Follow the links to read more about our travels

We arrived in the vast busy harbour of Norfolk, home of the US Navy, soon after leaving the serenity of the Great Dismal Swamp Canal. We anchored outside the US Navy Hospital in Portsmouth, looking across at Norfolk waterfront. Across the river we could see the USS Wisconsin, the second world war battle ship that was reactivated for the Korean war and then completely refurbished as a cruise missile base and used in Desert Storm in 1991. The ship is now available to view but can be recalled for action when necessary.

23 June

We left Norfolk together with Moonstruck and out into Chesapeake Bay for the first time. We anchored overnight in Dymer Creek on the western shore of the Chesapeake.  

We continued north from Dymer Creek to Solomon’s Island and anchored in Mill  Creek. Solomon’s Island is a resort area full of yachts, restaurants and bars. We met up with Jeff & Peggy in the main watering hole, the Tiki Bar. Everyone else in town was also there!

We separated from Moonstruck as they left the Solomon’s for Rock Hall and we sailed north to Galesville on the West River to check out Hartge’s boatyard for summer storage. 

Hartge’s yard had all the facilities we needed but could not take Dream On until after 4^th July Independence Day weekend. Also the town of Galesville was very small with minimum facilities, so we decided to move further north.

While we were in Fort Lauderdale in 2004, we met Jim Huber a sailor who had circumnavigated the world twice and had met up with the previous owner of Dream On during those trips. Jim lived at Chestertown in Maryland, up the Chester River and we knew he had just gone through very serious back surgery. Still looking for a safe summer home for Dream On, we decided to go and visit him in Chestertown with the possibility of leaving Dream On there for the summer. We left Galesville and the West River, crossed the Chesapeake, under the very high Chesapeake Bay Bridge, into the Chester River and anchored for one night in Langford Creek.

Motored from Langford Creek further up the Chester River to Chestertown and anchored off Chestertown Marina and the town waterfront.

We called Jim who came down to the marina to meet us. We had lunch together and Jim was kind enough to loan us his BMW as he was unable to drive yet as a result of the surgery. It was great to see that Jim was on the road to recovery and would soon be sailing again. 

Our journey through the ICW and Chesapeake since leaving Beaufort had involved long days with and average of 60-70 nm per day.

A couple of days before the July 4th weekend, we helped Jim put 4th July flags on his yacht Champagne, a 43 foot Swan. We then enjoyed our first 4th July in the US and watched three tremendous firework displays on successive nights.

Chestertown Marina agreed to take Dream On into dry storage after July 4th weekend. We prepared Dream On for storage by washing and airing everything. We also took the opportunity to explore the area, visiting Rock Hall, a very popular spot for boaters, Dover in Delaware and Annapolis..

We hauled Dream On out of the water on 5th July for the summer. Removed the propeller for overhaul.

We rented a car on 7th July and drove from Chestertown to Toronto, a distance of 700 miles.

On 13th July, we flew Toronto to London to catch up with family and renovate some of our rental houses for July, August and September.