Adventures of The Bartholomew: 4ppl, 2wks, 350mi in a CD25

[joshuadickey]

Last October, I bought a non-running motorcycle from a guy at work for $300. After cleaning the carb and putting in a new battery, I straight-traded the bike for a boat: a 1978 Cape Dory CD25 on a trailer. Interestingly, the boat was hull number 666... so my son decided on a good Christian name: The Bartholomew!

A couple months later, I found out that my family would be moving up to Washington, DC and a CRAZY idea began to form in my head... perhaps my boys and I could sail this old boat from our home in Merritt Island, FL up the ICW to Washington DC?! It would be quite a trip, considering the fact that my sons are 10, 8 and 6 years old (James, Benjamin and David, respectively). The good news was, there would be standing headroom for 75% of my crew ... probably a first for the diminutive little CD25!

[joshuadickey]

Bartholomew needed a bit of cleaning and some bottom paint, but the bones were good! After some negotiation with my new employer in DC, I was granted a couple weeks of leave for the sailing trip... this was not enough time for the full 800+ miles, so I decided to trailer the boat up to Mackey's Marina on the western banks of the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, and then sail the 300+ miles up to the Capital. I had a lot of work to do to get Bartholomew ready for the ambitious journey over land and sea!

[joshuadickey]

In the end, Bartholomew cost me quite a bit more than my initial investment of $300. In particular, I invested about a thousand bucks in the trailer and another $2k in the outboard... I probably could have gotten away with a used outboard, but I didn't want to be fussing with the motor with three young kids on board.

$1800 - Tohatsu Sailpro 6hp, 20" shaft
$ 900 - hubs, wheels and tires for the trailer
$ 400 - barrier coat and bottom paint
$ 600 - CDI FF2 roller furler
$ 300 - used 150% genoa and mainsail
$ 200 - beautiful African Mahogany tiller
$ 100 - 300ft of 3/8 double braid for running rigging

Roughly four thousand dollars and several weeks later, I buttoned her up for the drive to North Carolina!

[joshuadickey]

Day 1 (05/29/2022):
0 miles.

We arrived at the marina and hunkered down for the first night in the ship. Our crew was short a man, as my youngest son David had a cold and stayed home with his mother. The Bartholomew's cabin was quite the mess!

[joshuadickey]

Day 2 (05/30/2022):
25 miles
Mackey's Marina to Yeopim Creek

We woke up at 7am to the gentle rocking of the boat at Mackey's Marina. We then spent the next several hours getting the brand new motor unboxed, onboard and oiled, the alternator connected for battery charging, and a 12V charging port installed into the cabin. Next, we finished rigging the roller furling, we cut and installed all three sheets, and we adjusted the self tailing jib winches, all by 11:00 . Finally, we loaded up on ice and fuel, hoisted the sails, fired up the motor, and set sail for the outer banks!



The first several hours were smooth sailing... we had a pleasant breeze, so we hoisted the sails and I taught James how to furl the jib, trim the sheets and man the helm. Everything was splendid until we crossed under the Albemarle Sound Bridge. Once on the Eastern side of the bridge, the winds picked up considerably and I went up on the bow to adjust the topping lift, leaving James on the tiller. Quite suddenly, the wind began blowing pretty fiercely and I was left clinging to the mast, while James fought for control! The mainsheet was hauled in too close and the boat began to heel aggressively, frightening James into changing course, which then (of course) resulted in a violent Jibe and another aggressive heel as the boat spun wildly and James and I each hung on for dear life. (Un)Fortunately, the used mainsail ripped under the stress which righted the boat, and after some quick adjustments, we were able to motor up into Yeopim Creek for the night. The winds calmed and we moored in a peaceful spot under the bright stars.

That evening, as we enjoyed a warm pot of freshly cooked spaghetti in the cabin, James and I discussed the events of the day. He assured me that he never wanted to sail again, and I assured him that I knew how he felt. But I also reminded him that although we often read about adventures in books and watch adventures in the movies, we rarely get the chance to go on real adventures ourselves. James smiled and assured me that we had been on a real adventure THAT day!

[joshuadickey]

Day 3 (05/31/2022):
30 miles
Yeopim Creek to CoinJock Marina

After the adventures of our first day, we decided to take advantage of our beautiful new motor and power up the sound into the ICW! In the morning, we were treated to a fleet of A10 Warthogs performing a training run... we saw 9 of them in total, and the boys waved vigorously to each of them. A couple of them even waved their wings back in response and flew low over the water giving us a bit of an air show!


The real hero of the day was our chart plotting system: the Aquamap App. It was wonderfully accurate and our Navigator, James, used it to keep us in the deep parts of the channel. We made an early stop at the CoinJock Marina around 3pm, and enjoyed a wonderful hot shower before feasting in the CoinJock restaurant. Benjamin was particularly delighted with the chicken nuggets and french fries. After dinner, we spent an hour walking up and down the docks admiring all the beautiful sail and motor yachts tied up at the CoinJock. We discussed our favorite boats and favorite features, which largely centered on the presence of multiple floors, fancy spiral staircases and dinghies nearly as big as our ship. The Bartholomew, which had seemed absolutely enormous when parked in our yard for 6 months, now seemed like a tiny toy in comparison to the mighty ships around us. But the boat was plenty big enough for the three of us! At nightfall, the boys and I piled up in the veebirth, where we opened the hatch and let the salty breeze blow in as we watched a modern seafaring classic for kids: Moana .



While at the CoinJock, I also discovered that my "like new" radio from Amazon Warehouse did not come with a battery charger (a specialty item) and thus was dead for the duration. Fortunately, JD at the CoinJock was able to order me a new handheld, which arrived on the loading docks at 4:30 the next morning, giving us plenty of time to make our 6am departure.

[joshuadickey]

Day 4 (06/01/2022):
45 miles
CoinJock Marina to Ocean Yacht Marina

Our 3rd day was an adventure up the ICW, and we were desperately glad to have use of our new marine radio! Many of our new-found friends from the CoinJock were cruising together, which was quite a comfort, and we were particularly glad to be traveling with helpful boats like Ranger, Slip Away and Serenity. Together, they helped us navigate the 9 bridges (including a train!) and the lock safely.




Serenity (a 40+ ft sailing catamaran) was particularly helpful, and Serenity's captain Brian gave me the best piece of advice on the trip: The bigger they are, the faster you get out of the way (Tis' be how we earned our nickname: Renegade)! This was especially timely advice as we entered Norfolk Harbor, where giant Tugs and enormous Warships abound!



After a long day of motoring and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we were glad to stop at the Ocean Yacht Marina for the night. We took a nice walk down to Guad's Mexican restaurant, where our server Antonio taught the kids Spanish and Benjamin enjoyed a delicious plate of (you guessed it) chicken nuggets and french fries! On our way back, Benjamin stopped to chat with a really wonderful older woman at a bus stop who ended up giving each of the boys a Hallmark card, a dollar bill and a scripture verse.

After dinner, the boys and I headed up to the Ocean Yacht Captain's Lounge, where we enjoyed a hot shower and long movie in the air conditioning .

[joshuadickey]

Day 5 (06/02/2022):
50 miles
Ocean Yacht Marina to Safe Harbor at Stingray Point

Almost got run over by an aircraft carrier!



Water on the Chesapeake was like glass! It was the perfect day to cover some miles on the Bay.

[joshuadickey]

Day 6 (06/03/2022):
35 miles
Stingray Point to Smith's Point

Seas were much rougher and the wind and current fought us all day long. Our speed dropped from 6 knots the day before to just 2-3 knots and our faces were filled with seawater .

[joshuadickey]

Days 7 & 8:
0 miles
Smith's Point Marina

We cheated and my wife picked us up on Friday night and drove us home for a couple nights in our own warm beds! We arrived back to the marina late Sunday afternoon, and performed several maintenance actions on the boat, including installation of the new mahogany tiller and a brief service of the outboard engine (changed the gear oil and motor oil). Sunday night, we enjoyed a wonderful evening on the boat with our full crew, as my son David was joining us for the first time! We slept soundly in preparation for the big week ahead.

[joshuadickey]

Day 9 (06/06/2022)
40 miles
Smith's Point to ScuttleButt's Marina

The winds were light in the morning, so we got an early start and motored up to Cole's Point for gas and ice cream! The boys played on the beach for a bit while I grilled up some hot dogs. After wolfing down 14 hot dogs between the four of us, we turned off our engines and set our sails! The wind was perfect, and we enjoyed a broad reach all afternoon as we sailed Northwest towards the Wicomico River at a steady 6-7 knots! By the time we reached the Wicomico, the seas were getting rough, so we decided to forgo our plans to gunkhole and instead docked up on the lee side of Cobb Island, at a little Marina-restaurant called Scuttlebutts. Benjamin was delighted to once again order some fresh chicken nuggets and french fries .



At dinner, we met Jon, who was readying his 25ft Hunter for a multiday trip down to South Carolina. Jon was not only fixing up his own boat, but he was also sprucing up the Marina as well. He was in the process of putting a fresh coat of blue paint on the wall, and somehow enlisted the help of my boys... before I knew it, they were hard at work!


After they had their fill of painting, we walked across the bridge to purchase hot dog buns and a fishing pole. Along the way, we found a beautiful Mulberry tree ripe for the picking.


Before bed, we set our hooks with nightcrawlers and hunkered down in our bunks.

[joshuadickey]

Day 10 (06/07/2022):
40 miles
Scuttlebutt's to Mattawoman Creek

First thing in the morning (5:00am) David jumped out of bed to check his lines... a catch!



From there on, it was another day of smooth sailing... we were even able to boil a pot of hot dogs while underway! David was especially excited to gunkhole for the night, so we sailed up early in the afternoon into the Mattawoman Creek. It was a great spot, and we all even jumped into the river for a swim before bed.






We also got a chance to do some more fishing, and David caught his second catfish of the day... a big one-eyed monster!

[joshuadickey]

Day 11 (06/08/2022)
30 miles
Mattawoman Creek to The Wharf Marina in DC!

Headed into the Beltway!



Made it up to the capital!

[joshuadickey]

Day 12 (06/08/2022)
30 miles
The Wharf to EZCruise Marina

For the final day of our adventure, we sailed south from DC back up into the Occoquan Bay, were Bartholomew was docked in our new home marina, the EZCruise!

[keneasley]

Wonderful. Thanks for posting.
Reminds me of a two week trip aboard a 23 foot wooden slope To Nantucket and back when I was 15.
Looking forward to hearing about the rest of the adventure.