Chesapeake Adventures: Part 1

We came out of the Dismal (yet mystical) Swamp, and found ourselves travelling down the Elizabeth River to Norfolk. After two serene days in the swamp, it was a shock to see the huge installations of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, one of the largest naval shipyard in the world.

We were in a rush to get through Norfolk to meet our dear friends from Halifax. For months, we had been trying to catch up with Julien, Nina, Nolwen, and Leo aboard Andromede. We were thrilled to have several days together while we started sailing up the Chesapeake Bay. Despite the fact that Wakataitea is a US registered boat, we raised our biggest Canadian flag and celebrated Canada Day (and my 52nd birthday) with these wonderful friends.

Kids getting caught up

Wavey and Nolwen

Simon and Leo talking boat stuff

Kids connecting

Parties on Wakataitea

Racing with Andromede up to Mobjack Bay

Boys fishing

The Andromedes and the WakaNahannis

After saying goodbye to Andromede, we headed up the Chesapeake to Deltaville, Virginia to reunite with Diane, Bob and Matey on True North. We hadn't seen them since last February, and it was fun to catch up and share some awesome meals. On July 11th, we celebrated John's birthday onshore on the patio beside the pool. He had just finished his cake, when a thunderstorm rolled in. Luckily, we got back on board before it hit.

Chilling with crew of True North 

Birthday party

Deltaville was a good place to get into our Chesapeake summer vibe. Simon got his green thumb going and we got to a few little projects.

Our on board gardener

Every summer for the past six years, the kids have attended sailing school somewhere in the world. They were keen to get back to more sailing (if you can believe it), and we were encouraged to find a plethora of sailing schools in the Chesapeake. We searched for a place where we could anchor nearby and have onshore facilities. In our search, we stopped at St. Mary's College in St. Mary's City, Maryland (that's a lot of Marys!) to check out what they had to offer.

St. Mary's City is a historical city founded in 1634, and is the fourth oldest permanent US settlement.  Many of the original buildings have been preserved, and the site is one big museum. The adjacent college and its stunning campus blend into the old city. 

We easily anchored in the bay with good holding. St. Mary's College has an amazing water sports program. We were pleased to learn that if you're anchored, the college lets you use their facilities for free. They also had an all-you-can eat cafeteria with lots of healthy food that was a short walk from the dinghy dock. It was very reasonably priced and we really enjoyed the variety of meals there. (I am surprised we ever left.)

Anchored off St. Mary's City

St. Mary's College campus

Fleet of boats at St. Mary's College

Campus life

We toured the historic town and discovered that it was "archaeology weekend"; the only weekend when the college's archaeology labs were open to the public for tours. After sifting for artifacts with the on-site dig crews, we ventured into the labs where staff showed us how artifacts from the site were processed and conserved.

 Tour of the lab

Learning about conservation of artifacts

The Maryland Dove, a re-creation of a late 17th century vessel 
was tied up near where we were anchored

A couple days after our arrival, we discovered that a boating course called, Spirit of America was due to start July 22, 2019. On the night before the course started, we contacted the coaches who signed the kids up. The following morning, Simon and Wavey met about fifty other kids enrolled in the course. They started out at the college pool for a water safety session and canoe-over-canoe rescue. The course included a week of instruction in sailing boats, canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and motorized dinghies. There were in-class sessions as well, and a test for the Maryland Boater's Certificate.

Coaches preparing for pool session

Day One

We were anchored right in the center of the bay, so we saw all the week's action. The kids loved sailing by with their friends and shouting out at us.

Sailing by for a visit

Dinghy practice

Practice sessions

Kayaking practice

Simon getting back into the boat

The sibling sailing team

Oops! Simon to the rescue!

Hauling Wavey in

She's in!

Sailing with coach

After class sailing with Daddy

The kids passed their exam and became better boaters over the week. They were likely the only Canadians to complete the Spirit of America course.

Simon and Wavey with their coaches and their boater's certificates

While we were anchored at St. Mary's, we had a visit from friends we made last February in Florida. Gregg and Judy and their four grandchildren popped over from across the bay in Virginia to say hi. They invited us to visit them at their home when we left St. Mary's. Little did we know that this day would be the beginning of a wonderful friendship with these fantastic people!

Gregg and Judy with their grandkids