An Update from Jessica

September 23
Hi Everyone.
Yesterday I saw a stingray that was about 5 feet long. 2 days ago I saw a jellyfish and sea berries. Sea berries are like small jellyfish. We have seen ospreys, ospreys are like a hawk that fishes. We have also seen herons, herons are like small flamingoes only a grayish blue. We have been crabbing for crabs, they are tasty. Every time we go swimming we have to use the shower hose so that we do not track saltwater everywhere. If salt gets in the boat, then it will never dry. We have met 3 friends their names are John, Marie, and Ryan. We have also seen pelicans. We have caught 3 fish and ate 2 of them. We also want to see dolphins soon.
Jessica

One Month In

After one month of cruising things are starting to go more smoothly.We have figured out that the Rocna anchor holds in lots of wind and the captain does not need to pace the deck at all hours of the night. We have figured out that our refrigerator does work, it just needs time and patience to cool things down. Now we know that 11 days of rain does not ruin a vacation but can make parts of it a bit moldy. Most importantly, we have discovered that a family of four can survive in 37 by 11 feet of space and we are getting better at living together than ever before.

We are nearing the southern extent of the Chesapeake and will soon enter into the Intracoastal Waterway, basically a ditch that runs from Virginia to Florida (roughly). Here are some pictures of the last few days.

Finally on the move!

Today we finally got sailing again!
OK, there was no wind, so we had to motor all the way, but the rain and threat of thunderstorms let up long enough to enable us to get back out on the Bay.
When we were checking our charts for the day's sail, there was an odd omission of information just south of. Which stated that it was "uncharted" - pretty odd for a cruising ground as busy as the Chesapeake. On further inspection, we saw that it was a military area, and discovered that we would encounter military patrol boats, should we venture to close when it was active. In fact, one guidebook says that it is not unusual to see military aircraft on target practice runs down the Bay. We saw no such activity today.
We did however sail through a feeding frenzy, which caused the water to literally boil in front of us. We did the only logical thing .... put out our fishing lines. We were rewarded with a catch of a striper, 2 bluefish, and a shad. Upon arriving at the achorage, we promptly put them all on the BBQ, and with the exception if the shad (which was too bony), enjoyed a lovely fish dinner.
We are in a little tributary to the Potomac River, and watching for deer along the shoreline as the sun goes down.
Tomorrow we are planning to set out early, and make a short run to Reedville on the Great Wicomico River. There is supposedly a nice anchorage, with good access to the town there. We are looking forward to the opportunity to get off the boat and walk around in the nicer weather.

Calvert Marine Museum

On Friday we spent a couple of hours at the Museum on Solomons Island. The museum had been recommended by a couple all the way back in upstate New York, and it didn't disappoint.
We dinghied over from our anchorage to their dinghy dock and "parked".
Once inside, we were given a quick verbal outline from the front desk, then set off to explore. The first display was a tank with stingrays and skates. We learned that although these two organisms initially appear the same, they are actually quite different. There were skate egg cases, also known as "mermaid's purses" at various stages of development which were interesting to see (pictures will be loaded once we have wifi).
Then came the discovery room, which had a touch tank with starfish, sea urchins, snails, a turtle and horseshoe crabs in it. There was also a fossil-hunting corner, where the girls could dig through sand and see what they could find. Madeline found a sand tiger shark tooth, and Jessica was lucky to find an intact Ecphora shell. A volunteer helped them identify their choices and they were allowed to take one specimen home.
There was a fairly extensive display of local maritime history, and an outdoor marsh walk. We didn't spend too long outside on account of the rain, but did spend a few minutes watching the otters play in their outdoor tank.
We went back inside and toured the aquariums of local marine life, including beautiful comb jellyfish with unbelievably long tentacles!
Our last indoor display was the paleontology section, where the girls got to step into the lab and get to see first-hand the extraction of a fossilized baleen whale skull.
Outside, we got to tour the Drum Lighthouse, which was originally constructed in 1883, and moved to the museum in 1975. What I found most interesting about it was that it had been decorated for the museum by a woman based on her childhood memories. She had been born in the lighthouse in the early 1900's, when her grandfather was the lighthouse keeper.
Overall, it was a great day to spend (another) rainy day. We are hoping for sunnier skies soon!

An Update from Madeline

I am having so much fun!
My favourite part about the trip so far was going through the locks. Locks are like elevators for boats, there are big doors that open, and then the water under the boat goes up or down. The doors on the other side open, and the boat goes free. When we were in the first lock that we went through, the lock master gave us tomatoes, it was very nice of him.
In August, Hurricane Irene took out lock 10 and 11 so that meant we had to truck Cee Jem all the way to Annapolis. Plus now, since we are in salt water, there are jellyfish and sea berries. Sea berries are like jellyfish only smaller. And we also saw a stingray, and we can catch fish and crab.
Madeline

You've Got Mail?

Unfortunately, that's not the easiest thing on a travelling boat.

So, what we have to do is figure out where we will be in the time it would take a letter to arrive.

We anticipate starting down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in a week or two.

Elizabeth City, North Carolina is about 50 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia where the ICW starts.

We should be there in about 2 weeks ... hopefully long enough for mail to get there.
They will hold mail there for boaters heading south, and we can pick it up on our way through.

Anyone wanting to send some old-fashioned "snail mail", can send it to us at:

LeBreton's

s/v Cee Jem

General Delivery
Elizabeth City, NC
27909
USA
'hold for arrival'

If you miss that one, our next mail pick-up point would be a week later in Oriental, NC.

LeBreton's

s/v Cee Jem
General Delivery
Oriental, NC
28571
USA
'hold for arrival'

Bahamas Trip Take Two

Okay, ....cut that last bit.... rewind.....roll opening credits again.....cue theme song again...okay...here we go with our title...

...Trip to the Bahamas - Part II

At least that is what it feels like to us.

We've started this whole thing again. This time we're going to begin at the Chesapeake Bay at Annapolis, Maryland. Yesterday we got the boat hauled out and plunked on a truck. Today after some permit issues Cee Jem is headed out of upstate New York and is headed for Maryland.

So here we go with a new boat launch. New mast stepping.

No Hurricane Irene, no Erie Canal shut down, no Hudson full of debris, no rainy week trying to figure out how to salvage this trip.

We're going to start this trip in the Chesapeake.

Blue crab, great sailing, beautiful anchorages! Here we come!

Boat School

We have begun boat school on Cee Jem, especially during rainy days.
Math, language and science are being worked on. Hopefully we'll be able to cover the academic bits of these during the rain and we can sail on the sunny days.

Yesterday we took the bus for a field trip to the MOST, Museum of Science and Technology. They had great displays on biology, Earth sciences, avaition, pure physics and science exploration. What a great way to stay out of the rain and get off the boat while we await transport out to the Chesapeake!

Some Good News ....Finally!

We've had some great news this morning!

While the notice to mariners indicates that most of the Erie Canal is closed there is one important omission. E23 is the lock between Phoenix and Brewerton, New York. This is the only lock that we need to get through if we are going to haul out and truck Cee Jem.

Last night I called 1-800-4-canal-4 and E 23 was specifically omitted from the list of closed locks.

A phone call this morning confirmed this. We are still able to get to Brewerton through E23 even though the rest of the lock system is shut down.

We will bid Phoenix "GoodBye" tomorrow. We've had a great time here and will miss the wonderful people we have met.

Will we ever get out of here?

We have grown to love this little Town of Phoenix.
The State Street Cafe is wonderful and the people throughout town are the friendliest I have ever met. But now that the locks are closed...will we ever get out of here?

We're Trapped!

Notice to mariners this morning informed us that they have closed all locks in our area due to extremely high water levels. We need to get through one more lock to get to Brewerton if we are going to get out of this area.
At the moment, we are trapped.
Hopefully the water will drop soon.

I feel like Chevy Chase in the never shot "National Lampoon's Sailing Vacation"!

Culinary Genius

I think we should mention that we were visited by Kurtis Arnold (yes, from The Aviators), and his wife Christina just a day before we left.

They brought with them a rather awsome cake made with strawberries, corn and Captain Crunch cereal.

In addition, they managed to change the other dessert, watermelon, into something rather special too.

Talk about raising the bar!