| CHESAPEAKE BAY |
The Trip North (May 2007 - September 2007) - It's the last week in May 2007. We have reached our summer goal of the Chesapeake
Bay, or at least close to our goal. The mouth of the bay is a couple of hours north of Norfolk.
We leave Waterside Marina one fine, cool morning. Bogey is healed with only a small, permanent divot in his eye to show for his troubles.
Once we found the right vet, the situation went from losing his eye to healed in a week and a half. The weather seems to have calmed down a
bit; it's nice and cool in the mornings and there are no significant fronts on the horizon. We are in no particular hurry and are debating
whether to spend the summer in Washington or Baltimore. We'll decide during the next couple of weeks.
Our first anchorage off the Chesapeake was off Mobjack Bay, up East River. There was nothing special about this anchorage, but it gave us
the first glimpse of what was in store; lots of trees and lots of small creeks and rivers to anchor. We were to find that holding is generally
good in mud and most of the anchorages are in 8 to 12 feet of water. We will be giving our anchor washdown a work out over the next few
months.
We were off the next morning and decided to anchor in Mill Creek, close to the Great Wicomico River. The entrance was a bit tricky, but
well marked, and once inside, was perfect. There are plenty of places to anchor in the creek with plenty of swing room. In one spot, we had
trouble setting "big dog" because of leaves and soft mud, but the Spade is just the ticket in that situation. We stayed five days.
While there, we decided to make our way up the Potomac River to D.C. to check out the possibilities for an extended stay.
It was a no wind, motoring kind of day which was just as well because the mouth of the Potomac is five miles wide and notorious for rough
conditions if the wind opposes the current. For us, it was waves of 1 to 2 feet. There are great anchorages in several places in the lower part
of the river. Unfortunately, if you anchor in one of those you can't make it all the way to the city during the next day. So we kept going as far
as light permitted and made it to the large bend in the river between Port Tobacco River and Mattawoman Creek. We just pulled over out of
the channel and dropped anchor in about 10 feet of water on the south side of the bend. I would not have wanted to be in that spot if there
was any wind to speak of since the river is still fairly wide and the fetch would have made it very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, we picked a
spot that was very popular with the power boat crowd from D.C. and there was a huge raft-up going on with lots of drunks and fast boats (it
was Memorial Day Weekend). We were tired and weren't going anywhere so we left all our deck lights on that night. We had no waves from
a long fetch, but we had lots of wakes.
After a toss and turn sort of night, the anchor was up at dawn and as long as the current didn't slam us too hard we would arrive about noon.
We get to Gangplank Marina as scheduled and take slip for a few days. There is not much of a choice in marinas and anchoring is limited to
a small area with time limits for your stay due to security reasons. The marina and anchoring area is directly across the river from
Washington National. The marina is also located in one of the most dangerous parts of the city, with murders happening frequently only a
block or so away. It didn't take long to decide this was no place for us which was just as well since the marina was full for the season and
could not have accommodated us anyway.
Ellis' sister, Cindy lives and works in the D.C. area and we were able to spend time with her. It was great to see her and we will get together
again before we head south. We left a few days later after doing a few tourist things. In a previous life, Ellis had travelled many times to
Washington, but Leta hadn't seen some of the stuff that you must see in your lifetime.
We were moving again. On to Baltimore. While in Washington, we had rented a car and drove to Baltimore (only about 30 miles by car) to
check out a couple of marinas. We made arrangements to stay at Anchorage Marina in Canton (within walking distance of downtown) for the
remainder of hurricane season.
The first day out of D.C. we travelled as far as we could and made it to a nice anchorage off St. Clements Bay in Breton Bay.
The next day we covered a lot of ground and arrived in the Solomans Island area late in the afternoon. There are several marinas in the area
and Solomans Island is very popular. We chose to go up the Patuxent River a few short miles and anchor in Mill Creek. Great place and
very protected. We would have stayed a few days, but nasty weather was on the way so we wanted to keep moving and beat the weather.
Not that we couldn't have weathered the nasty stuff here, but we were ready to get to a final destination for a while. We had a big list of boat
maintenance things that needed attention over the next few months. Nothing major, but just the things necessary to keep the boat in top
shape for the next cruising season.
So, we made another long day of it, passing by Annapolis, under the Bay Bridge, turned left up the Patapsco River, under the Francis Scott
Key Bridge, into the harbor and into the slip as it began to rain. We just beat the weather.
We spent the first month getting the maintenance items under control. By then, it was the 4th of July. Thanks to Jessica, our daughter
Laura's lifelong friend, Laura and Jessica spent a few days with us during that week. Cindy also came over and we made a day of it on the
fourth, even taking a sail for a couple of hours. Ellis fell asleep before the fireworks.
After a few weeks at the dock, we began taking a few days every week or so to explore the area. We found a great spot across the bay, up
Chester River and up the eastern neck of Langford Creek. It takes us about six hours to get there. The anchoring spot is very protected
with lots of trees with the occasional farm. Holding is great in 10 feet of water.
We also needed a few warranty items taken care of and bottom paint. Gratitude Yachting Center is an Island Packet dealer at Rock Hall,
directly across the bay on the eastern shore. Gratitude Yachting Center was nice enough to help coordinate the paint job (at Haven Harbor
Marina) with the warranty items. Since the boat was out of the water for a few days, we were able to look around Rock Hall a bit, courtesy of
Gratitude. They let us drive around an old Jeep Cherokee that was perfect for us. There are not many places like Rock Hall anymore. No
one locks their doors; cars or houses (they even leave their keys in their cars). Amazing, when you think that Baltimore (across the Bay) is
the murder capital of the States. We would recommend Rock Hall as a must stop if you are in the area as well as Haven Harbor Marina if
you need a marina or any work done. It's really shallow around here, but anything less than a seven foot draft is okay if you pay attention to
the foot and a half tide. If you do touch bottom, it's soft mud.
It was interesting seeing the boat out of the water again. It had been a year and a half. It's massive. There's a lot of boat underwater. It
makes you feel really safe to see all that solid boat after thinking about all the tough conditions you find yourself in. We're glad we have the
IP.
If you are looking for a marina to spend the hurricane season around Baltimore, we would also recommend Anchorage Marina. The facilities
are nice and management and the staff are great. What really makes the marina a great choice is its proximity to everything you need. The
area is safe and across the street is a large shopping area that includes basically everything you can think of, including a large Safeway and
several different restaurants. A West Marine is about a block or so away. Also, if you are so inclined, the Inner Harbor and downtown is an
easy walk or you can take a water taxi for a reasonable fee.
On one of our side trips to Langford Creek, we found out once again why spares are so important. We were on our way back to Baltimore,
about half way across the bay entering the Patapsco River when it happened. It was a fairly windy day but the wind was directly where we
needed to go (imagine that). We left the main up and turned on the engine. As soon as the engine fired up I knew something was wrong. At
first I couldn't quite focus on the problem, but it only took a few seconds to realize there was no water coming from the exhaust. Yikes. The
impeller. I shut the engine down and ruled out things like through hull problems and burst hoses and proceeded to pull out spares. I spent the
next hour changing the impeller while Leta sailed around and around slowly. Luckily, I had prepared long ago for this exact problem. Since
we had a Yanmar engine on a previous boat, I knew how difficult it is to change the impeller. In the IP, the only way to get access is to take
the companionway down and lay directly on top of the engine worming your right hand through a very small opening behind the alternator and
reaching back to feel the impeller cover. It's nearly impossible to get any leverage in that position or to get tools back there. While the boat
was being commissioned we had installed a Speed Seal that uses thumb screws to hold the impeller cover in place (we installed one on our last
boat as well and highly recommend the thing). I also had changed the impeller last summer to know exactly what it takes to change the
impeller on this engine in this boat. I also believe that you should change the impeller every year, even though the Yanmar manual calls for
changing it every 1,000 hours. Cruising in shallow water will inevitably cause small sand particles and mud to wear on the impeller blades. I
had the impeller change on my list for the end of the summer; I just got that chore out of the way early. Anyway, we got it done and were
back underway towards Baltimore, making it back to the Marina before dark.
The Trip South (September 2007 - October 2007) - We left Anchorage Marina in mid-September in calm winds with an expected high of
only the 60's. Our goal was to move slowly south over the next couple of weeks keeping a close watch on any Tropical weather
developments. Weather permitting, we should arrive in the Norfolk area around the first of October.
We enjoyed our time in Baltimore. The location was great and the Baltimore harbor is very protected. The downside is that the harbor is
very nasty (really dirty, smelly water) and there is lots of air pollution (black soot on your boat all the time). It worked for our intended use,
but we will probably not go back unless for a visit.
Our first stop was Annapolis. It's only three or four hours from Baltimore and it was a motor sail kind of day. We picked up a mooring ball
for the night just to the south of the Naval Academy seawall. Annapolis is nice, but it's one of those tourist sort of towns which we don't
particularly care for. We puttered around in the dink for a while and bought a couple of cans of varnish for maintenance tasks (it's always
something). Anyway, the wind picked up during the night and the waves sort of curved around and made their way into the mooring field,
coming at us from a direction different than the wind. That made it a very uncomfortable night without much sleep.
As soon as there was enough light to see the channel markers, we were happy to be on the move. The wind was about 15 knots or so aft of
our beam, which made for a rare downwind sail. We managed to sail at over 7 knots for most of the day (basically a perfect sailing day). We
arrived in the Solomans Island area during mid-afternoon and made our way up the Patuxent River a few miles to a really nice anchorage in
the first bight of Mill Creek. We had originally planned to stay here for a few days, but the forecast called for more downwind sailing the
next day. We had the anchor up and were moving at first light.
Another perfect day for sailing. We arrived at our favorite anchorage on the Chesapeake Bay during mid-afternoon (another Mill Creek).
There are a lot of Mill Creeks on the Chesapeake but this one is off the Great Wicomico River, across the river from Reedville. I suppose
there are no perfect anchorages, but this one is close. The creek is very protected with tall trees on its banks and the depth is 8 to 12 feet for
at least two or three miles. There are a few homes along the banks but they are tucked well in behind the trees. It's very pretty, very quiet,
very protected and is in Virginia (we are finally out of Maryland). What more could you ask. We stayed almost two weeks
We left at daylight one morning to take advantage of another mild cold front. The sail was good. We anchored for the night in the Severn
River in the southwest corner of Mobjack Bay protected from the north winds during the night.
Next day called for another downwind sail to Hampton. This time however, the wind was 20 to 25 with waves 3 to 4 feet (the short, shallow
water, choppy kind). It was not a comfy sail (and of course the waves were more like five feet), but we rounded the corner at Hampton,
leaving the Chesapeake Bay and entering the mouth of the James River, around mid-afternoon. We anchored in Mill Creek between the
Army base and the tunnel going across the river to Norfolk. We stayed there three days to rest and provision. The anchorage was a bit rolly
and it took us three times to set the anchor, but it served its purpose. We were a medium length (three miles or so) dinghy ride from
Hampton.
Hampton has several marinas on the Hampton River, all very protected. There is also a city marina among them. We saw three or four
boats anchored up the river, across from the city marina, but we wouldn't try it. It was very narrow and shallow and all but one of the boats
would swing into the channel (and probably had only a two to one scope). No thanks.
As it turned out, the city marina worked perfectly for us. We needed water. We have the water maker, but it was still pickled. We could
make water alright, but the dirty water would clog the filters continuously. Our plan was to get somewhere in Florida before we fired it up. In
the meantime we will need to top off our water tanks once a week or so. On the morning we headed south, we stopped by the city marina and
topped off our water tank. All you have to do is show a receipt indicating that you bought something in Hampton and they let you tie up for a
few hours for shopping, water, etc. We were full of water and off the dock by 8:30. Hampton was very pleasant, but we would recommend the
anchorage in Mill Creek only in the right settled conditions. As we said before, anchoring in Hampton River is not an option for most.
Bay, or at least close to our goal. The mouth of the bay is a couple of hours north of Norfolk.
We leave Waterside Marina one fine, cool morning. Bogey is healed with only a small, permanent divot in his eye to show for his troubles.
Once we found the right vet, the situation went from losing his eye to healed in a week and a half. The weather seems to have calmed down a
bit; it's nice and cool in the mornings and there are no significant fronts on the horizon. We are in no particular hurry and are debating
whether to spend the summer in Washington or Baltimore. We'll decide during the next couple of weeks.
Our first anchorage off the Chesapeake was off Mobjack Bay, up East River. There was nothing special about this anchorage, but it gave us
the first glimpse of what was in store; lots of trees and lots of small creeks and rivers to anchor. We were to find that holding is generally
good in mud and most of the anchorages are in 8 to 12 feet of water. We will be giving our anchor washdown a work out over the next few
months.
We were off the next morning and decided to anchor in Mill Creek, close to the Great Wicomico River. The entrance was a bit tricky, but
well marked, and once inside, was perfect. There are plenty of places to anchor in the creek with plenty of swing room. In one spot, we had
trouble setting "big dog" because of leaves and soft mud, but the Spade is just the ticket in that situation. We stayed five days.
While there, we decided to make our way up the Potomac River to D.C. to check out the possibilities for an extended stay.
It was a no wind, motoring kind of day which was just as well because the mouth of the Potomac is five miles wide and notorious for rough
conditions if the wind opposes the current. For us, it was waves of 1 to 2 feet. There are great anchorages in several places in the lower part
of the river. Unfortunately, if you anchor in one of those you can't make it all the way to the city during the next day. So we kept going as far
as light permitted and made it to the large bend in the river between Port Tobacco River and Mattawoman Creek. We just pulled over out of
the channel and dropped anchor in about 10 feet of water on the south side of the bend. I would not have wanted to be in that spot if there
was any wind to speak of since the river is still fairly wide and the fetch would have made it very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, we picked a
spot that was very popular with the power boat crowd from D.C. and there was a huge raft-up going on with lots of drunks and fast boats (it
was Memorial Day Weekend). We were tired and weren't going anywhere so we left all our deck lights on that night. We had no waves from
a long fetch, but we had lots of wakes.
After a toss and turn sort of night, the anchor was up at dawn and as long as the current didn't slam us too hard we would arrive about noon.
We get to Gangplank Marina as scheduled and take slip for a few days. There is not much of a choice in marinas and anchoring is limited to
a small area with time limits for your stay due to security reasons. The marina and anchoring area is directly across the river from
Washington National. The marina is also located in one of the most dangerous parts of the city, with murders happening frequently only a
block or so away. It didn't take long to decide this was no place for us which was just as well since the marina was full for the season and
could not have accommodated us anyway.
Ellis' sister, Cindy lives and works in the D.C. area and we were able to spend time with her. It was great to see her and we will get together
again before we head south. We left a few days later after doing a few tourist things. In a previous life, Ellis had travelled many times to
Washington, but Leta hadn't seen some of the stuff that you must see in your lifetime.
We were moving again. On to Baltimore. While in Washington, we had rented a car and drove to Baltimore (only about 30 miles by car) to
check out a couple of marinas. We made arrangements to stay at Anchorage Marina in Canton (within walking distance of downtown) for the
remainder of hurricane season.
The first day out of D.C. we travelled as far as we could and made it to a nice anchorage off St. Clements Bay in Breton Bay.
The next day we covered a lot of ground and arrived in the Solomans Island area late in the afternoon. There are several marinas in the area
and Solomans Island is very popular. We chose to go up the Patuxent River a few short miles and anchor in Mill Creek. Great place and
very protected. We would have stayed a few days, but nasty weather was on the way so we wanted to keep moving and beat the weather.
Not that we couldn't have weathered the nasty stuff here, but we were ready to get to a final destination for a while. We had a big list of boat
maintenance things that needed attention over the next few months. Nothing major, but just the things necessary to keep the boat in top
shape for the next cruising season.
So, we made another long day of it, passing by Annapolis, under the Bay Bridge, turned left up the Patapsco River, under the Francis Scott
Key Bridge, into the harbor and into the slip as it began to rain. We just beat the weather.
We spent the first month getting the maintenance items under control. By then, it was the 4th of July. Thanks to Jessica, our daughter
Laura's lifelong friend, Laura and Jessica spent a few days with us during that week. Cindy also came over and we made a day of it on the
fourth, even taking a sail for a couple of hours. Ellis fell asleep before the fireworks.
After a few weeks at the dock, we began taking a few days every week or so to explore the area. We found a great spot across the bay, up
Chester River and up the eastern neck of Langford Creek. It takes us about six hours to get there. The anchoring spot is very protected
with lots of trees with the occasional farm. Holding is great in 10 feet of water.
We also needed a few warranty items taken care of and bottom paint. Gratitude Yachting Center is an Island Packet dealer at Rock Hall,
directly across the bay on the eastern shore. Gratitude Yachting Center was nice enough to help coordinate the paint job (at Haven Harbor
Marina) with the warranty items. Since the boat was out of the water for a few days, we were able to look around Rock Hall a bit, courtesy of
Gratitude. They let us drive around an old Jeep Cherokee that was perfect for us. There are not many places like Rock Hall anymore. No
one locks their doors; cars or houses (they even leave their keys in their cars). Amazing, when you think that Baltimore (across the Bay) is
the murder capital of the States. We would recommend Rock Hall as a must stop if you are in the area as well as Haven Harbor Marina if
you need a marina or any work done. It's really shallow around here, but anything less than a seven foot draft is okay if you pay attention to
the foot and a half tide. If you do touch bottom, it's soft mud.
It was interesting seeing the boat out of the water again. It had been a year and a half. It's massive. There's a lot of boat underwater. It
makes you feel really safe to see all that solid boat after thinking about all the tough conditions you find yourself in. We're glad we have the
IP.
If you are looking for a marina to spend the hurricane season around Baltimore, we would also recommend Anchorage Marina. The facilities
are nice and management and the staff are great. What really makes the marina a great choice is its proximity to everything you need. The
area is safe and across the street is a large shopping area that includes basically everything you can think of, including a large Safeway and
several different restaurants. A West Marine is about a block or so away. Also, if you are so inclined, the Inner Harbor and downtown is an
easy walk or you can take a water taxi for a reasonable fee.
On one of our side trips to Langford Creek, we found out once again why spares are so important. We were on our way back to Baltimore,
about half way across the bay entering the Patapsco River when it happened. It was a fairly windy day but the wind was directly where we
needed to go (imagine that). We left the main up and turned on the engine. As soon as the engine fired up I knew something was wrong. At
first I couldn't quite focus on the problem, but it only took a few seconds to realize there was no water coming from the exhaust. Yikes. The
impeller. I shut the engine down and ruled out things like through hull problems and burst hoses and proceeded to pull out spares. I spent the
next hour changing the impeller while Leta sailed around and around slowly. Luckily, I had prepared long ago for this exact problem. Since
we had a Yanmar engine on a previous boat, I knew how difficult it is to change the impeller. In the IP, the only way to get access is to take
the companionway down and lay directly on top of the engine worming your right hand through a very small opening behind the alternator and
reaching back to feel the impeller cover. It's nearly impossible to get any leverage in that position or to get tools back there. While the boat
was being commissioned we had installed a Speed Seal that uses thumb screws to hold the impeller cover in place (we installed one on our last
boat as well and highly recommend the thing). I also had changed the impeller last summer to know exactly what it takes to change the
impeller on this engine in this boat. I also believe that you should change the impeller every year, even though the Yanmar manual calls for
changing it every 1,000 hours. Cruising in shallow water will inevitably cause small sand particles and mud to wear on the impeller blades. I
had the impeller change on my list for the end of the summer; I just got that chore out of the way early. Anyway, we got it done and were
back underway towards Baltimore, making it back to the Marina before dark.
The Trip South (September 2007 - October 2007) - We left Anchorage Marina in mid-September in calm winds with an expected high of
only the 60's. Our goal was to move slowly south over the next couple of weeks keeping a close watch on any Tropical weather
developments. Weather permitting, we should arrive in the Norfolk area around the first of October.
We enjoyed our time in Baltimore. The location was great and the Baltimore harbor is very protected. The downside is that the harbor is
very nasty (really dirty, smelly water) and there is lots of air pollution (black soot on your boat all the time). It worked for our intended use,
but we will probably not go back unless for a visit.
Our first stop was Annapolis. It's only three or four hours from Baltimore and it was a motor sail kind of day. We picked up a mooring ball
for the night just to the south of the Naval Academy seawall. Annapolis is nice, but it's one of those tourist sort of towns which we don't
particularly care for. We puttered around in the dink for a while and bought a couple of cans of varnish for maintenance tasks (it's always
something). Anyway, the wind picked up during the night and the waves sort of curved around and made their way into the mooring field,
coming at us from a direction different than the wind. That made it a very uncomfortable night without much sleep.
As soon as there was enough light to see the channel markers, we were happy to be on the move. The wind was about 15 knots or so aft of
our beam, which made for a rare downwind sail. We managed to sail at over 7 knots for most of the day (basically a perfect sailing day). We
arrived in the Solomans Island area during mid-afternoon and made our way up the Patuxent River a few miles to a really nice anchorage in
the first bight of Mill Creek. We had originally planned to stay here for a few days, but the forecast called for more downwind sailing the
next day. We had the anchor up and were moving at first light.
Another perfect day for sailing. We arrived at our favorite anchorage on the Chesapeake Bay during mid-afternoon (another Mill Creek).
There are a lot of Mill Creeks on the Chesapeake but this one is off the Great Wicomico River, across the river from Reedville. I suppose
there are no perfect anchorages, but this one is close. The creek is very protected with tall trees on its banks and the depth is 8 to 12 feet for
at least two or three miles. There are a few homes along the banks but they are tucked well in behind the trees. It's very pretty, very quiet,
very protected and is in Virginia (we are finally out of Maryland). What more could you ask. We stayed almost two weeks
We left at daylight one morning to take advantage of another mild cold front. The sail was good. We anchored for the night in the Severn
River in the southwest corner of Mobjack Bay protected from the north winds during the night.
Next day called for another downwind sail to Hampton. This time however, the wind was 20 to 25 with waves 3 to 4 feet (the short, shallow
water, choppy kind). It was not a comfy sail (and of course the waves were more like five feet), but we rounded the corner at Hampton,
leaving the Chesapeake Bay and entering the mouth of the James River, around mid-afternoon. We anchored in Mill Creek between the
Army base and the tunnel going across the river to Norfolk. We stayed there three days to rest and provision. The anchorage was a bit rolly
and it took us three times to set the anchor, but it served its purpose. We were a medium length (three miles or so) dinghy ride from
Hampton.
Hampton has several marinas on the Hampton River, all very protected. There is also a city marina among them. We saw three or four
boats anchored up the river, across from the city marina, but we wouldn't try it. It was very narrow and shallow and all but one of the boats
would swing into the channel (and probably had only a two to one scope). No thanks.
As it turned out, the city marina worked perfectly for us. We needed water. We have the water maker, but it was still pickled. We could
make water alright, but the dirty water would clog the filters continuously. Our plan was to get somewhere in Florida before we fired it up. In
the meantime we will need to top off our water tanks once a week or so. On the morning we headed south, we stopped by the city marina and
topped off our water tank. All you have to do is show a receipt indicating that you bought something in Hampton and they let you tie up for a
few hours for shopping, water, etc. We were full of water and off the dock by 8:30. Hampton was very pleasant, but we would recommend the
anchorage in Mill Creek only in the right settled conditions. As we said before, anchoring in Hampton River is not an option for most.
| Home for the summer - Anchorage Marina, Baltimore |
| Cindy (in hat), Jessica, Laura (in stripes) and Ellis celebrating the 4th of July |
| Langford Creek anchorage on the Chester River |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Leaving Baltimore |
| Francis Scott Key Bridge |
| Approaching the Bay Bridge |
| US Naval Academy |
| Mill Creek off the Great Wicomico River - Our Favorite Chesapeake Anchorage |