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Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65153 08/14/10 03:45 PM
Joined: Jul 2006
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grandmaR Offline OP
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We've traveled down the ICW on our boat (a CSY44) and we've also traveled down the east coast from the Chesapeake on land. In the beginning, I didn't have a digital camera and took most of the photos with a point and shoot film camera. I got a digital in 2000 but didn't really trust it and was afraid to use it if the weather was at all wet.

We bought our boat in 1998, and during 1999 and the summer of 2000, we traveled just in the Chesapeake.



I'm recreating those old trips with an emphasis on lighthouses

August 15th Start of 2000 cruise up the Chesapeake
Slept on the boat to get an early start because we want to get to Oxford by the 17th. Bob rushed me off after I cut the lawn and I left my boat keys. He left the bag of non-perishables (equal, salad dressing etc). Oh well. We ran the a/c refrigeration, and were hooked to shore power all night.

Before I left, I set up Pocketmail to forward from mindspring and aol, and I downloaded messages using my own phone without a problem. At the marina, the ATT phone is always on the edge (extended area), and I can't use it anyway because it is digital. I took my old Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) car phone, and can connect with that. However, even it was having trouble down in Smith Creek at the marina.

Bob said it would be better at night, so I got up about 1 am and sat out on a bench in front of the bathrooms (because dialing the phone is noisy and I can't figure out how to quiet it) and managed to get a complete download. The problem it was having was that there was an indigestible number of long spam messages from somewhere, plus people replying angrily (reply all) to the spam, which also went to everyone on the list. Sent a block filter to pocketmail.

August 16th, 2000
This morning we got fuel (8 gals) to top off the tanks, and a bag of ice. We put up the main and staysail before we were out of Smith Creek, as he is wont to do, but this time it made sense.



Sailed out to the bay in 15 knots. Rounded Pt Lookout and it dropped to 6. The autopilot handles it wonderfully tho and I can look around and even take pictures without being white-knuckle-focused on the wind direction. Also we can both concentrate on swatting flies. He discovered that the wind vane switch was labeled wrong, and it had been turned off all this time.

Bob built a nice box for the computer, but the power outlet that he put in didn't work. Discovered extra screws packed in the socket which made a short. Worked fine after that. With the autopilot on, he can leave me on 'watch' and work on stuff and he doesn't have to yell at me for not paying attention to my steering. I will say, if we'd had an autopilot at the beginning, I never would have learned to steer even as well as I now can.

The Navy was using the target off Pt No Pt (or as a British gent who called the CG called it "Your No Point Point, or Point Pointless or whatever it is"). He wanted to know if his course was OK, but since he was talking to the Balto. CG, they didn't have a clue.

As we passed Point No Point, the wind picked up and we were 'racing' another sailboat. He had a big headsail (unlike our little Yankee jib) and was really heeled over.






I tried to see how far we were heeled by looking over the side to see how much of the bottom paint showed, but couldn't do it - Bob said I would fall in.

As we approached the targets, we called the range boat, and asked if we were OK, and we were. The other boat dropped behind us after the radio exchange Saw a couple of helicopters there - usually we see jets.

Thro binoculars, saw them put 3 men on the Point No Point lighthouse from a little boat maybe 20 feet long. The men looked like dollhouse figures on an out of scale boat - they looked much too big for the boat. They were about 1/2 to 1/3rd as tall as the boat was long. There were four on the bow, and one would leapt for the ladder and then a second one and you could see them attain the platform level, and then after another approach, a third one was on the ladder. The 4th one didn't go. Too far away for pictures unfortunately.

When we got to Cedar Pt. the wind changed. Note to self: Avoid Cedar Pt. The wind either drops to nothing, shifts 180 deg or increases drastically, or all of the above. When you listen to NOAA weather (or look at the Weather Channel), Cedar Pt is often opposite everyone else. I used to think maybe they read the vane wrong, but no - it really is different right there.

Wind picked up to 20 knots on the nose gusting to 28, and it got very noisy (Bob has the solar panels rigged to run fans in the cabin if the batteries are full, and they were, so we had the wind vane going crazy and the fans in the cabin whirring their little blades off.) Furled the sails and motored. Went past Little Cove Point and anchored inside (south) of Cove Pt. close to shore.



Discovered why no one anchors here. Very rolly - up to 20 deg roll (15 deg one way and 5 deg the other) from the wakes of passing barges and freighters. However it got quieter and we were well protected from the North wind.

Total time underway 8 hours. Total engine use time 3.5 hours

Leaving anchorage August 17th
Something banged about 7 and woke me - it was Bob. Had a nice shower, and Bob cooked bacon and eggs. He said the turkey bacon doesn't have enough fat to cook on the stove - only good in the microwave. Called our son Rob (today is his day off) to tell him where we were and that we wouldn't be home, and then put the phone on charge. Cleaned up the boat, pulled the anchor and got underway about 9.

Wind from the north as predicted about 12-13 knots. Sailed a bit after we got well north of the lighthouse, but soon the wind was on the nose so we pulled the sails in an motored. Successfully uploaded and downloaded mail. At noon we were 3 miles off the Lower Choptank after about 10 miles travel, mostly by motor.

Got to the Choptank about 1. Bob fixed the plastic piece in the headsail furler, and we had fried chicken for lunch. Were at Benoni Point at 3:30.

We were meeting another CSY owner (Ernie) in Oxford. Just before we got there, a motor boat buzzed us and we stopped - turned out to be a former CSY owner that I'd corresponded with by e-mail.

We also saw a CSY anchored off the town south of Town Creek and north of the ferry dock. We don't have a hailer, so we yelled and Bob blasted with the air horn. Talked to the owner for a bit. Then heard Ernie on the radio as he was coming out of Cambridge. Tried to find the place he usually anchors in Town Creek, but there were 2 boats there already.



Went back out near the ferry dock and anchored. It took Bob two tries to get the anchor set. From anchor to anchor was 29.3 miles in a little less than 7 hours.

Ernie came and rafted with us on our anchor (50 lb Max anchor with 125 feet of 5/16ths chain). Ernie called the restaurant he was going to take us to (Latitude 38) and then we each took our own dink and tied to the other side of the ferry dock. The restaurant sent someone to pick us up and take us to dinner.

This is a very fancy restaurant with fancy dishes and fancy prices. I took part of my steak home with me Alice had quail, and Bob had a scallops. Afterwards, we went back to our boats and had a nice chat.



Friday August 18th
Bob shut the windmill off last night because he was afraid it would wake Ernie and Alice. I got up about 6:15 and put the side curtains on the bimini down because it was raining and we shut some hatches.

Ernie came over to our boat, and then I went over to his to show him how to use electronic charting software, but it is different from mine. I think he got cold feet and decided to figure it out himself after I said that I found out how to do it myself by "keep on trying until it either worked or broke".

Leaving Oxford
Bob was concerned that we were dragging, because we had 2 heavy boats on one anchor. I thought that "Another Day" a motor boat that was anchored near us was dragging. We were in the same relation to the little orange and white buoy near the ferry dock that we had been. Bob and Ernie said he couldn't be dragging toward his anchor. Bob took in 50 feet of chain.

Eventually the guy on Another Day came out and looked at his anchor, but he didn't do anything about it. Bob and Ernie eventually admitted that I was right and he was dragging, but since we wanted to get to the South River that afternoon, and Another Day was getting too close for comfort, we unrafted about 9:50 and Ernie sped off. The anchor was up by 10:15.

Ernie called on the radio to tell us that they had dredged Knapps Narrows and it was 10-12 feet on the Bay side. Since he draws 6'6" (18" more than we do), and he could do it, I'm sure we could too.

Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65154 08/14/10 04:07 PM
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grandmaR Offline OP
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August 18, 2000

We were out of the Choptank near the Sharp Island light (which I don't have a photo of) about noon. I had a steak sandwich (from the night before) and Bob had fried chicken for lunch. Kept seeing rain clouds and putting the curtains down and then up. Bob cleaned them while I tended the autopilot.

Pulled into Selby Bay behind Long Point and anchored a little after 5:00 - too late to get fuel and a pumpout - I phoned the Marina (found out last year that they don't monitor the radio), but they closed at 5. Trip 29.4 miles in 6.8 hours.

Only one other boat in the anchorage, and it had the dink on the foredeck and didn't look like anyone was on it. Another boat anchored close to the entrance later in the evening.

Had dinner and watched TV. Called our daughter and Bob's friend Ed who we are meeting tomorrow. Bob went out like a light. I dozed off and woke suddenly, thinking that someone was calling me. Went out into the cockpit and downloaded e-mail. Then slept peacefully.

August 19, 2000
This morning, Bob changed the joker valve in the aft head which wasn't working right before we went in for a pumpout. Pulled the anchor at 9:15 and went and got fuel, a pumpout, ice and dumped trash. Bob started the engine driven refrigeration compressor and we motored over to Duvall Creek.

We ran aground a couple of times trying to get in past the creek entrance, so we anchored and Bob lowered the dink, and motored in. Ed (a retired friend of Bob's from work) came back with him - Nancy (Ed's wife) can't swim and is afraid of water so it was understandable that she wouldn't come with them in the dink.

Ed brought a lot of tomatoes and two apples with him. He got his shoes sandy crossing the beach to the dink, so I took them into the shower to wash the bottoms off, and the shower head fell and broke again (it broke once and had been glued together). Bob had already bought a replacement.

Put up the sails and sailed out of the river. Had lunch (fried chicken) and then the wind fell to nothing, so we started to motor back. The autopilot wouldn't move the rudder, so we had to hand steer. Ed did a lot of it.

We went close to Thomas Point so I could take some pictures.









When he went in to pick Ed up, Bob had gotten additional advice about getting into Duvall Creek, so we tried it again and were successful this time. The trick is to really grease the green markers to port and then aim for a house and garage on shore - close to port. Bob yells at me when I go that close to markers (he tells me that the ospreys who are on the nests complaining are saying "Too close, too close"), and we know, because we ran aground briefly on the correct side of a marker, that they are not always in an optimum position. But in this case, close was good.

Dropped Ed off at the dock - depth down to 5'7" on our gauge. Motored around to Harness Creek. An Island Packet went in ahead of us (passed us on the port side and tried to keep us from coming out into the channel of the South River - the burdened vessel - i.e. the one who should give way, is both on the port and passing) and turned around and came right back out. So we were afraid there would be no space. However a motor boat left as we were coming back down the creek, so we slipped into his spot.

No wind at all. Anchored about 4:45 after 21.2 miles - 6.1 hours, almost all motoring.

Saw Ed on the dock, so Bob lowered the dink and went in. Ed wanted to take us out to dinner, so we arranged to meet them later. We changed, and dinghied back to the rental dock and locked the dink to the dock where the guy indicated that we could. There was a group of kayakers getting ready to go out. I used the pay phone to download pocket mail while we were waiting for Ed.

We walked up with Ed to the parking lot. He drove into Annapolis and the Spa Creek bridge had traffic at a standstill. They had reservations at the Yacht Club, which meant Bob couldn't pay for us which he had told Ed he wanted to do. :-(

Nancy and I had cream of crab soup. They give you the sherry on the side so you can add the amount you like. Bob and Nancy had the crabcake sandwich.

We were a little late getting out of there, and were afraid the park would be closed, but there was a big party there, so the gate was open. We got to the parking lot, and Ed said - I might as well drive you down to the dock - there's no one here now. So he did, much to Nancy's dismay. He just drove over the grass around the little post that blocks access to the one lane macadam park road.

It was very peaceful except that someone was partying down near the entrance to the creek, and shouting and carrying on for a little while.

Sunday August 20th.
We have 3 sources of weather information. A handheld VHF which picks up the weather (usually from one of three channels - sometimes from 2). (Of course we have the main radio too, but it is the same information.) Here we are getting the broadcast from Pikesville which covers the upper end of the bay. At home we get the one from VA which covers the lower end of the bay. Sometimes we also get the one for the beaches. All of them give the wind and waves at Thomas Point.

We also have a regular AM/FM radio with CD player, with speakers in the cockpit, courtesy of the PO. And we have a 12" TV/VCR which runs on either 12v or A/C, and an antenna. The antenna also came from the PO.

The wind is forecast to be 10 knots mostly on the nose with flat seas today. Our destination is Locust Cove in Bodkin Creek where Bob's brother David lives. Bob's idea is that we will take David and Kay sailing tomorrow (Monday is usually his day off).

The little motor boat next to us, which has no bimini or cover at all, apparently had someone spending the night there - we see them sit up in the apparently empty boat .

We watch a few people get underway - the wind kicked up a little around 7:30. We pulled the anchor and exited Harness Creek about 9:00 am.

We motored out towards Thomas Point light. Bob put the curtains down which makes it hard to see the crab pots although big stuff like boats (including a big speed boat with the occupants wearing red racing crash helmets) and lighthouse are perfectly visible.



I think he ran over one crab pot.

As we come out into the Bay, the wind is now 19 knots with a 1 to 2 foot chop. NOAA is still forecasting 10 knots and calm seas even as they are reporting 19 knots at Thomas Point.

Our boat lists to starboard about 2-4". Even after Bob put 300 lbs of extra batteries (which he hasn't had a chance to hook up yet) in the port locker to balance the starboard ones, it still lists. I figure it must be the food and ice in the frig (we have two deep refrigerator boxes and one freezer) that is responsible. Can't think of anything else it would be.

At home, we take old 2 litre soda bottles and heavy plastic juice bottles, fill them with water and freeze them in the deep freeze. Periodically we take some out of the freezer and allow them to melt a little in the frig. That gives us ice water, and helps keep the boxes cold in between times we run the engine compressor. Don't do this with milk jugs or those thin white plastic water bottles. They are not tough enough to take reuse and will spring leaks.

Bob shut down the wind vane so the (2) solar panels could work. In direct sun, they can put out 7 amps. Now, not in direct sun with the US flag on the stern shading them somewhat, they are still doing 3 amps.

We approach the Bay bridge about 11:15. I am taking pictures because I want to do a triptych of the bridge on the screens of the back 3 opening ports







We went under the bridge at noon. Bob and I had an argument over the clearance just outside of the main span. He was afraid we would hit the top of the mast, and I said we'd have plenty of room. He was at the wheel, so we went under the main span.

Bob had more fried chicken for lunch and I had lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

The autopilot will sometimes work and sometimes not. It seems to work harder than it needs to in the chop (later found it was a loose connection)

Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65155 08/14/10 04:20 PM
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Sandy Point

I called David's house from north of the bridge. Dave had told Bob that Kay was having a foot operation the previous week. It was at this point that I discovered that he had not even *mentioned* to Kay that we were coming. She was still on crutches and in considerable pain. Also she had volunteered (with her mother who is in her 80's) to babysit her two grandchildren - an active 5 year old and a 4 month old infant, and the parents had come to pick them up, plus her other daughter Karen and husband were visiting.

So she was frazzled, and I was upset. Didn't know anything else to do but go to their house anyway, but Kay would obviously be unable to come out on the boat tomorrow.

Even if she could get on, she couldn't get below to use the head..

We went by Baltimore Light at 1:00pm.




Reached their house at 3pm after 23 miles (7.5 hours of motoring). Kay was asleep and all the relatives had gone home.

This time we tied up on the side of the pier and were only sticking out into the creek a little bit.. (Last time we were T'd on the end because we tried to go in on the other side and it was too narrow.)

Bob lost his only pair of reading glasses overboard when he tied up. It is very skinny water here - we are aground at low tide. We cooked dinner on the boat (steaks on the grill) and brought it in for Kay and David. I brought my computer in and used their phone to download e-mail to the computer, and change my pocketmail mailbox.

We looked at their digital photos of Greece and Turkey, and I showed them how to delete photos they didn't want to keep.

Had intended to do a wash here, but they are having difficulty with their water, so decided not to impose any more.

Monday August 21st
A nice sunny day but with little wind. We didn't leave very early today. Just lazed around in the morning. My computer seems to be working OK again. Dave didn't want to go sailing and leave Kay alone. I offered to stay back with her, but he declined. I had a nice visit with the lady next door.

Dave told us that her husband (the next door neighbor) works on marine electronics and Autohelm confirmed that he was an authorized repair person, but we need parts, so we'll have to send the unit back. Dave also drove Bob to get another pair of reading glasses.

We pushed off late - helped by Dave - and we started the engine driven refrigeration right away.

I managed to figure out the correct heading to take in order to have the least amount of crab pots coming out toward 7 Foot Knoll. Both Bob and David resent the fact that the lighthouse there has been moved into the Baltimore harbor.





Coming in the Patapsco, we went by the Howard vet hospital,



and saw a ship in the drydock being sand blasted at the Beth Steel shipyard.



We motored by Ft Carroll with it's derelict wooden lighthouse,



under the Key Bridge,



and saw the red white and blue ATON (aid to navigation) type marker where Francis Scott Key's ship was anchored during the bombardment of Ft. McHenry.

I hadn't been able to get cell phone service at my BILs, so I called my daughter and talked to her as we were approaching the harbor. We saw the tunnel entrances on both sides of the harbor, and passed Ft. McHenry. They've taken down the crane that fell at the Domino Sugar pier the beginning of the month.

I had called Anchorage Marina the day before to get a slip since we needed a pumpout, fuel and I thought we'd do the laundry, but they had no places they said. So I called Inner Harbor. They do give a discount for BoatUS membership. Bob had kind of wanted to anchor out there in the harbor, but I guess we both chickened out.

Called the marina on the radio to find where we were going. Unfortunately another sailboat came in ahead of us and things got confused so I called on the cell phone. We were on D dock and the sailboat ahead of us was too.

I walked down toward the end of the dock where I saw some guys having a beer. They turned out to belong to a couple of the big power boats, and they told me where the office was. We talked a bit - they were under the impression that we were the other sailboat that came in and I pointed out that ours had mast steps. They expressed complete and utter horror at the idea of ever climbing a mast, even at dock.

I walked up to the office, and we paid, and also found out that we couldn't get a pumpout because their lines were broken or something. What a crock. What do people do? There were ducks there with ducklings still in the fuzzy stage. Down home, they are late adolescent ducklings - almost full grown.

We walked to the Rusty Scupper for an early dinner. They had nice drawings of the lighthouses, but the food was quite expensive. We saw a cruising sailboat (you can tell because they have solar panels and wind generators and radar and gerry jugs tied to the lifelines) tied up by the aquarium.

Bob walked to a local market and got soap and did a load of wash. The washers use tokens which you buy at the office. The guy had to hit the machine with his hand to get it to work. They let me use the credit card machine line to hook to the internet, and I used the pay phone to get pocketmail.

I sat up quite late writing e-mail on the computer to download next time we get to a place where I have an internet connection.

Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65156 08/14/10 04:40 PM
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grandmaR Offline OP
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Leaving - August 22, 2000
Bob shaved in the marina bathroom, but we prefer to shower on the boat. Our shower is nicer and we always have plenty of hot water.

Bob walked to the Cross Street market, but he said there was only one vegetable stand open and everything looked tired (not fresh), so he didn't buy anything. We pushed off about 9:20. Started the engine driven refrigeration (Bob sees no need to pay extra for electricity considering the piddling amount that we would use - we don't have A/C). Bob thought the timer wasn't working, so he turned it off early. (We have to run the engine driven refrigeration *no more* than 45 minutes or all the oil runs out of the compressor and it freezes up - not a desired result.) Two runs of 45 minutes a day is normally enough to keep everything cold.

I got a photo of Lazarette Light on the way out - it was obscured by the ships at the loading dock on the way in.



We put up the sails before we got to the Key Bridge, but had to tack to get around Sparrow's Point. A big grey Navy ship was chivied by tugs out of the Beth Steel yard behind us - we stayed out of her way!! Several sailboats were sailing on the Patapsco

,

..but none, so far as I could see, went out into the Bay with us. Too windy for them I guess.


Wind in the Bay was 17-19 knots from the south. We sailed pretty much straight across for Rock Hall. Heard a guy on the radio asking for a tow. He talked to the CG, but when they went to channel 22, they weren't able to make contact with each other. Another boater gave him the Tow Boat 800 phone #, but he said he'd already tried that without success.

Called Gratitude Marina (because I thought that would be the easiest place to get fuel and a pumpout, and at first they said that they would not be open past 4:30. Then they said someone would be there until 5.

We turned on the engine to motor in toward Rock Hall and got to Gratitude by 4:45, and had a pumpout and bought a minor amount of fuel. The wind blew us down onto the end of the pier as we were backing off and our anchor fluke took a slat off of the last piling of the pier.

We anchored in Swan Creek. There was a trawler at the entrance and a sailboat farther up. We anchored in behind the trawler near a duck blind in about 6 feet of water. Anchored by 5:27 after 30.9 miles travel - av. speed 4.1 knots.

We had dinner in the cockpit and watched 3 other sailboats come in and anchor while we decided where to go next.

Downloaded pocketmail - 22 messages took 4 to 6 minutes.



Our next destination was to be Queenstown, but I have no pictures of Queenstown, because - although we had it as a destination... we never actually got here.

Last night in Swan Creek, the wind vane more than kept up with electrical use. I was a little worried that it would disturb others in the anchorage.

This morning, I downloaded 4 or 5 new email messages via pocketmail and took 1 min 12 sec. Answered 3 and sending them took 1 min 23 sec.

We were the first to leave the anchorage at 8:20 am. We picked up our anchor, and motored out to the bay.--The forecast said calm seas and 10 knots of S wind. Well the wind direction was right. They kept up with that forecast even as they were reporting 19 knots at Thomas Point. (Thomas Point is one of NOAA's reporting stations.)



There was a one to two foot chop with white caps. We motored into the wind, which did not abate much when we entered the Chester River.

Bob wanted to go to a real grocery store for groceries.

We decided to anchor north of the entrance inside Queenstown Creek and dingy in to Queenstown. The charts said the inlet was 6 ft. with local knowledge.

We had directions from 2 guidebooks, so we tried. Three times we approached and 3 times it shallowed up to 4.5 ft. and we went aground. (we draw 4'11") Later we talked to Jim and Pat and they said they'd done the inlet recently, and they only draw 2" less than we do. I think Bob was giving the markers too much leeway again.

As Bob turned away to give it up as a bad job, the wind (still 19-20 knots) blew us down onto a shoal sideways and we were aground for the 4th time. We couldn't power out forward or backward or combinations with us on the bow or stern.

We tried unfurling the main to make her heel, which she did, and we went to the low side to make her heel more. We got off briefly, only to be blown back.

I called for a tow or for someone in Queenstown on the radio but no one answered. I found a # of a tow boat on the north side of Kent Narrows and called with the cell phone, but got a recording that the # was disconnected. The engine was overheating from running full tilt.

What really annoyed me about this was not only did no one respond on the radio (and the previous day a guy had the same problem getting a tow) but a sailboat actually came out of the inlet, passing within about 10 feet of us and totally ignored the fact that we were obviously in trouble - did not wave or even make eye contact. I was so surprised I didn't hail them.

Bob decided to try kedging off. He got the dink out and put the motor on, and put the 50 lb anchor in it. I fed 100 feet of chain down to him. After he gained control of the dink which tried to come back and ram the mother ship and after getting the chain arranged so that it wouldn't pull him overboard with it (He skinned his shin in the process), he carefully laid the chain out to the windward. When he got to the end he heaved the anchor over, fortunately without going over with it.

He came back and tied the dink to the lee side of the boat, and started winching in the chain while I, at the helm, attempted to push the boat toward the anchor with the engine..

At first (for the first 50 ft.) it did not seem to be working.

Then we were free, and I motored carefully but firmly into the wind. Bob stowed the anchor (no need to wash it, everything blew off before it got on deck, plus it was more sand than mud), and then went to get the dink to a more appropriate place.

Suddenly, I heard him yell "We've lost the dink" and I looked up and saw him with both ends of the rope (one end with a knot in it) in his hand as he was leaping toward the stern. I threw the boat into reverse, and unbeknownst to me (because I was paying close attention to the depth gauge in front of me), he leaped from the transom down into the dink as it was floating by, wrenching his leg, but only getting one sock and shoe wet in the process.

I heard him say "We've got the dink", so I stopped reversing. He did not know I had put the boat into reverse until afterwards. Probably would have given him a heart attack if he had known.

After we secured the dink, we motored up and anchored in the Corsica River.

We anchored off the country house owned by the Russian embassy (with several 'Private Property' signs on the beach) in the Corsica by 3:30, after 21.2 nm at an average speed of 3.6 knots. Of course that includes the going aground time.

We dined on melon, salad, grapefruit and hot dogs sans mustard as we had no regular veggies.

Almost no keys on my keyboard of my computer were working. I can control the navigation software with the mouse, but I have to keep notes on the trip by hand.

I called our daughter to check in, and tried to figure out where else we could get groceries.

Thursday Aug 24th, 2000
Bob went over the side this morning (on purpose) to see if there was any damage to the rudder. It was too dark as the sun wasn't shining onto the water properly yet, and he didn't have the dive light with him. He felt something "make a pass at"' his feet, and exited the water rapidly, stating that he was not going in there again.

We started the engine at 9:15 and pulled the anchor which was very muddy. Bob has a Rule bilge pump attached to a hose, which plugs into a 12V outlet in the V berth and he lowers on a plastic chain into the water. He uses it to wash off the anchor and chain.

I called the Chestertown Marina and asked for a slip. Motored up the river under somewhat overcast skies. Saw a fox trotting along the shore.

Passed a most unusual house at Ashland Landing - 4 stories plus an attic with dormer windows - very tall and narrow - made of wood. And it had full balconies all the way around the 2nd and 3rd floors, and french doors in the middle of the longer side of the house for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors. There was also a large barn with a cupola and a shed on one side. Found out later that two silos (which are on the charts as silos) had been converted into a house.



This was as close as we came to seeing a lighthouse on this section of the trip.

We arrived in Chestertown at 12:40, after motoring 13 miles at 4.6 knots. They put us on the river side of the dock and charged $1.25/foot, but water and electricity were free.

We walked into town and had a late lunch at the Blue Heron. On the way back to the boat, we stopped in the gourmet grocery (now Joy's) and the Natural Foods store. They had between the two stores a lot of what we wanted, but Bob felt that the prices were way out of line, and he refused to pay for the convenience and the upscale location.

The marina said the owner who would have given us a lift to the mall was on vacation and there was only one taxi. I called him and left a message. When I called again, he said he was at the airport in Philadelphia and wouldn't be back until 6 pm.

So Bob determine to walk to the shopping center - probably a mile or a mile and a half away. Before he went, he started the A/C refrigeration system.

On the way, he went around Washington College, and he found what he says must be the last Rose's in existence. There he bought a bag (like a carry-on bag) to bring back the groceries, and he also found an oriental type runner for the boat. It took him about an hour and a half to walk up, shop at the Acme and walk back. (He said the folks at the Acme thought he was crazy.)

I picked up my pocketmail at the pay phone, filled the empty water jugs and put them in the freezer and frig., tried to find a local access number for the computer (without success) and spent a lot of time arguing with AT&T on the phone because my connection was really awful. I later found out that a lot of the static on the line was due to a faulty head set. But even so, the connections were bad.

We went to the Old Wharf Inn (right next to the marina) for dinner. We ran the refrigeration until we went to bed.

Friday : August 25th
Took photos of the sunrise over the Chestertown bridge early this morning.

Spent a long time on the phone with AT&T and they are going to ship me a new phone. It has to go to my mother's because we won't be home to sign for it, so I had to call her to tell her it is coming. Found that pocketmail isn't forwarding all my messages. Wrote them a note about it.

The freezer is getting pretty cold. Bob says it is freezing the meat!! Got a pumpout and sailed peacefully down the river under sunny skies until about noon. Then the wind shifted so we motored.

We want to be in the Wye River tomorrow, so we want to go as far as possible today, since Bob doesn't think we could get out the other side of Kent Narrows without going aground (and we don't want to do that again). That means we have to go around tomorrow.

So we are anchoring in the Chester River just down from Love Point. This is obviously a completely unsuitable place to anchor, protected only from the west. Bob went in too close and the depth alarm sounded twice, but finally we anchored off a little inlet - 24.6 miles in 6 hours. We sat on the deck and watched water skiers and boats.

Called our daughter and friends on the cell phone, and ate dinner. Then sat on the deck and watched a fireworks display (quite a good one) which appeared to be at Queenstown. Then it was flat calm all night.

Saturday: Aug 26th
The bimini is covered with gnats, midges and mosquitos this morning. There are also flies, mosquito hawks and small yellow lady-bug type beetles.

At 8:25, when we pulled the anchor, it was completely clean (the bottom was supposed to be sticky). Bob says we could probably have anchored with just the chain and not even put the anchor on the end.

Passed Langenfelters oyster shell piles - another barge-full came in again last night. Ran the freezer again. It was zero yesterday and now is still 29 deg. (Bob checks with the laser temperature sensor). Rounded Bloody Point Bar at 12:15. The South wind is 5 to 6 knots and the sea is glassy and rolling.





This lighthouse is a reddish brown and leans a little bit. I've got a book with the Chesapeake lighthouses all pictured, and in one edition, they mixed up Sharps Island (which is red and leans a bit more than this one) and Bloody Point.

I found a section in a book that had the heights of the various sections of the Bay Bridge and we tried 3 sections away from the west channel where we thought it would be about 88 feet..

I panicked at the last minute, but we made it through fine.

The cell phone keeps wanting me to give it a credit card number. I can't make any calls on it at all and have to use the car phone.

We saw Ernie on his way to St. Michaels, and then as we motored into Shaw Bay off the Wye River. We were there by 2:30 after 31.5 miles at 5 knots.

There were about 25 boats in Shaw Bay by evening time. About half were power and half sail.

There was another CSY there - the owners came over in the dink for a visit.

Bob asked me to see what shape the prop was in, so I put on a dive skin and free dived. It was covered with barnacles. Bob gave me a scraper, and I did several dives to scrape them off.

A jellyfish tentacle got on my neck and stung me, and I had a gouge and some scratches from the barnacles on my hands. Bob scrubbed the waterline from the dink.

Sunday August 27th

The wind picked up last night, and we had to power up to the anchor because of the wind. Anchor finally up at 9:30 am. Ran the refrigeration, and put up the sails (main and staysail only) coming out of the Wye River (past the fake lighthouse).



When we turned off the engine after running the refrigeration and feathered the prop, our speed went from 4.3 to 4.8 knots, so the feathered prop gives us at least an extra half knot under sail. Sailed in 11 to 16 knots of wind.

We saw Ernie ahead of us coming out of St. Michaels. We didn't hail him on the radio because we know he doesn't turn it on. He was reading in the cockpit.

As we rounded into Eastern Bay, the wind picked up to 20-23 knots from the south, and we were heeled 15 deg. Bob didn't seat the drawer in the aft head completely, and it fell out (I don't use this drawer so it wasn't me!!) - But I did leave the door with the toilet paper on it not latched well, and some of it unrolled with the motion of the boat.)

After we rounded the corner into the Chesapeake the wind was directly on the nose, so we furled the sails. Motoring into the wind is quite slow, and since thunderstorms are predicted (and seem inevitable) I am a little worried. We are only making 2 to 3 knots forward progress.

Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65157 08/14/10 05:06 PM
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grandmaR Offline OP
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Another photo of the fake lighthouse

After we left Eastern Bay, I fixed lunch, but a bounce of the boat knocked over Bob's tea and I had to fix it again. Saw a cabin cruiser towing TWO small sailboats. Wonder how they stop. A dragonfly flew through the cockpit, but we couldn't find any flies for him to eat.

We passed R84 in the channel at 3:15. The wind has dropped to 18-19 knots with 2 to 5 foot waves, but there are low lying clouds and we can't see the western shore because of the haze. I suggest a couple of times that we should go through Knapps Narrows, as I am sure we are in for a storm, but Bob doesn't want to try it. He also doesn't want to hear the thunder that I am hearing, although I am not seeing any lightening yet. He later admits that Knapps Narrows would have been a good idea.

We finally spotted Sharp's Island light at about 4:30. By this time, I am seeing lightening on the western shore, and we got a chance to see what a rain storm looked like on the radar. We are not going to make it into the Choptank before the storm.

There is a lot of lightening and thunder, and the wind and waves have both picked up. I see gusts of up to 38 knots twice on the wind gauge. It is very dark and hard to see anything. I have turned the computer and the charting system and the GPS hooked to it off and disconnected them, but the other GPS and the radar are still on. We have all the bimini curtains down and are pretty dry in the cockpit.

Bob motors around sort of in a circle by Sharps Island for about a half an hour while the worst of the storm passes. A bolt of lightening comes pretty close to us (the thunder is almost simultaneous), but everything keeps working. We finally make it into the Choptank and anchor just outside Cook Cove (we are afraid to go in any closer, although we have done so in the past) about 7 pm. It's taken us over 9 hours to go 34 miles.

We are only protected from the south at this location, and hardly at all from the west, north or east.

Mon Aug 28th 2000
Today dawned clear and sunny. We can see the Western shore from inside the Choptank. Bob suggests that 'next time' we need to stay longer in various anchorages (!!) If we hadn't run into the storm last night, I was going to suggest that we go up one of the northern arms of the Choptank - maybe even into the back door of St. Michaels, which we haven't visited this time because I hadn't wanted to go on a weekend.

We get underway slowly this morning as we are going back to Oxford which isn't far away. Last time we were so busy visiting friends that we didn't see much of the town. Also we need a pumpout again.

The bearing in the main furler (made of some type of plastic) has broken again and Bob made a fix for it out of some slippery line.

Started the engine at about 9:45. As we motored along in the Choptank, I saw 4 beautiful swans (the birds not the boats) sailing along in the opposite direction. This is the Oxford spider



We got the sails out to dry them a bit, and sailed back and forth between R12 and R12A. As we came abreast of Oxford, a clock or church tower ashore chimed extensively (and melodiously) at noon.

We had made reservations at Mears (Bob specified Mears although I think other boatyards there may be cheaper), and we arrived there 9.8 miles after the start, had a pumpout and got fuel (20 gal) by 12:43. They put us at the end on the outside of D dock. They make a big thing about cable TV being available, but we weren't really interested. We get good non cable reception, enough to watch the news and that's enough for us. Bob did watch the weather channel a bit while waiting for the washer. I thought I might swim in the pool, but it turned out to be too rainy.

Bob thought the marina was a rip-off in their prices. They charged $1.50/ft with no discount, electricity was $5. They were charging $1.49 for diesel, which is what we are paying for the car with 24 cents road tax on it, so they are making an extra 24 cents profit on each gal. (I always get diesel for the car in Cambridge, Easton or Salisbury because the fuel there is cheaper by a good bit than anywhere on the western shore, so I know fuel is not more expensive over there to justify a higher price.)

He paid $1.00 for a washer which was the same as in Baltimore, but he didn't feel this one got stuff clean and it had only cold water available. Dryers were 50 cents, vs $1.00 in Baltimore, but the stuff didn't get dry even after two cycles ($1 worth). They had bikes for rent $9+/day plus tax, whereas our marina at home lets you use bikes, or even a truck to get supplies for free. He also complained about them charging 50 cents for the 25 cent Washington Post, not realizing that a lot of places outside the immediate DC area do that.

We walked over to the Chatterbox Cafe for lunch, and saw Jim and Pat working on their boat at Oxford boatyard and said we'd be back after lunch. One of the reasons we came back to Oxford was to visit with them - they were out of town when we were here before.

A big bowl (which they called a cup) of gazpacho was $4.50, and we each also had a chicken salad sandwich (had to eat with a fork) was $3.95. Very good and satisfying.

We walked around to the Oxford Boatyard and saw Jim and Pat's boat (they've completely torn out the interior - the exterior looks beautiful), and then it looked like rain, so while they stowed their tools, we walked back to our boat stopping to look at a CSY 37 that was slipped there. It started to rain. Bob walked quickly back to our boat, and was able to close the ports and hatches that we'd left open before things got too wet, and put down the side curtains.

He got a little wet, but I (going more slowly) got absolutely soaked to the skin - it rained so hard I couldn't see very well because of the rain on my glasses. After I got to the boat, I stripped all my clothes off in the cockpit - the curtains were too steamed up for anyone to see me, and I didn't want to drip in the cabin any more than necessary. We actually hadn't needed to do a wash, but we did need to get all that wet stuff dry.

A big Island Packet named ExFed (painted in FedEx colors) had been put at the other end of our side of D dock. Jim and Pat (using trash bags as raincoats) came over to our boat and we visited while it gradually cleared a little. After they came aboard the marina guy put an Jeaneau in between ExFed and us. Jim asked if I didn't want to go forward and fend them off our boat and I said I thought our anchors would do just fine. No one would want their boat in contact with our ugly pointy anchors (one a Max and one a CQR).

Jim offered to drive us to the grocery before we left, because he'd heard about our Queenstown exploits, but we declined with thanks.

They put a BIG Hattaras named Prima Donna on the T end of D dock. Their bow stuck out a little past our stern. They had a motor scooter aboard we found out later.

While Bob attempted the laundry, I used the pay phone (none of the portables worked) to download pocketmail. The mail forwarding from Mindspring dumped huge bunch of messages (20 or more) all at once onto the desktop. The pay phone was under the steps, right where the rain poured down on it. Everything there was wet and it was almost impossible to keep to receiver and the pocketmail dry even when I put it inside my raincoat.

Wearing our foul weather gear (just in case), we walked along the waterfront to the Robert Morris Inn (by the ferry dock) for dinner. It was really a nice evening although damp and a little overcast. One of the houses along the street had some BIG binoculars trained out on the Tred Avon - on a tripod - the large end lenses looked as big as saucers.

We dined by the window in the Tap Room. This is another expensive fancy place (we were put in the Tap Room because that was 'more casual' although the menu was the same).

Bob had a house salad ($5) and the fisherman's appetizer as a main course ($8.50 - fried clams, shrimp and scallops). I had a combination dish (can't remember the name - surf and something) which consisted of an *excellent* broiled lump crab meat crab cake (a la Robert Morris - apparently they do two types - and Oxford crab cake and a Robert Morris crab cake) and a grilled chicken breast. I didn't eat the chicken - saved it for lunch the next day. I couldn't figure out what was in the crab cake other than crab. It was a wonder to me that it even stuck together. My dinner cost $19. It was one of the lowest cost items on the menu.

With it, I also got a nice warm hard roll, a corn muffin, asparagus, fried zucchini, and something mashed which I think was rutabaga or some root vegetable that I don't normally like, but which was good. I ordered the chicken and crab because it was cheaper than just the crab by itself. Go figure. I had strawberry pie for dessert and Bob had coconut key lime cake.

As we walked back we had a friendly discussion/argument about how many boats were anchored where we had anchored last time, and whether they had anchor lights or not. One (which Bob didn't see at first) didn't have any light visible to us, and one apparently had an oil light that went out as we watched.

I tried pocketmail at the pay phone again, but apparently it got a drop of water on it, and it and stopped working altogether. I took it apart and put the batteries in again and left it to dry out, and it resumed working the next day.

Tuesday August 29th
We have damp clothes strung to dry all over the cabin. Underway by 9 after waiting for local showers to be local somewhere else.

The boat backs to starboard and we were tied up on the starboard side. The wind was also from the starboard. Bob's plan was to untie all the lines except the bow line, and push off with a boat hook as far as he could from the stern, allowing the wind to carry us out past where the Hattaras bow overlapped our stern. Then he would let go the bow line, and I could back out into Town Creek.

This plan worked well, except that I didn't know the engine was in neutral (prop not engaged) from when were going to run the engine driven refrigeration (which we forgot to do). Bob had to come back and engage it because I couldn't understand what he was saying. But we got off without hitting anyone or anything, so that's cool.

We sailed out of the Choptank (finally some sailing) with the main and jib in a following wind. The wind held almost all the way to the western shore. Went in and out of gentle showers.

I have resisted setting the computer up because it is increasingly flakey. In addition to the keyboard not working, it occasionally will go to sleep and then I have to restart it. Tried to connect to pocketmail, but can't keep a connection long enough to pick any mail up.



Cove Point in the distance



Fuel gas piers off Cove Point

About 2:30, when the wind died we started the engine, and ran the refrigeration. Bob used his laser thermometer and said the transmission was 130 deg. We went into the Patuxent to anchor. Bob didn't want to go into Solomons. We were afraid to go up the river too far for fear would wouldn't get all the way back to Smith Creek tomorrow and would have to anchor at off Point Lookout in Cornfield Harbor again, so we anchored right off the base in the big horseshoe bend where we watched the air show last summer. There are big signs everywhere warning you to stay 200 feet from shore, which also means

*** No Crab Pots***.

The Patuxent is deep almost to the edges. We finally anchor at 5 pm in 15 feet of water, protected only from the south, after 33.7 miles. We motored two hours at the end and about a hour and half at the beginning of the almost 8 hour trip. Tonight, the wind is from the NE and the boat rocks a bit and the wind vane also runs a lot.

I can't get the cell phone to work at all.

Wednesday, August 30th
The wind picked up this morning and it is a really ugly looking day. See a tug and barge leave while we are still anchored, but they turn out for the bay.

We got underway early - at 7:15. We are determined to get home tonight and pick up our mail and the other computer which should be fixed. The grass is probably up to the eaves. I can't even get the computer started. It is asking for a bios update disk. [Note - returned it to Best Buy and they put a new hard drive in, and also a new keyboard. I should have it back by Monday I hope].

See two gunboats (river boats) charge out from the base at Pax. Off Cedar Point, we put up the main and jib and sailed - doing 7 knots in 16 knots of wind.

We hear the range boat tell another captain to give the range a 2 mile clearance because 'the point was hot'. When asked, the range boat answered that boats were using the range and not planes. So that's where those guys were headed.

We avoided the whole area by sailing over towards Hooper Island. We passed Hooper about 9:30.





Heard a freighter calling the Cove Point CG (there's no station there anymore) about a small boat (35 foot Wellcraft named Shanook) who had an engine room fire near Cove Point. The station at St. Inigoes answered him. Eventually, a tow boat reached him I guess.

As we got to Point Lookout, we started seeing thunderstorms again, and furled the sails and motored into the river. Bob wanted to take out the sails to dry them, and we tried that, but it didn't stay not-raining long enough. This is what Point Lookout looked like before they painted it.



I can pick out the entrance to Smith Creek now, even when I can't see the buoys on the radar. Bob is much better at tweaking the radar than I am. We are finally tied in our home slip (even with a cross wind and a really high tide that's almost over A dock) by 2:44 after a final trip of 36.4 miles.

Bob takes the control unit of the autopilot off, and we unload the food (although I don't find two bottles of salad dressing in the frig until the next day when we go down to get the stuff we didn't bring off this time), and the computer and phones. We go straight to the PO just before it closes at 5 to get our mail (1.3 bins full).

The grass doesn't look too bad, but it will be days before it is dry enough to cut ) looks like next Weds right now judging by the weather. And I can pick up the other computer this evening. I also get pizza.

Both of us are tired and our bed is rocking and rolling. Bob can't shut his eyes in the shower without almost falling. But we've had a successful shakedown cruise with a lot of more work to come.

Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65158 08/14/10 05:22 PM
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wheland Offline
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Rosalie,

Thanks for taking us on your trip.

It was enjoyable - and a lot less work for me than you. :-)

Dennis

Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65159 08/14/10 06:34 PM
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docsweetie Offline
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Rosalie,
Thanks for these photos. I'm going to be in Maryland and Virginia in May 2011 and am starting to think about my plans. Your trip and photos are great starting points in my process. Thanks!

You've been everywhere!


docsweetie
From Grandkids: Aka Grandma Lighthouse
Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65160 08/14/10 08:07 PM
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wvlights0 Offline
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Very cool Rosalie! I especially liked the picture of Cove Point. You must make meticulous notes.


Laura
Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65161 08/14/10 08:18 PM
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rscroope Offline
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Rosalie, I love your old journals and photos. I hope your cataloging them all, they're historically very interesting(even though just 10 years ago).


LONG ISLAND BOB
Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65162 08/15/10 12:46 AM
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grandmaR Offline OP
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Thank you - glad you enjoyed it.

I kept written logs of the boat trips, and made emails of them for my mother who was still living then. Although I didn't know it at the time, one of my daughters told her friend that we had bought a sailboat and were going to run aground and drown. We have run aground, but haven't drowned (yet)

Lighthouses are about the only thing out on the water to take pictures of - that's how I started. And then of course I did the porthole screens for the boat using those photos.

Here are other photos of that era - Lazarete from farther away



Seven Foot Knoll





Fort Carroll





(In those days I didn't know how to straighten out the horizon on my photos)



Sandy Point - and this camera gave that funny thing on the left side.

Thomas Point between the lifelines


Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65163 08/15/10 01:26 AM
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grandmaR Offline OP
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A picture of Thomas Point that was at one of the NC museums - mislabeled as Sombrero Light



We have not been to St. Michaels yet to see the Hooper Strait lighthouse, but this is a replica which has been built to specs. in Smithfield VA and you can stay overnight there.



Cove Point collage



And one of another angle





You can take a tour of Cove Point from the Solomon's Museum which also has Drum Point



to actually climb through the lighthouse's lower hatch to enter the lighthouse, as the light keepers did a century ago. This really brings a unique perspective that you will not get at many other screwpile lighthouses which have been made into museums.



Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65164 08/15/10 01:31 AM
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grandmaR Offline OP
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Sanitary facilities (over the water)







Each room in the lighthouse has been painstakingly re-created under the direction of Anna Weems Walt who was born and resided in the lighthouse.


The furniture was based on her memory and she even donated some family china to top off her efforts.

Automatic Bell ringer




Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65165 08/15/10 01:41 AM
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grandmaR Offline OP
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Point No Point






Solomon's Lump








And Smith Point






Re: Grandma's Old Lighthousing trips - Chesapeake #65166 08/15/10 02:29 AM
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Lighthouse Loon Offline
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Outstanding stuff Rosalie !!!

Thank you for sharing !!!


Stan M
New Jersey Lighthouse Lovers
------------------------------------
Harry Wishlist: Tinicum Rear Range, Miah Maull Shoal, Finns Point, Bergen Point, Cross Ledge, Old Ambrose Lightstation, Romer Shoal, Barnegat Lightship, Liberty Lightship.

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