Friday, June 28, 2019
Thursday, June 27, 2019
17th-21st.June.2019 Land Vacation at Margaret's
me and my sis
Serenada got left behind in Church Creek, while we enjoyed a land vacay courtesy of Margaret, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia; a historic port city very near Washington, DC.
Ah, the comforts of returning to land life … real showers, TV, a dishwasher, going out for a stroll, not being in the same room together and always … topped off by being spoiled with dinners and wine, and Margaret's good company. Loved every second of it.
We played tourists in Washington for a day, ascending the clock tower for a view of the National Mall, poking around the Trump Hotel, visiting some of the Smithsonian Institute and the sculpture garden.
myself & Margaret with 'Pumpkin' by Yayoi Kusama
Margaret & I well in front of the Capital
view from the Clock Tower
Margaret gave us use of her second vehicle (she has a 'staging van' to help in presenting properties for sale) which we took advantage of to tour Old Town Alexandria, as well as load up on provisions for the boat.
Behind us, the dinghy's trunk is overflowing
I'm a real sap when it comes to saying good-bye, and needless to say I shed a few tears when it was time to be on our way again.
Father's Day
Church Creek, South River, MD
On Father's Day we chose to escape the busy summer weekend at Sheephead Cove on the Rhode River, and found our way to Church Creek off the South River. This we decided, was a good place to leave our boat while we visited again with Margaret. Church Creek's high banks offered excellent protection from any winds, and we were on the outskirts of Annapolis - Margaret's suggested pick up location for us.
bald eagles watching over Serenada
The best part of Father's Day though was skyping with each of our children. We're missing them and wishing we could teleport at will. After hearing their stories of rarely seeing two consecutive days of sunshine, and battling thick mosquitoes; we are at least a little more thankful of being where we are.
15th.June.2019 Sharps Island Light
Sharps Island Light
Today, sailing from Casson Point on Little Choptank River, west across the Chesapeake Bay, we came across the Sharps Island Light. It stands nearly 3 miles SSW of the southern tip of Tilghman Island in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. Doesn't it evoke the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Apparently it was an ice flow in 1977 which caused it to lean.
We continued west to the Rhode River, and anchored in Sheephead Cove. Looking at this cove on the charts, we expected it to be a quiet little spot, as there were no docks along its' shore. Were we wrong! It did happen to be a Saturday, and it certainly was a busy summer weekend of fun for all there. It reminded us of Big Chief Island on Lake Couchiching back home - filled with boats!
Thankfully, almost everyone leaves around the dinner hour …. leaving us in peace :)
sunset at Sheephead Cove, Rhode River, MD
14th.June.2019 A little drama
Calvert Cliffs
Sailing north from the Solomons, the Calvert Cliffs are a striking feature - steep red faced cliffs extending for miles. Apparently they are a fossil hunters haven, yielding evidence of life from the Miocene times (10 to 25 million years ago). Gil & I had visited the Calvert Marine Museum while in the Solomons, and saw many of these fossil finds, including an impressive megalodon skeleton replica (giant prehistoric shark).
Wind and wave conditions this day were rougher than forecast. Waves were close together and our going was 'bumpy' … so much so that one of our dinghy's supporting cables broke, causing it to ride vertically vs. horizontally on its' davit system. Every wave slapped against the lower hanging dinghy tube. We feared further damage might result, or at the very least we'd lose our dinghy's contents. There wasn't much we could do, however, but hope that it would hold out until we reached calmer water.
yikes … dinghy isn't suppose to hang like that!
We continued on to the Little Choptank River on the Chesapeake's eastern shore, and anchored inside Casson Point, where the water was calm and still. Surprisingly, nothing was lost overboard from the dinghy... oars, anchor, the small but very important plug for allowing water to drain out, even the cardboard box that the crabs we had purchased were put in ... nothing fell out. How lucky was that?
sunset at Casson Point, Little Choptank River
We doubled up on our safe arrival beers that afternoon.
sunrise at Casson Point
Several watermen were working these waters the following morning. Here, rather than using crab pots, the watermen were using trot lines (I think state regulations dictate the method chosen).
trot lining for blue crabs
Gil dinghied over to ask if we might buy some crabs, but was told that they were challenged this year to catch enough to fill their orders. We had heard similar stories from the watermen on Smith and Tangier Islands. It was explained to us that heavy rainfall upstream was lowering the salinity of the water and effectively causing the crabs to migrate downstream. Come to think about it, the folks downstream in Deltaville were telling us that they were having a record year for crabs!
13th.June.2019 Mill Creek, Solomon Island, MD
more Osprey than seagulls
Next stop northbound was Solomon Island, off the Patuxent River; a very popular stopover for cruisers either south or northbound on the Chesapeake. There are many marinas here, and hundreds of boats. We prefer, however, the quieter anchorages, and Mill Creek fit the bill.
rainbow in the sky … an omen?
While here, a nasty weather front passed through....
ominous weather front moving in
heavily laden clouds
knew it was coming!
11.June.2019 Smith Creek, Potomac River
serenity of Smith Creek
Sailing north from Reedville, we stopped for a night in Smith Creek, just off the Potomac River.
Just as in Willoughby Bay, Norfolk while we were here in Smith Creek, we woke to the 'Star Spangled Banner' and practice helicopter drills/maneuvers until after dark. The presence of the (US) military/airforce/navy is highly seen and felt by ourselves - it is a stark contrast to the absence of the same at home in Canada!
omnipresent US military might
8th-10th.June.2019 good and bad
uh oh .... Captain's being towed?!
After Margaret's visit we stayed another couple of nights in Reedville. Gil went to shore in search of bait fish, and came back under tow! What now? While he was cranking the dinghy's outboard, its' pull cord broke off in his hands. Friendly locals returned my captain to me; and replacing the pull cord was an easy fix. Even better, Gil had returned with not only bait fish (menhaden) but a load of blue crabs!
steamed blue crab - yum!
Sunday, June 16, 2019
4th-7th.June.2019 Smith & Tangier Islands with Margaret
Margaret & I on the dock at Smith Island
Margaret drove the 21/2 - 3 hr. to Reedville after a long day at work, arriving just after 11pm; well past a sailors' bedtime, but she's worth waiting for! The following morning we set sail east across the Chesapeake … destination either Smith or Tangiers islands …. wherever the wind would blow us, comfortably ;) Weather was great - light steady breeze, with settled seas, and it took us to Smith island, Maryland's last inhabited island.
Captain & Mate on Smith Island dock
payment on the honour system
It was the first visit there for all of us. There is no option to anchor out, and as we approached the port town of Ewel, I hailed the local marina on VHF 16 …. no response …. again …. no response.... one more time …. nothing.
Tried their cell phone number too … still no luck in making contact.
We docked there regardless, as it truly was our only option and upon entering, found no staff …. just a note explaining their honour system, with a mailbox to accept payment. Another first. 'Got to love these smaller communities.
Gil with both his girls - me & Serenada
Smith island has a population in the hundreds (400'ish?) and the islanders make their living off the water - crabbing, oystering, eeling, and fishing … with a little added by tourism. The three of us toured the island on foot.
crab pots
Margaret treated us to lunch, so we took advantage and treated ourselves to the local delicacy, a soft crab sandwich!
soft crab sandwich
more crab pots
typical waterman's crabbing boat
repair shop
left behind as the population declines
crab pot floats
Smith Island has three settlements: Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton. Ewell, the largest with a population of about 250, is the port town and welcomes all visitors. Rhodes Point is about 3 miles up the main road, which we walked to …. the town map was posted on their welcome sign … too cute!
population 80
Rhodes Point garden features
more and more crab pots
waiting for 'peelers'
inside the crab shanties
it's not the watermen profiting from crabs
While in Rhodes Point, we needed use of some facilities. The only public buildings, the church and community center were both closed. We inquired with a couple of fellows working at the local boatyard / haulout facility, and had no luck there either. It seemed the closest facilities were back in Ewell, 3 miles back! We quickened our pace. Luckily, one of the fellows was making his way into the bigger town, spotted us along the roadside, and offered us a ride. A short cut to the ladies room was not to be turned down. We felt like teenagers free riding on the back of his pick-up.
free riding
The third town of Tylerton is actually separated from Smith Island by water and can only be reached by boat, so we weren't able to visit it. It also had a population of about 80 people. It's hard to imagine what it would be like to live in such small communities, isolated on an island.
ready to leave Smith Island
The time came for us to depart and sail back to the mainland. As it happened, however, the better sail had us heading to Tangier Island, and Margaret's schedule was flexible enough to allow another stop and an extra day away from the office, so we decided to visit it also. We docked at Parks Marina.
Parks Marina on Tangiers Island
also on the honour system
We found Tangier the more picturesque of the two islands....
returning from crabbing
crab shanties of Tangier Island
picture perfect
yet more crab pots
Both Smith and Tangier Islands have their own unique dialect, described as an old English brogue; and their own unique expressions:
First generation to live on Tangiers - 'come heres'
Second generation to live on Tangiers - 'been heres'
Third generation to live on Tangiers - 'lived heres'
Fourth generation to live on Tangiers - Tangiermen
Unique expressions:
"Eating our white bread" - doing real well
"Vamped up" - repaired temporarily
"Now what's to pay" - now what's up
Fire Hydrants of Tangiers (above) & Smith (below)
so serene
When it was time to leave, we couldn't! Check out our chartplotter's depth measure below - 1.8 ft! Our vessel's draft is 4'6". The tide was out. We couldn't even power off. Often the bottom is soft enough - like butter - that we can manage to maneuver despite being 'on bottom,' but not this time. We had no option but to wait for the tide to come in. Eventually, the tide rose enough, and with the help of passing wakes of other boats, we got off.
depth finder reading 1.8 ft. - stuck in the mud!
The sail back to Reedville on the mainland was pleasant and took about 4 hours, so despite our late morning departure, we arrived mid afternoon. Margaret had yet to drive back to Alexandria, but was kind enough to let us take advantage of her and her car, to load Serenada up with the heavy stuff - wine, beer, water and other drinks - always a challenge for us cruisers who have to mule many of our provisions. Thank you Margaret!
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