Pasquotank River at the end of Dismal Swamp

The zoom on the camera wasn't working.....but if you click on the picture and look real close you will see that on the log sits six turtles. This river is on an average about 1/4 mile across....and without a camera handy we passed a small squirrel swimming across (couldn't have been more than 12 inches from head to tip of it's tail). Whatever, was at the other side of the river had to have been something real good!!! If he doesn't die of exhaustion first.

Dismal Swamp Canal

What can we say about the Dismal Swamp.....it wasn't quite what we expected. However, still over whelming. A number of times the water depth got hairy....the last four miles we ploughed the bottom through the soft mud. Our rudder and prop took some heavy hits. I loved the tree roots the way they spread through the eroding banks.

Foggy mornings between Maryland and Virginia

Work has been completed and Xcelsior looks like herself again!!! No more bruises.

This picture of the sailboat at anchor in a cove was taken at Sandy Point just outside of Reedville, MD. As it turned out we had meet the young man and his dog on this boat in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. We expect to run into him once again.

The second picture was a full ten hours of thick and dense fog....didn't see the sun until while after 3 p.m. and then this appears as three sun's.

Calvert Marine Museum

Calvert Marine Museum was much more than I had anticipated. The aquariums of sea rays, incubator of sting rays (three babies that have already hatched within one week apart). Three more to come out of there egg sack, Otters (2), Horseshoe Crabs (2), lots a various fish, Hermit Crabs, Seahorses, Light Emiting Jellyfish and much more. We ventured the Drum Point Lighthouse over the years this house has had a number of lighthouse keepers and their families. Two had a family of seven. The lighthouse isn’t big enough for three.

God Bless Ya'll...Real Good

Solomon’s, Maryland

During our two week stay at Zahniser’s Yacht Centre (while undergoing repairs to Xcelsior) we took advantage of having land under our feet. Miles and miles we walked the streets of Calvert County. Passing Ted’s favorite sign daily, sometimes up to three times. “God Bless Ya’ll …. Real Good”.

Our first weekend, we met a number of interesting, good people. Zahniser’s had there final event of the year “11th Annual ZYC Chili Cook-Off. There were something like 18 entries; we are got a small sample with numbered cups. Voting four categories: Boater’s Choice: Tastiest Overall, Ken won this category. In the past he’s had the Fishing for Compliments: Needs Help. Therefore when his chili wasn’t chosen for the Needs Help Ken didn’t think he had a chance at any other. So it was quite a surprise. Z’s Legal Lip Remover: Spiciest but Good had a three way tie, and in order to eliminate candidates they looked at who had the most Needs Help and/or Not Your Everyday Chili: Most Unique. Ted took this judging very serious and engineered a judging sheet up. My mistake was tasting the hottest sample first (not knowing I was doing that of course). The tongue burned so bad that I couldn’t taste anything after that one mouthful.

The Calvert Connection bus transit system for 50 cents each took us south over the bridge to St. Leonard’s for shopping. Every shopping outlet you could dream of within a three maybe four block radius. Then return trip was longer as it would take us to California, Hollywood, Oakville and Wildwood before heading back to Solomon’s.

There's no dust on these guys!!

Repairs are coming along really well. Xcelsior is starting to look more like herself....and it's only day four. The service repair here at Zahniser's Yacht Centre, Solomon's, MD are highly spoken of by local yachters and seem to be quite efficient.

On Monday, everything is striped off the bow of the boat. Tuesday, Glenn has completed the fabrication of the anchor extention, while Dale is doing the first stage of the fibreglass repairs. Wednesday, Sean and Glenn work on the pulpit.

Boy are our faces RED!!!

So we're motoring along...see!!! And it is all Ron’s fault...Again!!! We knew we were sailing through a Navy weapons range, just around the corner. Ron, telling of his experience transiting this range, and seeing on the chart it says to see note 334.200.
At the same time we are in auto helm making for the green mark about ¾ mile ahead. The next thing we heard very loud jets taking off from Patuxent River Naval Air Station (four F18’s, four A10’s and two Intruders). We were just at the end of the runway. Is this the mornings Combat air group? We will be in the target area in less than an hour. Therefore, we really needed to find out what time the range opens for live or inert firing? Both of us started looking all over the pages of the newest chart book available from Map Tech to find the answer. The last Gunnery area we went through this information was on the same page, giving the range hours and what days they fired. “Forward to this page, no back three pages, check the legend in the back, no back to the other page” when... BANG!! It was too late.
Looking up into the green mark, she’s BIG and tangled up in our bow. Fortunately we were only traveling 4 knots. Topaz, who was curled up under the dodger made a “B” line for below. We couldn’t believe what we just did. Hitting green steel tripod day mark in 25 feet of water, dead in the middle, just under the A frame. It cleaned the pulpit, the forestay (including the furling and disintegrating the drum), totally destroying the anchor and roller extension. Finally, lifting the front half of the anchor windlass and mounting bolts through the deck. No longer having a need to find that note. Repairs were now in order.
Xcelsior, being put into reverse and pushed off from the mark. At this time, as we came unhooked, I realized we had no forestay attached to anything. The baby stay was a blessing, other wise the boat would be in need of a whole new rig. So I quickly attach the Spinnaker halyard and topping lift to the toe rail, to prevent the stick from coming down on our heads. We now sit at Zahniser’s Marina, in the same harbour, we just sailed from less than an hour before.
Boy is our faces red! How all plans change in less than a few minutes.

Why Is It???? You Never Have a Camera When!!!!

There we were today, taking advantage of the calm before the storm, Ted and I, in the dinghy scrubbing the (scuzzy, slimmy, greasy) waterline of the hull in Solomon’s Island, MD. Within less than a three foot radius, along came two beautiful Swans. I had just made a comment like “why aren’t the ducks feasting off the hull of the boat with all this grass?” and I looked up. I could have reached out and petted them. Two beautiful Swans, just chatting away, as if to ask “What are you doing?” No camera! Go figure! Top it off Topaz, is up forward in the V Berth, sleeping away. If she had of been up on the deck, it would have been a very entertaining moment. Shortly after, satisfying their curiosity, they swam around the boat and came back to the stern of the dinghy. Chatting some more. It was really exciting to see such wild creatures not afraid of humans, what so ever.

They came back the next morning..and I was sure to get a photograph this time around. The local boater's here do not see the cuteness in these creatures as I do. Apparently, they steal tools or anything you might lay down in their reach. Talk was to send them back to the Queen of England. I guess that's where they orginated as a gift.?? I'll have to do some reach on this, as to which Queen gave the gift I'm not sure.

Just a couple of days before hand, we were at a bus stop in Annapolis. As I had approached a lady sitting at the bus stop. I had asked, if one of the buses that stopped here, would take us to a grocery store? She in turn had a budgie bird down the front of her jacket on a harness and tether. She felt that the bird gets bored, in the apartment, and tries to get him out as much as possible. Cute little guy, as he climbs out and onto my hand. However, it was a chilly day and we’d hate to see him get a draft.

Light Houses of Chesapeake Bay

Annapolis, Maryland

C & D Canal (between Delaware and Maryland)

The change of colours were over whelming...As the ducks flew over us, Ted kept visualizing, Bubba Gump and the boys would appear out of the bushes shooting!!!

Views from two states ...Cape May, NJ through the Delaware Bay, DE

It's over whelming when you have large bodies of water...and yet no depth! Traveling down the coast of New Jersey (on the Atlantic Ocean), across the Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay. We were hard to find sixteen feet of water. Every now and then we'd get a welcome sight of sixty feet....much more of a comfort zone! However, with the change of colours the view is breathe taking.

From Atop the Empire State Building

Crab Fishing...or should I say we feed them well!!!

We tended to feed, catch and release the Blue Crab as we never caught enough in order to keep and make a feast.

Some views from Atlantic Highlands, NJ