Baltimore was beautiful!!

We cruised all the way to Baltimore! Bruce, Lee and I decided to give it a try even though there was a small craft advisory. The wind, however, was not too strong, so off we went about noon on Tuesday (April 26). The trip was actually great!

The one picture is in front of Fort McHenry where Francis Scott Key wrote our National Anthem. Lee and I took a bike ride this morning to sightsee. It was very windy, but sunny and scenic. We rode all around the Orioles stadium too (Camden Yard), where the night before they beat the Yankees.

The next picture is of Lee and Bruce on the Baltimore Inner Harbor walk, just next to where we docked the boat. It's completely renovated and new and exciting in the inner harbor. There are museums, restaurants, historic ships, and people everywhere. And we were docked in the thick of it.

The final picture is of the boat when we returned to it after walking to historic Fells Point and dinner in Little Italy. The full moon was just rising. Incredible evening.

The trip over was choppy but Breaking Away handled the conditions well. I was impressed. Three huge tanker ships passed in front and entered Baltimore Harbor before we did, and those guys move fast - about 25 mph vs my 7 mph. The wind was right into our faces, but we had the full canvas cover up so it was totally comfortable. At our speed it took nearly five hours to get there, but this is what the boat trip is all about!

You first leave the open Chesapeake Bay when you enter the Patapsco River; Baltimore is at the far end of it, about 12 more miles. Along the way it's mostly industrial, but passing under Interstate 695 was pretty cool, and seeing the tug boats was fun. Finally we could see Ft. McHenry, a low-lying structure on the left as we were entering. Several cannon were pointed at us, in case we might be exceeding the posted speed limit. Just past that came the huge naval ships, the Domino Sugar factory, and finally the end. We tied up at a public dock, and were the only boat there because it's still early in the season. In July we would not have found an opening in the 24 spots. Cost was $45.

We enjoyed the walking around, as fans streamed toward Camden Yard for the game. A church sign said "God Bless the Orioles... and maybe the Yanks too." We walked a few miles to Fells Point, the original deep-water port, and it was refurbished historic, with cobblestone streets.

This morning, after the bike ride, we toured the three-masted frigate
"Constellation". It was built in 1854, and served in wars and anti slavery campaigns (blocking slave ships in Africa). We then toured the WWII submarine "Torsk". Amazing what tight quarters the sailors endured, and how complicated everything looked.

We then headed back, but had two notable moves: 1) we left Bruce on the dock when we departed the first time! He tossed the bow line but Lee wasn't ready for that and the bow swung out in the wind. He quickly helped Lee loosen the stern line but by then the boat had blown away from the dock. So, I motored back up and he had to climb on board from the front on the anchor pulpit!! Not good. Then, we stopped for my very first fuel. The boat is two years old, but has never had fuel added since it was brand new. I got only 30 gallons, though, because I wanted to wait until Friday to fill up in Chestertown, where it costs less ($3.13 vs $2.60 per gallon). With about 250 gallons to fill, that difference is significant! Our approach to the fuel dock also required two tries, again because the wind blew my bow away before we could get a good tie down. We did it fine on my second try after I circled around. Luckily, no one was there to laugh or get in our way.

The return voyage was in rougher water than yesterday, but at least it was a following sea so we went faster. The auto pilot, however, had a harder time keeping the boat straight, probably because the rudder was affected by the rough water from behind. But everything was fine, and we got back four hours later. The scary thing was that our landing back at our marina was going to be in a very strong wind. We planned our approach, and it worked fine. Luckily Breaking Away has a bow thruster -- I have no idea how skippers of single-engine boats handled them without a bow thruster.

All in all, we had a wonderful time, and learned that the boat handles well in rough water. Still, I do not plan to sail in rough water. We'll have time to wait for better conditions.

Beautiful cove anchored out for night

Bruce Perry, Lee Smith and I are all Hawthorne High class of 69! They arrived Wednesday night and Lee will stay until May 1. Bruce will stay until July 22, and will be my boat mate when we depart in 10 days for the adventure.

The other photo shows the cove where we are anchored tonight, Dividing Creek. We are all alone, it's totally quiet and peaceful, and more than I ever could have hoped for a boating excursion like this.

This morning I drilled my first holes in the boat!! We finally installed the paper towel holder. hahaha Seriously, I waited until today to pull out the drill and install things, like the stormglass, thermometer, boat hook holders, and yes, a paper towel holder. I still want to buy a clock and additional towel racks for the head.

Once done with that project, we waxed more of the boat. Last Sunday I began the waxing by doing the entire flybridge and stairs. Today we did the cockpit. I'd say I'm half done.

We then headed out, in perfect weather, south about 12 miles to the Wye River. This is where we came last Friday, but this time we cruised farther up the river to a different inlet. The biggest difference is this time there's no wind - yet. (Knock on wood.) It's beautiful here. Private, surrounded by tall trees, as if never influenced by humans (except that I used GPS to get here, and we have a dinghy, and a generator, and ate frozen pizza for dinner). We used the dinghy to land nearby on wye Island and went for a walk. There was a campsite, a nature trail, agriculture fields, and a well maintained dirt road. We then got back in the dinghy and went zooming back to the main river artery to look at the mansions. All in all, it's been a great evening with friends.

Tomorrow we will need to get back by early afternoon since it's supposed to get rainy and nasty in the evening. Before we head back, I'd like to circle Wye island to see the scenery.

Yesterday we went across the bay to the same cove where we went 9 days ago (the one when I ran aground). Again, we just hung out for hours in perfect weather. We did lots of experimenting with the dinghy, such as learning the best trim angle for the engine, and how it handled with one, two, or three of us on board. with just one, it went about 25 mph and screamed! With two, it still went about 20 mph and was a blast. With three, it finally could come onto a plane as long as Lee leaned way out over the bow.

Earlier in the day, Lee and I went for a bike ride. I now have two bikes here since I brought back last Monday the one I had in Charlottesville.

Next week we hope to take three long trips - across the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore's Inner Harbor, north about 13 miles to a nice harbor, and then a second trip to Chestertown. And don't forget, if you can, please come vist me on May 1 or 2 for the Bon Voyage Open House(Boat). And keep thinking: Good weather!

First overnight anchored out

The one photo shows the new dinghy, which will be carried back there on the swim platform. With it up like that, people cannot see the Breaking Away name on the back. But it does have advantages for launching and retrieving quickly and easily.

The other photo is from last Wednesday, when I swam down to examine the propellor after I had run aground (gently, luckily). Boy, was that water cold! The good part was that the wetsuit still fit me 24 yrs after I first bought it. And, the prop was fine!

We had an exciting time yesterday and this morning, sleeping overnight at anchor in a secluded cove, and returning to the marina during a small-craft advisory. The trip down yesterday afternoon to the Wye River was superb. The guy finished installing the davit system for the the dinghy at about 11 am, and we left an hour later. The Wye River is about 10 miles south of here. We entered the river and soon found a nice secuded spot to anchor. We then launched the dinghy for the first time....and boy, did I ever launch it, accidentally. I pulled out the incorrect bolt, and instead of gently lowering the dinghy into the water, it fell back into the water like a lead balloon along with the weight of the engine. Major oops. Luckily, nothing or no one was injured. I then started it for the first time, and the three of us went scooting around exploring. However, the wind came up pretty strong, and it wasn't that much fun any more so we headed back to the boat.

But when we returned to the boat, we could see it had dragged its anchor! So we needed to lift it and replace it where we dropped it in the first place. But it dragged again, so in total darkness, we raised anchor and sailed back out into a more open area. I watched intently for hours, and I finally decided the anchor was holding, even when it got VERY windy. So, I was able to go to bed. It surprised me all evening long just how much we were swinging in the wind. Good thing nothing was close to us. For dinner we turned on the generator and used the oven to bake two frozen pizzas.

By morning it was VERY windy, and normally I would have stayed where I was and not tried to move, but George and Jan had their flight home from the Baltimore airport so I had to head home even though there was a small craft advisory. We did quite well I thought. The boat handled superbly in those wind-tossed waves. I figured the landing would be tricky in those strong winds, but it was a little calmer here in the marina and all went like clockwork. We discussed a "plan" ahead of time of how to grab certain lines and prevent the boat from blowing into the two pilings on the side of the berth.

All in all it was a successful trip, but I'll have to ask the locals why we dragged anchor. Maybe it was just too soft under us to get a hold.

The time with George and Jan was fabulous! I thank them for coming and helping me have a good time and learn new things about handling the boat, what the galley needs for good cookin, and what items I still needed to purchase. Also, George is a great chef and made yummy meals. Jan took incredible photos of bald eagles, ospreys, flowers, and so many other shots.

Lazy day anchored out

We finally got the anchor wet today! It had never been in the water before. It was a perfectly sunny and windless day, so George, Jan and I cruised a great distance -- about one mile -- to a secluded cove across the bay from us and spent the day in total quiet and calm. Wonderful!

We did have a scare on the long one-mile cruise, however. The chart showed I was in the proper channel with 7 ft of water below me. But suddenly I was hitting something! I immediately put the throttle into neutral, and then glanced at the depth guage. 2.5 ft! We had grounded! The chart was incorrect! Luckily, I was going slowly, so we barely were stuck, and the slight wind was pushing us into the deeper water. So, in about two minutes, the depth guage read 5 ft and I put it into gear and got out into even deeper water and proceeded to our cove.

I learned two lessons: 1) watch both the chart AND the depth guage when you're entering side coves or other bodies of water off the main routes, and 2) charts can be wrong. The govt agency that produces such charts asks boaters to let them know updates, so I need to contact them and point out this change since the last time they surveyed this area. They will actually take a boater's word for it and make the change in the next year's chart. I can tell them the exact longitude and latitude where it happened because of the GPS.

Once we anchored -- which, by the way, was a luxury given than you just press a button and it drops using what is called an electric windlass -- we stayed for six hours. George and Jan took the kayaks out for a long time, and I rode the bike on the trainer, up on the fly bridge. (For having a bike-themed boat name, I've been negligent about riding since I got here. I rode for the first time on Monday, a 24-mile beautiful ride here on Kent Island. There was only about 10 feet of total climbing, however. So flat! Today's ride on the trainer was only my second time in the saddle. Need to ride more!)

I took the kayak out later, while G and J read books. We had a leisurely lunch. Everything was slow and pretty and a nice day. Then I exercised my finger and the anchor came right back up. I avoided the shallow spot on the return trip and all was fine. It sure helps to have George and Jan while departing, landing, anchoring, and all else. Tomorrow we may do the same thing. We would need to return a little earlier, however, because the dinghy is getting delivered late tomorrow afternoon.

Manuscript of my book: Head Over Wheels - A 'lucky stiff' turns tragedy into a cycling triumph

This is a photo of my beer and wine purchase at Trader Joe's in Washington, D.C. Party Time!!

This posting is not about the boat trip. I had always meant to publish my book about my accident and recovery, but I never completed it. Since it will now be at least 18 months before I can get back to it, I have posted it and 9 photos on a site in case any of my family and friends wish to read all or part of it. The photos are some I plan to put in the book.

Once you get to the site, you can read the captions of each photo and of the two documents by clicking on "Show descriptions/tags" on the left of the page.

Besides the manuscript, I included a three-page document ("Endorsements") of brief comments by various reviewers. If you read those, it may inspire you to at least read some of the book!!

The site is: www.Mediafire.com/HeadOverWheels.

Back to the boat: It rained today, which cancelled our plans to spend the day at anchor in a nearby cove. George, Jan and I will try again tomorrow.

The first REAL EXCURSION!!

What a great day! George, Jan and I cruised about 23 miles up the Chester River to historic Chestertown. It is to the north of our marina, and winds in a northeast direction past farms, mansions, marshes, and wilderness. We walked around the beautiful town (begun in 1706) which had many preserved exquisite homes, churches, and public buildings. Then we returned, for a total trip of 9 hours.

The excursion went off without a hitch! It was exactly as I had imagined this adventure would be, gently meandering along rivers checking out sights and wildlife (birds) with binoculars, enjoying a dockside lunch, visiting an interesting town, and not crashing the boat!! Our avg speed was 8 mph.

The first photo shows Breaking Away tied up at the Chestertown Marina. You can see the inflatable kayaks tied to the upper rails, as well as my bike. The second photo shows George and Jan at our dockside table enjoying the perfect weather and a fabulous seafood lunch. Yesterday they inaugurated the kayaks with a long trip south of the marina to the far reaches of the bay that is too shallow for my boat.

Originally we were going to take this cruise last Friday, but it was too windy. So, we drove to St. Michaels, a popular Chesapeake destination for boaters. It has the Chesapeake Bay Museum, and we (George, Jan, Janet and I) spent all day there enjoying the exhibits to learn about crabbing, oyster harvesting, history, and boat building. Janet returned to Cincinnati yesterday, after which I got lots of little chores done around the boat.

This morning it was windy, but not so bad so we decided to give Chestertown a go. We carefully planned how to depart the berth without getting wind-pushed into the boat or posts next to us, and it worked! The next exciting part was trying out the Garmin chart plotter and auto pilot, and they worked too! It's cool to use the auto pilot to follow the course you plot simply by touching the screen (showing a chart). Once you reach that spot, you just touch a new waypoint ahead on the screen, and sit back and let the auto pilot take you there. This allowed us to relax and enjoy the cruise. No, we did not leave the helm to go make sandwiches! Every now and then we would have run right over a crab cage bouy if I didn't turn off the auto pilot and steer around it.

Anyway, it was a blast and satisfying to have succeeded in realizing the dream -- at least on my first true cruise with Breaking Away. Gradually we're getting the things we need to provision the boat, and I'm learning how to operate it and its equipment and electronics. All right!

Preparation is underway

This is George and Jan Tonner who arrived yesterday, and Janet and Ken, at the inner harbor in Annapolis.

We've been here five days now, and everything is going great! Janet and I arrived last Saturday night from Cincinnati (via West VA and Washington, D.C.), and Breaking Away was already in the water. The boat yard had just completed its work and they hoisted it into the water and took it to my slip in the marina. The yard had removed the winter shrink wrapping, waxed the exterior hull, painted the bottom, de-winterized the water systems, and installed a line/weed cutter on the propellor shaft.

The entire canvas top, side curtains, and cushions were stored in the front berth for the winter. I don't know how they squeezed all of it in there. The next morning, that was our first project - to reinstall all that stuff on the flybridge. It turned out to be quite a major undertaking, getting all those jigsaw pieces figured out as to where they went, how they attached to each other, how to loosen some zippers just so, so that we could stretch the pieces to snap down and zip down and fit side-to-side. Everything has to fit precisely together or else nothing will fit at all! But with two brains and four arms and lots of muscles, we finally did it! At some points, I had to hang on the frame with all my weight to pull it down enough for Janet to be able to have made zip a piece together.

We made numerous shopping trips to get all the little things that keep cropping up on the to-do list. The more I'm on this boat, the more I love it and think it's the perfect boat for the upcoming adventure. The boat yard mechanic also came by on Monday to change oil, filters, and to show me other maintenance items. Today the four of us will drive to Washington, D.C. to see the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin. As long as the weather permits (today it's very windy), tomorrow the electronics fellow who installed the auto pilot and GPS chart plotters last December is going to take us out for a "sea trial" to instruct me on how everything works. Afterward, we will take an all-day cruise to Chestertown. Janet returns home on Saturday.