A lot has happened since Annapolis

Trish and I have been working very hard to make sure everything is ready for August and our trip to The Bahamas.  On April 26 Irish Mist was launched for the first time in Canada.

On the way to a very good friend Terry O'Connell's wake we stopped off at my sister's ski cabin. It has been in the process of refurbishment for about a year and is nowhere near completion. The following pictures tell the story better the I.

Next on May 18th we had Sailpast. Sailpast has been run since about 1950. My sisters and I went to one of the very early events around 51 or 52, but I do not remember. It was a beautiful day even though it was cold. Because of the late start only about 200 boats made their way past Commodore Keating. The dining room was sold out with about 350 to 400 members enjoying Chef Jonathan's delicious meal. It is the one time during the year when we all get dressed up. Even the Summer Ball has Black Tie optional.

Even Brendan gets dressed

Kennedy and Quin actually enjoyed themselves and were very good. You may not guess that from this  picture

More to come now that we are off cruising.

Annapolis Trish and Kelly headed to shop

It is almost time to turn the car north and make a run for home. First we have to stop in Annapolis for lunch. By 11:00 we were at The Port Annapolis Marina Office were Irish Mist was sitting when we purchased her. We stopped to say hello to Bernie and Kate from Rogue Wave Yacht Sales.

They were not home so we left a card and headed to the port for lunch. Our next stop was The Holiday Inn at Lewisburg Pennsylvania. The hotel was excellent, but the Steak House within walking distance was not much so we asked Sally our GPS and she took us on a wild goose chase. We finally drove back the way we came and went to Applebees. The dinner was fine and we returned to the Holiday Inn anxious to get back to Toronto.

This is the end of our journey which lasted over a month. We had a great time and will go back, but not next year. Next year we have different plans.

I will now throw in some pictures of Annapolis. It is a wonderful town, capital of Maryland, home to the Naval Academy, and the sailing capital of the US.

While our lagoons have a foot of ice still The Port Annapolis Marina seems to be full

Our next boat a Fleming 55

Annapolis Yacht Club

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On to Williamsburg VA

Monday morning we left Snead's Ferry and went  to Williamsburg Virginia. On the way we crossed the Potomac and took look at The Dismal Swamp.


It was an uneventful trip as the whole drive north turned out to be. A good example of our good luck or planning was crossing The Potomac. As we approached there were signs indicating there could be a major hold up as the bridge was down to one lane due to repairs. We simply drove up to the bridge and were waved on by the flagman.

Dismal Swamp Canal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"In the Colonial period, water transportation was the lifeblood of the North Carolina sounds region and the Tidewaterareas of Virginia. The landlocked sounds were entirely dependent upon poor overland tracks or shipment along the treacherous Carolina coast to reach further markets through Norfolk, Virginia. In May 1763, George Washington made his first visit to the Great Dismal Swamp and suggested draining it and digging a north-south canal through it to connect the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. As the first president, Washington agreed with Virginia Governor Patrick Henry that canals were the easiest answer for an efficient means of internal transportation and urged their creation and improvement.

In 1784, the Dismal Swamp Canal Company was created. Work was started in 1793. The canal was dug completely by hand; most of the labor was done by slaves hired from nearby landowners. It took approximately 12 years of back-breaking construction under highly unfavorable conditions to complete the 22-mile long waterway, which opened in 1805.^[3] At about the time the canal opened, the Dismal Swamp Hotel was built astride the state line on the west bank.^[4] It was a popular spot for lover's trysts as well as duels; the winner was rarely arrested as the dead man, as well as the crime, were in another state. As the state line split the main salon, the hotel was quite popular with gamblers who would simply move the game to the opposite side of the room with the arrival of the sheriff from the other jurisdiction. No trace of the hotel can be found today.

Tolls were charged for maintenance and improvements. In 1829, the channel was deepened. The waterway was an important route of commerce in the era before railroads and highways became major transportation modes."

Hard to believe that around 2000 yachts will use this passage each year

If you would like to know more about Colonial Williamsburg go to the following  web site.

http://www.history.org/history/

Colonial Williamsburg

Kelly wishing she could ride the horse

Governor's Mansion

Our next stop was Snead's Ferry with a detour to Savannah.

On Sunday March 30th we headed to Snead's Ferry North Carolina. Before we got there we detoured to Savannah Georgia. Next year we may not go to Savannah because it is about 8 miles up the river from The ICW.

This is an attempt to get a picture of Savannah from the bridge

Our restaurant in Snead's Ferry

The Restaurant was just across the bay from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. This is the Base which shuts down the ICW when there is live fire. If there is no shooting they let you go through, but you may see some of the practicing.

Looking across to Camp Legune

It's time to go north

While we feel it is a little early we have decided to go home on Saturday March 29th. The weather in Toronto is still cold and very much still winter, but Irish Mist is going in the water April 26th and needs some help/

We will be going slowly in part to put off winter and part to see the ICW or Intercoastal Waterway.
Our first stop is St. Simon Island Georgia. It is a very well to do spot on the waterway. We went to dinner at the Morningstar  Marina where we may stop next year. I had shrimp on grits.

The hotel parking lot looking very much like Georgia

Boats at the Marina

Before we went to dinner we went out to the point to see St. Simons Sound. While there we watched a very large auto ship come in. We also saw a wedding with a loudly dressed guess and pelicans.

There appeared to be no reason this may just be how he dresses.

This was a very large ship caring cars most likely from Europe

There is about 8 feet of tide in this area. When we first got there you could walk on the beach. Twenty minutes later, well there was no beach.

Beach

No beach If you look closely you can see the high tide mark

While I was on the pier a man caught a hermit crap. He said it was no good to eat so he threw it back.

Rescue at sea

As we were leaving the restaurant Trish and I, Kelly would not come she wanted to hurry home, walked out on a fishing pier. The first thing we saw was the flashing light of a Tow Boat US boat. It was towing a large motor boat.

 The Tow Boat let the lines go and the yacht seemed to come in and land using their thrusters. When it docked which it did without any trouble we could see it was a Hampton Endurance 700. New ones sell for about 3 million American Dollars.

It may be time to come home when the excitement is watching a boat be towed to a dock.

Just about time to head home

Yesterday we decided to search for a restaurant on the water and eat lunch. It may be our last day to do this. Friday it is suppose to rain and Saturday we start the trek home. We are all ready even if it is still winter in Toronto.

Our accommodation has been excellent, but! There is no golf walking distance from the house and I felt guilty taking the car for half a day. I did try to go and arrange a second game at Bonita Fairways, which was by no gage a great course. I drove over got out of the car and asked the starter how busy he was that day. Remember the day I played had a lot of room for many more players. I teed off as a two sum. He without looking at me dismissed me with "I have a league right now" and walked away.
I went home and did not play again. I tried to go to a driving range while Trish was in Saks Fifth Ave, but they only accepted cash and I had none.

The home had very nice walking paths which with Kelly's help we used a lot. These paths did not go anywhere close to the ocean. The house was about 10 miles from the ocean. While we were in Florida we were nowhere near boats. The biggest problem is total lack of any social contact. The neighbours are very nice when we meet them, but we never meet them. We have seen many Ontario licence plates, but no one we knew.

Back to our lunch Thursday. We ate at Bonita's Bills in Fort Myers Beach. The menu included peel your own shrimp. Trish and I had one order of shrimp and fries, while Kelly ate hot dog. The pound and a half of shrimp was excellent and all we needed. They also had live entertainment which was very good. We ate outside because Kelly is bothered by loud music unless it is blaring through her ear phones.

A rare picture of the three of us

A shrimp boat headed out

Fort Myers Beach Harbour. To the right are yachts on mooring balls.

Kelly and Trish waiting for lunch as I explore

Bonita's Bills

Looking across the Intercoastal