Four Options for Cruising Sailors for Surviving a Sweltering Weekend on the Bay
Yay, the weekend! The work week was behind us, and we were both looking forward to a two-day cruising outing on Belle Bateau, wherever the winds would take us. We rose early on Saturday, packed our bags, and looked at the forecast one more time. We knew it would be hot and humid, with light winds. But as we compared several wind and weather apps, we needed to face reality. It would be sweltering on the Chesapeake Bay, with little to no wind, meaning we would motor both days. Nighttime lows would be above 82 degrees, with humidity above 80 percent. Was this really the way we wanted to spend our weekend?
We paused and discussed four viable options:
- Motor and stay in a slip: We could motor to our favorite Bay destination, St. Michaels, in about four hours. We are Mariner members at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) and could reserve a slip for shore power to run air conditioning (AC). Although we typically anchor out, we do occasionally tie up at CBMM. We also know that two of their buildings are downright chilly and a welcome respite when days are hot: the Play on the Bay and the Steamboat buildings. In addition to its many shops and restaurants, St. Michaels also has a newly renovated library and my favorite distillery, Lyon Rum, with a complimentary tasting room. All offer welcome breaks from the heat.
- Motor a shorter distance and anchor: We could motor a shorter distance, perhaps to the Rhode River, and dinghy to shore for a shady albeit hot hike at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Or we could anchor in the West River and dine at Pirates Cove while enjoying live music. We have a generator and could run AC if sweltering temps made sleeping impossible. In our 16 years of cruising, we have only once run the generator overnight for AC, in an empty anchorage. We never want to be “that boat” that runs its genset and disturbs a peaceful gunkhole or mooring field. So we would have to anchor far from other boats, if there were other diehard cruisers in this heat wave.
- Day sails instead of overnight trip: Perhaps the winds would be better than forecasted, due to thermal land breezes? We could motor out into the Bay to see and sail according to wind direction. We could return late afternoon to enjoy the pool at our yacht club in Selby Bay before overnighting in our slip with AC, wake up, and decide whether to do another daysail.
- Day trip by car instead of by sail: As my husband often points out, we can drive somewhere a lot faster than we can sail to it. I keep saying he’s missing the point. But on this hot weekend, I reconsidered. Both of us had just completed a riveting book by Kathy Bergren Smith, “Deadly Gamble: The Wreck of Schooner Levin J. Marvel,” the true story of the Chesapeake Bay’s worst sailing disaster. The shipwreck occurred in 1955 just south of Herring Bay, off of North Beach. What if we drove to North Beach to envision where this happened, and immerse ourselves in a bit of maritime history? While there, we could also visit nearby Chesapeake Beach.
North Beach Pier with the beach in the background.
We chose Option #4
After weighing these options, we abandoned our overnight bags and decided on a road trip of 35 minutes in air-conditioned comfort to explore both towns. Internet searches revealed that North Beach has a small museum, Bayside History, that is open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. And to our delight, Chesapeake Beach has a Railway Museum that is open from 1-4 p.m. If we left soon, we could arrive early enough to visit the first museum and walk the pier before having lunch and visiting the second museum.
Briefly, we did consider motoring our sailboat the two and a half hours to Herrington Harbour North or South to take a slip, but we wanted enough time to visit both museums. Additionally, neither North Beach nor Chesapeake Beach appeared to be reasonably accessible by dinghy from those marinas.
North Beach and Chesapeake Beach
We spent a leisurely hour in the Bayside History Museum before walking five minutes to the North Beach Pier where we tried to envision how and where the schooner shipwreck occurred. We passed many North Beach residents and visitors who were enjoying the beach and boardwalk, renting umbrellas, chairs, and inner tubes.
We drove five minutes south to the Rod ‘N’ Reel Resort in Chesapeake Beach. We had lunch at the waterfront 1936 Bar & Grill before walking alongside Fishing Creek Channel to the marina side facing the Bay. We meandered inside through the massive hotel resort, passing several restaurants, game rooms, and venues, before finding the quaint railroad museum on the southwest corner. There we soaked in railway history, including a tour of the Dolores Parlor Car, the last remaining railcar from the Chesapeake Beach Railway.
As we drove home, we reflected on our decision to road trip vs. boat trip. While we wanted more time on our boat, we were glad we chose to spend this sweltering weekend exploring new seaside towns with rich histories that we appreciate. It was a creative way to stay cool and still explore the Chesapeake Bay.
About the author: Captain Cheryl Duvall is President of the Chesapeake Area Professional Captains Association (CAPCA). You may see her at the helm of her Gozzard 44 Belle Bateau or on Watermark’s Miss Anne in the Annapolis Harbor. Email her at [email protected].
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