By Tuesday Aug 21 we thought we had the electrical problems sorted (we didn't) and we set sail for Little Chop Tank River on wed. We were told that it was nice up there and much less populated and built up, and we were looking forward to "gunkholing" around the bays.
We anchored in Fishing Bay the first night and we were the only people around for the most part! The water is very shallow in the Chesapeake, so we had to creep along to avoid going aground. Not that it is much of a problem if you do go aground, its mostly mud! Next day we moved into another little bay and saw the most massive house I've ever seen! It was on a point of land and had a view all the way down the bay - amazing! Not sure if anyone was home or not, but what a place! We anchored down a ways from the mansion, close to another large and lovely looking home (or cottage?) There was a huge hayfield for the dog to have a run in, so that was nice!
I must say that the Chesapeake is something of a letdown after the beauty of Georgian Bay...it is quite dirty and overfished (apparently the oyster stock was demolished and that is why the bay is so dirty now). Also, there are millions of jellyfish in the water, so that there is no way you can swim without being stung.
However, it was fun crab fishing (Graham and Karina caught a big male, which we later let go since it was the only one they caught, so a crab bake was out of the question!) and Graham caught his first fish with his new rod ( a little rock bass which we also released). All the kids (this includes Karina, even tho she's not really a kid...)went out in the kayak to explore closer to the water. Clare came back with some lovely oyster shells. Graham also got in some practice on the dingy and is becoming quite proficient with the motor.
The bays we stopped in were quite built up in terms of homes - some total mansions - amazing! but there were no stores anywhere near where we were! The crusing guide we have mentioned the little town of Madison for milk and beer (the necessities...)and so we motored to the harbour, only to find out that all Madison has to offer is a restaurant and a fire station! Oh dashed hopes of cereal for breakfast!
After our failed excursion to Madison, we anchored by this little beach (still in the Little Chop Tank River) and Larry and Graham and I went to the beach for a little R & R! We brought the dog, who was so excited to race along the beach and chase sticks, he even went for a swim, till he drank enough salt water to make him decide it wasn't such a great idea! Graham desperately wanted to swim, but the threat of jellyfish was hampering him! He did manage to submerge himself entirely, close to shore, and didn't get stung!
Later that night, were we in for a big storm! The wind shifted 180 degrees and the lightening north of us was awesome!!! We didn't get any of the rain that Annapolis and area got, but we did get a great light show! Apparently the storm was so bad up that way that the internet was out for about 2 days! We were already without internet so we didn't care!
We realized that we still had problems with the electrical, and that even with the motor running for hours, the batteries were not charging up properly. Larry was at his wits' end, and we were all feeling very frustrated. The fans weren't working properly, which means uncomfortable nights and grumpy people! We decided that we would do whatever it took to make sure it was working properly, so that we could head out of Deale for good.
Many games of Lost Cities (which I never won) and Ingenious (which Karina almost never lost) later, we were back at the marina on sunday, aug 26. It was time to say goodbye to Karina, who had to go back to New York for her flight back to Denmark. Graham and I drove her to Baltimore (I'm getting braver with driving!) to catch her bus. By the time we got back to the boat, Larry and Rick (a fellow liveaboard) had solved the electical problem and everyone was feeling better! Thanks Rick!!!
Tuesday morning, Larry headed north to Toronto and Midland to put "the grandpa-mobile" up on blocks. Our friends Pete and Lu are going to drive him back and hopefully will be able to stay for a sail for a few days. In the meantime, I've been doing laundry, and cleaning the boat - some things never change! I'm hoping that Larry is able to bring back some canned beans and some other things which seem so much more expensive here. I've been surprised at the cost of groceries in general, I don't know how people afford it. State tax is less than Ontario and there's no GST, but still....
I'm looking forward to heading north, up to Baltimore to see the sights there, and continuing north while we get used to the boat some more, and decide whether we all jump to Bermuda or whether Graham and I fly there!
More later.
We anchored in Fishing Bay the first night and we were the only people around for the most part! The water is very shallow in the Chesapeake, so we had to creep along to avoid going aground. Not that it is much of a problem if you do go aground, its mostly mud! Next day we moved into another little bay and saw the most massive house I've ever seen! It was on a point of land and had a view all the way down the bay - amazing! Not sure if anyone was home or not, but what a place! We anchored down a ways from the mansion, close to another large and lovely looking home (or cottage?) There was a huge hayfield for the dog to have a run in, so that was nice!
I must say that the Chesapeake is something of a letdown after the beauty of Georgian Bay...it is quite dirty and overfished (apparently the oyster stock was demolished and that is why the bay is so dirty now). Also, there are millions of jellyfish in the water, so that there is no way you can swim without being stung.
However, it was fun crab fishing (Graham and Karina caught a big male, which we later let go since it was the only one they caught, so a crab bake was out of the question!) and Graham caught his first fish with his new rod ( a little rock bass which we also released). All the kids (this includes Karina, even tho she's not really a kid...)went out in the kayak to explore closer to the water. Clare came back with some lovely oyster shells. Graham also got in some practice on the dingy and is becoming quite proficient with the motor.
The bays we stopped in were quite built up in terms of homes - some total mansions - amazing! but there were no stores anywhere near where we were! The crusing guide we have mentioned the little town of Madison for milk and beer (the necessities...)and so we motored to the harbour, only to find out that all Madison has to offer is a restaurant and a fire station! Oh dashed hopes of cereal for breakfast!
After our failed excursion to Madison, we anchored by this little beach (still in the Little Chop Tank River) and Larry and Graham and I went to the beach for a little R & R! We brought the dog, who was so excited to race along the beach and chase sticks, he even went for a swim, till he drank enough salt water to make him decide it wasn't such a great idea! Graham desperately wanted to swim, but the threat of jellyfish was hampering him! He did manage to submerge himself entirely, close to shore, and didn't get stung!
Later that night, were we in for a big storm! The wind shifted 180 degrees and the lightening north of us was awesome!!! We didn't get any of the rain that Annapolis and area got, but we did get a great light show! Apparently the storm was so bad up that way that the internet was out for about 2 days! We were already without internet so we didn't care!
We realized that we still had problems with the electrical, and that even with the motor running for hours, the batteries were not charging up properly. Larry was at his wits' end, and we were all feeling very frustrated. The fans weren't working properly, which means uncomfortable nights and grumpy people! We decided that we would do whatever it took to make sure it was working properly, so that we could head out of Deale for good.
Many games of Lost Cities (which I never won) and Ingenious (which Karina almost never lost) later, we were back at the marina on sunday, aug 26. It was time to say goodbye to Karina, who had to go back to New York for her flight back to Denmark. Graham and I drove her to Baltimore (I'm getting braver with driving!) to catch her bus. By the time we got back to the boat, Larry and Rick (a fellow liveaboard) had solved the electical problem and everyone was feeling better! Thanks Rick!!!
Tuesday morning, Larry headed north to Toronto and Midland to put "the grandpa-mobile" up on blocks. Our friends Pete and Lu are going to drive him back and hopefully will be able to stay for a sail for a few days. In the meantime, I've been doing laundry, and cleaning the boat - some things never change! I'm hoping that Larry is able to bring back some canned beans and some other things which seem so much more expensive here. I've been surprised at the cost of groceries in general, I don't know how people afford it. State tax is less than Ontario and there's no GST, but still....
I'm looking forward to heading north, up to Baltimore to see the sights there, and continuing north while we get used to the boat some more, and decide whether we all jump to Bermuda or whether Graham and I fly there!
More later.
