Sunday

May 7, 2017

We were at Deltaville Boatyard and Marina from Wednesday May 3 untill Sunday May 7.  There was a mini looper Rendezvous being held there for us.  There was no cost to us, but good information was given about traveling the Chesapeake Bay, electronics, electrical issues, engines and even an engine inspection.  A well known looper broker Curtis Stokes sponsored it with the marina. They supplied beer and wine for Thursday night dock tails and they catered Mexican on Cinco de Mayo.  

On the Chesapeake we passed our first, on the water, lighthouse.  Wolf Trap Light is in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay.  Originally it was a lightship.  A ship was stationed in this spot in 1821 as a lightship.  The lighthouse you see above was constructed in 1870.  This lighthouse is no longer in operation.

The lighthouse is for sale for $250,000 if interested...

We found a Lord Nelson Boat here being worked on.... there are only 75 in the registry ...

Most are 37' and some 41'...

True Barnacles on this steel hull...

This has got to slow you down...

Free Oysters???

In 1608 Captain John Smith and 14 men set out on an epic voyage, to explore and map Chesapeake Bay.  For 140 days Smith and his men endured Indian attacks, heat, disease, thirst and starvation, traveling 1700 miles throughout the Bay.  Below is an exact reproduction of Smith's boat.  It is taken out once a month, to maintain its' ability to float.

They had it a little rough, but nothing like the Great Loop...

Mike and Linda are inspecting the John Smith boat.

This is how the Mercury Engines got started...

 Kiekhaefer purchased a factory and worked on all the engines laying around....

F.D. Crockett

One of only two log-bottom buyboats (meaning to accept a fuel powered engine) built exclusively for power.   It was used for 70 years as a working vessel.  In 2005, a descendant of the Smiths, donated her to the Deltaville museum.  This boat marked a change in the way oysters, crabs and watermelon were transported in the Chesapeake.

So, we left Deltavilla Marina, winds were to be 10 mph and we experienced 25 mph with gusts...We were getting hit over the port bow with spray covering our boat....limited visibility and there was no way to see crab pots which will tangle around your props....so we head into the closest anchorage.... Winds are not supposed to lay down till late tomorrow...but we're heading out in it at 7 am tomorrow anyway...but we will NOT be following the lead boat tomorrow...we'll be staying along shore in 20' of water....

We're seeing hundreds of jellyfish here...

We are now at anchor in the Dividing Creek Inlet, off of the Chesapeake Bay.  We are in Dividing Creek.

our anchorage...

closeup..

and right in front of us....

Tuesday

May 2nd, 2016

Still at Salt Ponds Marina, leaving tomorrow...

Did a little West System/Fiberglass reinforcement today on the Engine Blower vents...

Swinging into marina after marina the fenders push against these cheep plastic covers over the bilge exhaust vents and get smashed...

So I removed both and reinforced them using the West System and fiberglass...

Had a beautiful jelly fish swim by the boat today...

Monday

May 1, 2017

We are staying at Salt Ponds Marina until May 3rd, do to winds on the Chesapeake Bay.  There is a small craft advisory until Tuesday evening.  That means wind speeds of 20 to 33 knots and/or waves of 4 feet or greater over the Chesapeake.

Today, Monday, we rented a car (not the one below) with Myron and Linda and went to visit the Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, Virginia.  There is a lot of US history associated with this plantation and we will tell you just a little about it.

This golf cart was created by a female boat owner who used to work as an Engineer at NASA.

She did everything herself

This is the front of the Berkeley Plantation home.  The home was built in 1726, but the land was settled by English from Berkeley castle in 1619.  These settlers observed the first official Thanksgiving in America, over a year before the pilgrims.  President Kennedy officially recognized this date as the original Thanksgiving.  The official letter from the White House is hanging in plantation home. 

This is the kitchen house.  There is an underground tunnel leading from it to the main home.  Endenchered servants and then slaves who worked the kitchens lived above stairs here.  The canon ball in the wall was found on the grounds and placed in this hole years ago.

The daughter, Lottie, was closing a shutter on this side of the home and was struck by lightening.  She died a few weeks later.

This marking shows the original owners, who were from an arranged marriage, were also in love.  They did this by placing a heart between the two first initials.

This walk way continues is between the river and the home. There are two front doors on the home, because folks would come by land on one side and by sea on the other.  You didn't want to disrespect your friends by having them enter at the back door.

If you can't read the above script, "Taps" originated here.  General Daniel Butterfield wrote the words and had a young bugler play them.  Butterfield was not pleased with the signal for "Lights Out."

Eleven year old bugler who was the youngest to receive the medal of honor.

First born in the Berkeley mansion.  He was also one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He became governor of Virginia and held that position 3 times.  

Benjamin Harrison VI, eldest son of Benjamin Harrison the V,  took over the estate for his father and was the Deputy Paymaster General of the Continental Army.

William Henry Harrison, youngest son of Benjamin Harrison V, became the 9th President of the United States.  He was better known by all as "Tippecanoe."  He earned this nickname for his fame in leading U.S. forces against American Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe.

William Henry Harrison's grandson became the 23rd U.S. President.

Guessing here but we think it was:

Northern Black Racer
(Coluber constrictor constrictor)
Average Length: 36 - 60 in. (90 - 152 cm)

or

Eastern Ratsnake
(Pantherophis alleghaniensis)
Average Length: 42 - 72 in. (106.7-183 cm)

Found this Geodetic Marker on the shore of the property...looks like the date reads 1957

Survey markers, also called survey marks, survey monuments, or geodetic marks, are objects placed to mark key survey points on the Earth's surface. They are used in geodetic and land surveying.

part of an anchor...

This document shows the cost of each slave and shy some of them were more expensive then others.  Their health, age and position all played a part in the cost.

This is the original document of sale.  There were over 100 slaves on the Berkeley plantation.  As a result it was taken away from the Harrison family during the civil war and became a union base.  President Lincoln was there at least twice, on record.

At least 10 presidents have sat in the dining room of the Berkeley mansion.