Parkside to Queenstown Creek Chester River: Sue and Jen arrived yesterday from PA and Christian (Jen's boyfriend) arrived from NJ. This morning after breakfast we finalized stowing everything and then made plans for Shaw Bay off of the Miles River. On the way Sue found that there was a high probability of jellies there so we changed plans to head for the Chester River. Winds were from the NE at 4-10 knots on a calm sea. Temps were in the low 90's on a partly cloudy day. We motor sailed most of the way to get there at a decent time. Once in the Chester River we decided on somewhere close to Kent Narrow's as we had plans on going to St. Michaels the next day so we picked Queenstown Creek. We slowly navigated the very narrow and long entrance way successfully and arrived in a nice area with about 5 sailboats and countless powerboats. Unfortunately Jen saw jellyfish so swimming was limited. We went to the back of the anchorage and dropped the hook. Christian and I took a chance on swimming to cool down - ugh 93 degree water - not much cooling down. We deployed the dinghy to explore our surroundings while Sue set up appetizers. After retrieving the dinghy we had dinner of grilled chicken, salad and bread. Everyone tried to cool down in the cockpit but there was little wind. Finally we went down below early in the morning for bed.
Queenstown Creek to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum St Michaels: We were all up early and greeted with a cool breeze for a simple breakfast. We motored out of the creek at high tide so the transit through the narrow opening went well. The winds were from the SW at 3-5 knots so we motored out of the Chester River through the Kent Narrows bridge and into the Miles River. Still no wind so we motor sailed all the way to St. Michaels. Josh - dock master at CBMM - was there to greet us at the 'T head' on H dock and received the bow line from Sue. While backing down I noticed I had no more control of my throttle. This had broken last year and I replaced the cable so I knew exactly what was wrong. Rats, bad timing. Josh did a great job pulling us onto the dock against a 5-10 knot wind and we settled in and turned on the AC and tried to relax. I was trying to figure out how I was going to fix this.
We were planning on 2 days in St. Michaels so the repair would consume most of my time. I located a cable at the West Marine in Kent Narrows (Actually Chester) so I rented a car to go get it. The activity of renting a car during Covid was quite challenging but in the process I did locate a cable from a local vendor in St. Michaels. Jen and I replaced the cable in 2 hours which made everyone feel better. Since we had a car we decided to explore Tilghman Island on land. We went to Easton for dinner (take out) and then back to the boat. When we arrived there was quite a storm brewing blowing the boat onto the dock. We shored up the boat with extra fenders with no luck. Also, a boat that was anchored out was being pushed our way making everyone quite uncomfortable. There was someone aboard monitoring the situation but there wasn't much he could do. There was another boat on the inside of the T head that lost it's bow line so Christian and I did our best to retrieve it and tie her up again. Finally after about 1 in the morning the wind changed direction and the thread of the drifting boat was minimized and everyone went to bed.
CBMM to Annapolis City Docks: I returned the car to Easton which took forever. Everyone else stayed behind to fill water tanks and clean up. We finally got under way to Annapolis and of course there was very little wind so we once again motored across the bay without adventure. We docked in Slip 15 on Ego alley and there was only one other boat there. Wow, covid has really shut this place down. Once tied up everyone took time to relax and have drinks and appetizers. Christian treated us to takeout from Mission BBQ (always my favorite). We sat in the cockpit and watched people go by and did take a short walk to get ice cream. Finally everyone to bed.
Another day of adventure but not sailing we toured Annapolis and visited the shops. Dinner was a sausage vodka sause over pasta prepared by Christian - quite yummy. Once again we spent the evening enjoying ice cream and people watching.
Annapolis to Rock Hall Landing: Very hot morning with a sunny sky temps in the 80's and light winds from the NE. Again, winds coming from the direction we were headed. We motored around Spa Creek for a bit and then sailed across the bay and tacked back under the bridge. Finally we were forced to motor the rest of the way into Rock Hall to our favorite marina - Rock Hall Landing. I took a quick swim in their pool and then treated everyone to a take out dinner from Waterman's Crab House. I conked out after dinner but everyone else enjoyed the sunset and playing the game Survive. Expecting rain overnight so closed up everything.
Rock Hall to Still Pond: We waited at the docks until the wind and rain slowed down. I was planning on taking our time to miss most of the weather. We had blueberry and peach pancakes and sausage for breakfast while waiting. Finally we got under way with 20+ knots of wind and 2 foot waves. Maybe not a smart move. It was very uncomfortable so I put out 1/3 of the main to get some speed. We sailed at 4 knots until the wind died down some and the we pulled out the Genoa and tacked into Still Pond. We were the only boat in Still Pond at the time and anchored very far in the southern end of it. Some of us went swimming and took showers. We played board games until 11 pm and then bed.
Still Pond to Havre de Grace: Up early to swim and use dinghy but that didn't happen. Instead we got underway to we could get to a marina for some A/C. Christian motored out of Still Pond and then we sailed on a run wing on wing across the bay. We made it to Turkey Point so Jen could get some pictures and then went on a beam reach towards the cut. Christian drove all the way until we were close to Havre de Grace. We tied up in Log Pond Marina and turned on the A/C. Christian and I walked to Coakly's for take out and Jen later treated us to ice cream.
Havre de Grace to Parkside: The northern point of our trip was complete and we headed back to Parkside. With winds from the south we ended up motoring most of the day. Everyone packed up their stuff and headed back to NJ or PA. I stayed behind to clean up from the trip.
Days: 7 Days to date: 31
Miles: 155.6 Miles to date: 789.2
