Chesapeake Cruising Part 2

After several beautiful days at the dock, the weather became very hot so we decided it would be a good time to return to West Virginia and do some work on our boat cover. Thanks for the wonderful air conditioned garage "sewing shop" Mom! AND for feeding us so well for a few days. We completed most of the cover, leaving only a few parts that needed fitting from the boat.



Next stop... Solomon's Island, Maryland, near the mouth of the Patuxant River.  Smith Point Light marks the shoals of one side of the mouth of the Potomac River which stretches over ten miles.   As you can see, there wasn't very much wind -- the "iron ginny" moved us along most of the way. We anchored in Mill Creek which provided views of wildlife on one side, and boaters traveling down the channel on the other.  The Chesapeake is a great place to see many differnt types of boats. 

We ate lunch at a Boomerang's BBQ resturaunt near the dinghy dock, visited the bar at Solomon's Pier where we got some fresh tuna, and found a fine cigar store near the Tiki Bar.  After two nights here, we decided we would explore the Potomac River,  just to our south.  This time, we had a wonderful wind to sail by, flying along with some gusts to 30 knots.

 We ended up at peaceful Coan River where we enjoyed one of our favorite passtimes - working the crossword puzzle.

The next day we hopped over to Smith Creek on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.  The Fisherman's Marina has been here for a long time.  We ate Rock Fish sandwiches at Scheible's Restaurant located behind the boathouse.  We anchored just outside the channel to be near the resturaunt and to catch more of the gentle breezes.  The beachfront cornfield can be seen just off our bow.


Sometimes the wind does not behave according to predictions.  That night the wind piped up and turned around straight out of the Potomac, yeilding a roly-poly night mixed with a little rain.  Our anchor held fast, but sleeping was a bit uncomfortable.  Memories of Key West filled our dreams, although we didn't actually get rocked out of bed.

The next day (Independance Day) we opted to go around the corner, and discovered why Barking Dog Bay was so popular with locals.  

Ahhh... No worries. A beautiful day AND night. Happy Fourth of July!

Boats

OK,  We've seen a lot of boats on the Chesapeake, but for now I am only going to put a few that have reminded us of our loved ones.  So far these are what we've found...  Can you guess who they remind us of? 

More to come soon.  Cheers, Family!

P.S.  If you need a hint, look at the filename in the titlebar of your browser.

Boat Work

While docked in Reedville, John installed a deck washdown system on Alexandra. It will be used to wash the ground tackle with sea water when it is hauled up from the muddy bottom.  Sweeet!  He also helped our friend John on "Reunion" go up his mast to do some maintenance. A bosun's chair is attached to a halyard and then John is raised up with a winch.

 

And what was Cindy doing while all the work was going on?

Around the Corner... Urbanna, Sandy Point, and back to Reedville

After two nights at Fishing Bay, we ventured up the Rappahannock River to Urbanna, VA.  We got a slip here and explored the town.  An excellent Greek Pizza place, Colonial Pizza, was the closest eatery and it alone was worth the trip up the river.  We stopped in a couple other restaurants while we were here,  and stocked up on some things at the nearby grocery store.  Alas, no Tiki Bar was to be found, but you can't have everything, eh?  You can see the bow of Alexandra looking through the charming old boat house at the marina. 

We stayed in Urbanna two nights, and moved northward to Sandy Point off of Ingram Bay, where we relaxed and swam at anchor again.  Sandy Point was just around the bend from Reedville, where we would be returning to the following day to drop Larry off for his return home.  A home along the bank of Sandy Point shines in the late afternoon sun.

The following afternoon, we motored on over to Reedville, just 30 minutes away, back to where we started.  We were reluctant to say goodbye to Larry, but he had to get back home to chores of his own.  We hope you'll come back and sail with us again Larry!

 

Alexandra at dock in Reedvile next to "Mundy Point"

Back across to Fishing Bay, Deltaville VA

Before we left Crisfield, the guys did a little work on our water system. See what happens when you work on a boat? It seems like whatever the job is, everything gets turned upside down.  

The wind was right to sail southward, so we set sail for Fishing Bay in Deltaville, VA. On the way we saw the menhaden ships from Reedville at work. The big ships go out, along with a plane that spots huge schools of fish. When a school has been spotted, two purse seine skiffs that you see on the davits are launched and they encirlce the fish in their nets, which are then loaded back onto the big ship to complete the job. 

We anchored in a spot that had the most chance for a breeze and took a cool dip in the water when the anchor was set and the sun shade was up. We enjoyed hanging on the hook, catching a few rays, and relaxing.  We were greeted by a woman taking her dog for a "swim".

You can see the dinghy dock where you park your ride when you go ashore below right. 

Crisfield, MD June 2010

We set sail for Crisfield on Sunday, June 6.  We picked up a friend, Larry, that wanted to go for a boat ride in Reedville and we are so glad he joined us!  It sure is nice to have another hand on deck and we're sure having fun.  We had a great sail over to Crisfield on a sunny, windy day.  We anchored in the Crisfield Harbor and watched a thunderstorm pass over just before sunset. 

The Magnolia blossom was a gift from our friend on "Mundy Point", our part-time neighbor at the dock in Reedville. It sure brightened up our companionway and gave a nice aroma too.  You can see Larry returning to the cockpit after freeing a line on deck as we make our way across Chesapeake Bay.

We stayed at anchor in Crisfield until Wednesday morning, June 9.  On Tuesday, we took a trip over to Tangier Island on the ferry.  Tangier Island is a quiet fishing community of 500 people.  There is a small airport on the island and several ferry boats.  Most of the vehicles on the island are golf carts - other than that, you'd better have a boat.  Can you see that land is at a premium here?  You can see the channel entering Tangier Island and  a typical yard.

Can you see the road sign?  "Buckle up Virginia, It's the Law!"  In a GOLF CART??

Here's the crew of Alexandra on our way over to Tangier Island. Hi Everyone!

Forget the Cover... Go Cruising!

John is fixing a leaking pipe under the galley sink - one of the many chores to get ready for cruising.  After two days of sewing the boat cover, it became too windy to manage sewing outside.  By Memorial Day it was hot and humid, so we developed "Plan B":  Get the boat in the water and go cruising now, and finish the cover in West Virginia.  We were treated to a fabulous cookout with friends from Reedville on Memorial Day - Thanks Jim and Sandra! 

We did manage to find time to enjoy a cigar after a day of working in the yard.  We were also entertained by the Killdeer watching over their egg in their "nest" of rocks.

Here's Charlie with the travel lift to get Alexandra into the water.  It's "Splash Time"!  Next stop, Crisfield, VA on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.