During the night, we had a bit of wind rocking us gently off Buff's house on Kent Island. Light rain sprinkled the foredeck over our heads during the night. In the morning Jeff took calls until noon, then we weighed anchor under overcast skies and light northerly winds. We motored 12 miles to St. Michaels to anchor with two other sailboats in 10' of water off of the museum docks. Normally, this anchorage would be full of boats, but we are somewhat off-season, so we had plenty of space. We took the dinghy into town to enjoy a glass of wine and pizza at cozy Ava's Pizzeria and Wine Bar. The pizza was great - arugula, roasted garlic, charred pepperoni, and goat cheese in a light marinara sauce. The wind was chilly as we walked through this charming town and window-shopped in all the little shops and boutiques. After a cold ride back to the boat we were glad the forecast was to be a bit warmer tomorrow.
Well, that warmer weather did not materialize although the sun was trying to peak out this morning. We went ashore around noon to have some warm crab soup at the Crab Shack, which is mentioned in all the St. Michaels info, although, truthfully we didn't find it all that great. There is so much crab in this area and such varying recipes for the chowder. Afterward we strolled over to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum which is adjacent to the restaurant. There are a lot of maritime museums on the Chesapeake but this is the largest and most comprehensive. At the museum, we toured the Hooper Straight lighthouse and several boatyard restorations where craftsmen were restoring some early Chesapeake Bay watermen's work boats. We also toured a really interesting Chesapeake tug boat exhibit and one on the history of oystering. We were amazed by the 6-8 inch size of the early bay oysters that make today's oysters seem puny by comparison. We were also surprised by the oyster wars that occurred over fishing rights and methods for these delicacies. Overfishing and pollution have been the culprit but modern oyster farming methods are staging a comeback. This maritime museum is a wealth of information and we highly recommend spending a couple hours here if you are visiting St. Michaels.
Wonderful view of St. Michaels harbor from the Hooper Straight Lighthouse
Jeff inspecting the Fresnel lens in the lighthouse
Two boats being restored by dedicated museum volunteers
This was a lovely old Chris Craft in mint condition in the museum
Northern Lights at anchor in the harbor
10/25/13 - Heading NORTH Back to Annapolis!
The wind was on our nose today as we motored back to Annapolis. 15 knots from the NW, and ebb tide and overcast skies made us happy we had invested in our cockpit enclosure before leaving Erie. It has served us well so far keeping us warm and dry no matter what's going on outside. It's always exciting coming into Annapolis harbor passed the U.S. Naval Academy. We had called ahead to dock at the Annapolis YC where we were last year, however we were informed that there were three regattas that weekend and no dock space available. We had such a good time on the city mooring ball that we chose to tie up to #2 this time - closer to the dinghy dock!
Annapolis was hopping this weekend! What we didn't previously know was that the Naval Academy was having its homecoming game with U of Pittsburgh and the docks and moorings were filled with revelers. It was also the National Sailing Hall of Fame's induction ceremony on the dock in front of us. There were three sailing regattas and the Pride of Baltimore came into the harbor and docked right off our bow. Of course, we had not yet eaten enough crab so we dinghied in to McGarvies Saloon & Oyster Bar for dinner. Afterwards, we indulged ourselves with a trip to Kilwin's for chocolate and ice cream. Neala chose their newest flavor - salted caramel with warm caramel sauce - quite indulgent!
On Monday Jeff had more calls in the morning and in the afternoon we moved the boat to the Annapolis Yacht Club dock for a couple of hours so a mechanic could come aboard and check out our Fischer Panda generator that had been burning excessive amounts of oil. Later the call of crab cakes lured us back to town to Dock Street Bar and Grill for the best ones yet! Can you ever get enough of that stuff??
On Tuesday we met another of Neala's girlfriends, Barb, at City Dock Coffee where we chatted and had delicious, warm blueberry & orange scones with our coffee. Jeff returned to the boat to work while Barb & Neala wandered in and out of all the little boutiques and galleries in Annapolis. We got back together for dinner at Middleton Tavern, which is one of the oldest, continuously operating taverns in America, established in 1750. And what did we all have? Crab soup, of course!
Jeff and Neala on the dock by the Pride of Baltimore with Northern Lights in the distance
Neala and Jackson David Lamb at the Chart House - his first of many visits most likely!
The magnificent US Naval Academy
Pretty scene of regatta boats heading out to race
The races!
Beautiful, classic yacht that motored into the harbor
Northern Lights in the mooring field
The Pride of Baltimore!
Jeff and Neala on the tall ship
Juxtaposition of "old and new"
Dad David, "Aunt" Neala, Grandma Beverly, "Uncle" Jeff, Grandpa Ned, Mom Sarah and Baby Jackson at the Chart House
Sweet little Jackson slept through the whole brunch
Neala, Barb and Jeff at the Middleton Tavern
Serious-looking Navy patrol boats with multiple machine guns motored by all the time……!
We got an early start to motor south to Solomon's Island, MD in very light southerly wind and overcast skies. The sun came out after lunch and we arrived in the late afternoon to anchor in the harbor in 18 ft of water with one other sailboat. Apparently other cruisers have had trouble dragging in this anchorage, however we had good luck both last year and this year. The jets from the nearby Pax River Naval Air Station roared overhead until 1700 after which we had a quiet, warm evening sunset in the cockpit.
At anchor in Solomon's Island
Morning sunrise silhouette
Spectacular way to start the day!
10/31/13 - Meeting New Friends in Deltaville, VA
Another early start, departing into a stunning sunrise over the Patuxent River as we headed southward again. We dodged the ever-present crab pots heading around the south shoal at Cedar Point until we had a clear shot for the Potomac. The winds built to 14 knots on the nose and we pounded a little in the seas as we crossed the river estuary but it calmed down again as we neared the Rappahannock River and the harbor at Deltaville. We tied up in Deltaville at Dozier's Marina and met some new friends, Vince & Amy on the Saber 42 Tradition, who were next to us. They are from Hampton and are quite familiar with the area. We had drinks together on their lovely boat and enjoyed sharing cruising stories.
11/1/13 - Up the Rappahannock to Urbanna
We slept in this morning as the winds were gusty from the south and we needed the rest. We cleaned up the boat, organizing and stowing things that had crept out of their proper places until noon. After lunch, the winds were moderate at 15 knots from the south so we departed the marina and sailed for a couple of hours up the Rappahannock river. Soon, the wind moved on our nose and died while the rains moved in so we furled the sails and motored into Urbanna, VA to take a slip at the Urbanna Harbor Yacht Club. Neala had sent a text to Mary Ann McChain, who we met along with her husband, Ed last year in Savannah. Neala knew they were somewhere in the Chesapeake, but had no idea where. It turns out they were just 15 miles up the Rappahannock in Urbanna! Mary Ann said that if we weren't in a hurry to head south, we should consider attending the big Oyster Festival taking place that weekend. When we arrived were met by Ed, who had arranged for our dock at their club, then we walked to their nearby home for a reunion with MaryAnn and their two dogs Piper & Connor (who we had met last year, too!)
The McChains, Connor and Piper we took of them last year on the ICW
Beautiful Urbanna, VA harbor
Northern Lights tucked into a slip at the Urbanna YC - thank you, Ed and Mary Ann!
11/2/13 - Celebrating the Oyster!
Boy, does Urbanna know how to celebrate oysters! The entire town, plus about 70,000 others, attend this festival. The streets of this quaint little town are lined with vendors selling oysters and other seafood in all forms. There is a parade, an oyster shucking contest, music, wine tastings, tours of oyster boats, and the crowing of Miss Oyster and Little Miss Spat. Know what a spat is?? It's a baby oyster! We had a wonderful time indulging in fried oysters, crab cakes (again!), wine and funnel cake. (Was gonna be a 2-Tums night!) During the parade, we were next to a couple and the woman said something about Buffalo. It turns out that she and her husband are from Buffalo, are members of the Buffalo Yacht Club and keep a boat in the Chesapeake. BYC is the first place we stop on our cruise south and Jeff had raced out of the club in 2010. Additionally, it turns out their 44' Defever, Stasia Louise, was anchored right off our starboard bow in the harbor! They invited us for happy hour so later we dinghied over to meet Paula and Tom and their two friends Andi and Gordon. We laughed that among the thousands of parade watchers, we'd wound up next to each other. It's times like these that make cruising so special.
Jeff and Neala enjoying fried oysters - what else?
Authentic steamed oysters from the local watermen
Quick shuckin' oysterman could fill a 1/2 dozen plate in a minute!
Oysters on parade!
Deborah Pratt, the 4-time world champion oyster shucking Queen on parade!
Jeff saw this painted on an oyster boat. He says it's the "Chesapeake food chain"!
Chesapeake buy boats and oyster boats we toured
A beautiful sunset after a great day in Urbanna!
11/3/13 - Downwind Run to Hampton
We were up this morning at the crack of dawn because we had a 50 mile trip from Urbanna, 13 miles up the Rappahannock, down to Hampton. The winds had clocked to the NW over night and we were greeted by 10-15 knots coming over our stern as we headed down river. Approaching the bridge, a dark green power boat started heading right for us and Jeff said, "What's that guy doing? He's heading right for us!" And he was. It was Vince and Amy on Tradition trying to swing by us to say 'hi' on their way back to Hampton. They had been at the wine festival in Irvington and our paths had crossed again on the Rappahannock. We chatted for a few minutes by phone, they invited us for dinner that evening and then they headed south in a shower of spray while we turned off the engine for a nice sail toward the Bay. Off of Stingray Point, the winds built to 20-25 knots and we fell off on a broad reach that was off of our desired rhumb line as the wind was blowing directly towards our destination. For the next few hours we jibed back and forth, adjusting and re-adjusting the sails for the changing conditions, and made reasonable time to our slip at Hampton Yacht Club. Along the way, we were hailed by Jake and Sarah on Prospero who we had first met in Sylvan Beach, NY. Neala had just been thinking of them and wondering where they were when they hailed us on the VHF! Serendipity? They were also headed to Hampton. Imagine meeting again in the middle of the Chesapeake! Later that evening Vince picked us up and we enjoyed a spirited conversation over dinner at their lovely Hampton home. Amy's salmon cakes and grilled lamb burgers were delicious!
Vince and Amy on Tradition alongside us on the Rappahannock
Thimble Shoal Lighthouse at the entrance to Norfolk harbor
Osprey nest on the Hampton channel marker - they'll build anywhere!
Vince, Amy and Sailor in their lovely Hampton home
Jeff had a full schedule of calls today and so we had decided to stay at the Hampton Yacht Club another day. He also needed to reroute the exhaust hose of the Fischer-Panda generator to remove the upward bend that the dealer had said was the likely culprit for the high oil usage we had been experiencing. In between calls, we removed the exhaust hose from the engine and muffler and Jeff determined that we needed a bronze pipe elbow, 2 hose nipples and hose clamps in order to reroute the hose. Vince had graciously loaned us his SUV so with a little Google Maps assitance we were able to locate a local Home Depot and West Marine Store to fulfill these requirements. We also needed a 2-3/8 hole saw and Vince had loaned us one so we were able to complete the exhaust rerouting with little headache. In the evening, Jake & Sarah of Prospero motored over for happy hour from their nearby anchorage and we had a great conversation catching up on their journey. Finally, we drove over to Blue Water Marina for dinner before returning to the boat for the night. Tomorrow, we plan to head down the ICW in search of warmer weather. But that will be another posting…
Jeff, Sarah, Neala and Jake after lots of happy hour laughs
The Urbanna pictures are awesome. May I use one as a background photo on a website please? I am a website designer in Richmond, VA and my client loves Urbanna with a passion. It is an insurance website and we want to add some personality to it. Thanks, Kevin
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