The trouble with a Blog is that you have to keep doing it! Moreover once you fall off, as time goes by, it becomes increasingly difficult to get back on the page. So now a super human effort is required to deal with the last TWELVE MONTHS or thereabouts.  Of course one can take some comfort from other famous bloggers; Samuel Pepys comes to mind. Notwithstanding its justified fame his blog came to a sudden halt and he never resumed. So, if you are reading this we are one up on dear Samuel at least.

Back in September 2013 we left you in the Great Wicimoco River on the western shore of the Chesapeake. From there we mounted our single boated attack on Washington DC. We set off up the Potomac on Sunday 15^th September and it took us until Wednesday 18^th September to reach the Capital Yacht Club in the heart of “The District”. This was a pleasant but largely uneventful cruise up the river save for the last bridge. We had to wait for low tide and were then shepherded under the highest span by the bridge staff who waived their hard hats as we slipped under!

We spent a week in Washington seeing the sights and doing the Smithsonian (well Ok  a little bit of it), the metro, the concert at the Kennedy Arts centre,  every monument and capital building worth a name and a fair few eateries. We walked or biked everywhere. It was a blast! Special mention should be made of the Capital Yacht Club who made us truly welcome – breakfast on Sunday morning is not to be missed and of course it is so close to the centre of the action. Thank you CYC.

We set off back down the Potomac on Wednesday 25^th September. We were going very slowly as we were waiting for the bottom of the tide to get under that bridge again. Apparently going so slowly is a sign of evil intent. We were promptly boarded by US coast guard officers who proceeded with an in depth investigation; what weapons are aboard Sir?, is there a fire in the engine room Mam?; and a full check of all safety gear. Imagine our shame when we could not remember how to get the automatic fog horn to work…………..it wouldn’t have happened to Pepys.

But he would have liked these radio calls overheard on Channel 16.  Navy Range Boat to Mary Jane. Mary Jane did not answer several calls – Exasperated naval officer, “Mary Jane – yer phone’s ringing!” And then the unforgettable calls to “Wedded Bliss” again repeated several times with no reply followed by a breaker on the side who intervened –“must be too early!”.

And so to a lazy two weeks of exploring the rivers, creeks and bays of the upper Chesapeake, a visit to the Annapolis Boat Show (very disappointing – not a patch on Southampton) and back to Deltaville in mid October to lay up for the Winter. The log reads – 16^th October,  Sails off; 3 loads of laundry; bunkered 247 US gallons; into travel lift at Chesapeake Boat Works. Somehow not a sufficiently poetic epilogue to a wonderful couple of months of sublime, lazy, cruising.