...every time we say goodbye, we....

Another month or so has galloped by and we about to head off again. A lot has happened - so much to catch up on.

Finally we set off for a mini cruise around Chesapeake Bay and we met up with Robin & Jackie in a little harbour called Hampton on the edge of the Bay proper. Like much of Chesapeake it is fairly shallow (for us) but we found a spot and settled down for a few days. We set off one morning but got to the harbour entrance to find thick fog. We made several attempts to get out but eventually gave up as the channel from the harbour leads almost immediately into a very busy shipping lane and we knew there were ships moving very quickly less than ˝ mile from us. Back to the anchorage where, the following morning, we found ourselves hard aground and missed a couple of hours of incoming tide as a result.

We cruised with R&J for a week or so as they had things to sort out but we managed some great spots, even rafting up on our last night together. Leaving that day, and some distance behind them, I happened to glance at the depth sounder and found we were blithely sailing along with about 15cm under the keel as I’d strayed from the channel watching Blackthorn sailing along....”must pay more attention...”

Our attempt at getting into the Potomac failed as wind and tide were against us so we turned and headed for Tangier Island, a small, low lying island off the east coast of the Bay. Much of the surrounding area is shallow and the entrance to the harbour has 6’ (1.85m) so we opted to anchor in a wide bay with so-so shelter. We crept in as far as we could and with the shore about ˝ mile away and the depth under the keel down to 3’ or less we anchored. Surprisingly we had a good night and headed north to Wicomico. It’s pronounced Wyekomico although we called it Wicko’meco until Cary put us right on our return. We managed to sail the 8 mile length of the river dropping the main just before we turned into a creek. We spent a few days there in the peace and quiet of a river with an abundance of birdlife - ospreys, herons, otters purple martin and much more. Actually the latter are much appreciated around these parts as they help keep down the insect/mozzy population.

At the back of our mind was the problem of the exit. A bar across the creek entrance meant we needed to leave near high tide and not fancying a 5 am start we left late afternoon. Hauling up the anchor we found a log some 3 metres long wrapped in the chain and spent an entertaining ˝ hour getting it dislodged as the fierce current did its best to push us into the shallow reed lined bank. The pleasures of anchoring...the following morning as the rain came down in buckets we mused on how we would have fared had we left in the dark, squally conditions that now existed..

Earlier on in the trip we’d pulled into Fishing Bay Harbour and spotted Ring Anderson up on the hard and then whilst scanning the marina saw a boat, Goucho, we’d last seen in the Caribbean last year.  The Ring has now been sold to a French guy, presumably with deep pockets, who intends taking her back to Europe. Goucho had wintered at the marina and John was hard at work replacing bulwarks and the bowsprit .

As we were tidying up a rib came across from a nearby converted fishing boat from Shelburne, Nova Scotia. The woman had come over as she’d seen the red ensign and wanted to meet us. We asked if they were from Shelburne and she said no but from Halifax and the Arndale Yacht Club. “Aah” says I “do you know Alain and Judy” “That’s us” came the astonished reply! I hadn’t recognised Judy and the boat had been totally restored from when we last saw her. Hannah, then black is now a different colour and has a doghouse!

As the forecast was for a week of northerlies we turned south and made our way back to Portsmouth arriving the day R&J had left. We’d had some of the best sailing for a very long time and thoroughly enjoyed the bit we’d seen. True, as someone once said to us, you can’t just row ashore anywhere because all the land is owned and compared to, say, Newfie, it’s very tame but at the time we were sailing, very few other boats were out there and going ashore is never a big deal for us so it has been a real highlight of our cruising.

With the year moving along we needed to get the jobs list to disappear and Hannah (and us) ready for sea again. The list is crossed off (and a new one started..)  and we’re now simply waiting for a suitable forecast. Alongside us is a French guy, Bernard who sets off for Panama in a few weeks. A couple had decided, over many months, to go with him and finally the guy finished work on the Friday and began moving their gear aboard from their own boat. As they didn’t want to leave their own boat in the water for a couple of years they had her hauled and in the process of getting stuff off he fell off an unsecured step ladder and broke his leg very badly. That in itself is bad enough, he’s about 60 I guess so it’ll take time to mend but as they have no house but the boat and the doctors have stipulated no being on boats for many months they are effectively homeless. Bernard, of course, now has to find another crew to help get the boat to Sydney...

So from the day we returned we’d been checking the post-box each day, anxiously awaiting the first sight of the envelope from the Customs and Immigration Service (CIS) Someone else we had heard of had been waiting 3 months and still hadn’t heard and the CBP guy had told us it can take up to  a year. So we were slightly taken aback when on April 27^th, Cary wandered onto the jetty clutching two envelopes, clearly marked “CIS” I opened and quickly read – they had granted our extension! It was to run from March 23^rd until April 29^th 2009.....We had TWO days to sort out our affairs, make sure everything was running correctly and on top of that the forecast was for northerlies. Needless to say we haven’t made it and we hope to leave about a week late. The reaction from the people here couldn’t have been kinder and included a guy, Howdy Bailey, who, the day previously, we’d asked to make an anchor claw but we then cancelled because of the lack of time, sending the claw along anyway, FOC and with apologies for the way we’d been treated...quite remarkable.

So thanks to all the fine people we’ve met - Buddy and Cary and Donnie and  Joe and the wonderful Bonenberger clan - Cary, Linda, Shirley, and Sandy. Stay well and healthy and we’ll see you again the next time we pass this way, or in....... Margaritaville!!

As for the Hartley’s always playing with our heart-strings....but this time has a touch of finality about it. We’ve been in and out of each others lives for the last 10 months or so, shared many a litre of gin and even more wine, behaved badly and still managed to sail a few miles together. But no more or least not likely to be for a couple of years as our paths are unlikely to cross. We’ll miss ‘em enormously..