June 17th- Cape May to Atlantic City NJ

The trip along the NJ coast always produces a little anxiety. Perfect weather is the goal but it can be difficult to find a good weather window that lasts for a few days. Today was supposed to be one of those LESS-than-perfect days but once we got out on the ocean it felt great. Evergreen soared along with a reefed mains’l and full genoa.

We anchored for the night in Absecon Inlet near Atlantic City. It’s not one of our favorite anchorages but it will serve it’s purpose for tonight.

Some scenes from Atlantic City.

June 18th- Atlantic City to Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Big day today. 81 nautical miles along the NJ coast to Atlantic Highlands. Both boats have been watching the weather, for days, to plan for this passage. We were up before dawn and underway by sunrise.

The day went well. Winds were light and we were able to motor sail. We had baked ziti for dinner underway. We dropped the hook in Atlantic Highlands just before sundown.

Atlantic Highlands.

June 20th- Atlantic Highlands, NJ to Port Washington, NY

We stayed in Atlantic Highlands for an extra day. Autumn Bourne had taken on an crew member for the transit up the NJ coast. He was catching a ride home from some family members. We also wanted to get together with them since after departing Atlantic Highlands we’d be going separate ways. They’d sail up the Hudson River to Catskill NY and we’d be making a starboard turn up the East River and on to Long Island Sound.

Today was cold and grey. At least it would be a short day since we’d be catching a fast current up the East River. We said our farewells to Autumn Bourne.

Goodbye Autumn Bourne.

East River, NYC.

Port Washington is usually a provision spot for us. We get a mooring while there and the water taxi carts us over to the town docks. This is the second time we’ve managed to get a mooring in “the cove” which is well protected and near a beach. We had to spend a couple of days in Port Washington due to high winds.

The weather forecast looks pretty bleak for the next week. My foul weather pants had sprung some leaks so I purchased a new pair.

Some scenes from Port Washington.

June 23rd- Port Washington to Port Jefferson NY

First priority today was to get deisel and water for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately two large yachts were sitting on the fuel dock. Eventually they shoehorned us into a slip and we were able to fuel up.

Today was another grey day with an easterly wind “on the nose” all day. Our deisel engine started having issues again. The RPMs would drop down if I pushed the engine too hard. I’m convinced it’s junk in the fuel tank. When we filled up the tank, sludge got churned up. Tonight I will be changing Evergreen’s fuel filters before evening wine and dinner.

Evergreen anchored in Port Jefferson NY.

June 24th- Port Jefferson NY to Old Saybrook CT

I got to try out my new Grundens rain pants today. It poured. I stayed reasonably dry. The wind swung a little to the south and we managed to get some sail out. The engine ran well with it’s new fuel filters and some kind words. If kind words don’t work, threats are next. We need to get home.

We grabbed a free mooring by the town docks. It’s a great place to walk Ollie between rain showers.

June 25th- Old Saybrook CT to Block Island RI

Dense Fog. Really dense fog. When we left Old Saybrook we could see 100 yards or so but that soon ended. We ran our radar and navigated by GPS. We had to play “dodge em” with vessels on the Connecticut River. I used my air horn so much that it went dead. Out came my Bahamian conch horn. I blew that thing for about four hours straight. It was very stressful to soar through “The Race” at 7 knots with at least three barges nearby. They’d blow their loud ship’s fog horn and I’d blast away on the conch horn in reply.

Block Island. Finally some visibility.

We are anchored in Great Salt Pond on Block Island for the night. Captain and Admiral are having a celebratory Dark N Stormy. The sun actually made an appearance and I brought Ollie to shore for a swim.

The weather has been difficult on this trip north. Very rarely did we have southerly winds. It seemed like the sunny days were in short supply. Tomorrow looks like a decent travel day. Tuesday and Wednesday are not so good. We will continue on to our mooring in Padanaram harbor tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do on both Evergreen and our house. Hopefully there is no fog.

Evergreen anchored in Block Island.

June 13th- Weems Creek to Sassafras River MD

With engines functioning on both boats we hoisted the anchor to head back out on the bay. We were dodging Naval rowing crews on the river upon exiting Weems Creek.

Rowing on the Severn River.

Our evening anchorage was on the Sassafras River. We went several miles up the river to a marina for deisel fuel and water. After acquiring supplies we headed back down the river to anchor in a cove with Autumn Bourne. This was a better staging area for tomorrow’s journey across the C & D canal.

Some scenes from the Sassafras River.

Sunrise. Evergreen anchored on the Sassafras River.

June 14th- Sassafras River MD to Reedy Island DE

We made an early departure to catch some of a favorable current on the C & D canal. We didn’t see any big ships in the canal today. The day started off sunny but turned to rain. Reedy Island has a tricky entrance. We followed Autumn Bourne through the narrow entrance in the partially submerged wall that protects the harbor.

Evergreen anchored at Reedy Island with the Salem Nuclear Power Plant.

June 15th- Reedy Island DE to Cape May NJ

This was probably our best passage on the Delaware Bay. Usually there is some kind of problem involving wind and/or current. Not today. Sails were unfurled. The sun was shining. The bay currents were cooperating.

Some scenes from Delaware Bay.

Autumn Bourne sailing down the Delaware.

We motor sailed up the bay to the Cape May Canal. Our 52′ mast fits under the 2 bridges on the canal but it can get real close at high tide. It was two hours after low tide so no problem getting under the bridges. Normally we find a lot of room to anchor in Cape May but much of the anchorage was filled with dredge equipment. We found a spot between barges and giant pipes. We spent a couple of days in Cape May waiting for some stormy weather to clear out.

Some scenes from Cape May NJ.

June 9th- Solomons Island to Weems Creek/ West Annapolis MD

Our run up the bay to Annapolis almost went really well. While I don’t believe I completely solved our fuel issues the engine seemed to run well “almost” all day. While pushing toward the Severn River near Annapolis I started to notice more steam and less water coming from our exhaust. We have an overheat alarm but it wasn’t going off. The problem could be that we were close to overheating but hadn’t quite achieved the tipping point. We don’t have a temperature gauge so I can’t actually see the temperature rise. We slowed down and things got better.

Naval Academy

We met up again with Autumn Bourne and dropped the hook in Weems Creek for a few days. They have been here visiting friends.

This was our first time in Weems Creek. It’s in the neighborhood of West Annapolis. There is good dinghy access to shore. The tree lined banks are very scenic and protected.

June 10th through 12th- Weems Creek/ West Annapolis MD

We’ve explored some of the neighborhood. There is a bakery, cafe, and decent pizza all within walking distance. We also have a good grocery store and a Walgreens Pharmacy with an embedded liquor store. Odd to have pharmaceuticals and liquor all under one roof! I was told that West Annapolis was a very run down neighborhood at one time but it’s great now.

Most of my time here has been spent on solving engine problems. The overheating issue was tracked down and the culprit was a broken raw water impeller. Part of the impeller was blocking the flow of cooling water. Due to a water pressure problem a seal was blown on the raw water pump. Many engine things were pulled apart and cursed at. Lynne took an Uber to a Yanmar deisel parts supplier and acquired a sea water pump. Everything was put back together. At this point I again changed the primary fuel filter since it appears we still have junk in the deisel tank. This will probably be an ongoing issue until I can clean the tank.

We will be moving again on Tuesday and in a few days should be going up the NJ coast with Autumn Bourne. They have an extra crew member on board to help with the passage. We can only hope for calm seas, a southerly wind, and a functional deisel engine.

Some scenes from Weems Creek.

Evergreen anchored in West Annapolis.

June 1st- Coinjock to Great Bridge VA

We woke to another breezy, grey, day. Sporadic bursts of rain punctuated the day. At some point, on Currituck Sound, Evergreen’s deisel engine started to run rough again. We slowed down a bit and were able to continue on. Once out of the sound and back in the canals the water calmed down and we didn’t need to “push” the deisel engine as hard.

Rhiannon and Autumn Bourne waiting for a cantankerous bridge operator to open his bridge.

The bridge.

Calm waters.

We ended our day at a free dock by Great Bridge. We will coordinate our morning departure to go through the lock which is right after the dock. I spent my evening trying to trouble shoot our engine and spent much time on the phone trouble shooting with mechanically minded friends. Weather and engine problems are a drag on our spirits but we know the weather will improve and I’ll get this damn engine fixed soon.

Our fleet tied up at Great Bridge dock.

There is a Veteran’s Hall near the dock.

June 2nd- Great Bridge to Old Point Comfort/ Hampton VA

We locked through with around a dozen other boats. At some point in the day the sun made an appearance. Hopefully this is the beginning of a positive weather trend.

The Great Bridge Lock. We tied to the wall and rose up a few feet.

Norfolk Navy Base.

Regata on Hampton Roads.

We anchored Evergreen for the night at Old Point Comfort in Hampton Virginia. Since the sun was shining and it was early in the day we dinghied over to shore and spent the afternoon wandering around Fort Monroe.

Some scenes from Fort Monroe, Hampton VA.

Sunset.

June 3rd- Old Point Comfort to Taylor Creek/ Deltaville VA

Dense fog. We spent some time thinking about what to do as there are a lot of ships going in and out of Hampton Roads. We made the decision to move on. Autumn Bourne materialized out of the fog and we very cautiously entered Hampton Roads to exit into Chesapeake Bay. Both boats had radar running. Ours started acting up of course. At one point we could hear a big fog horn getting louder and louder. A ship emerged from the fog! The ship was in the channel and we were hugging the very edge so our paths weren’t close. It was still a little spooky.

Ollie and I returning to Evergreen after our morning commando raid.

Eventually we were out of the shipping channel and later in the morning the fog broke. The wind increased enough that we could motor sail to Deltaville and could run the engine at low RPMs. Our plan is to have the engine looked at in Deltaville.

June 4th- Taylor Creek/ Deltaville VA

High winds were forecast for today so all three boats stayed in harbor. This allowed us to go out for dinner twice at the Deltaville Tap & Raw Bar. There isn’t much to do in Deltaville but the restaurant is right at the marina and the food is good. I had an exceptional Ruben sandwich.

The Deltaville Boatyard was busy and hadn’t committed to a date for looking at Evergreen’s engine. We don’t want to sit here for long so Lynne called all of the other yards in the area. Broad Creek Marina and Boatworks can see us tomorrow. We are not in Broad Creek but we will be tomorrow!

Some scenes from Deltaville.

Autumn Bourne at anchor.

The Admiral getting creative with tall pines.

Evergreen anchored in Deltaville.

June 5th- Taylor Creek to Broad Creek/ Deltaville VA

Deltaville sits on a peninsula between the Piankatank and Rappahannock rivers. Today was only a short trip out Taylor Creek, down the Piankatank River, up the Rappahannock River, and up Broad Creek, to a dock, where Carl and Matt helped us tie up at Broad Creek Marina and Boatworks.

Carl thoroughly interrogated me with questions about our Yanmar deisel engine. He has repaired and installed many. He seems very knowledgeable. This is exactly what we were hoping for when searching for a mechanic. The engine was checked out. Samples of fuel were taken from our tank and filters. Our newly installed fuel filter already had a lot of junk in it. The samples from the deisel tank also held a lot of debris. It looks like we bought bad fuel somewhere. Plan A was to have a fuel polishing service filter the fuel and clean the tank. They could schedule us in 4 weeks. I want to be home in 4 weeks! Plan B.

Plan B was to borrow fuel cans from Carl. Drain all the deisel from the tank with a suction pump. They have a heater that burns waste oil so I gave him the deisel. He then loaned me his pickup truck so I could drive up to the Exxon station for more fuel. We filtered this and other deisel we had stored on deck. New fuel filters and new deisel. Hopefully all of this works. They allowed us to stay on the dock for the night and use the shower facilities. I needed the shower after fooling around with deisel fuel all day.

Some scenes from Broad Creek/ Deltaville.

Evergreen tied to the dock at Broad Creek Marina.

June 6th through 8th- Deltaville VA to Solomons Island MD

The trip to Solomons was our engine test. It ran well. Perhaps it wasn’t a thorough test since we sailed most of the day. The sailing was great! The best since the Bahamas. Eventually I had to reef the mains’l as Evergreen charged ahead at flank speed

Our flotilla had split up the day before. Both companion boats had gone on to Solomons but have since moved on. Rhiannon is on their way up to Baltimore. They will store their boat at a marina and drive the rest of the way to New Hampshire. Autumn Bourne is visiting with friends in Annapolis. We hope to join up with them again in a few days.

We finished our day at Solomons Island and tied to a mooring at Zahnisers Marina. We’re here for a couple of days to stock up and prepare for the next part of the trip. Zahnisers has good showers, laundry, pool, shuttle service, and we are able to use them as a mailing address. I have a half dozen fuel filters being shipped along with other essential items. Their parts department also provided me with on engine filters.

Yesterday (the 7th) we shuttled Ollie over to a veterinarian. He has a wound on his nose that just won’t heal properly. Afterwards we went over to Captain Smith’s Seafood for shrimp, red snapper, and some of the best crab cakes we’ve had . We rounded out our day with a raid on the liquor store before bringing our haul back to Evergreen. Today’s projects are groceries (Lynne), and getting deisel fuel (Brian). I’d also like to clean the hull as there appears to be seaweed growing up the side.

It has started to rain again so maybe hull cleaning will have to wait. I hope the rain clears out some of the smoke from the Canadian wild fires. Better yet, I hope they get rain. We move from here on Friday for points north on the Chesapeake Bay.

Some scenes from Solomons Island MD.

Today’s weather = Canadian smoke haze.

Travel Lift (for hauling boats) tire.

Evergreen moored on Back Creek at Solomons Island.

May 28th- Broad Creek to Belhaven NC

The rain stopped and the wind calmed down by late morning so we pressed on to Belhaven. The water was still a little choppy but manageable. We were actually able to sail for a while up the Pungo River and made good time.

This stop in Belhaven was to be brief due to a short weather window to get past the Alligator River and Albemarle Sound.

May 29th Memorial Day- Belhaven to South Lake NC

Since the next couple of days have us traveling through a remote area we were up at dawn to prepare Evergreen. We ferried water and diesel fuel out to Evergreen from Belhaven Marina. Rhiannon and Autumn Bourne waited patiently for us to get our morning chores done before all three boats set out on the Pungo River.

We’ve been having a small engine issue since the Neuse River and it picked today to get worse. Before reaching the Alligator/ Pungo Canal the engine RPMs dropped and the engine almost rattled down to the stalling point twice. This had me quite rattled! We were in communication with the rest of the flotilla and I needed to make a decision to continue on (into the wilderness) or return to Belhaven. I found that by reducing Evergreen’s speed I could keep the engine going. It was still running rough but maybe we could make it. We’d miss this weather window if I turned back. Decision= ONWARD!

The canal and the Alligator River were both pretty calm today but I still had to nurse the engine along. We arrived at our anchorage in South Lake late in the day. I wanted to work on the engine but was just too exhausted to accomplish anything. South Lake is very remote but Rhiannon accompanied us into the anchorage should we need help. All three boats have had some kind of engine issues during this trip.

May 30th- South Lake to Coinjock NC

After Ollie’s morning commando raid we exited South Lake to transit the Albemarle Sound. We joined up again with Autumn Bourne before crossing. The winds were forecast to increase through the day but an early departure beat most of it. Our engine problems persisted through the trip. Eventually we were fighting a head wind in the rivers and canals. It was tiring to pilot Evergreen through adverse weather conditions and engine issues.

Eventually our trio and about 15 other boats showed up (at the same time!) to Coinjock Marina and Restaurant. Dockage was by reservation only as it was a full house. Rhiannon and Autumn Bourne were assigned to the dock near the restaurant. The Coinjock Restaurant is famous for its prime rib. We were assigned to the dock across the canal from the restaurant which has no access to the the aforementioned restaurant. We affectionately call our dock, “The penalty box.” Our cruising friends send us pictures of prime rib. We have clean showers and there is a nice field for Ollie exercise 10′ from Evergreen.

Our time in “The penalty box ” has allowed me to focus on our deisel engine. Fuel filters were changed along with the oil. We think the fuel filter was the cause of our problems. Tomorrow will be the test. We hope our engine issues are solved.

Some scenes from Coinjock.

SV Rhiannon rafted to SV Autumn Bourne

Oliver with some artillery.

Evergreen tied to the dock at Coinjock Marina and Restaurant.