ATLANTIC CITY TO ANNAPOLIS
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INSTALLMENT NO 4
DATE: September 27, to October 8, 2000 Miles Traveled: 145 - ATLANTIC CITY TO ANNAPOLIS Expenses: |
We stayed in Atlantic City 3 nights. Our small flotilla then sailed to Cape May in good sailing conditions. But the good conditions were short lived and the clouds moved in. The entry to Cape May was made after the weather had worsened and with a severe tidal rip in the entrance channel. The boat twisted around and it required all of Diane's strength and skill to bring us back on course and safely through channel leading to the harbour. This was the most stressful part of the journey, and we were relieved when we finally lowered the anchor.
CAPE MAY
After we turned off the engine, we heard a band playing a piece by Souza and troops marching. We had anchored in front of the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May. The Coast Guard was just keeping the tradition of celebrating another stage of our trip! The next morning, we puttered ashore and left the dinghy at the friendly Utsch's Marina, where the rest of the flotilla had found docks. We rented bicycles for $5.00 each and pedaled to this American national historic landmark. The town is mainly Victorian architecture. Each of the wooden houses is well maintained, and painted with a variety of pastel colours. It is a handyman's heaven. We walked down the "mall" and Ocean Street and made our way to the beach where we bicycled along the coast. We enjoyed Cape May very much and we recommend it as a vacation destination.
DELAWARE BAY AND C & D CANAL
It is 60 miles from Cape May through the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. This body of water is shallow with a fast running tide. If the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, this can quickly produce a very long uncomfortable ride. When heading into the bay we planned for and received a 2-knot favorable boost from the tidal current and chose the day carefully for favorable winds. Along with many other vessels, we departed at 7.00 a.m. on a sunny day. The crossing was uneventful except for the run from the Cape May Canal across to the ship channel. There we encountered numerous floats attached to crab traps, which we had to avoid. The passage was a dreary business because the surrounding countryside is featureless except for the Nuclear Station, which is visible for most of the eight-hour trip. We were very happy to reach Chesapeake City and once again drop anchor in a small but crowded bay. Sunday was a bright sunny day and we left the anchorage along with what it seems hundreds of sailboats, as well as thousand of speeding power boats whose passing producing wakes that caused us considerable discomfort. We decided to stop early in Fairlea Inlet and wait for these menacing weekenders to return to work on Monday morning and hopefully allow us a leisurely sail to Annapolis.
ANNAPOLIS
Our strategy worked. We reached Back Creek in Annapolis about mid afternoon with minimal interference from power boaters. We have never seen so many boats! They are everywhere; but we managed to find a spot deep in the creek where we decided to spend approximately a week. It is the weekend of the boat show and it seems that everybody with a boat, both large and small, is here. It is quite a good deal as we are very close to the Bert Jabin's Yacht Yard where for a small fee we get full use of its shower and laundry facilities. There are dinghy docks, here and there, throughout the creek. Within a 10 minute walk there is a large grocery and drug store. Nearby, we have used the library facilities to check on the web site and send some e-mail.
We thought there were a lot of boats in Toronto; obviously we had not been to Annapolis. People and boats from all over the world: South Africa, Australia, Venezuela, and of course Canada to mention only a few. It took a trip like this for us to realize how little we have seen, and how much more we want to see.
Annapolis reminds us of Quebec City with its old cobbled stone streets and historic buildings going back to the early 1700s. It is the State Capital of Maryland. The State House is the only state capitol that was also the nation's capitol during a brief period between 1783 -84.
Wednesday morning, as we returned from going ashore, we had a pleasant surprise when we saw Peter and Jessie from Rolger II, our good friends from Hamilton, who were once MCC members when they owned Drakkar. We had followed them several days behind but had kept in touch via the Mississauga Marine Ham Net, (14.121.0 at 7.30am). They were members of MCC years ago and it was wonderful to see familiar faces; we celebrated by opening a bottle of champagne on their newly acquired trawler and went for dinner at the Davis Pub, a boisterous local watering hole with good crab cakes.
One of the most famous of Annapolis sights is the U.S. Naval Academy. On several occasions, as we were walking around, we saw 5-10 Navy Seals being trailed on a rope below a helicopter which was circling the area.
On Friday morning we walked to the Loews's Hotel on West Drive where we boarded bus no 921 for Washington at a cost of only $2.85 each. This bus stopped at New Carrollton a subway station and from there, for another $2.50 we were at the Smithsonian Station in 30 minutes. As we emerged from the train, we immediately saw the Washington Monument. We took the Tourmobile Sightseeing bus for $16.00 ea. These tour busses take you right where you want to go with unlimited free re-boarding. You choose where to stop, stay as long as you want then re-board and ride to another location. We rushed to the White House for the next tour but unfortunately something must have come up because all tours were cancelled for the rest of the day. We settled for the White House Visitor Center. What a disappointment as I had worn my beret just for Billy! We climbed in the bus and we went to Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and Washington Monument. We paid our respects at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and viewed the US Capitol, the National Gallery of Art, National Air and Space Museum (where we hope to return on Monday), and the Museum of Natural History and American History. There are 16 Smithsonian buildings 13 in Washington. The original is built like an English Castle. We could have spent a day in each and not seen it all.
Pierre Charles L'Enfant's plan for the city and its core mall area, was influenced by the then current neoclassical landscape design exemplified by Versailles. L'Enfant placed the Capitol on the Jenkins Hill and the "President House" on a lower terrace. Between them ran Pennsylvania Avenue to symbolize the connection between the branches of government. Great City design!
On Saturday we visited the Annapolis Boat Show along with thousand other boaters. By chance we met Wendy and Joe Guy, whom we had met in Rochester and who had helped us in de-mast Perce Neige in Sodus Bay. Sailing is indeed a small world!
We have a few more errands to perform in Annapolis and so we will stay here until October 10th or so.
Until next installment.
