Waiting for November

Fishing Boat - Reedville, VA

Cruising the Chesapeake has been fun this fall.  In addition to Galesville, MD, I have made stops in Solomons, MD, several days in Onancock, VA, Historic St. Mary’s City, MD, an overnight in Reedville, VA, at an anchorage just south of the York River in VA, and Portsmouth, VA near the Navy hospital on the Elizabeth River at Intracoastal Waterway Mile Marker 0.  I spent time with friends from the S/V RIVERDANCE in Onancock, where we toured the town, and a very nice restored home converted to a museum. 

First Maryland State House

In St. Mary’s City, the first capitol of the province of Maryland, I was fortunate to have a friend visit, and we had a great time touring the historic house, including a reconstruction of the first State House.  St. Mary’s City is also the home to St. Mary’s College.  In Reedville, VA I visited the Reedville Fisherman’s Museum.  The rest of the stops were just overnight anchoring. 

I then entered the Waterway and proceeded down the Dismal Swamp Canal, spending a night at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center before heading to Elizabeth City, NC  To enter the Dismal Swamp one must go through a lock to go up to the level of the swamp, and upon leaving, one must lock down to get to E-City.  I will spent a couple of days in Elizabeth City to wait for November 1, so I can continue south at the end of hurricane season.

Hope all is well with everyone.  Write or call when you get a chance.  I really look forward to hearing from you.

The Adventure Continues

Well, I am happy to say once again I am on my way to a new adventure. I left the Corsica River at 0945 this morning (Monday, Oct 17) on the start of another adventure after a winter in Baltimore recovering from a heart attack I incurred about 3 days before I was to leave for the Bahamas last fall. After the doctors and I fought for several days, they won, and I agreed to stay I Baltimore so they could keep an eye on me. Boy, was it cold last winter. No way was I going to go through that again this winter. You have no idea how relieved I was when, at my September doctors appointment, they gave the go ahead to head south for the winter. So here we go!

I left the Corsica, sailed down the Chester River into Chesapeake Bay, under the Bay bridge, and into a nice snug harbor at Galesville, Maryland for my first night of peace and relaxation. It was a relatively warm day, with only light wind, so motored or motor sailed most of the way. The photo above is of Thomas Point Light. While sailing in the Chesapeake Bay waiting for my time to leave the Bay (for insurance purposes) (about October 26) I plan to visit the Solomons, Onancock, Reedville, Deltaville, and Norfolk prior to heading south.

I will try to send updates at least twice a week to keep you informed on my status and health. I also look forward to your comments on my trip and information on how things are going in your lives, so please e-mail me periodically. I will have daily access until I cross to the Bahamas, then I should be able to pick up, and send, e-mail about once a week, as I plan to be moving about the many islands of the Bahamas more than I did two years ago.

Wish me luck!

Cliff Baker
S/V NAVIGATOR