The spring and early summer of this year brought about a flurry of change and busyness which had our hearts and minds on the most important things in life, family, rather than this years planned completion of our Great Loop adventure. We were stressed, but also incredibly blessed, with spending much of April through a June in Columbus with mom and dad Scheiderer navigating serious health issues that dad had and his unfortunate passing on July 1st. There are many lessons to be learned in this life for certain and the most powerful ones are those shown us by our parents. Dad was a teacher of many things to everyone he encountered through his long life. For us he was the perfect model of fatherly wisdom, service, and most importantly love! Rest well dad. Until we meet again we will look toward the heavens for more lessons and messages you’re sending us 😇
Beauty coming from the skies on our drive through the mountains
After initially cancelling our trip, changing plans, and all of the other insanity the summer brought, we decided to launch the boat and spend 2 weeks on the Chesapeake Bay instead of completing our loop this year. We arrived to Deltaville VA on Sunday, 7/19, and got the boat un-winterized and ready to launch. We were exhausted from 6 hrs of working in the heat but headed out to a nearby farm to table joint (The Table) and enjoyed a nice dinner polished off with a shared afagato before heading back to the boat for the night. Erik spent a hour our so Monday morning performing surgery on Renee’s bike that we had drug behind the car through some portion of West Virginia after accidentally not securing it to the bike rack correctly…oops….vice grips and JB Weld to the rescue got it cobbled together to hopefully get us through the trip. Fingers crossed. Launch happened on Monday morning right on schedule!
Happy Destiny gets her bottom wet
With bad weather coming in Tuesday/Wednesday we wanted to get to our first stop pretty quickly so we set off about 11am for Crisfield, MD. The 41 mile trip started off a little bumpy, but mostly smoothed out to a small chop on the water and we arrived around 2:30pm at Somers Cove Marina. After getting tied up and settled in we took a bike ride around town and spent some time by the marinas pool where we met a nice couple who were docked across from us that gave us some local knowledge of the area. Shish kabobs had been marinating all afternoon while we were underway and after a quick grilling on the aft deck we filled our tummies before walking to the pier to catch the sunset before off to bed we went.
Birds o the bay…. Osprey
Welcome to Crisfield MD
Fallen soldier memorial at sunset
Sunset over the harbor at Crisfield
A beautiful evening
Old wooden military boat
Ahhhh….
Riva the crab queen!
The next two days were predicted to be really bad weather, so the plan was to make the best of it and see what we could in Crisfield. Before the hard rains moved in we were able to dodge light rain enough to explore the small, local museum and also ride up the road a couple of miles to Lintons Seafood where we shared an order of hush puppies and picked up a couple of pieces of locally famous ‘Smith Island Cake’ to indulge ourselves with later with our evening cup of coffee. As predicted, the late afternoon and evening brought with it increasing winds and storms. A brief break in the precip and we decided to walk to a nearby church for a 7pm AA meeting in hopes that we could get a ride back if the storms rolled back in. At the meeting, a discussion on the days ‘Daily Reflections’ reading, we as usual met some nice local folks. Lo and behold an older gentleman (probably in his later eighties) with 53 years of sobriety was the first to be of service and to offer us a ride back to the marina. Some may call it coincidence that his name was Harold! You be the judge! 🤗 We choose to believe that there are angels among us!
Interesting facts on the evolution of Chesapeake Bay at the museum
Crisfield was big on making duck decoys
Oysters anyone!
Crisfield is the self proclaimed crab capital
Famous Smith Island Cake We tried a piece of original (Vanilla with chocolate) And a piece of lemon cake with blueberry icing
Safely back aboard Happy Destiny for the evening the storms rolled in with a vengeance! The large, somewhat protected, harbor turned into a washing machine sending waves and chop over the docks and slamming into the aft of the boat as torrential rainfall fell with sustained 30-40 mph winds gusting to 60-70 mph for a couple of hours. We were certain we’d have damage to the flybridge and aft deck canvas enclosures as the rain was driven at us soaking everything above that would normally be dry during any ‘normal’ storm. A steady stream of water poured in through the rear salon door which we sopped up with towels, During a brief slow down in the rain and wind we were able to head up to find no significant damage thankfully; only some rearranging of chairs, an 80+ lb dock box had slid forward and bunched up the aft deck carpet, and multiple snaps and fastening points had come loose from the flybridge enclosure. The strong storms continued through most of the night making for a not particularly restful night of sleep with the diva, Riva, snuggled up trembling between us.
We made it through the stormy night and awoke to a glorious sunrise. It was a special day for us as were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. God is good as we continue along this road of happy destiny! After spending some time straightening up the boat from the chaos of the night we lounged around and enjoyed a breakfast of omelettes aboard and we each did some work as it had started raining again; Renee did calculus lesson plans and Erik worked on some staff reviews. The rain stopped mid afternoon so we ventured out on the bikes to enjoy an early anniversary dinner at ‘Home Kitchen’ a new Indian fusion place which was delicious. Erik had called earlier in the day and spoke to the owner, Vinay, to plan s surprise for Renee. He sent him our wedding song (God Blessed the Broken Road) and a song he had made for our anniversary to be played after we arrived and were eating. Brazilian cheese popovers for appetizer were fresh and delish followed by Chicken Tika Masala and Mississippi Chicken both of which were also yummy 😋. On the way back to the boat we stopped in at the local ice cream shop to get a quart to enjoy later in the evening. The evening was spent relaxing aboard and planning for our next stops before heading off for what would be a much more restful night of sleep on the now tranquil Somers Cove harbor.
Sunrise on our 20th anniversary Happy Destiny is the boat on the right of this pic
Crabs!
Riva is a boat dog!
We awoke Thursday to light winds and cooler temps which were welcomed. Departing Crisfield at about 9am we headed out into Tangier Sound for a leisurely 14 mile cruise out to Tangier Island. Our excitement for the morning came shortly after departing. About 4 miles out into the bay we were boarded by a the Coast Guard for a vessel inspection. Nice guys, one from Grove City (small world) and we passed the inspection with flying colors. Soon after we were back on our way to Tangier Island. It is a 350 acre island with some very interesting history. It was home to a British base during the War of 1812. Over the past 150+ years it has mainly been a sleepy fishing village. It is now considered to be a disappearing island as the rising sea levels take over and it continually shrinks. It loses 8 acres (15 ft of shoreline) annually and is expected to be totally submerged by 2053.
More birds of the bay Seagull preparing for flight
Well hello Mr Coastie! Guy on right is from Grove City Notice the boat behind us, two other guards hung back after these two boarded
The boat pulls up to ours while we are still underway at idle speed and they board while moving
Renee as we were coming into Tangier Island
Historic Tangier Island from the water
Some history
More history
Riva made it to the beach at Tangier
We threw the lines from the old dilapidated docks at Tangier at 2pm and headed out the cut through toward the bay when Renee hollered that one of the long dock ropes had fallen off the side of the boat and was now entangled in the prop 😬. A quick shutdown of the starboard engine and a dicey one engine entry into a nearby private dock soon had Erik goggled up and swimming beneath the boat in his skivvies to free up the rope. With what we thought to be the issue addressed we headed out of the channel and intro the bay only to find that the starboard side was not acting right at all; VERY sluggish. We dropped anchor and Erik again got into the water to swim under and discover there was an additional piece of rope that was still wound tightly around the shaft and cutlass bearing….ugh. He spent the next 1.5 hrs diving under the boat with knives, razor knives, screw drivers, pliers etc trying to free the now melted nylon rope that had hardened around the shaft. He gave up exhausted after getting 95% of it off with the exception of the hardest part that was now on the shaft between the prop and cutlass bearing. After getting back underway heading toward our destination, Onancock VA, we fired up the starboard engine to see how it would do and it performed just fine. We are thinking that last bit of now hardened plastic will likely just remain there for the remainder of this trip until we can get at it better when the boat is taken out. The remainder of the 18 mile trip from Tangier Island to Onancock Wharf was uneventful. The town and wharf sit back off the bay a couple of miles down a nice tranquil river. By the time we got docked and settled in it was about 6pm and we were both tired. We walked up into the small but very beautiful town for a short bit before coming back to the boat to grill burgers for dinner. We sat aboard for the remainder of the nice, comfortable evening relaxing and watching a beautiful sunset before heading off to bed.
Erik slept in till 5:30am but still caught some sunrise pictures upon rising from our last night on the hook.
We will soon miss these peaceful mornings 😟
Erik took Riva in to shore while Renee started getting ready to head back to Deltaville. It was very calm this morning but the weather hinted at some conditions that might get yucky, or at the very least bumpy. Untied from the mooring ball about 7:30am with Chelsea still in bed 😴.
The last ride for this years trip! Chelsea did get out of bed eventually 😌
40.8 miles later, after a pretty decent trip (just a little bumpy), we pulled up to the gas dock at Deltaville Yachting Center.
The 40.8 mile track back up to Deltaville from Yorktown
After topping off the gas tanks we were tucked back into our spot in the service bay where they would pull Happy Destiny out on Monday. The next couple hours consisted of packing, cleaning, storing, taking down the flybridge enclosure, folding Biminis up, flushing engines and generator with fresh water, and loading the car.
Happy Destiny all closed up and ready to be put up on the hard for the year She did us good again this trip
We were headed home about 2:30pm to bring an end to another amazing adventure trudging the waters of our happy Destiny ❤️.
4 new states (New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia) for a total of 19 states thus far on our loop plus The District of Columbia
After a bouncy night on the mooring ball, lots of boat traffic making wakes, Erik watched the sunrise and finished yesterday’s blog while Renee, Riva, and Chelsea slept in. We sat on the boat drinking coffee and made our plans for the day.
Renee relaxing on the aft deck before heading to shore Patriotic pup awaiting us ashore
We loaded the four of us in the dinghy and headed in to shore to catch the parade that was lining up in the park. The parade was a good one with Navy, Air Force, Marines, floats, a fife and drum band, and many cars, trucks, and organizations.
A very nice parade
After the parade we walked up the street to the coffee shop where we had a bite to eat, a yummy breakfast wrap, bagel sandwich and a pistachio latte. Erik left to get an Uber to get some cancer sticks while Renee walked in circles trying to find her glasses she lost somewhere at the coffee shop. We had a picture to confirm she had them on when they got there 🤪. Finally Chelsea found them under the picnic table, YAY!!! Thank you Chelsea🥰.
We walked up the road to explore the Nelson house, a house built around 1730 and still original floors everywhere but the entry hallway. Beautiful house and gardens but the most interesting thing is the cannonballs embedded in the side of the house. The story is that the British had taken the house during the battle of Yorktown, Mr Nelson was fighting aboard one of the ships in the York River and he encouraged the launching of cannonballs at the cost of damage to his home in favor of defeating the British 🇺🇸. Which is exactly what happened and we won our independence!
Some of the many cool historical homes If you look closely at the second to last pic above this one you can see a cannonball lodged in the brick wall
There is cave in the river bank that is supposedly where General Cornwallis hid during the seize. We stopped to check out the candy, ice cream, and coffee shop where Erik and Renee found one of their favorite ice cream flavors found thus far, Rush Hour, a coffee, caramel, and chocolate flavored deliciousness made but Ashbys Ice cream. YUM! Chelsea enjoyed some Superman ice cream 😋. We walked some shops, made a few purchases including some special treats for Riva before watching the hotdog eating contest and heading back to the boat for a few hours to rest.
Riva making herself at home in one of the shops
We relaxed on the boat for a few hours, Chelsea laid out, Erik and Renee relaxed on the aft deck in a nice breeze, or in the air conditioned boat. There were many boats anchored by the beach, with many people camped out all day for the festivities and fireworks. We made sloppy joes for dinner then almost tipped the overloaded dinghy when we headed back to shore 😂.
First we climbed the hill to see the Yorktown Victory Monument, erected in 1884. We then walked a short ways to the battlefield where the battle took place and back into town to enjoy the festivities. Kona Ice and kettle corn in hand we listened to the sounds of The Fife and Drums of York Town then they read the Declaration of Independence(all in full colonial attire).
Beautiful view from up at the Victory Monument
Victory monument With a beautiful overlook
Yorktown battlefields
Back at the boat we cooled off with showers before settling in for the firework display. We could almost reach out and touch the fireworks barge! Ok not really but we were VERY close! After a wonderful fireworks show we rocked and rolled as the boats moved around leaving their anchor spots. We finally stopped bouncing around enough to settle in and quickly fall asleep. It was a wonderful 4th of July!
It was nice to be well rested given the almost 3 full days tied to the dock at DYC. We had another pretty relaxing morning mostly aboard getting a few final things ready for Chelsea’s arrival, walking Riva, and Erik did a little work for a brief time. Chelsea had texted a little after 4am saying that she had left McConnelsville and was headed our way. Her ETA was 11:40am and she sent us a real time dropped pin so that we could follow her progress (didn’t know this was possible….who knew 🤷♂️).
Chelsea made good time arriving at 11:30. We had made the decision to take one last good boat trip to Yorktown to enjoy their extensive festivities and potentially hook up with some of Renee’s kin (Uncle Chris, Aunt Pat, and cousins). Shortly after Chelseas arrival we threw the lines departing Deltaville at 11:45 am. It was a warm, but breezy day for the cruise and Chelsea took the helm for a short period,
Captain Chelsea
😮
Cruising to Yorktown for Independence Day
Pulling off of the bay and into the York River we scoped out with the binoculars an open mooring ball. Yorktown had just this year put in multiple new mooring balls that are essentially huge buoys with a tie off on the top. These were significantly larger than any mooring balls we’d encountered previously and it was a pretty easy, seamless tie off to one of them located in what we think will be a prime spot for both going ashore as well as for firework viewing tomorrow night. After getting settled in we dropped the dinghy and headed into the waterfront marina where we tied off the dinghy and walked some of Water St and Main St to see the sites. Shortly after coming ashore Uncle Chris called back confirming that they would pick us up around 5pm for dinner at a nearby Italian joint. Erik loaded Riva back into the dinghy to take her back out to the boat while we went to dinner. The now increased chop on the water coupled with now heading back out to the boat against the incoming tide current made for a rather long, hot, and bumpy ride; they survived it though.
Mooring ball/buoy we are tied off to
Many historic sites for us to explore Most will have to wait until tomorrow when we have more time
Put ‘em up Brits 😝
No caption necessary
The Good Stuff
It was a pleasant dinner and visit with not only Chris and Pat but fortunately two of their sons (Mike and David) as well as David’s fiancé and her daughter were able to join. We always enjoy being able to meet up and visit with family and friends on our journey whenever feasible. Chris and Pat got us back to the waterfront around 7:30pm and shortly after the dinghy ride back out to the boat Erik loaded Riva back in for a quick and shorter dinghy ride to shore at a closer beach access point while Chelsea and Renee got showered up to free their bodies of the sweat and sunblock. The evening shore excursion was abbreviated when a firework or cannon blast had Riva quickly retreating, with tail down, back to the beach and dinghy to take cover!
Scheiderer family visit! Chelsea either needs to work on her group selfie skills Or Mike needs a smaller head Sorry David 😂
We were all exhausted from all of the activities on a hot day, especially Chelsea who had been up since shortly after 3am. Evening coffee and frappes (yep…they’ve become a daily staple) had us all ready for our heads to be resting on our pillows. It was a great day on our journey again today particularly with the opportunity to share some of it with our family.
The weather has generally been dry and hot these last couple of weeks so the storms last night and significant steady rain with temps only reaching about 77 today are a somewhat refreshing change. It was a very slow moving and easy going morning filled mostly with coffee, breakfast, and some planning for what we would do on our last couple of days aboard. DYC (Deltaville Yachting Center) has a courtesy car which is a nice feature for us when traveling by boat particularly since there is really not much immediately adjacent the marina. We had reserved the car for 11:30am and headed out to go to a noon AA meeting that we found on our app supposedly only a little over a mile away. The location the gps address brought us to was a small park like area on the water owned by a local church. There was a shelter house there and what appeared to be a nice location for an outside meeting, after waiting for anyone to arrive until 10 minutes or so after the noon hour it was determined that there apparently is not a meeting there any longer 🤨. While out on the point of the peninsula we did drive by and look at the lighthouse at Stingray Point before heading into the small town of Deltaville where we went to the IGA to pick up a few things (including a small bucket of fried chicken for lunch which we’d been craving since we were told about it by a lady at the pool a couple days ago). A stop through the local hardware for us a bottle of fuel stabilizer treatment (this means close to time to store the boat 😔) and a bottle of water tank freshener. As we were driving down the road we noticed that there was a church by the same name as the church that supposedly hosted the AA meeting that no one was at so we pulled in and upon entering were told that the meeting day/time had been changed. However, there happened to be another local lady from the next town over who also was unaware of this and was sitting in the room by herself with her Big Book and 12/12. A small but good meeting ensued with just the three of us…”Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them”.
Deltaville Deltas old school wood bleacher ball park
Back at the boat we enjoyed our chicken thighs and drumsticks and mostly lounged around for several hours as it was still somewhat rainy. By about 4pm it had stopped raining and was just cloudy so we loaded Riva into her basket on the bike and headed over to Cross Rip Campground about 1.5 miles away down a small road winding through a heavily wooded area. Erik had called and spoke with the owner yesterday to inquire if we could bring Riva there to visit their small beach. The one downside we’ve found this far with Deltaville is the lack of public beach access. It was a nice hidden gem of a campground with nicely wooded spots and a clean, small beach with clear water. Riva went swimming on her own before being joined by another dog that showed up who she played with.
After her beach time Riva got a bath She then drug her bed out into the center of the salon to take a nap Tuckered out pup
The evening was spent doing a few boat chores. We shuffled some things around and made up the bow birth bed in preparation for Chelsea’s expected arrival tomorrow. A delicious dinner was prepared on the grill of our last T-bone steak we had brought from home complimented with a baked potato and most importantly 4 ears of freshly picked white sweet corn 🌽 that we picked up at the local farm stand earlier. The first sweet corn of the season for us was fresh and delightful! We ended the evening with a few more boat chores and watching a movie on Netflix before retiring to our cabin. Both of us had a much needed feeling of being well rested given the 2+ day with no boat movement and necessary relaxation. Erik and Chelsea are making their best efforts to talk Renee into agreeing to the cruise to Yorktown (41 miles south of here) either tomorrow or Friday to experience a colonial July 4th celebration; report on results of the convincing to come later 😝
Bow birth bed ready for Chelsea’s arrival tomorrow This area tends to get used as a storage spot for all kinds of misc things when we’re cruising alone
Pic of deliciousness (before) Damage done (after) 😋
