This morning we pulled up anchor in Ellyson Cove, VA. Captain Mark approached the narrow channel exit with nervous anticipation, given the waves from the day before, but the water was calm and we easily puttered by a number of fishing boats anchored along the sides of the channel. Apparently, it is a popular fishing spot in the morning. As we rounded the peninsula to the north, we crossed into Maryland.
Once again, today’s boat ride was (thankfully) uneventful. The open waters of Chesapeake Bay were calm and easy, with an occasional rogue wake from a faraway boat. There were times we could go for 10 minutes without touching the ship’s wheel. Sidekick Sue is finally getting comfortable steering in open water, using the compass bearings instead of getting thrown off by the tracking line on the electronics (kind of like “mouse trails” in Windows). She has finally accepted that if you trust the bearings and stay patient, the tracking line takes care of itself. The weather was beautiful… probably the first day where sweatshirts were not needed at the helm (crazy to think that only a week ago, Captain Mark was wearing his insulated coveralls).
We pulled into the first anchorage near Solomons Island, which is barely an island. It is separated from the mainland by a tiny stream, spanned by a small footbridge. We dropped anchor in a small area between the channel and some private docks, and as usual, watched our movement track on the electronics for awhile to make sure we were firmly dug in. We observed that the area was one of the busiest harbors we’ve seen yet…. with recreational boats constantly moving in and around. We toyed with the idea of moving further into the creek to find a spot with less traffic and noise, but ultimately stayed put.
As it was early in the day, and the weather and water were perfect, Captain Mark had no choice but to proceed with the chore of boat bottom cleaning that he had procrastinated from the day before. He suited up with his fins and goggles to clean the bottom of the boat, the rudder and the propeller. Visibility was bad, but he did the best he could without being able to see what he was doing. Based on our experience with our sailboat in San Diego, he was expecting a thick build-up of barnacles, mussels, crabs and other assorted alien beings. Instead, it was just a thin layer of green slime. Apparently, spending most of the time toward the inland waterways and bays, is very different from what we experience in San Diego Bay, where we have to have our boat bottom scraped at least once a month (more often in the warmer season). As a result, the “operation” was quicker and a lot less painful than anticipated.
Today’s other chore was foraging for food. We found a grocery store a couple miles away, so we packed up our reusable grocery bags and hopped in the dinghy to motor to shore. Captain Mark had researched the area and found a public dock behind the police station where we figured we could safely tie up while heading out for groceries. It turned out to be a great spot, with a free pump-out station, public restrooms and benches for the local residents to sit out and watch the water. We enjoyed the guitar strumming of a young girl sitting with her mother who was reading a book. Solomons Island has a great boardwalk, with restaurants, artist galleries and frozen custard (which we did not partake this time).
At the end of the boardwalk, we followed the road which turned into the town’s major thoroughfare. We stopped at the local post office to mail some postcards and continued to the grocery store for shopping. We noticed this is the first major grocery store in over a year where there were no longer “masks required” signs. We still wore ours, but it seemed like sign of a return to normalcy. It was only on the walk home that Sidekick Sue realized she forgot to buy her MegaMillions ticket (which she only does when the jackpots get HUGE), and wouldn’t you know it, someone in PA hit the numbers later that evening. BAH!
After taking the dinghy back to the boat, Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue tried to re-engineer their method for getting the dinghy back on the boat using the boom from the small mast on our trawler. It “sorta” worked (only a few smashed fingers), but we both decided our technique still needs some modifications.
After a lovely dinner of teriyaki chicken on salad, the Explorers climbed to the fly bridge for a few beers. As the local ‘80s band “The Reagan Years” started playing at the Tiki Inn, a popular night spot across the channel, the Explorers decided that staying in the “noisy” anchorage was well worth the free concert.
Sue, we love hearing about your travels on the Chesapeak. Our sailboat Sueno, a boat Van built with his dad and brothers, was born on the Chesapeak. She started as a fiberglass Dickerson hull, which was manufactured in the Chesapeak area. She is a “bay boat” with a shallow keel, which made the Chesapeak the perfect place for cruising. We had a scary adventure at Solomon’s Island on Sueno. We learned early on, in hot weather especially, thunderstorms can kick up suddenly in the afternoon on the Chesapeak. To avoid terror, we learned to be off the Bay, and tucked into an anchorage by 3 or 4 PM. Ask me how we know? We experienced a mean storm at Solomon’s as we were trying to escape high winds, thunder and lightning on the Bay at 7 PM. We managed, but lesson learned. Glad you are getting to see the Chesapeak, a place of very fond memories on the water for us. Happy cruising!
That sounds terrifying. We are still so unsure about how things work, we try to find a place to stay by about 2:00. We’ve gone until nearly 5:00 a few times when we decided to move on to Plan B. But that’s a good warning for us to stick with what we know.
Free concert! Woohoo!