Norfolk, VA. Mile Marker 0 on ICW

Norfolk, Virginia is mile 0 of the "official" intracoastal waterway south to Florida.  This picture is taken from our slip in downtown Norfolk across from the naval shipyards.  You get to see close-up your tax dollars at work.  As you enter Norfolk harbor, you sail past navy ships of all shapes and sizes from aircraft carriers to work boats.

We enjoyed our stay in Norfolk at mile 0.  Our only excitement was being evicted from our boat because someone reported a suspicious looking briefcase left on a harbor walk bench not 20 yards from our slip.  We watched as hordes of police, including a guy dressed in a bomb suit, stand around and play with their cool little remote control robot bomb mover.  After awhile, we had all the excitement we could stand and walked a block to Starbucks for coffee.  When we came back, the bomb squad had used the little robot to place the briefcase in some type of can and then proceeded to blow it up.  Everyone had a great time.  If it was an innocent briefcase, we just hope the poor guy did not leave his brand new Ipad in the case.  No detritus found its way to out boat.

           Scene of the alledged bomb attempt.  R2D2 obscured by the mighty Gratitude.

Urbanna, Virginia

Derrick and Julia Robinson joined us for a few days as we picked the boat up from the yard on the Rappahannock River in Irvington, VA.  We sailed the first day to the Corrotoman River and anchored for the night.  We were blessed with lovely weather with no middle-of-the-night fire drills. The next day, we sailed to Urbanna and docked at the Urbanna Town Dock.  We were treated to an ongoing display of bald eagles, ospreys and terns as they hunted for their dinner.  We hunted for ours in town which is a five minute walk.

                                                               Swabbing the Deck

                                                                      Two Old Guys

                                              
                                                            And Two Fair Maidens



After a great mini-voyage with the Robinsons, we returned to Irvington to prep the Gratitude for the trip south through the intracoastal waterway.

Last Fall

Star boat reminiscent of our first boat.

Last summer we launched the boat in Havre de Grace and explored Chesapeake Bay. Some stops included the Sassafras River, St. Michael's,Oxford,

the Wye River, Annapolis, Solomans Island. We

put the boat up on the hard for the





winter at Irvington, VA, which is just at the mouth of theRappahannock River. The pictures are of a fairly typical anchorage on one of the many rivers and creeks that drain into the Chesapeake, and a restored 1940's Star Class that is on display in the Maritime Museum at St. Michael's.

Anchorage off of the Choptank River

Catching Up - New Jersey to the Chesapeake, 2009

After making the rest of the way down the coast of New Jersey, we pulled into Cape May. From there, transited a small canal that connects Cape May with the Delaware Bay. We had an uneventful and quick sail up the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. That dumps you at the very northern tip of the Chesapeake Bay. From there, it was an easy sail to Havre de Grace, MD, where we put the boat up on the hard for the winter