We left Essex, MD on a fine sunny morning after a day’s delay due to a computer malfunction. Never try to update your charts the night before you want to leave! The file got corrupted and we spent the next day on the phone with Navionics trying to get the issue resolved. Very frustrating! We now have newly updated charts for our trip south though, which provides some reassurance. However, the charts are not always accurate so prudent navigation is a necessity. We are currently anchored where the chart says we should have 3 feet of water depth and we are happily floating in 8 feet!
We sailed to Annapolis, MD the first day. Said to be the sailing capital of the world by some, Annapolis offers anything and everything you could want for a boat. We spent a long weekend there for the boat show one year and enjoyed ourselves immensely. This trip we only spent an afternoon walking the old streets from the waterfront and exploring the shops. Middleton Tavern on the waterfront was a great stop for cocktails and a snack.
In the evening, we took the dingy across to Eastport on the other side of the river for dinner at the Boatyard Bar & Grill. The food was great and the company even better. We were blessed to have our friends with us as tour guides! The Annapolis City mooring balls were our home for the night.
The next day we traveled down the bay with our friends on S/V Ariosa to St. Michaels, MD up the Eastern Bay. The Bloody Point lighthouse marks the entrance to Eastern Bay. Built in 1882, it has been subjected to fire, ice and the elements resulting in a tilt to the lighthouse that has never been fully repaired but the light is still functional to guide sailors around the shoaling of the point. Legends tell of a massacre of native Americans at the site, as well as a violent hanging of a French pirate.
St. Michaels is a quaint, old-fashioned town with a great little shopping district a block from the waterfront. Small specialty shops dominate with many restaurants and pubs along the main drag. We walked the main street to the outskirts of town to visit the local hardware shop which was stocked with everything you could imagine for both homes and boats.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime museum is a gem. It tells the story of the local business of harvesting oysters. Apparently, a sailing vessel was required to harvest oysters. These vessels could not be powered by an engine, but often had a small boat like a tug that pushed them out to the oyster beds. Once the oysters were harvested, a bigger boat called a buyboat would purchase the oysters and take them to market. The oyster business was the primary source of income for many in the area and harvesting continues today.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. On Sunday we bid farewell to S/V Ariosa as they returned to Essex and we continued our way south down the Chesapeake in our search for warmer weather and sunshine.
