Cruising Chesapeake Bay (Eastern Shore)

Internet connectivity has been bad for a many days so we have some catching up to do!

We had a wonderful time in Havre de Grace but after two days it was time to move on.  The forecast was favorable when we went to bed but when we awoke at 06:00 a Small Craft Advisory had been put up on the NOAA marine forecast. This did not make sense since the waves were only forecast to be 1’ high!  We decided to leave anyway and had no problems.  We found out later that small craft = 20’ vessels on the Chesapeake.  The wind and waves were behind us in what is called a ‘following sea’.  The plan was to go to Rock Hall, MD but we did have bail-out points picked if things got too rough.  Rock Hall is another nice, quiet, organized, clean town.  We walked to town to get a flag pole at West Marine.  Mary has felt the boat was naked without a proper Stars & Stripes flying from the transom.  On the way back, we got a ride from the Trolley, actually a trailer type thing with seats similar to what you might find at Disney World.  In this case though, it was towed by a Jeep driven by a guy named Gary at a much faster speed than I think it was designed to go!  Hold on!

Monument to Oystermen - Rock Hall, MD

With the flag stick custom fit to the necessary dimensions and finished with teak oil in the shop (engine room), the next morning we left Rock Hall with our new flag flying.  The next stop was St. Michaels where we anchored in the basin and took the dinghy to town.  There are many shops and restaurants (I like the restaurants) and after some excellent Oyster Po Boy sandwiches and beer, we went back to the boat for a nap.  Have I mentioned how important naps are in a successful journey by boat?

The sun came up at about 07:00 and was shining brightly.  We had not seen it for a couple of days so this was looking to be a good day.  Again, the wind was a little strong but was behind us (see ‘following sea’ above).  Our intention was to go to Cambridge, MD and stay on a free dock that was listed in one of our guide books. Well, it did not look that good when we arrived so we changed plans and anchored in a beautiful cove off the Choptank River.  Typical of this kind of journey, last minute changes sometimes yield a better outcome than the original plan.  Hot dogs, corn on the cob, and macaroni salad for diner.  What could be better?

Anchorage on Choptank River

Cocktails on the aft deck

Sunset is a time to reflect & appreciate the day we've had

It’s not always sunshine and a following sea.  The next day was one of those days.  We headed to visit our friends Carol & Lee on the Wicomico River.  The day began with fairly light winds, the usual following sea and overcast skies, although the temp was quite comfortable.  Sometimes it is better to travel when it’s overcast because you don’t have the sun glare to play tricks with your eyes.  About half way through our 7 hour trip, the wind turned to the east and started to blow 20-30 kts.  To make it even more challenging, this was an area with fish traps (weirs) that forced us further away from the coast.  When we finally made the turn to go through Hooper Strait, the wind and waves were hitting us square on the nose.  All we wanted to do is to get to the other end of the trip without a mishap because as they say, that would be bad.  We did make it without incident and decided to stay a couple of days, let the weather blow through and visit our friends.