Travels of the Kadey Krogen Manatee "Karen Anne": The Start of Leg II on the Great Loop

May 6-31, 2011

After a 7-month hiatus, we are back on the m/v Karen Anne and heading north up the East Coast. We had left the boat at Spring Cove Marina in Solomons Island, MD last October 11, 2010. During our time away, a significant amount of work was done to her. We were expecting to do a “soda blast” to the bottom and bottom paint, but in mid-November we found out that we needed a complete “bottom job” – a bottom peel down several layers – due to osmotic blistering. Those are words that would scare any boater, but now we have a bottom comparable to the way the new boats are built, with a 10-year warranty against blistering. When Roger bought the boat, he had told me that with a boat this age, it wasn’t a matter of IF we’d need a bottom job, but a matter of WHEN. Well, the day did come and it was painful, but necessary.

We also had the boat yard remove and re-seat the large windows in the salon. They repaired the wood inside the cabin and repainted. No more leaks and it looks great. They also did some work to the bow pulpit to better accommodate our 100-feet of anchor chain, plus 200-feet of anchor line; it is now fiberglassed in, with new bow chocks. We also had them put in a new through-hull for the seawater washdown pump. All of this means (in English), that it will make it much easier for us to put down our anchor, and then wash it off when we pull it up.

We had 5 days of work to do while the boat was in the yard (on blocks and jackstands). Roger had his “guy” jobs and I did the inside cleaning and then 2-1/2 days of outside varnish work. I worked on the varnish on Day 2 for 10 hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. I was very sore for several days after that.

We launched the boat on Friday, May 20^th and had 3 more days of outside cleaning, provisioning and organizing. We were about to leave on Day 4, but there were small craft advisories on the Chesapeake Bay. The memories (nightmares) of our crossing the Bay from Tangier Island last summer were still too fresh in my mind, and we decided to stay at Spring Cove for one more day. It was a good decision because on Tuesday, May 24^th we finally left the dock and had a great trip up to Annapolis. We docked at the Annapolis Yacht Basin with an easy walk to the town and U.S. Naval Academy. It was Commissioning Week at the academy and we enjoyed seeing the midshipmen and their families walking around.

We spent one night in Annapolis, since we’d been there so many times for the boat shows over the years. We left before 7 a.m. for the north end of Chesapeake Bay. From the time we arrived in Portsmouth/Norfolk, VA area, at the southern end of the Bay last May 2010, until our departure out the northern end of the Bay, the boat had been in the Chesapeake for an entire year.

Next stop was Chesapeake City, MD on the C&D Canal (the canal that connects the Chesapeake Bay with Delaware Bay). That was a cute town, but most of the stores were closed and that seemed odd for a Wednesday at 4:00 in the afternoon. It was early to bed that night, because the next morning we left by 6:00 a.m. Both of us were not looking forward to the Delaware Bay and it did not disappoint us.

We rode the tide for ¾ of the 9-hour trip out of the Canal and down Delaware Bay, but the winds were blowing 10-15 knots and the waves were 2-3 feet. The problem was that we were traveling into the wind and the chop of the Bay, so we felt like we were riding a bucking bronco for most of the day. Fortunately Roger bungeed the TV and the end table, as well as the shutters in the salon, but we had to be careful opening the cupboards though. We were so glad to get to Cape May, NJ and maneuvered our way into Utsch’s Marina (a very tricky entrance!) for 6 days. We had decided not to fight the Memorial Day weekend crowds and just stay put, so we rented a car for the weekend. We drove to some of the beaches on the Jersey shore and went to the Coast Guard Training Station, where our son Heath went to Boot Camp back in 2004. It was very emotional for us as we watched the young recruits march around the base, knowing that Heath was one of them just 7 years ago.

If you’ve never been to Cape May, NJ, it’s a wonderful place. The beach is beautiful and the town has so much charisma. There are bed and breakfast inns everywhere and shops and restaurants galore. In fact, we’ve been docked next door to a spectacular restaurant and seafood market, called The Lobster House. We had dinner there one night, but every night after, we’ve bought fresh fish, scallops and clams from the market. What a treat that’s been! I will stock up the freezer today because we’ll be leaving tomorrow for Atlantic City. We have 3 days of travel up the coast in the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. (The funny thing is that NYC is 3 hours from Cape May by car, but 3 days by boat – at least, OUR boat.) Again, neither of us is looking forward to the 3- to 4-foot wave action, but with the winds coming out of the South, we shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.

How can you tell that we’re back on the boat now?

Ö 10 mosquito bites within a day and a half

Ö Hit my head 3 times the 1^st day

Ö Black & blue marks on arms, legs and shins

Ö Asking Roger to fix something 3x a day

Ö Yelling at Louie for jumping off the boat onto the dock

Ö Yelling at Roger to “shut the screen door”

Ö Flying bugs catching a free ride on the cockpit walls and pilot house ceiling

Ö No car – unless we rent one; bike or walk to grocery store, CVS, West Marine

Ö Roger spending a good part of his day in the engine & generator rooms

Ö Bumping our arms in the shower

Ö Washing dishes by hand