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On Resolute Wings- Celebrating Birds And Birding At The 19th Annual Birding Festival on The Eastern Shore of Virginia

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Eastern Shore Migration Paths

The importance of the Eastern Shore of Virginia as a feeding and rest area for migrating songbirds and raptors as they travel south down the Atlantic Flyway cannot be over estimated.  Because birds need to catch their breath,  rest up and chow down,   before flying over large spans of open water the beautiful southern tip of  the Virginia Eastern Shore  serves as  a Howard Johnson’s  for birds– pleasant motel plus 24 hour full service restaurant.  ( I know I’m dating myself here but as a child I loved  their fried clam strips and  awesome Indian pudding, not that anyone knows about Indian pudding anymore, and of course Howard Johnson’s has been gone for a thousand years. )  As the birds funnel down the ever-narrowing peninsula  by the thousands each fall,  flying south for the winter, flock after flock between September and November,  the habitate and food resources available in our southern tip, from Cape Charles south to the Bridge-Tunnel become critical to these birds,  life or death even.  And fortunately for these beautiful feathered creatures,  Kiptopeake State Park,  with its unique coastal habitate and ample food supply,  is ready and waiting for them.  And for over 30 years, long before it became a state park,  an important bird banding program has been on-going at Kiptopeake with over a quarter of a million birds banded in that time.

Examining And Measuring Songbirds Being Banded At Kiptopeake State Park

The bird banding program is so interesting, kids and adults alike are  just fascinated by the process.  Nets constructed of a nearly invisible mesh are placed at strategic points throught out the  Park’s wooded areas and then checked by volunteers every half hour or so.   Usually several birds have been caught in the net and these are carefully disentangled by the volunteers and the birds brought into the banding station for a careful examination.  The volunteers have data charts on which they measure and note such items are age, sex, fat, body molts, wing molts, skull size, etc., etc. for each bird that is banded.                       

Eastern Shore Butterfly Migration

And from the banding program and the interest of many groups including US Fish and Wildlife and the Virginia Department of Conservation and many individuals the concept of a Birding Festival was born and has been gaining strength ever since,  adding additional activities each year for Birding Festival attendees to enjoy.  In addition to all day demonstrations of Bird Banding and various Hawk Observatory programs at Kiptopeake Park,  this year some of the many other activites included  Butterfly Walks at both the Virginia National Wildlife Refuge and Kiptopeake Park, with the expectation of possibly seeing up to 60 + species of butterflies and skippers as they migrate  through,  several Owl Prowls during the evening hours at both the Refuge and the Park,  a Barrier Island Walk  at Fisherman’s Island, home to many waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds,  A hike through the Savage Neck Dunes Preserve  which has a mile of  Chesapeake Bay shoreline as well as the highest dune on the Eastern Shore and a hike at Wise Point, a pine forest located at the very, very tip of the Shore.

The Popular "Touch and Feel" Tank From The Virginia Marine Science Museum

Water related activities included eco-tours by Broadwater Bay Ecotours leaving from both Willis Wharf and Watchapreague,  getting a duck’s eye view and exploration of our pristine seaside salt marshes, mud flats and open waters, look for seabirds and shorebirds. For kayak lovers there were three wonderful trips, the Cherrystone Creek Kayak trip and the Chatham Vineyard’s Kayak and Winery Tour to see wading birds, osprey, etc. and the Wildlife Refuge Kayak trip along the Virginia Inside Passage, home to osprey, plovers, egrets and herons among others. And this year, for the more adventurous, a Stand Up Paddleboard Trip from the Wildlife Refuge. Paddleboards are billed “as the coolest craft on the water”  and apparently are a great way to do birding, certainly sounds like a lot of fun.  For the less adventurous but also interested, a variety of exhibits and demonstrations take place at the Cape Charles Fire Station including a “touch and feel”  aquarium tank  exhibit from the Virginia Marine Science Museum,  perfect for kids of all ages.  In short, this Festival is a wonderful event for everyone  who is interested in having fun while celebrating birds and birding.  For  information on the upcoming 2012 Birding Festival  on Virginia’s  Eastern Shore,  keep updated by visiting    www.esvafestivals.com .

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Oyster “Buy-Boat” Reunion A Big Hit in Cape Charles, Virginia For The Town’s 125th Anniversary

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

A wonderful example of Chesapeake Bay maritime know-how!

The first weekend of August this eleventh year of the third millenium proved to be truly memorable for Cape Charles residents and visitors alike.  Jam-packed with activities that began the month-long celebration of our historic Town’s 125th anniversary,  there was something for everyone of all ages to enjoy, including open house tours of several of  Cape Charles’  beautiful historic homes for sale.
The Harbor of Refuge of Cape Charles is,  of course,  no stranger to working watercraft of the Chesapeake Bay. Its first 60 years of service as a transportation hub for the railroad and steamship industries attracted many hundreds of Chesapeake Bay workboats such as log canoes, skipjacks, bugeyes and deadrises that worked the plentiful and famous oyster reefs of the Bay.   Unfortunately,  since the late 1950′s,  the oyster populations in the Bay have declined substantially due to over-harvesting of the resource and decimation by an oyster virus.  Slowly but surely, these wooden workhorses of the Bay have fallen prey to abandonment and rot until there are very few examples of these splendid watercraft left afloat.

A tall bow helps these heavy boats plow through the steep swells of the Chesapeake Bay.

No one wants to glorify the overfishing that in large part caused the decline of this valuable fishery,  the oyster,  a “keystone” species of the Chesapeake Bay watershed but appreciation of the design and construction of these historic wooden watercraft is part of the preservation of the Eastern Shore’s  rich nautical heritage. ( In fact, the not-so-humble oyster was so important to the Shore that over on the Seaside, less than 10 minutes from Cape Charles,  sits the quaint little  town of  Oyster, Virginia. )   Traditionally,  these “buy- boats”  cruised the waters of the Bay, buying oysters and clams,  dredging for oysters and in general hauling lumber, farm produce and other products from the Eastern Shore to market.  Historians believe that there are maybe thirty of these  ”buy-boats”  left in the Chesapeake Bay.  Another that is still known to be afloat is in Honduras in Central America of all places.   A  fleet of twelve buy-boats from as far away as the Sassafras River arrived in the Cape Charles  harbor as a culmination of their weeklong annual cruise reunion.  This is the first time they have visited Cape Charles, as the Town has now completed the installation of  new floating docks which will  accomodate fleets such as this.

The ship's wheel where the captain steers these heavily laden craft safely into port.

The fleet of buy-boats arrived Thursday afternoon and Cape Charles’ Harbormaster Smitty Dize and his hardworking crew were prepared to tie them up on B dock where they could all be observed together by the hundreds of eager fans awaiting their arrival here.  As Blue Heron Realty Co. is an avid supporter of efforts to revitalize the Town of Cape Charles,  we had signed up to sponsor the first Cape Charles Harbor Boat Docking Competition scheduled to take place Sunday afternoon and one of the highlights of the buy-boat reunion here.  So we were invited to the VIP party Thursday evening at the harbor and allowed very easy access to all the buy-boats and their owners, captains and crew.

I was readily invited aboard the buy-boats for first-hand tours, their captains proudly displaying for us fans of Bay Chesapeake maritime heritage their beautifully restored and maintained boats. Pictures really cannot do justice to the beauty and magnitude of these incredible boats. It was more than obvious that owning and maintaining one of these craft is a real sacrifice of time, labor and finances, and the owners that I met expressed without reservation their generous attitude of stewardship in preserving an increasingly rare example of Chesapeake Bay maritime know-how.

The Smith Island Crab Skiff

Friday of that special celebratory weekend brought our first full day of public visitation on these historic watercraft.  Hundreds of new visitors to Town were attracted by this display and to tour some of the beautiful historic homes for sale in Cape Charles.  That night the local band “Quadpod” entertained the crowd and plenty of good, homegrown food was prepared and served.  The next day, Saturday, was anticipated by all as one of the highlights of our month long anniversary celebration with a parade through town by the Shriners and our county fire departments. Then that afternoon, we cruised down to the docks to watch the Smith Island Crab Skiffs Association race around a marked course in the outer harbor.  Now that was some excitement to see these wooden skiffs, hand-built by their owners, no more than 13′  long and powered by 20 hp lawn mower engines,  flying around the course and even capsizing in the water!  Saturday evening brought a beautiful sunset over the horizon of the Chesapeake Bay and we were again entertained late into the night with a live band with everyone looking  forward to the boat docking competition the  following day.

Coming 'round the bend!

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Posted in At the Beach, Boating, Business, Events In Cape Charles, Fishing, Historic Homes, Just Having Fun, Our Little Towns, Real Estate | No Comments »

A Waterfront Gem– This Like-New Virginia Waterfront Home For Sale Is A Very Special Retreat

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Beautiful Water Views From Back Deck

View Of Inlet Out To Chesapeake Bay

Nestled along the shoreline of a Northampton County, VA deep water inlet is this gem of a Chesapeake Bay waterfront home,  tucked in gracefully among the tall oaks and hickories, awaiting  a  new owner.   Being listed  for sale  by the estate,  this gracious traditional style home was built in 2008 and is like brand spanking new inside and out.   Located in a tiny intimate Eastern Shore waterfront neighborhood of upscale homes,  privacy is assured by its mature landscaping and spacious 4 acre parcel size.   A  very special retreat, relaxing, inspiring,   the floor plan and spacious rooms in this home offer a perfect balance between possibilities for activity and  entertaining or  relaxation and a quiet place to just unwind,  catch one’s breath.

Front View Of Home

The approach is down a  winding  private road, through groves of tall oaks and pines,  glimpses of the water flashing between the trees,  past horse barns and lovely homes.   Lined with  evergreens  and crepe myrtle trees,  the driveway curves through the wide,  velvety green lawn  and down a gentle slope towards the house.   In the background, a wide ribbon of  bright blue  catches the eye.   A  low murmur of a boat,  passing by on its way out to the Chesapeake Bay for a day of fun and fishing,  competes  with the noisy krank, krank of  a blue heron,  already fishing,  with breakfast on its mind.   A  serene coastal scene, part of daily waterfront life here in this fine waterfront home.

Relax On The Front Porch

One of my favorite aspects of this home is its wide, welcoming  front porch, graced on the south end by a gazebo, a wonderful place to sit in the shade, relaxing with a book,  some iced tea, surrounded by flowers and songbirds flitting between the branches of the crepe myrtle trees,  enjoying the kind of  relaxing stillness for which the Eastern Shore of Virginia is famous.  Once inside one is charmed by the open floor plan.  The high cathedral ceiling in the great room features two skylights which make the room come alive,  sunlight pouring in,  illuminating  everything with a golden cast,  the corner fireplace ready to strike a cheery fire on a cool winter’s day.   The openness of the floor plan continues  into the breakfast room and the spacious kitchen,  both with very pleasant water views.  Kitchen counters are granite, with custom  cabinets, appliances are top of the line GE Profile, all in all a very pleasant yet practical workspace,  ready for the challenges a  fine cook may place upon it.   This home also features a large first floor master bedroom with tons and tons of closet space and scrumptious master bath with handmade tile decoration.   Best of all, it’s move-right-in ready for you to begin to enjoy sweet Eastern Shore waterfront lifestyle.

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Eastern Shore’s Independence Day 2011, Cape Charles Style

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

In towns small and large all across this country, very, very early on the Fourth of July,  organizers are out and about, getting ready for the big parade and after dark, the fireworks.  And the same holds true for the little coastal town of Cape Charles, Virginia,  but with several special twists.   Great fireworks, of course, set off from the Cape Charles harbor, with an audience not only watching from the shore but lots of boats gathered out in the Chesapeake Bay to watch amazing colors bursting high in the night sky.  And there is a parade  but there also is a fishing tournament, beach volleyball tournaments,  an  artisan show  and a corn hole tournament all steeped in the tempting aromas of the food vendors lined up along Bay Avenue.   Squash , broccoli and salads are mysteriously absent but behold the delicious crab cakes, clam fritters,  grilled Italian sausages with onions and bell peppers, hamburgers,  hot dogs and French fries, of course.  Funnel cakes dusted lightly with powdered sugar, ice cream, brilliantly colored snow cones and Italian ices are there in great profusion,  ready to help Cape Charles  celebrate the 4th of July.

Reeling In-- Will It Be The Big One ?

Our first order of the day was the Fishing Tournament– not for adults but for kids, divided into  3 groups,  RED ( up to age  7),   WHITE  (  ages 8-12)  and, you guessed it,   BLUE   (ages 13 to 17).   The Kids 4th of July Fishing tourney is an annual 4th of July event sponsored by the  Northampton County Angler’s Club and its become a very popular event both with the kids and their parents but also with on-lookers, like my husband,  who love seeing kids having fun with something besides their video games and who also love fishing.  The event takes place on the impressive Cape Charles Chesapeake Bay fishing pier down by the beach and Charles Dumouchchelle, the 4 year past present of the Anglers,  was there overseeing all the action, registration,  rod and reel loaners, judges, the lot.   Awards are made by age group, three prizes for each group,  with a first prize of a rod, reel and tackle box.  While I was chatting with Charles, Jim Clark, who Charles describes as one of the best fishermen on the Eastern Shore,  came up to enthusiastically convey the news that his  young grand-nephew Zack had just caught an 18  inch flounder, the biggest catch so far by any age group– clearly  fishing talent runs in the family ! 

Uncle Sam, Cape Charles Golf Cart Style

By this time volleyball and horseshoes were  gearing up but I was a little hot.  After grabbing a couple of deliciously cold lemon Italian ices,  we  headed for Blue Heron Realty’s  Mason Avenue office for a little AC prior to taking a stroll down the street to see some of the art work on display along the sidewalk.  Just  about 2pm the parade kicked off with the Color Guard from the Cape Charles Coast Guard Station leading the way, marching in quick step down Mason Avenue and around and down Bay Avenue, throngs of on-lookers cheering them on, then the American Legion float,  followed by the Golf Cart Parade and the Bicycle Parade.  Cape Charles is one of the few towns in Virginia where golf carts are street legal and lots of residents enjoy ” going green”  and  zipping around town in their electric golf cart  rather than a gas powered car. Every year,  as part of the 4th of July celebration, the town sponsors a golf cart parade.  Owners can decorate their cart and enter it into the Parade contest and I’ve seen some very creative designs entered.  The golf cart contingent was followed by the Bicycle Parade– kids of all ages can gather down near the  Fire Station on Plum Street to participate in the parade, riding their bikes, some still with training wheels, all the way down Mason Avenue and  Bay Avenue, learning at an early age that in a democracy, participation is important.  So,  a long day but full of  fun, food, fireworks– an Eastern Shore Independence Day,  Cape Charles style.

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A Bird ? A Plane ? Superman ? No, It’s A Flying Boat !!

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Not A Bird Or A Plane Or Superman. It's An Incredible Flying Boat On The Beach In Cape Charles,VA!

Last Saturday I was cruising the beach for a  few pictures  to be used in  the new Blue Heron Realty Co.  catalogue of prime Eastern Shore Virginia waterfront properties when I saw what appeared to be a gargantuan yellow butterfly floating in the Chesapeake Bay out near the breakwater.   Definitely not a butterfly though,  it was a flying boat,  FIB for short,  a flying inflatable dingy to be exact,  bobbing in the shallow waters just off the Cape Charles, VA beach as its owners readied it for take-off.   Curious about the craft,  never having seen or even read about one before,  on the spur of the moment  I took off my shoes and waded out ,  fully dressed including  slacks,   to take a closer look,  introduce myself and ask a few questions.  Owners Erin and Sophie Harvey  were kind enough to tell me all about their astonishing  craft– in fact,  I learned that it was Sophie’s maiden voyage.   (Not sure–   in a FIB,  is it  a maiden voyage or a maiden flight ?  )  Anyway, it was her first time to travel aboard  their  FIB and she was busy screwing her courage to the sticking point because Sophie,  like me,  is not that crazy about heights.  But at least  she was game to try,  I fear you couldn’t get me into that little thing for love nor money. 

Getting Ready For Lift-off On Sophie's Maiden FIB Flight

One of the first things I wanted to know was how high Erin would be flying her.   ( Is a flying boat even properly referred to as a  “her” ?  )   Apparently its  wing span of 36 feet enables the pilot to achieve a maximum height of 10,000 feet and the 64 horsepower motor offers a maximum speed of 50 knots,  roughly 58 miles per hour.   Which to me  is a pretty scary thought- –  traveling 10,000 above ground,  at almost 60 mph,  in what more or less is a flying  11′ 6″  by 5′ 5″  bathtub with seats.  But for Sophie’s  maiden flight/voyage,  Erin was planning a staid 300-500  foot  max altitude which would have been a comfort to me,  I don’t even like to peek over 3rd story balconies.  Sophie’s take on the situation was that either everything would go pretty well and they’d follow a course south to land at the Sunset beachfront pub for dinner  or we’d all hear her let out a blood-curdling scream and see Erin make an immediate landing,  she wasn’t taking any bets either way.

Airbourne In A Flying Inflatable Boat-Scary, Thrilling, Astonishing !

By now a little crowd of curious people had gathered around to see what was happening.  Erin was ready to began his pre-flight checklist which was stored on his cellphone,  not the fat clipboard one sees in the cockpit of a  Boeing  747.   Donning her intercom radio- equiped helmet,  Sophie climbed aboard and got settled into her  seat, a seat  which resembles the booster seat of a two child stroller more than anything else.  Countdown to liftoff  began, checking battery connections,  checking propeller,  fuel lines, wing pulley lines, testing intercom connections, etc., etc.  Finally satisfied that everything was ready to go,  Erin grabbed the tow line to pull the craft out into the Bay beyond the area where beachgoers were enjoying the water, climbed aboard and  started the motor,  which sounds very much like a  lawnmower on steroids.  Apparently only about 200 feet is normally required for FIB  takeoff  but Erin had told me that he might have a little trouble with the liftoff because of  lack of wind and weight of a passenger aboard.  But the wind gods were with him because just as he started the motor,  a breeze came through and up  they went !   No bloodcurdling screams,  just 2 big, lazy circles around the beach and then a beeline south,  next planned stop  a landing in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay at Sunset Beach.  I watched until they were just a tiny speck in the sky,  Erin and Sophie flying into the wild blue yonder in their intrepid craft,  the  astonishing,  amazing,  postively incredible  flying boat.  

                                             

P.S. I want to give a shout-out to the LL Bean Company.  After wading out further and further,  trying to get a better view of the take-off,  my slacks were soaked up to the fanny but I had 2 other stops to make and there was no possibility of going home to change first. To my surprise and delight, by the time I walked back to the car, got my camera stowed away and drove 10 minutes to the first errand,  my LL Bean crease-resistant slacks were basically dry.  But best of all, they looked fresh as a daisy, nobody could ever have guessed that 15 minutes before I had unexpectedly decided to wade  into  three feet of  Chesapeake Bay saltwater.

PPS.  If you want to learn more about FIB’s,  click on the following link to  a US FIB distributor. http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/13377469/index.html

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Sailing On A 17th Century Tall Ship- A Video Of The Kalmar Nyckel Day Sail From The Cape Charles Harbor

Monday, June 20th, 2011

The Kalmar Nyckel is a reproduction of  a 17th century  Dutch tall ship with three very tall masts and eight miles of rigging which make her a most  impressive sight  as she cuts through the water.   Kalmar Nyckel’s  total sail area is over 7000  sq.ft. – to get an idea of  what really means,  consider that the average US house is about 2200 sq.ft  so  she  sports three houses worth of sails !   Wow !    At any rate,  as an element  of her visit to the Eastern Shore of Virginia and her 6 day stay in Cape Charles’  new marina, sponsored in part  by Blue Heron Realty Co. ,   my husband and I as well as several other family members took a day sail from the Cape Charles harbour well out into the Chesapeake Bay,  a real experience indeed and memorialized in this video.  Passengers had an opportunity to see the crew climbing high up into the rigging and to experience for themselves the crew numbers and physical strength and effort it takes to operate such a ship as they participated in hoisting the sails,  pulling to the rhythm of the seaman’s chantey,  ”Bully In The Alley” .   An impromptu “Man Overboard” drill was ordered  by  Captain Lauren Morgens when a crew member’s  big straw hat was blown overboard.  So a  ”Hat Overboard”  rescue was attempted with the aid of a little motorized Zodiak but it was clear to everyone that in the 1600′s when someone went overboard,  rescue was pretty much hopeless because a ship under sail would be so far away from the critical area  before a lifeboat could be manned and rowed to the spot.  Our crew was great and everyone had time to answer questions.   I think I peppered Helmswoman Ellen Carter with a million queries about daily life aboard such a ship for the crew of about 20, mostly volunteers,  with a paid crew of 4.  From cast-off to tie-up,  everyone had a great  time,  learned a lot about  trans-ocean travel 17th  century style and stored some  good memories.

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Purchase Your Slice of History- Historic Tower Hill House Near Cape Charles, Virginia Is For Sale

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

 

Front View Of Tower Hill House

As it  has since 1746,  this elegant 5500 sq. ft.  historic Virginia waterfront home, now for sale,  one of the finest on the Eastern Shore of Virginia since  it was built,  stands sentinel over  King’s Creek,  a broad saltwater inlet from the Chesapeake Bay just a few minutes east of Cape Charles, VA.   Remembering the roads of those early days, or rather lack of them,  it’s easy to see why the location of Tower Hill was so desirable.  When you stand on the rolling rear  lawn and look down the inlet,  you can actually see the Chesapeake Bay in the not-too-far distance.  Since travel by boat was one of the most common means of travel on the Eastern Shore in the 1700′s,   the fact that Tower Hill was on a deep channelled inlet with such a close connection to the Bay, ( which functioned as the interstate highway of  that day ) meant that its owners had exceptional access to shipping and receiving goods and  hosting important visitors.  This would have given them many financial advantages and increased social status.  Being in the Shore’s very southern tip was advantageous then as well because of  easy access to the Atlantic Ocean  and to commerce with the nearby Yorktown and Williamsburg,  which were already  important towns.  Then,  as now,  it was location, location, location and this  site’s superior physical attributes as well as its natural beauty  explain why the original owner invested what would  have then been a small fortune into the construction of this majestic brick manor home.     And Tower Hill still has a most superior location,  being less than ten minutes to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel connecting the Eastern Shore to Virginia Beach and Norfolk and only about five minutes to the beaches, golf  and other special amenities in  the historic town of Cape Charles.

Rear View Of Tower Hill and Grounds

Built of  brick in a blue tip  Flemish bond pattern,  the Tower Hill House  architecturally is  classic Georgian style with its attention to symmetry, balance and proportion.  Other period details include a chimney at either end of the home,  side-gabled roof,  paneled  front door with  pilasters, crown and  an overhead transom.   6-pane small dormer windows are inset on the top floor.   Fully restored in  2001,  Tower Hill House retains all the charm of a truly historic home but the 2001 restoration has  now outfitted this fine home with all of  today’s modern conveniences as well,  pretty much having your cake and eating it too.

Elegant Foyer With Raised Panel Wainscoting

The approach to Tower Hill House is most impressive– professionally landscaped, with a brown pebble circular driveway edged withcobblestones and lined with mature crepe myrtles and magnolia trees.  Walkways of  Tuscan red pavers and foundation plantings bridge  the space between the driveway and the 6 curved brick steps with gentle risers and black wrought iron hand rails. A deep landing brings you to the double leaf  front glass panel door with glass surrounds and an elaborate crown supported by detailed pilasters  opening  into the formal foyer with the kitchen and dining area accessed on  the left  through double French doors. The formal living room is accessed on the right also through double French doors.  It is the central foyer which first introduces one to the real beauty of this historic Eastern Shore home. Quite large,  with high ceilings,  raised panel wainscoting and elaborate moldings throughout, the foyer provides the first views of the water through double French doors leading to full  length rear porches overlooking the inlet, the dock  and on out to the Chesapeake Bay.  It is immediately apparent that this home was restored  with loving care, using fine materials and talented craftsmen. The  workmanship is outstanding. 

Kitchen Fireplace Is A Focal Point

The charming kitchen with large dining area  features a 12 ft. ceiling and original brick  fireplace with a slate hearth. Floors are wide board pine, gleaming in the diffused natural light from the room’s many deep set windows.  As this home served as a B&B for several years,  the Vulcan stove with professional hood make whipping up a gourmet meal a snap.  Kitchen island with lots of storage space and new GE built-in appliances including refrigerator with custom panels to match the  extensive cabinetry.   This is a dream kitchen, great for entertaining,  with plenty of  room to add a love seat, stuffed chairs, etc. to complete it as a special  gathering place for owners and guests.   And speaking of guests, this home was the site of the 14th as well as the recent 15th annual Benefit  By The Bay and proved itself  twice over as a splendid place to hold a  party with over 300 in attendence !  (More on the Benefit in a future post.)

Elegant Formal Living Room

The gracious formal living room is especially notable with deep set, floor to ceiling windows which flood this lovely room with natural light, and,  since it is one room deep,  windows are on both the east and west side of the room.  Five piece crown moldings with dentil  woodwork,  fireplace with elaborate surround, 8 panel wooden doors with brass hardware add to the charm.  This is a very restful room with lovely views out to the water, and,  as the home has an east-west orientation,  is a great place to enjoy the spectacular sunsets over the water.  Smooth,  green  lawn  rolls gently down to the water,   dotted with mature shade trees including a huge oak which must be several hundred years old.   Colorful  landscaping all around this home is certainly part of its overall ambience .

Tower Hill offers 2 Master Suites

Upstairs,  the  2 master bedrooms each have French doors leading a  private balcony overlooking the water and  the impressive dock,  which will accommodate several boats.  With a total of 5 bedrooms  and 6 and a half  baths,  clearly there is plenty of room for personal guests or  to restore  the B&B usage.  Each bedroom features a fireplace with carved mantel and a slate or marble hearth,  4 piece crown moldings and  deep set windows with window seats.  Luxurious bathrooms abound, each with enclosed custom tile shower and claw footed tub.  On the 3rd floor there is a special window package which brings in  lots of light  including restful  natural light in the stairwell.

Room For Toys For Everyone

A Home For Your Boat

Downstairs in the finished full- house- length brick walled basement,  the large wine cellar has custom wrought iron gates, an extensive wine rack and large wine cooler.  Lots of ornate wrought iron throughout the entire area.  Another portion of the basement features a large “walk-in”  wood burning fireplace  and a bar area with a wood burning stove.  Plenty of room for pool table, card tables and other toys  including  a large screen  TV  – it’s a great ”play” room,  for sure.  Includes open beams throughout the basement,  floors of brick or tile and a full bath located just off the wine celler area.  Like the rest of the house, the basement  is totally wired for music throughout. 

Ready for some time at the beach ?  It’s  only about five minutes from Tower Hill house to the glistening sand beach in Cape Charles.  For golfers, the new signature Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus courses designed around shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay and Old Plantation Creek  provide challenging golf in a simply beautiful setting.  In fact, the # 3 hole on the Palmer course was voted the  “Number #  1 Golf  Hole in Virginia”  so it’s clearly  pretty special.  Plus 19th hole relaxation at the Coach House Tavern  is always a treat– it overlooks the driving range and practice putting green so you can watch your friends trying to improve their handicaps a point or two,  always fun.  All the other amenities of Cape Charles, from fine and casual dining to shops to theatre add so much to the lifestyle and pleasure of owning the Tower Hill house.   And without a doubt,  the Tower Hill house is one of the finest historic waterfront homes on the entire  Eastern Shore.  It offers history and elegance in a gracious waterfront setting,  close to so many special amenities.  For an appointment to see it for yourself,  call Blue Heron Realty Co., 757-678-5200.

                                   

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Kalmar Nyckel– Part 2, The Day Sail. She Sails The Ocean Blue, This Saucy Ship Of Beauty.

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Kalmar Nyckel

Waiting To Board Kalmar Nyckel

As part of  her 5  day stay in the Cape Charles harbor,  the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel offered several opportunites for the public to board the ship for deck tours as well as four different day sail trips for up to 49 passengers per trip out into the Chesapeake Bay.  We had selected  the Sunday  10:30 am  time slot for our sail but Sunday dawned dark andovercast, skies threatening a serious downpour at any time.  The Eastern Shore  definitely needs some rain so I didn’t feel but so bad but  hoped it would clear up in time for the trip which included  my husband, daughter, son-in-law and youngest granddaughter as well as myself.  But when we arrived at the dock the crew informed everyone in line on the pier  that the Captain was still monitoring the weather to decide if it would be a go or no-go.   Fortunately it began to clear and  the crew allowed us to board, everyone excited to sail on a ship which is a faithful reproduction of  an early 1600′s Dutch pinnace.  Boasting  about 8 miles of rigging,  three enormous masts and nearly 7,000 sq.ft. of  sail, the Kalmar Nyckel is a most impressive ambassador of goodwill for the state of Delaware.  It is near what is now Wilmington that her namesake first landed, on behalf of the Swedish Crown naming  the area “New Sweden”,  the first of four round trips she would make from Sweden to “New Sweden”  before she was refitted as a warship in 1638.

Heave, Ho ! Hoisting The Top Sails

It didn’t take long to get underway.  Her big diesel engines fired up, ( no, they didn’t have engines in the 1600′s  but hey, some things are too important to do without,  even in a faithful reproduction),  many orders issued from the bridge to the crew,  mooring lines were cast off and away we went for our 2 1/2 hour adventure. As we left the Cape Charles harbor, 5 or 6  yachts leaving the Bay Creek Marina waved as  they passed, surprised I’m sure to see this ornate beauty in their home waters.  As the ship got further out into the Bay the winds started picking up and the crew made ready to hoist the sails,  enlisting the help of  passenger volunteers to do so.  First came the instructions, terms like  “avast”, “ease” and “haul” were demonstrated and practiced.  Then it was time to hoist  the topsails, the main top and the fore top, and this was done just as in the days of yore,  pulling to the rhythm of an old sea chantey, in this case a tune called “Bully On The Deck”  which has a rather captivating beat. ( I found out later that the term “bully” in sailor parlance means inebriated. )   The winds were with us and the sails filled nicely,  speeding us along. 

Man overboard drill

Impromptu "Man Overboard" Drill

It was the wind, blowing pretty well by then,  which initiated an inpromptu little training drill much to the surprise of both the crew andpassengers.  I was on the upper deck,  standing just behind the Captain,  taking some photos when a gust  swept  a wide-brimmed straw hat right off a crew member’s head and sailed it smack into the water.  When the Captain saw that she decided right then and there to conduct an unscheduled  ”man overboard”  drill.  In a matter of seconds alarms sounded,  crew moved into various positions,  on the upper deck  “spotters’”  grabbed binoculars and trained them on the hat,  job one being to keep the “man”   in sight at all times, especially difficult to do as the ship begins its  turn back towards the overboard area.  On the lower deck,  crew threw out life preservers which in the event of a real problem are an effort to send  a number of  flotation devices out towards the victim in hopes that one will be grabbed.  All passengers on the lower deck were  asked to move towards the bow.  The rubber Zodiak , which is secured to the stern,  was lowered into the water, engine started and the 2nd mate and another crew member set out for the  rescue.  Meantime,  designated crew members were busy counting passengers, counting crew and talleying numbers to make sure everyone was accounted for,  that only one  “man”  had gone overboard.   All of this was done  quickly and efficiently,  the Captain issuing rapid orders, crew quickly carrying them out.   Unfortunately,  the hat drowned.  But the drill came off very well,  the Captain being quite pleased with the opportunity to carry off a surprise drill  and the passengers excited to participate and see how well it all worked.  The Zodiak was resecured at  the stern and  the journey continued on.

Steering the Kalmar Nyckel

Helmswoman Ellen Carter At The Whipstaff

On the homeward leg I had the opportunity to talk a bit to Ellen Carter who is in her fourth season of volunteering on the Kalmar Nyckel.   She was at the helm,  steering a course back to the Cape Charles harbor, keeping one eye on the whipstaff, another on the modern electronic depthfinder and course charter,  ears perked  for the Captain to issue orders but still able to tell me a bit about the ship and life on-board.   The helm on the Kalmar Nyckelis not the  big round wheel that one traditionally thinks of– rather, it is a 6-7 ft. long pole, about  4-5 inches in diameter,  called a “whipstaff”.  Connecting through a yoke into the tiller, which in turn moves the ship’s rudder, it’s  called a whipstaff because a sudden, unexpected movement of the rudder will cause it to whip to one side or the other with great momentum– definitely don’t want to daydream on  helms watch !  Ellen told me that the rudder weighes about 3200 pounds but that even though a lot of force may be needed to push the whipstaff in one direction or another, because of its length,  the helmsperson has about  40 to 1 mechanical leverage.  Otherwise it would take Godzilla to steer the ship !   And to think that they had all of that all figured out in the early 1600′s !

Captain and Mate speak

Aye, Aye Captain

I was interested in the day-to-day aspects of life on board. Ellen indicated that topside Kalmar Nyckel  is a faithful reproduction of her namesake but that below decks the crew has pretty comfortable modern quarters.  The Captain, 1st and 2nd Mates and Steward are paid crew, on board for about 8 months of the year and have their own quarters.  10 bunks off the galley and 10 more off the saloon  provide spaces for the rest of the approximately 12-20 person crew ( depending on the venue) which is all- volunteer. According to Ellen the food is very good and the cook tries to cater to special diets-i.e., vegan, Kosher, etc., plus  there is plenty of good strong coffee  and  even bundt cake for dessert sometimes.   The days of hard tack with  a dram of rum are apparently long gone !   Too, too  soon we were dousing the sails and heading into the channel,  the journey was about over but the memories will linger on.

                             

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Kalmar Nyckel- She Sails The Ocean Blue, This Saucy Ship Of Beauty- Part 1, The Reception

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Tall ship Kalmar Nyckel arrives in Cape Charles

Kalmar Nyckel Arrives In Cape Charles

Anyone who loves Gilbert and Sullivan and sees this beautiful tall sailing ship will immediately think of the song  “She Sails The Ocean Blue”  from “H.M.S. Pinafore”  because  this saucy ship’s definitely a beauty and as a reproduction  of  a grand Dutch pinnace  which made four round trips from Sweden to ”New Sweden”  (Delaware) in the mid-1600′s,  she sails the oceans blue.   Sponsored in part by Blue Heron Realty Co.  and as part of  the  Tall Ships Initiative of  Cape Charles and Northampton County  (which was  the brainchild of  David Kabler,  broker for  Blue Heron’s  Cape Charles office )  the  Kalmar Nyckel arrived in the deep water Cape Charles harbor on June  2nd and settled right in for a 5 day celebration of  her eagerly awaited trip to  the Eastern Shore of Virginia,  including a Friday evening  on-board reception to be given by Blue Heron Realty Co.  (Click to enlarge the small photos.)

                                   

Even the weather co-operated beautifully-  early in the week it had been quite warm,  high temps about 90 but thankfully the wee hours of  Friday morning brought  a cold front  and the day dawned in the low 60′s with refreshing breezes all day long.  I was so relieved because in my role as Chief Cook & Bottle Washer  for Blue Heron’s on-board reception from 6:30 to 8:30 that  evening ,  my biggest worry all along  had been how to keep cold hors d’oeuvres  cold on a warm evening, on deck ,  with no real refrigeration and precious little shade.  We were, of course,  already prepared with lots of  big coolers and special serving trays with ice reservoirs underneath but still, I was really delighted that the high would be only in the  mid-70′s !   

                                   

The evening kicked off about 6pm with an official  Welcoming Ceremony which included the Northampton County High School Band, presentation of the colors by the Coast Guard,  remarks by Cape Charles Mayor Dora Sullivan  and presentation of  a huge gift basket for Captain Lauren Morgan and her crew.  Then it was  on-board for Blue Heron’s  reception which proved to be a merry time indeed.  The invitations had gone out with Colonial or pirate attire as an optional dress code,  just to spice things up a bit.  Period attire was another of Dave’s ideas ( well, truth be told, Dave had hoped for mandatory but settled for optional )  and it added a lot of  entertainment to the evening.  The Kalmar Nyckel crew also wore their Colonial garb adding to the over-all ambience but I must say that the top prize for guys for the evening  ( had there been one ) would have gone  to local Eastville attorney Bert Turner,  usually seen in a sharp suit and crisp dress shirt,  whose flowing wig,  rakish hat and fancy garb  transformed him so completely into a  fashionable Colonial  pirate  it seemed as if  he had truly just stepped out of  a time machine.  A number of the the ladies had really wonderful costumes as well,  including Irene Henderson,  Sandy Mayer,  Susan Kovacs,  Dianne Appell,  Ann Walker  and  Carol Russ.  Even Cape Charles Town Council members  Bruce Evans and Joan Natali as well as  County Supervisor Spenser Murray got into the Colonial garb spirit,  wearing  period vests,  blouses and breeches.

                                  

And if I do say so myself,  the food turned out quite well too.  Planned and executed by Blue Heron’s  “Reception Committee”   headed up by Gerry Forbes and rounded out by Lisa Anderson and Kay Lewis,  these ladies planned and put together an attractive and tasty  array of cold appetizers  including a beautiful centerpiece fruit tray of 3 different types of melons, 3 different types of grapes,  some lusciously ripe Hawaiian pineapple and picture-perfect strawberries, then garnished with kiwi,  cherries and blackberries.   Flanking the fruit tray on either side were trays of assorted cheeses plus bread bowls filled with a most tasty humus as well as chopped spiced tomatoes for bruchetta complimented by  a large relish tray of mixed olives with marinated mushrooms and artichoke hearts.  But the most popular item seemed  to be the mini sweet potato biscuits stuffed with country ham,  the contrast of the sweetness of the biscuits and the saltiness of the ham was absolutely perfect and a great accompaniment to the fruit and cheeses.  Early on in the planning stages we did an office wine tasting lunch to decide on the wines, ( yup, everyone  somehow  managed to  just  “happen”  to be at the office at lunchtime that day !  )   A unanimous vote chose a  fruity rose’  sparking wine as the  favorite,  with a dry white sparking wine a close second.  These were served along with Samuel Adams light summer ale on draft which proved quite popular as well.

                                   

Entertainment was provided  by the very, very  talented duo of  Carol Russ  on  accordian and Malcolm Russ  on  violin,  whose wide ranging repertoire included many  popular songs like  Red Sails In The Sunset   to  about 15 robust choruses  of What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor   vocalized by  Dave Kabler together with the Kalmar Nyckel’s  Captains  Lauren Morgan and  Sharon Litcofsky.  I personally think that the right music can help make or break an evening and the  Russ’  performance was great,  it added so much to the over-all ambience.  A pleasant summer’s eve,  a light breeze blowing,  laughter here and there,  pleasant conversation all around,  good food and wine,  all on-board such a unique venue, a beautiful tall sailing ship.  But because the Kalmar Nyckel  has no real lights on deck,  by previous agreement,  the Captain needed  guests to depart before 9pm,  so too soon it was over.   Malcolm and Carol  played that very beautiful song made famous by Sarah Brightman some years back,  Time To Say Goodbye  and with that  we  all said our good night’s and goodbye’s but those of us at Blue Heron won’t soon forget this special evening.

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A Quick Trip To Lewes, Delaware To Check Out The Tall Sailing Ship “KALMAR NYCKEL”

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Kalmar Nyckel Tall Sailing Ship At Her Berth In Lews Delaware

The Tall Ship "Kalmar Nyckel" At Her Lewes, Delaware Berth

Saturday before last was a very pleasant day,  spent with my husband driving  round trip to Lewes, Delaware  to check out the on-board facilities of the tall sailing ship,  the  Kalmar Nyckel  which is currently  moored at the Lewes Ferry Terminal.  In June she is making a  5  day stay at the deep water  harbor in Cape Charles, VA.  Lots of great activities have been planned around her arrival including a private on-board reception given by Blue Heron Realty Co.,  which is one of the principal  sponsors of  her trip to Cape Charles.   Having been advised that space is very tight,  on the  “better safe than sorry”  theory,  I decided that in preparation for the reception I should see the physical set-up and measure the spaces the ship has to offer well in advance.   And I am sooooo glad I did !   Communication is an amazing thing,  involving bringing one’s own frame of reference  into the equation.  So what I had envisioned as “tight”  didn’t compare to the reality at all.   When translated to space on a sailboat,   of course I already knew  that   “tight”  actually means almost no room whatsoever.  But I had envisioned that it would be quite different on the 143 foot  Kalmar Nyckel –   not at all !   There is no room to set up tables for food or beverages so it was clear that we will  have to make do with  the ship’s various built-ins– the Captain suggested serving beverages from a small chart box in the stern,  food from a flat surfaced 6 ft. by 4 ft. low cabinet near the bow ( which the crew has nicknamed “the doghouse” ),  a real challenge which would have been even more  so on the day had I not previewed  it in advance.  So,  really glad  we made that  5 hour round trip drive to Lewes.  Plus we had time to stop and tour the Lewes Lifesaving Station which was very interesting and then had one of the best brick oven pizzas ever at a little Italian restaurant in Fenwick Island called Mancini’s,  so not all work and no play. 

A word or two on the history of the  Kalmar Nyckel.   According to a very informative little book entitled “Mallets, Chisels & Planes”  written by Charles Ireland, Jr., the original  Kalmar Nyckel was used as a merchant ship, an exploration vessel and finally as a warship.   Built by the Dutch in the late 1620′s,  in 1637  she was selected for a special voyage  by the Swedish Crown,  the purpose of which was to explore and colonize  the New World, i.e., North America. She arrived in “New Sweden”  ( now the state of Delaware)  in 1629 and there her passengers established a colony and built a fort.  In 1645 she was re-commissioned  as a warship after having made three more voyages to “New Sweden”.   350 years later a group formed with the express purpose of  creating a foundation to replicate the  Kalmar Nyckel  using  basically the same shipbuilding methods and tools that were used to construct her namesake.  One of the biggest challenges by far was to pull together an architect and the skilled craftsmen with the dedication and capability  to successfully undertake such an arduous and complicated endeavor.  

Poster of the events in Cape Charles, VA

Cape Charles Events Schedule

 Starting with locating an old shipyard on the banks of the Christina River near Wilmington,  Delaware,  close to the 1638  landing site of the original vessel,  then converting it to become what a 17th century shipyard would have been,  the  Kalmar Nyckel Foundation gathered together volunteers and financial backers plus  an enthusiastic  team of shipwrights and  blacksmiths, sail makers and riggers from all over the globe who were interested in becoming  part of  this  faithful reproduction including her 8 miles of rigging and very ornate decorations and figurehead.   The rest,  as they say,  is history.  And so the first week of June,  this amazing ship,  considered to be the queen of  modern day  tall ship reproductions,  will for the first time sail proudly into the Cape Charles harbor where she will be most heartily welcomed by Dora Sullivan,  Mayor of Cape Charles and other dignataries prior to  Blue Heron’s private reception.   Over that week-end,  the  Foundation is offering tickets for 4 different sailing trips into the Chesapeake Bay of  about 2 1/2 hours each , which should be lots of fun,  as well as offering public tours on the following Monday.   So if you’re nearby, come on down and see what a tall sailing ship from the early 1600′s looks like,  she is  a pretty dramatic and interesting sight,  well worth coming to take a tour.

                        

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