Log of the S/V Sea Schell: Trip up the Chesapeake

After recuperating from the drama of fog, wind, ships, no fuel etc, we contacted Joan Conover, a good friend from SSCA who took me grocery shopping in Hampton, Va. As much as I love my husband, going to the grocery without him is wonderful. The next day we had a fantastic sail from Monroe Harbor in the Hampton area up to the York River. As many times as we have sailed the Chesapeake we never went up the York. Since we have a few extra days to kill we sailed into the York, anchored across from Yorktown and really enjoyed the very small delightful historical town. They have a free trolley that takes you around to all the historical sites. So we set out to learn about the battle of Yorktown and the grand finale of the American Revolution. Boy, did we learn. We spent an hour and half reenacting the final battle between George Washington, Cornwallis and Rochambeau, the French general. Robbie our guide and park ranger did a fantastic job of bringing the battle to life on the top of a hill where it actually took place. We learned more about war tactics, cannons etc then we ever knew. I am usually not real excited about that type of thing but she was so enthralling I was mesmerized over her talk. General Cornwallis had entrenched his troops in Yorktown and thought they were well protected with trenches and ravines but between the Continental army and the French troops they managed to strategically surround the British who then could not escape. Cornwallis finally had to surrender. Although the treaty was not signed for 2 years, this was the last decisive battle of the war. Now we know why the French played such a vital role in helping us gain our independence. Without them we would have lost to the British. Also, we learned what strategic genius Washington really was. Although as a kid, I probably studied this in American history but it came to life in a whole new way after this talk. If you are ever around the Yorktown area very close to Williamsburg and Jamestown, make sure you stop at the Yorktown Battlefield Visitors Center and have this experience.

Tall ship from French touring the US was just leaving Yorktown. The excursion ship behind him was local and full of tourists

We met a wonderful couple there in the Yorktown area (Boe and Joyce on Dream Catcher) and spent the afternoon on their boat. Then the next day we had a fantastic sail up the Chesapeake to Onancock. It’s on the east coast of the Chesapeake and is also a small historical town with beautiful old but renovated homes from the 17 and 18 hundreds. The town is small and a lot of the stores are closed but the houses are beautiful. We stopped at the Ker Mansion which is now the Eastern Virginia Historical Society center. We had a great tour of the mansion and the history of the town.

Kerr Mansion built in 1700's by John Ker, a very wealthy plantation owner. The Eastern shore of Virginia Historical Society took it over.

The next day we motor sailed back across the Chesapeake to St. Marys. As you are entering the Potomac the St. Marys River branches of. It is the home of the St. Mary’s College which is a 150 years old. It is a beautiful small college on a lovely campus set out in a wooded area. The town of St. Marys is not there anymore but the ruins of the town are. It is the first settlement in Maryland and was the capital of Maryland until it was moved to Annapolis. So the town that use to be there, had a lot of history. It was alumni weekend so tons of folks there especially right on the water front where they have sailboats, kayaks, swimming on the beach etc. They all looked so young and we had to step over bodies to get to our dinghy but it was a fun stop anyway. We met 2 more cruising boats who are SSCA members, Seaquel, who are from Washington DC and Changes from Cleveland, Ohio. It made it that much more fun.

View of St. Marys from our boat looking over the water front of the campus. They teach sailing and have big time races there

Statue at the entance of the campus. A bit scary if you ask me

Just a typical view of the coast line of the Potomac River as you go along. Beautiful homes and scenery everywhere

We have found that we get internet and phone service great in the middle of the Chesapeake and the Potomac but when we pull into these small little towns we lose everything. We had bought a T-mobile SIM card as a quick way to get phone service when I came back in October last year. We thought we would continue with it until we get settled but now we realized, not such a good plan. It basically sucks!!! So we will go to Plan B when we get to Wash DC.

Then we motored up the Potomac to a small island called Cobb Island. Very settled with 5 marinas and it even has a small grocery store. I was so excited that I could actually buy some groceries. The biggest benefit is full phone and internet service. We were in heaven. Then our next stop was Mattawoman Creek (where did that name come from). Harry did is fair share of puns on that one. Then we stopped at Mt Vernon the next day. Wow, that was fun. We spent the whole day there on the plantation. I was there in the 60’s where you just went to the mansion and walked around the small buildings. Now they have a fantastic learning center and a museum. It is quite a place now. Anyone visiting near there must go. We learned so much not only about GW but the time and the people and the Am Revolutionary etc. It was a great stop and we anchored right outside where the ferry comes in.

View of the front of Mt. Vernon

Buggy chair that George rode in. He didn't want to be closed up in a carriage

View of the back of Mt Vernon

View from our boat. The scenery is amazing. The view George and Martha had over the river was fantastic

We finally made it to Wash DC with helicopters and planes hovering over us as we entered. Harry even thought he saw a drone. We are staying at the Capital Yacht Club where we happened to know a bunch of people all from SSCA. Scott Berg and his wife Freddy were so nice about getting us a slip and introducing us to the people at the club. We took advantage of being right downtown DC and went touring. I went to school in DC and Harry has been here before so we could be selective about what we wanted to see. I had told him for years that the most beautiful building in DC is the Library of Congress and after touring it, he agrees. The building is Greek architecture and is magnificent. Then we walked next door to the Supreme Court building which is very stately with Greek pillars and also magnificent. It is just amazing the size and structure of the Wash DC building. We took the metro (which of course didn’t exist when I was in school here). Yes, I am an antique. We went over to the Georgetown area and walk around as well. Fun day. If you get to DC, Library of Congress is a must see.

4 pictures of the Library of Congress This is a hallway

Main entrance

Main reading room with the Greek statues all along the ceilings. Back in 1960's you could just come in there and read. Now it is all blocked off. :You have to have special permission

Hallway outside the reading room. See why I like this building so much

We took a train to Essex, Connecticut to a great 3 day SSCA Gam. Great speakers, fun, food and comradery. We saw friends we had not seen in years and of course they haven’t changed a bit. We all still look so young.

Left to right: Maureen and Bill on Kalunamoo and Brenda and Bob on Pandora. We buddy boated with these guys through the Bahamas back in 2013. Great fun.

After returning to DC, I met with 3 of my nursing school friends for a 3 day weekend. We have been getting together every 2-3 years for 47 years. It’s like the Big Chill but no dead bodies. We had a great time and would have loved to have Kathy, one more of us there but she couldn’t make it. The 4 of us on the park bench look like a 4 old ladies waiting for a bus or looking for a handsome man to come by.

Joanie in PA, Clarina in NJ, Me and Ruthie in VA where we were staying. What great friends they are

Back in DC we had discovered our alternator had died. I am sick of electrical problems but got it fixed quickly and let’s hope that is the end of the electrical nightmares. We walked 4 miles yesterday to see all the Memorials on the Tidal basin. It was fantastic. I have added some collage pictures of the Memorials. If you have not been to DC and walked that area, it really is a must someday. I was pleased to see many young people there as well, reading the famous words of generals, FDR and MLK. I hope they were able to digest the meanings. Sorry I was so long winded, we had a really busy month.