Author: Kristin

Day 291

We got up early on Monday morning, 06/28/21, to help Bella Vita leave her slip at South Jersey Marina in Cape May, at 6:15 am, and then left our slip aboard Legacy shortly afterward, right at slack tide, which is the easiest, most stress-free time to leave or enter an ocean side marina. Bella Vita and Legacy were buddy boats for this outside crossing to Golden Nugget Marina in Atlantic City, NJ. As we progressed toward the east-northeast, the morning sun was RIGHT in our eyes. Fortunately that sun didn’t take long to rise above the top of the flybridge and out of our line of sight, so we could actually see where we were going.

We traveled out in the Atlantic Ocean, where the winds were higher. The seas were relatively smooth that morning, with minimal wave-heights, but the swells made our ride rolly. The winds were supposed to be higher today than we prefer for cruising “outside”, but we hoped not too bad. Just in case, I’d already taken a Dramamine that morning before we left. Since Legacy’s flybridge sits up so high (which only magnifies the rolling), we knew we could always move down to the salon helm for a slightly smoother ride, if conditions became too rough.

Following Bella Vita, which was cruising about 300 yards ahead of us, and to our port (since they were cruising closer to shore), we passed Wildwood, Stone Harbor, and Avalon, NJ, to our west. Although we could see beach house after beach house along the distant NJ shore, we were traveling much too far out for me to get any decent pictures.

We passed Sea Isle City, Strathmore, and Ocean City, NJ, before we came to the inlet into Egg Harbor Bay and Longport, NJ. As we slowly progressed, we could just barely make out the skyline of Atlantic City, far up ahead to our northwest. At 10 am, the winds began to pickup and we began seeing white-caps here and there. Our plan (and sincere hope) was to reach today’s destination before those winds increased to gusty later on in the day. We wanted to be safely tied in our slip at the Golden Nugget Marina long before then.

We passed Margate City and Ventnor City, NJ, before reaching Atlantic City, which loomed ahead of us in the haze. Bella Vita arrived first, and we heard them calling to the marina on radio channel 16 for docking instructions. Soon, it was our turn to receive our instructions, get into our slip, and tied-up. I had managed to stay feeling fairly well, but could feel some seasickness coming on (even with the Dramamine I’d taken), so it was a good thing we arrived when we did! I felt a little off of my game for the remainder of that day, but Brandee graciously shared some of their seasickness remedies of ginger gum and ginger beer with me, which helped. 🙂

Position: N 39° 22.657, W 74° 25.608

Distance traveled:  45 SM

Total distance traveled: 4151 SM

Total marina nights: 265

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 289 – 290

Mid-morning on Saturday, 06/26/21, we caught the marina shuttle into historic downtown and beach side Cape May, NJ. Cape May is known to be America’s oldest beach side resort, first coming into being in the early 1800s. Cape May is also known for having the second largest number of 19th century Victorian homes still standing and in use in the US, second only to San Francisco, with many of them now utilized as bed & breakfast inns. While there were and are strict period construction and restoration rules for the Victorian homes in Cape May, there were and still are no paint color restrictions, which means Cape May is quite the colorful place. Indeed, the town’s streets are lined with a total of 600 beautifully-restored and meticulously-preserved houses. I fell in love!

We walked out to the renowned Cape May Beach and viewed the nostalgic striped beach tents setup as a nod to the Victorian era. There were also many large, bright pink, old-fashioned beach umbrellas among the tents. The beach was crowded with tourists, although today’s beach wear is a bit skimpier than that worn back in the 1800s! 😉 Back in the day, there were NO coed beaches, and the dress codes of that era called for WOOL beach attire. In fact, wool was the standard for all clothing worn anywhere in public, regardless of the season and temperatures.

Right across the promenade from the beach is Congress Hall, originally built in 1816 as a boarding house for summer visitors to beach side Cape May. Constructed and owned by Thomas Hughes, it was called “The Big House”. While then local residents felt the new construction was far too large to ever be successful, and nicknamed it “Tommy’s Folly”, Hughes proved them all wrong when, summer after summer, the house was packed to bursting with tourists. In 1828, Hughes was elected to Congress and in honor of his new status, The Big House was renamed Congress Hall. In 1878, Cape May fell victim to a devastating fire that swept through 38 acres of Cape May’s seafront, destroying Congress Hall, along with many other structures. Rebuilt the second time with brick, rather than wood, Congress Hall was resurrected, its business blossomed again, and it went on to open Cape May’s first post-Prohibition cocktail bar in 1934. Congress Hall is still in operation today, as a lavish hotel containing several restaurants and shops. Cape May’s beach promenade was originally constructed from sturdy wooden planks until a destructive nor’easter hit the area in 1962. After which the promenade was reconstructed in concrete.

While we toured the grounds of Congress Hall, we passed a long, covered aisle-way of outdoor dining tables. It was nearing the lunch hour, so all tables were filled. Wait staff carried large trays of food out from the kitchen to the outside diners. We looked up when we suddenly heard a very loud commotion of screeching sounds and wings flapping. Two of the ever-present seagulls in the area had flown right down to one of those food-laden trays as it was being carried out from the kitchen, and stolen pieces of bread right off that tray. 😐 The two then began ardently fighting over the bread right there above the startled waiter’s head! These birds were LARGE (which told us this food-stealing was probably a common practice for them.) As the birds finally flew off with their take, we watched the waiter set the tray down beside the table for which it was destined, pass out the plates to his patrons, and then heard him say “I’ll get you some more bread.” LOL! 🙂

After a nice lunch at The Cape May Fish Company, we of course took the Cape May trolley tour. The weather was perfect for an open-air trolley, but ironically the tour company mandated that we all wear masks while aboard the trolley… UGH! It was OPEN-AIR, people!! Cape May had its beginnings in the whaling industry in the mid-1700s. The town was very prosperous during the 1800s, but scaled back in the 1900s, and became a National Historic Landmark in 1976. We learned the cedar shingle siding used on the Cape May houses built during the 19th century held up much better than painted wood in all that salt air. Something I found amusing is that the peaked turrets adorning many of the area’s Victorian homes are referred to as “witches hats”.

One of the most prominent houses in Cape May is the Emlen Physick estate, which was originally constructed in 1879, at 1048 Washington Street. The 18-room mansion, designed by American architect Frank Furness, was built for Dr. Emlen Physick, Jr., and his family. Dr. Emlen was a descendant of a well-known and prosperous Philadelphia family. His grandfather, Philip Syng Physick, was a prominent surgeon in Philadelphia, so Emlen followed in his footsteps and was educated to become a doctor. Ironically, the young Emlen Physick never became a practicing doctor, instead inheriting the family fortune when his father, Emlen Physick, Sr., passed away suddenly. At the age of 20, Emlen, Jr., arrived in Cape May in 1876 and purchased eleven acres of property on Washington Street. He first built and lived in the estate’s carriage house, until the main house was completed, where he lived with his widowed mother and her two maiden sisters. Physick never married and was a gentleman farmer, owning two tenant farms and keeping livestock on his estate. He also dabbled in real estate, buying and selling many Cape May properties. Well known in the community, he was a backer for the Cape May golf club, and – after my own heart – he was president of the Cape May Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Today, the Emlen Physick estate remains preserved and in use as a museum for the public to tour. (To my credit, and having already dragged Steve through a multitude of old houses and buildings on this trip, I opted to forego this one for his sake.)

Also notable are the “Seven Sisters of Cape May”, which are seven identical houses located on Atlantic Terrace and overlooking some of the prettiest beaches in Cape May. Originally designed and constructed in 1891 by Cape May’s famous 19th century architect, Stephen Decatur Button, these seven Italian-Renaissance-style cottages were built – according to legend – for the seven beloved daughters of a wealthy Cape May builder. All seven of these houses are lovingly restored exactly to period, but are each painted in their own, individual color schemes. Several are now in use as bed and breakfasts and vacation rentals, while others are private residences.

Cape May’s Chalfonte Hotel was built in 1876, is the oldest hotel still operating in the Cape May area, and was originally owned by Henry Sawyer, who opened it as a boarding house. The property was eventually purchased by Anne de Luc and run as a hotel through 2008, when she sold it to Robert Mullock, who still operates the hotel today. It is a contributing property in the Cape May Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

After an afternoon of sight-seeing, we took the shuttle back to the marina, and at 5:30 pm, we walked across the highway with the Sharps for our first dinner together, at Tony’s Pizzeria. Brandee and I felt sorry for the poor woman who was trying to run the place single-handedly, as staffing is currently so scarce, especially in food service. She was the seating hostess, the chef, the waitress, the cashier, and bused tables all by herself. 😐 As with all boaters, the four of us had a great time talking, laughing, and sharing boat stories. The Sharps own a house in Cape Coral, FL, on a canal, where they can park Bella Vita behind it. They are doing the loop, with their dog, Romeo, while their house is being remodeled, which we think is a daring feat! 😉

On Sunday, 06/27/21, we moved Legacy to a different slip at the marina’s request, and again took the marina shuttle into town – this time to eat lunch and to the grocery store. We walked into Cape May’s busy outdoor shopping malls and dined al fresco at The Ugly Mug restaurant. As we ate, we noticed many of the restaurants had strung fishing-line in crosshatch fashion on the exterior of their outdoor dining areas. After witnessing what we had the day before, Steve realized the fishing line was installed as a deterrent to the bold and brazen seagulls that live in the area. Good thinking!

Something new to this southern girl, as I was checking out at the Acme Grocery store in Cape May, I was asked if I’d brought my own grocery bags with me. I stared blankly back at the checker (not realizing this was a requirement), who told me if I didn’t have my own bags, I could purchase paper bags from the store at 10 cents per bag! I was amazed, having never encountered being charged for my bags at the grocery store before. Obviously, I had far too many items to carry without bags, so I agreed to the additional charge. This was just the beginning of our living in the land of ‘no plastic bags allowed’…. Since then, when shopping at any store up here in the northeast (Walmart and CVS included), if I don’t remember to bring my own reusable bags with me (which I never seem to do, for some reason…), I get to PAY for my grocery bags, which are always paper. One time, early on, I asked a checker if he didn’t have plastic bags and he glared back at me with a searing look of disdain. Several patrons that had heard my question piled on by barking in unison (and with vehement disgust) “we don’t USE plastic bags anymore!”, putting me in my place as someone who obviously has no respect for the environment. This was amusing on several levels, as most of my friends know me as being environmentally-conscious… I wanted to respond that any plastic bags I use always get recycled, but I could tell this was a tough crowd, and I was vastly outnumbered, so I hung my head in shame, stayed silent, and paid for my brown paper bags.

Position: N 38° 56.904, W 74° 54.559

Total marina nights: 264

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 288

Just as the Delaware City Marina harbor master had predicted, Friday, 06/25/21, was a clear and beautiful, perfectly still day. When we threw off our lines at 7 am, our cruising waters were mirror smooth, which was the absolute best we could ask for! We left the Delaware City Branch Channel, and headed south on the Delaware River toward the massive Delaware Bay. We couldn’t have chosen a better day to cross the bay. 🙂

Thirty minutes into our cruise, we passed the colossal Irmgard Schulte, an LPG tanker registered in the United Kingdom, transporting propane to the US. (Thank you, Marine Traffic app!) When Legacy crossed the bow and stern wakes of this vessel, she bounced like crazy, and we had to hold on tight. We knew the Irmgard Schulte was just one of many large freighters we would more than likely encounter out on the Delaware Bay. As we cruised, we crossed over the state line between Delaware and New Jersey, and then right back again, as this state line runs right down the center of the Delaware River.

We passed Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area, Woodland Beach, and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge on the Delaware side of the river, along with Little Creek Wildlife Area, Kitts Hummock, and Bowers, DE. To our port was Egg Island Fish and Wildlife Management Area and Heislerville Wildlife Management Area in New Jersey.

Because of its massive size (land was barely visible anywhere around us for quite a period of time), cruising the Delaware Bay reminded me of cruising in the Chesapeake Bay, but the water conditions (on this day, at least) were completely different. Where Legacy had ridden anywhere from 1 to 4-foot waves in the Chesapeake, there were ZERO waves in the Delaware this fine morning.

Sure enough, on into the morning, we passed the monstrous Don Carlos shipping vessel out of Singapore, owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, of Norway, Sweden. The Wonder Sirius freighter passed us going north at the same time the Northern Magnitude container ship passed us going south. At one point, the two vessels appeared to be on a collision course from Legacy’s vantage point. Thankfully, it was an optical illusion, and both behemoths passed each other unscathed. We were in awe at the shear size of these ships as they slowly passed by us.

Of all things, and for the first time in weeks, we were suddenly ambushed by horseflies in the fly bridge again for about an hour. UGH! I grabbed the bug zapper and started slinging it all around Steve’s head, missing every single fly. He finally took it away from me before a mishap occurred…. FINE. During this time, we passed Slaughter Beach, DE, to our starboard and Pierce’s Point, NJ, to our port, and soon crossed underneath the NJ Highway 162 bridge.

We arrived at South Jersey Marina at 1 pm, after coming into Cape May Harbor, then turning into Schellenger Creek. The dock master directed us into a slip just two boats down from Bella Vita, a beautiful 53-foot Selene trawler that belongs to Anna and Phillip Rochat’s friends, the Sharps. Our two boats had been cruising pretty much the same course for months, but we kept missing each other. Anna was anxious for us to meet, knowing we would like each other. And sure enough, as we were on our way across the street from our marina to Lucky Bones for some afternoon libations, Brandee and TJ came out of their boat and we all introduced ourselves. Anna was right – the four of us felt an instant camaraderie. 🙂 The Sharps already had plans for that afternoon and evening, so we all agreed to get together later during our stay in Cape May.

Steve and I had heard great things about Lobster House restaurant, right next door to South Jersey Marina, so we dined there on Friday evening, 06/25/21.

Position: N 38° 56.904, W 74° 54.559

Distance traveled:  62 SM

Total distance traveled: 4106 SM

Total marina nights: 264

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 287

Despite being windier (thus the large waves predicted for Delaware Bay that day), Thursday, 06/24/21, was another glorious day, weather-wise. We slept in that morning, since it wasn’t a travel day. Upon recommendation, we walked into historic Delaware City to The Cake Sisters for a tasty late breakfast, which proved to be worth our while.

We strolled down to the original Delaware City Harbor’s Battery Park and read its history on the markers that are distributed about the area. Way across the Delaware River, we could see Fort Delaware. Unfortunately for us, boat tours to the fort did not happen on Thursdays, so we couldn’t visit it in person.

Since the weather was so picture-perfect, I spent my time taking lots of pictures! I boxed up and mailed off some more crocheted sections to Warm Up America! from Delaware City’s tiny post office there in town. When I arrived at the post office, their window was still closed for the lunch hour, so I spent my time talking with a Delaware City resident who was also waiting for the window to reopen. She was a lovely, blonde woman who looked to be in her late 70s. She told me she was originally from Trinidad/Tobago, but had lived in Delaware City for the past 60 years of her life. When I asked her what brought her all the way up there she replied, “a good-looking Marine” who was on leave in Trinidad while in the service. 🙂 He was from Delaware, so they married and he brought her back to his home. Twenty years earlier, her Marine passed away from lung cancer, as he was an avid smoker, despite her attempts to convince him to stop. By the time he passed, she’d lived in Delaware City for so long, it had become her home, so she opted to stay on there without him. She didn’t mention whether or not she’d had any children, but somehow I got the impression she had not. She has many friends in the area and said she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She asked me about my circumstances, and when I told her, I received the same incredulous expression from her that we’ve received from most people who learn of our current lifestyle. I was grateful for her company and her willingness to converse, as it shortened my wait time considerably. 🙂

That evening, we patronized Crabby Dick’s, a modern day restaurant located in the building originally known as the Delaware City Hotel. We were seated outside where we could see the sidewalk, so we did a lot of people-watching. We noticed there seemed to be a lot of Baby Boomer couples in that little town, and assumed it must be a popular little retirement town.

Position: N 39° 34.319, W 75° 35.407

Total marina nights: 263

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 286

As shown in the pictures from my last blog post, Wednesday, 06/23/21, dawned crystal clear and beautiful; the skies being the color of cobalt. The front that passed through yesterday swept out all of the haze, and chilled the air down to 51 degrees that morning. We untied Legacy’s lines from the T-dock at Sassafras Marina at 8:00 am and cruised out onto mirror-smooth waters. We headed west on the Sassafras River back toward the Chesapeake Bay. We again passed Georgetown Yacht Basin, Duffy Creek Marina, and Skipjack Cove Marina. Farther down the river, we cruised past Half Creek, Old Field Point, Rattlesnake Point, Little Marsh Point, and Big Marsh Point, MD, as we entered into the mouth of the Sassafras River, which grows wider and wider until it empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

The Sassafras River in Maryland is apparently bald eagle country, as we saw SIX of them out fishing for breakfast within a thirty-minute time span, though of course I wasn’t able to get any pictures. We passed Back Creek and Foreman Creek, then Ordinary Point, and Grove Point Wildlife Sanctuary, before finally leaving the Sassafras for Chesapeake Bay, proper. Out in the Chesapeake, we encountered a north wind (behind the front) and 1-2 foot waves. We even saw white-capping and — of course — crab pots everywhere! AARGH!

At its very northern end, the Chesapeake Bay splits into three separate rivers; the Susquehanna, the North East, and the Elk, which is the easternmost. Our course that day followed the Elk River to meet the C&D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal, via Back Creek, not far south of Willowstone, MD. Along the Elk River, we passed Hyland Point and Piney Creek Cove, MD. To my delight, the banks of the Elk River and surrounding waterways rise up into bluffs that sit anywhere from 25 feet to 200 feet above the waterline. Beautiful homes with well-manicured lawns and pastures adorn the tops of these bluffs. We were both surprised at all the farmland on the northern Chesapeake, as we had expected this property to be high-end vacation retreats, and much more heavily-populated.

We passed Herring Creek before we entered into Back Creek, which was extended by humans to become the C&D Canal, which was created as a short-cut connecting the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River, originally completed in 1829. Over the years, this canal has gradually been improved (deepened and widened) in multiple projects as needs arose. It’s latest improvement was completed in 1996. After bouncing along out in the bay, the smooth, calm waters of the C&D Canal were appreciated by both of us. The temperature had also begun to warm up, though the humidity remained nice and low.

Along the C&D Canal is Chesapeake City, MD, at the Maryland Highway 213 bridge. Farther along the C&D, we crossed the state line between Maryland and Delaware, and passed Summit North Marina, Lorewood Grove, and Saint Georges, DE. Just beyond the DE Highway 9 bridge, the C&D Canal widens considerably and opens into the Delaware River. On less stellar weather days, this intersection, along with the Delaware River and Bay, have a reputation for being dicey, cruising-wise. But thanks to the expert planning of my captain, the waters we encountered on this day were just as smooth and placid as a pussycat, as we steadily cruised out into the massive Delaware River. The whole time we were on the Delaware, I kept thinking back to when George Washington so very famously crossed it, not realizing until later that the place where Washington actually crossed was much further north than we were, and considerably narrower. D’OH!

We turned to port and headed north up the Delaware River for about two miles to Delaware City Branch Channel, upon which Delaware City Marina is located. We arrived Delaware City Marina about 1:00 pm, where we tied to a very long wall. Because the current is so strong in this channel, the marina advises arriving captains of larger vessels to head into the channel, come up next to the wall on the boat’s starboard side, and switch off the engines. The marina dock-hands will then take lines from the boat’s bow and stern, and actually manhandle the boat in a 180-degree turn to where its port sits next to the wall, where the boat is then secured. This process seemed rather unorthodox, but the marina explained to us there had been so many mishaps with captains misjudging the current strength in that narrow channel, that it was much easier and SAFER for the marina to spin the boats manually. That was fine with us, as we already knew how difficult it can be to successfully maneuver a large boat in a narrow channel with strong current. We did NOT want any damage done to Legacy or the docks. The dock-hands did an excellent job with Legacy (you could tell they’d done it before), and prevented a possible disaster, which greatly lowered my stress level.

Once we tied-up, hooked-up, and showered-off, we walked into the tiny adjacent town of Delaware City for drinks and a shared appetizer, as Steve needed to be back at the marina office by 5:00 pm for the daily Delaware River/Bay weather briefing that was given by the harbor master at this marina. (We both find local knowledge extremely helpful, obtain it wherever we can, and take it seriously.) After the briefing, we walked back into town for dinner, where Steve informed me that the weather briefing he’d just received told him instead of continuing on the following day, Legacy would stay right there at Delaware City Marina. 10-12 foot waves were predicted for Delaware Bay on 06/24/21, which neither of us had any interest in traversing!

Position: N 39° 34.319, W 75° 35.407

Distance traveled:  44 SM

Total distance traveled: 4044 SM

Total marina nights: 262

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 285

Our overnight guests, the Wehrles, left the boat around 9:00 am, headed southward, after reports of a good night’s sleep. The rain set in, and I went back to bed for a few hours, having partied a bit too much like a rock star the night before. 😐 Once I got around that afternoon, Steve and I drove the marina’s courtesy car into exciting Georgetown to run errands, have lunch, and then head back to the boat where I spent the rest of that day converting the guest room in the V-berth back into a storage locker/pantry. When we bought this boat, we made sure it had an extra berth and head for guests. Unfortunately, since we rarely have overnight guests aboard our tiny, floating home, the V-berth becomes a catch-all for any items we don’t want sitting out in the salon, galley, or aft-berth. 🙁 UGH! When I think of our history with “stuff” and how we’ve always dealt with it, a V-berth catch-all should be no surprise at all. I have a feeling if Legacy was twice her size, the Captain and I would still find a way to fill every nook and cranny with “stuff”….

Position: N 39° 21.802, W 75° 53.028

Total marina nights: 261

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 284

We left our rocky-rolly slip at Annapolis Yacht Basin Marina in Annapolis, MD, at 7:00 am on Monday morning, 06/21/21. The weather was overcast and humid – almost gloomy – but at least it wasn’t raining. This day’s destination was Sassafras Marina in Georgetown, MD, located in the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay. We were hoping to meet our friends, Mike and Brenda Wehrle, in Georgetown, as they were driving back south toward Nashville from visiting Brenda’s sister, Faye, in Portland, Maine.

We passed Whitehall Bay, Goose Pond, and Moss Pond as we neared the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (US Hwy. 50), northeast of Annapolis. We crossed underneath the bridge and passed Love Point, MD, to our starboard, Cape St. Claire, Gibson Island and Arcadia, MD, to our port. As we progressed northward, we passed the mouth of the Chester River on our starboard along with the East Neck National Wildlife Refuge. We then cruised past Hickory Point, Sparrow’s Point, and Hart Miller Island, MD, to our port and Rock Hall, MD, to our starboard.

Far off in the distance to our northwest, we could faintly make out the Baltimore, MD, skyline. We didn’t stop in Baltimore this time because of safety warnings we’ve heard and read about the downtown area in which the marinas are located. 🙁 It was a shame, because Baltimore is one historical place that we had wanted to visit.

Soon, we were cruising out toward the center of the Chesapeake Bay, due to shallow depths near the shores, and felt once again like we were out in the middle of an ocean. We could see land, but were way too far out to see any sights or take any pictures of anything but water. As we neared Torchester Beach, MD, we quickly surmised it was a hot fishing spot, as we encountered many heavily-crewed fishing boats, all milling around very close to one another, with lines in the water. The SUN finally came out, three hours into our trip. Oh, well – always better late than never!

At the entrance to the Torchester Marina they have planted four very large Queen Palm trees! 🙂 We guessed those get replaced on an annual basis, since there’s no way they can survive the winters this far north. To my delight, I noticed the banks here in the northern Chesapeake Bay actually rise up out of the water into rolling hills, rather than the coastal flat lands we’ve seen on so much of this trip so far.

At Betterton, MD, we turned east off the Chesapeake Bay and into the Sassafras River, which is yet another MEGA-river at its mouth. And to Steve’s delight, we discovered the Sassafras River is filled with crab-pots! As we wound around between the crab-pots, we noticed that many of them in this area are marked with actual flags affixed to the top of the floating styrofoam buoys.

During the last part of our journey on this day, I’d been texting back and forth with Brenda Wehrle regarding their over-land arrival at Sassafras Marina, and how closely it would be coordinated with our over-water arrival. We arrived first, at 1:00 pm. I showered and Steve washed down the boat in preparation for our friends’ arrival. The Wehrles found our marina and the location of our boat with no problem, and it was old home week for all of us. The four of us laughed and talked and reminisced inside Legacy’s air-conditioned salon, since it was very hot and humid outside. Eventually we all piled into the Wehrles’ car and drove to nearby Kitty Knight Restaurant, situated up on a rise overlooking the marinas there on the Sassafras River.

Position: N 39° 21.802, W 75° 53.028

Distance traveled:  53 SM

Total distance traveled: 4001 SM

Total marina nights: 260

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 282 – 283

Saturday morning, 06/19/21, dawned hot, sticky, and mostly cloudy. Perfect weather for walking through a hilly, harbor-side town, right? 😐 Before our tour, I Ubered to Great Clips for a haircut and then to the grocery store, while Steve Ubered separately to Best Buy and West Marine. Steve’s trip went fine, while mine was considerably lengthened when my Uber driver to pick me up at the grocery store got caught behind a Juneteenth celebratory street-march right through historic downtown Annapolis. My delayed driver and I texted back and forth while I went back into the store to purchase an insulated bag for my gallon of milk, that didn’t need to wait outside in the heat for an hour and a half. 😐 Couple that with the fact that the Giant grocery store in Annapolis doesn’t have one single bench or chair in front of their store, so I got to stand the whole time. When my driver finally arrived, he apologized profusely and volunteered to request a refund from Uber for my ride. I assured him I knew the delay had not been his fault, but once again I was reminded just how very much I miss having my own vehicle…

Our errands finished for that day, we set out on foot to explore our new digs. As usual I took many, many pictures of this wonderfully historic town. Of course we were trying to explore on a Saturday, so the crowds were thick, but on top of that it was also Juneteenth and a Pride weekend. Great timing on our part – LOL! We stopped in at Buddy’s Crabs and Ribs for an early dinner and people-watched as we ate. Annapolis is a beautiful town, rich in our nation’s early history. The city served as the seat of the Confederation Congress (former Second Continental Congress) and temporary national capital of the US in 1783-1784. At that time, George Washington came before the body that was convened in the new Maryland State House and resigned his commission as commander of the Continental Army. A month later, the Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris of 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War, with Great Britain finally recognizing the independence of the United States. Annapolis was also the site of the 1786 Annapolis Convention, which issued a call to the states to send delegates for the Constitutional Convention to be held the following year in Philadelphia. Over 220 years later, the Annapolis Peace Conference was held in 2007. In addition to being quite significant in the beginnings of our country, Annapolis is also the home of St. John’s College, founded in 1696, and the United States Naval Academy, established in 1845.

Sunday, 06/20/21, was a busy day. I had previously booked two tickets on the Discover Annapolis Trolley tour for noon, so we walked (and sweated) up the very steep hill that got us to Annapolis Visitor Center, from which our trolley departed. Super-humid again outside, it was also sunny, which pretty much melted us by the time we arrived. Fortunately, Steve had purchased each of us a bottle of water at the bottom of the hill, which we were allowed to carry onto the trolley with us (SCORE), and the air-conditioning onboard our ride worked quite well, to our delight. Unlike some of our earlier trolley tours that boasted hosts that served as driver and docent, simultaneously, this trolley featured a driver and a separate tour-guide who stood up front and spoke into a wireless microphone. She did a marvelous job of explaining the history of such an old city in one hours’ time, though Steve thought she went a bit heavy on the corny jokes. 😉 On this tour, we learned that Maryland is currently celebrating 371 years of recorded history in 2021. The oldest house still standing in Annapolis was built in 1671, and was included on our tour as a drive-by. Four signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 lived in Annapolis: William Paca, Thomas Stone, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll. One of the most influential people in the original design and development of Annapolis was a British aristocrat named Sir Francis Nicholson. In 1695, the then Governor of Maryland conceived an idealized Baroque city plan of streets radiating outward (like spokes on a wagon wheel) from two circles that were superimposed on the existing colonial grid of Annapolis. His circles created focal points and gave importance to certain key structures. In the center of Church Circle is St. Anne’s, the Episcopal Church, and regarded as the spiritual center of the city. Home to the Maryland State House (the oldest in continuous use in the United States), State Circle represents the seat of government. The Nicholson plan still exists today in a somewhat modified form. The circles are still named State Circle and Church Circle, but have evolved through the years and as the city grew, from pure circles into irregular ovoids.

A thriving shipping industry brought great wealth to Annapolis, which was reflected in quality of life. Prosperous British merchants and “planters” sought to duplicate the amenities of their homeland in the colonies, and built mansions that would rival any in England. These homes, which entertained many of our Founding Fathers, had ballrooms and formal gardens where lavish social functions occurred. Today, Annapolis has more of these original 18th century structures standing than any other city in the United States. Many are open to the public, where their beauty and architectural style are major attractions.

After a wholly enjoyable trolley tour (MAN, we are getting old…), we walked to a waterfront restaurant called Latitude 38 Degrees for another early dinner, this time scoring an outside balcony table with a refreshing harbor breeze. This particular restaurant was located adjacent to one of the entry gates into the US Naval Academy, a place we both really wanted to tour, and planned to do so as soon as we finished our meal. Unfortunately, when we got there, we learned that tours had been suspended indefinitely due to “COVID restrictions”. Grrrr… Instead, we had to be content with walking around the perimeter of the academy and taking what pictures we could from the outside. UGH!

My ears had perked up during our trolley ride when I learned of the historic William Paca House and Gardens, built on two acres of land right there in downtown Annapolis. Even though it was so hot outside, and it had been a long day, my husband graciously agreed to taking a quick walking tour of the Paca gardens, since the house tours had ended at 4:00 pm. Although the place was my absolute dream come true – the lavish acreage is walled for privacy, but still located right in the middle of where the action is – many of the plants were between blooming cycles and the gardens were smaller than anticipated, but those that were in bloom were stunning, and I thoroughly appreciated just being there among all of that thriving flora. 🙂

Position: N 38° 58.483, W 76° 29.070

Total marina nights: 259

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 281

Friday, 06/18/21, was a short travel day, so that morning we didn’t untie Legacy’s lines from the transient dock at St. Michaels Marina, in St. Michaels, MD, until 10:00 am, and cruised into smooth waters and more perfect weather conditions. The wind direction had changed to come out of the south and had picked-up in speed, but not enough to hamper our cruising. After leaving the Miles River, we again traversed Eastern Bay on our way back into the Chesapeake Bay. Waves measured less than a foot again for our trip that day. We were definitely smart to wait for good weather windows when traversing the Chesapeake. We could see how this immense body of water could be a real bear to cruise in less than ideal weather!

We passed Kent Farms again as we left Eastern Bay, this time on our starboard, and once again approached Poplar Island to our southeast. When we reached the Chesapeake Bay proper, the winds increased to 12 knots, which increased the waves to 1-2 feet. These were peak conditions for some really good sailing, so we weren’t surprised to see a bevy of sailboats heeling back and forth across the bay, in the bright sunshine. Such a pretty sight!

As we crossed the Chesapeake Bay shipping channel, we saw many of what we thought were oncoming barges, freighters, and container ships up ahead in front of us. But, as we got closer, we realized that only the barges were moving. The freighters and container ships were stationary, and actually anchored in the bay on long, monstrous chains. Not sure why they were anchored, rather than moving…(?) Unless perhaps they were ahead of schedule to reach their destinations and so were just killing time(?)

As we continued further northward towards Annapolis in this narrow part of the Chesapeake Bay, we passed Shady Side, Mayo, Shelby-On-The-Bay, Hillsmere Shores, and Highland Beach, MD. Up in the distance, stretched the famous Chesapeake Bay Bridge (aka US Highway 50), where it connects the mainland to Kent Island, north of Annapolis. I believe I’ve heard the Annapolis area referred to as the sailing capital of the US, and I could certainly understand why. The closer we got to the city, the more inundated the bay became with sailboats of all types and sizes.

We wove our way through the sailboats into Annapolis Harbor, which is at the mouth of the Severn River, toward our marina for the next several days, Annapolis Yacht Basin Marina. The harbor master directed us to our slip in the very heart of the marina, right next to the marina office. Our slip even boasted stationary stairs with attached banister for us to utilize when boarding and leaving our boat, which is not common at most marinas, so that was a special treat for clumsy me. At first we thought we’d be protected from wakes in this slip, because of its location, but soon found we were wrong about that when Legacy began to rock and roll with all the harbor boat traffic, and continued to do so well into the evening. In fact, we rocked so much in that slip, we thought we were back at Vice City Marina, down in Miami… UGH! 🙁

After settling in and paying up at the dock office, we walked through the marina and into historic downtown Annapolis, which is located right there on the harbor, next to the renowned United States Naval Academy there in Annapolis. There were scads of restaurants and pubs to choose from, so we selected Middleton Tavern for an early dinner, then walked to Pusser’s Caribbean Grill for some after dinner drinks. I was enamored with the steep hills rising up from the harbor, upon which the town of Annapolis was built. Those hills made for some impressive scenery, but at the same time were quite the challenge to climb up and down! 😐 We definitely got our exercise during our stay in Annapolis, MD.

Position: N 38° 58.483, W 76° 29.070

Distance traveled:  29 SM

Total distance traveled: 3948 SM

Total marina nights: 257

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28

Day 280

Thursday, 06/17/21, was another stellar day, weather-wise, as we walked up the hill from the marina into historic downtown St. Michaels for brunch at The Galley St. Michaels. We enjoyed some colorful libations with delicious breakfasts alfresco, paid our check, and then continued walking on up to tour more of St. Michaels, which is a quaint little town originally established in the late 1700s, and officially incorporated in 1804. It gets its name from a rural Anglican Church that predates the town, being established in the late 1600s. Its earliest industry was shipbuilding, and as many as six different shipbuilders were active in the town’s heyday, where their typical product was a fast schooner that was well-adapted to evade blockades and outrun pirates or foreign naval vessels at sea. St. Michaels is best known as the town that fooled the British during the war of 1812. To this day, the story has it the town of St. Michaels had received previous knowledge of the British’s planned attack in the early, predawn hours of August 10, 1813. The town’s citizens dimmed or extinguished all lights in the town of St. Michaels proper (including all of its shipbuilding facilities), and instead blazed lights farther up the hill in an attempt to draw cannonball fire from the British away from the actual town and up into the woods beyond the town. Once the battle ended and the sun rose, it was revealed that the town’s plan had succeeded and only one house down in town had been “pierced by cannonball fire”.

At the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, we watched a group of young men building a wooden ship out of the same materials and with the same tools as were used back in the early 1800s to build seagoing vessels. The boat they are currently building is named the Maryland Dove. As with many museums, this one was filled to the brim with maritime and early Chesapeake Bay history and lore. We spent several hours perusing everything there was to see.

We walked the historic streets and enjoyed the cool, dry breezes that graced us while in this area. I marveled over the many beautiful plantings, as well as the indigenous shrubbery and trees in this part of Maryland. As we’ve traveled, we’ve happened upon a handful of towns that stand-out and appeal to us more than others. St. Michaels, MD, is definitely one of those towns.

That evening, after a full day of sight-seeing, we tried St. Michaels Crab & Steak House for dinner, as the harbor master, Ann, had so highly recommended it to us, saying it was her favorite restaurant in town.

Position: N 38° 47.141, W 76° 13.211

Total marina nights: 256

Total nights at anchor: 23

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  28