Oct 5, 2014
We awoke to a crisp and clear morning, bundled up and jib
sailed out of the Magothy River in a stiff west wind. After having enough of
the chill (yes, we’re wimps!) we decided to duck into Whitehall Creek where we
set the anchor in front of one of the waterfront homes. After warming up in the
sun and out of the wind, we decided we didn't want to spend the night here…
felt like we were in a fishbowl. So, after watching the geese paddle by we
hoisted the anchor and putted around to Mill Creek which was much more pleasant
and peaceful. So peaceful in fact, the next morning we had a visitor in the
cockpit. He must have really liked his "perch" as a little while later he tried out the
other end of the boat.
Fall is in the air.
A little blurry through the port, but you get the general idea...
Check out the feet and knobby knees! The sun was beginning to rise.
On the bow...
Our goal was to reach Herrington Harbor which would be
easily attainable as it was only going to be a 3 hour run. The winds were out
of the south 15-18 knots with short, steep 2-4’ waves. Slowing our speed down
to 4 knots helped smooth out the rough ride. The boat needed a good scrub after that run. You could have made margaritas for an entire fleet with all that salt!
We took a slip in Herrington Harbor South, a very nice marina
with a beach. It reminded us of West End in the Bahamas except that the
temperature needed to be considerably higher! They have resident ducks who
stick around because they know where their next meal is coming from. This
marina keeps a good supply of corn on hand. Lucille, the one and only huge
white duck has become the queen of Herrington Harbor South.
The grounds were nicely manicured and the pool was closed for the season, understandably.
Funny, I didn't expect to see palm trees in Maryland.
Our good friends
Bruce and Jenny, who we met up with in Annapolis on our trip north, drove out to
catch up with us over dinner. Jenny tried her hand behind the helm. Watch where you're going Jenny!
We were treated to a ride in their brand new 438i
BMW convertible. Dinner at Traders
Seafood in Chesapeake Beach was a treat. Crab soup and Crab Imperial. When you're in Maryland, you HAVE to eat crab!
The next day (Tuesday) there were strong winds from the
south predicted again so we decided to stay put another night and catch up with
laundry and re-provisioning. The weatherman wasn’t exactly accurate with his
forecast, as the wind dropped out mid-day. No worries though. As I've said in
previous posts, we’re not on a tight schedule! While sitting in the cockpit reading
a book, another heron flew in. At first I thought he was going to land in my lap, but he chose the piling 3 feet above my shoulder. What a wingspan these Great Blue's have!
Wednesday morning we sailed to the Choptank River and then
on to LaTrapp Creek and anchored there for the night. This was a very peaceful
anchorage, complete with more geese. There are lots of flocks (gaggles?) making
their migratory flight. We sort of feel like they're following us!
After spending an evening playing Cribbage, we slept soundly and woke the next morning to bright and sunny skies. We weren’t far from Cambridge, MD so decided to motor around to check it out.
This seafood company was in the process of steaming crabs. See the steam coming out of the stack?
After having done that it was time to head to Oxford where we anchored by the Ferry Landing. Since we had arrived early (1:30) we had lunch aboard and then dinghied to the town dock to scope out the area. Not much to see here, but it was nice to stroll around. Back to the boat to clean up for dinner and watch the International Star Class North American Championship fleet return to the Tred Avon Yacht Club after their second day of racing. We tied the dinghy up at the Ferry Landing to walk to a nearby restaurant called Salters Tavern at the Robert Morris Inn. What an incredible treat – Rockfish, Oyster Pie and the best rice pudding with apple topping! While living aboard and traveling it’s not often we cook gourmet meals. Needless to say, we “licked our platters clean”!
Interesting way to catch the falling leaves!
What beauties these boats with wooden masts are.
Jeff was "window shopping"...
After spending an evening playing Cribbage, we slept soundly and woke the next morning to bright and sunny skies. We weren’t far from Cambridge, MD so decided to motor around to check it out.
This seafood company was in the process of steaming crabs. See the steam coming out of the stack?
After having done that it was time to head to Oxford where we anchored by the Ferry Landing. Since we had arrived early (1:30) we had lunch aboard and then dinghied to the town dock to scope out the area. Not much to see here, but it was nice to stroll around. Back to the boat to clean up for dinner and watch the International Star Class North American Championship fleet return to the Tred Avon Yacht Club after their second day of racing. We tied the dinghy up at the Ferry Landing to walk to a nearby restaurant called Salters Tavern at the Robert Morris Inn. What an incredible treat – Rockfish, Oyster Pie and the best rice pudding with apple topping! While living aboard and traveling it’s not often we cook gourmet meals. Needless to say, we “licked our platters clean”!
Interesting way to catch the falling leaves!
What beauties these boats with wooden masts are.
Jeff was "window shopping"...
The 10th of Oct. was overcast once again with a
northeast wind. It seems that we're seeing more cloudy and rainy days on our
trip south. Maybe we should pick up the pace a bit to beat the cold weather! We
pulled the anchor at 9:30, motored out of Oxford past the fleet getting ready
for their third race day, then sailed to the Little Choptank River. Just as we were
scouting out an anchorage, the rain rolled in. We dropped anchor on the east
side of Ross’s Neck. There was one other sailboat there and what appeared to be
the preparations (tent, chairs, and tables) for a wedding reception. On the following day
we stayed put due to more rain. There was in fact, a wedding on this day and
fortunately the rain stopped around noon for the celebration later in the day.
Sunshine and blue sky (hooray!) on the morning of the 12th although chilly. We sailed out of the Little Choptank, then motored to Solomons Island where we took a slip at Zahnisers Marina. The slip holders on the dock were very friendly and helpful. The dockhand gave us a ride to the grocery store and back. We managed to get two loads of laundry done and Jeff even biked to West Marine for a fuel filter! The next morning we were off the dock at 8:30 in the rain. A surprise twist in the weather at 2pm! The sun shone brightly and we shed our foul weather gear, changed into shorts & tee’s and dropped the anchor an hour later in Indian Creek, just north of the Rappahannock River, just a short distance from Kilmarnock where we stayed on our way north.
Just a short two and a half hours after pulling the anchor on Tuesday morning, we were in a slip at Doziers Regatta Point Yachting Center in Deltaville expecting to stay for two days to wait out the windy conditions. On our way in we saw oyster boats dredging an oyster bed. The boats looked like they were performing a ballet as they passed back and forth by each other.
Doziers had bicycles for our convenience so we grabbed two and headed toward town. This is a very quaint community where the population is about 800. It was about 5 or 6 miles to the grocery store and back. We were glad for the exercise! Interesting little town with "fishy" decor.
Tomorrow we plan to head south to Poquoson, a 5 hour sail. We are looking forward to getting together for dinner with our good friends Harry and Twyla. Pics to follow....
Sunshine and blue sky (hooray!) on the morning of the 12th although chilly. We sailed out of the Little Choptank, then motored to Solomons Island where we took a slip at Zahnisers Marina. The slip holders on the dock were very friendly and helpful. The dockhand gave us a ride to the grocery store and back. We managed to get two loads of laundry done and Jeff even biked to West Marine for a fuel filter! The next morning we were off the dock at 8:30 in the rain. A surprise twist in the weather at 2pm! The sun shone brightly and we shed our foul weather gear, changed into shorts & tee’s and dropped the anchor an hour later in Indian Creek, just north of the Rappahannock River, just a short distance from Kilmarnock where we stayed on our way north.
Just a short two and a half hours after pulling the anchor on Tuesday morning, we were in a slip at Doziers Regatta Point Yachting Center in Deltaville expecting to stay for two days to wait out the windy conditions. On our way in we saw oyster boats dredging an oyster bed. The boats looked like they were performing a ballet as they passed back and forth by each other.
Doziers had bicycles for our convenience so we grabbed two and headed toward town. This is a very quaint community where the population is about 800. It was about 5 or 6 miles to the grocery store and back. We were glad for the exercise! Interesting little town with "fishy" decor.
Tomorrow we plan to head south to Poquoson, a 5 hour sail. We are looking forward to getting together for dinner with our good friends Harry and Twyla. Pics to follow....
