Day One is Perfect!
First Mate Enjoying the Sail to Solomon's
Hurry Sundown & Red Rover at Anchor in Hudson Creek
St. Mary's College Horseshoe Bend
Surprise Brunch from Our Daughter
Captains Planning Session
Brisk Sail Down the Potomac
Sunset Over the Coan River
Sunrise on The Glebe
Captains at Work
Sunrise Departure from the Glebe
The Beauty of an Early Morning Departure
Sunrise on Mill Creek
Farewell Friends
We've headed South for a 2 week adventure with the crew of Red Rover barring a disruption from anyone of the 4 hurricanes hanging out in the Atlantic P, R, S, Teddy looks like he could be trouble!
Day 1 - Back Creek Annapolis to Hudson Creek, Little Choptank. Met one of our summer goals to visit as many new anchorages as possible this summer.
Day 2 & 3 - Hudson Creek to Solomon's Island, MD. We biked and grabbed take-out from our favortie restaurant on the Bay, the CD Cafe which did not disappoint. We had to add a second night to our stay to allow both captains to do some maintenance work. After the work was done, we biked, walked to town and stopped for margaritas at The Lighthouse.
Day 4 - Solomon's Island to Smith Creek, MD on the Potomac
Day 5 - Smith Creek to Horseshoe Bend, St. Mary's River, MD
Day 6 - Horseshoe Bend to Canoe Neck Creek, St. Clement's Bay, MD. although our plan had been to head to VA today, the remnants of Hurricane Sally forced us to rethink that decision and seek a well protected anchorage off the Potomac for the night. We had moderate rainfall from late afternoon into the night, but were protected from the predicted blows out on the River and the Bay.
Day 7 - Canoe Neck Creek to Coan River, VA. Another change of plans as last night's forecast was for uncomfortable winds and seas, so we were just going to hang out for the day. As so often happens, the forecast got somewhat better so we decided to continue our trek South. It was quite a day with steady winds of 15-20 with gusts in the mid 20s and seas 3-4 feet, with a Coast Guard gale warning midway through our trip . We were happy to settle in for the night in a well protected cove on the Coan River.
Day 8 - Today started at 1 AM when Hurry Sundown & Red Rover had to quickly break their raft-up due to 20+ knot winds that resulted in a dragging anchor. We achieved a fast break and anchored separately hoping that the winds would abate and we would finally get some sleep. It was not to be. After hours of anxiety and concern that we might again be dragging we raised our anchor at 4AM and got ourselves situated for the third time in the past 12 hours. Once we were sure we were secure, we added an anchor app to our phones and finally got some much needed rest despite the wind whistling in the trees that surrounded us.
Day 9 - Coan River to the Glebe. Since we've decided to wait out the winds and seas we thought we'd try another anchorage for a change of scene.
Day 10 - Today's forecast: NE winds 15-20, gusts to 30, seas 3-4 ft. so we'll give it another day before continuing South. We had another bouncy night on the hook, so we tried a new spot with a little more protection today. The captains did a little maintenance and I busied myself reading the logs of other Century Club sailors. I noticed what looked like the boat of a fellow 'centurion' across the Glebe from where we anchored, and while we didn't get to meet in person, we did exchange greeteings over e-mail with Eric, the captain of Flight Risk. Another perk of being a part of the Century Club!
Day 11 - Glebe Bay, Lottsburg, VA. to Indian Creek, Kilmarnock, VA. We departed Glebe Bay to a beautiful sunrise, enjoyed a perfect day of sailing and celebrated reaching Day 100 with a NN rum runner.
Day 12 - Indian Creek, VA to Mill Creek, VA off the Great Wicomico - After a lazy morning in Kilmarnock, we started our trip back north with our only regret being that there is no more time to explore this beautiful part of the Bay. I guess we'll save the Rappahonock for next year.
Day 13 - Mill Creek, VA to Solomon's Island, MD, - Be careful what you wish for! Where have all the winds gone? After sitting out the brisk winds and seas for 3 days on the Coan/Glebe, we find ourself with little to no wind now, finding only enough for an hour sail today. We arrived Solomon's mid-afternoon and were joined by the crew of Lamani for happy hour and another great dinner from the CD Cafe.
Day 14 - Solomon's Island, MD - As the song goes, "they say that all good things must end" and so it goes this morning as we bid good-bye to our companions on Red Rover whose schedule demands that they head home to the Magothy today. It was a great 2 weeks together! We spent the morning with our friends on Lamani. The guys got in a bike tour of the Island and after Lamani's departure we did the same.
Day 15 - Solomon's Isand, MD - rainy, dreary day that we spent on the boat awaiting a better weather window for our return trip home. The highlight of the day was a visit from our son-in-law and the grand twins. The guys hunted for the elusive leak source with a cool endoscopic camera - kinda like giving Hurry Sundown a colonscopy. Still no luck on finding the source.
Day 16 - Solomon's Island, MD to Back Creek, Annapolis. We awoke to a warm, foggy morning and made an early departure. It was a 7 hour motor trip but we are all tucked in at home and ready for our next adventure.