Chesapeake Bay Highlights

Annapolis

So anyway, we dropped Don off, and there we were, suddenly alone together to continue our journey through Chesapeake Bay.

We finally had our radar repaired in Annapolis at Bert Jabin’s Yacht yard using Annapolis Boat sales. I gotta tell ya’, it AIN'T easy finding good electronic DC services but if you’re gonna find it anywhere, Annapolis IS the place. Annapolis Boat Sales was able work us into their schedule, troubleshoot and resolve the problem within twelve hours. Turns out we had a bad cable.

Annapolis is like the Chicago sailing community on mega doses of steroids. There were times when we were sailing that we were literally dodging races left and right.  The depth of sailing knowledge and experience in this community and area in general is unfathomable. If you are a die-hard sailor this is the place for you!  Not so much me, because I don’t consider myself a die-hard sailor, I’m just in it for the beauty part. And man we’ve got a lot of that!

Anchoring and Wildlife in the Chesapeake

We probably anchored more often than not throughout our Chesapeake journey. There are nooks and crannies galore with all the rivers, inlets and bays within bays. This provided secluded and protected habitats for wildlife as well as protected anchorage sites for us.

  Some of my favorite times are eating dinner while at anchorage.

You just can’t beat the view!

And the quiet. It's so conducive to relaxation!

St Michaels

After Annapolis we went across the bay to St Michaels. It's a really beautiful yet quaint little harbor town. There we are... second boat from the right.

It comes replete with a 30 acre working museum:

Needless to say, Jeff was in heaven.

Lawn Scene in movie "Wedding Crashers" was filmed here 

 While inside the museum we enjoyed lots of photos from days of yore. I took a virtual dip in the bay in my finest bathing apparel.

 Then I realized that in 1950 I, being from a family of the Jewish faith, would have had a difficult time finding a swimming spot...

Nowadays, regardless of religious beliefs, swimming is not something that's enjoyed much in the area anymore as Nettles are quite prolific.

Sites On the Water 

Traveling down Chesapeake bay we came across: a gull staking his claim at Green Navigation Aid #3.

and an odd roiling in the water.  As we drew closer we realized it was what we called a “boil of fish”

Needless to say, crabbing is the mainstay of many a folk in Chesapeake bay. We were often dodging crab pots right and left and tried to maintain a respectful distance from the crabbers as they hauled in their catch of the day

Besides crabbing, “menhaden” fishing boats abound.

These fish are used for fertilizer and oil. The processing plant is in Reedsville where we anchored one night. Man was it stinky. We woke at the crack of dawn the next morning and skedaddled out of there.

WILLIAMSBURG

Our last stop on the Chesapeake was in Yorktown, VA. We spent a day in close by historic Williamsburg, where we enjoyed the pageantry and history of days of yore

And too top it all off, Paul Uhl, the cruising fleet director at our own Columbia yacht club in Chicago contacted us. He was in Williamsburg on business!  How fortuitous! Can we meet? Of course! It was great seeing him. Paul has been such a big fan, supporter and promoter of racing and cruising at all levels. It was wonderful meeting up with him and having a spectacular meal in ole’ Williamsburg.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

We took off the next morning toward the ICW. On our way, just shy of Norfolk, VA, we encountered our first pod of dolphins but they were too far away to capture on camera.  And shortly after that we encountered our first ever submarine, yes submarine!, which we were able to capture on camera. We were just barely outside the safety perimeter, so close that the navy escort vessel moseyed up close to ensure we kept our distance.  Oh my!

MICHAEL

But with all this, the absolutely most incredible experience I had on Chesapeake bay was meeting Michael. We met Michael as we were docking our dinghy at Deltaville Marina, in Deltaville, MD. He was stooped way over (more than 90 degrees), using a cane and slowly making his way down the dock with three bags of groceries. He offered to help us tie up the Dinghy as we approached. I was concerned he would fall over but he apparently was more agile than he appeared as he cheerfully helped us tie up.  He told us he was soloing down to the Bahamas, something he has done before, and pointed out his maybe 32’ cat sailboat anchored next to ours.  I was amazed and humbled. This is a man who cannot walk upright, is still battling pain from old war injuries and took a good twenty minutes to slowly load his groceries into his dinghy. Here we have a man whose mind is much stronger than his body. This man is choosing an active, challenging and adventurous life up through his last days . We later learned that Micheal is ninety years old and recently gave a very vibrant presentation on his Bahamian experiences at the marina. I will not forget Michael. 

And thus begins the next phase of our journey. Onward to the ICW to take a ten day break to see our son, Jonathan and crew for his fantastic progressive rock band, District 97 on their east coast tour. After that, on down the ICW to worlds unknown.

A wondrous journey to all,

Pam