refills. Although the weather has turned distinctly chilly since our arrival, the change in wind direction to the north, where we are headed, made it easy for us to delay our progress from here. Added to this, Norfolk is holding its annual “Harborfest” this weekend, so there is plenty to see on the water near where we are berthed.

 

 

Expecting to slip out of here tomorrow or Sunday but it is very tempting to stay and enjoy the city and the comfort of being berthed on a dock for a change!

NOTE: I have just acquired a new iPad and the blogging app I have been using on my old one is not functional on this new one. So you may notice some significant changes in presentation whilst I get used to the new app. Fingers crossed it works OK!