October-November 2007
Back in Cambridge on the Chesapeake near the end of October we had the boat re-launched immediately and hoped to get across to Annapolis for a few days before going South. First we had to clean the boat up and restock with food. At the same time the skipper rebuilt the telescopic whisker pole that we had broken on the Atlantic in 2005.
The marina had moored a working tug and barge where we normally berth and we tied up alongside. This made a great floating dock and a perfect platform for wrestling with 13 foot (4 metre) sections of aluminium tubing. The result is a totally rebuilt second whisker pole for our next trades passage.
The schooner festival runs in Cambridge at this time of year and there were more large boats than last year. We, of course, went to look.

A man in period costume poses by his brass artillery piece...
...and stands well clear when firing - note the fingers in the ears by those who know!

Many of the big schooners are replicas and the biggest one at this festival was no exception. The ‘Pride of Baltimore II’ replace the original which sank fairly recently. As much gear as possible was saved for the new one and at a glance she looks much older.
Some of the vessels were offering trips out for a fee and with a good breeze blowing there were ‘bones in their teeth’.
As soon as we set out from Cambridge we were beset by our first storm. We settled in our favourite sheltered anchorage at Baby Owl Cove and battened down the hatches for several days of rain and wind. Once the wind went north-west following the last cold front we were able to start south to Solomon’s Island - 7 to 8 knots under foresails only!
Ed and Tina from Merlin came to see us and introduced us to a great eatery. We shall surely miss them this winter but they are working on a new boat with blue waters capability for next year...

The Pride of Baltimore II is a replica after the original was sadly lost at sea - huge rake on the masts
Local skipjack Nathan reversing out by the Pride of Baltimore II
The modern replica Mystic Whaler with a bone in her teeth by the Highway 50 bridge
A turkey vulture soars above the boat
When you can see land you can always see vultures - sometimes a few and sometimes huge numbers

Beyond Solomon’s Island we tried a new anchorage this year at Fishing Bay and can certainly recommend it. It is on the eastern shore and like many anchorages has a deep and convoluted entrance then a shallow and well sheltered area to drop the hook. We met another Pacific Seacraft 40 here and hope we will see them again further south.
The trip to Norfolk the following day was busy and following the break in the weather lots and lots of boats were moving the same way. We arrived in the anchorage off the naval hospital in good time and knew we did not need to get up early because of the restrictions on bridge openings. In fact it would have been better to get up very early!
Through the bridges south into the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) we collected more and more boats but nothing prepared us for passing through the last one before Great Bridge Lock. This was the first day most insurance companies allowed boats south at the end of the hurricane season and we faced a three hour queue (line) for the lock!
Fortunately there was no wind and tempers were cool. The lock-keepers do not pack the lock European style but merely line both sides which is incredibly inefficient. To make matters worse there were two pusher tugs with huge barges and two ‘light’ tugs in the line behind us. They had not booked an opening and so had to wait in line without preference. Their professionalism in such a situation was much to be admired.

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