On the Patapsco River, very close to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, is this red, white, and blue marker. This is the spot where Francis Scott Key was in prison (on a ship) when the British were bombing Baltimore, and he got his inspiration to write the Star Spangled Banner
We were leaving Baltimore, and met this huge car carrier
Donna and Deb spent most of the ride from Baltimore to Georgetown on the bow of the boat
A shot of our marina for Tuesday evening
When we got to Georgetown, Donna and Deb jumped on bikes and toured the area
A beautiful sunset in Georgetown
Leaving Georgetown...you can see the Kitty Night House on the hill
As we traveled to St. Michaels, we say several fishing boats. I'm not sure what they were fishing for.
As we went through Kent Narrows, we passed this old Skip Jack. I'm not sure if you can tell, but there are two small boats behind him. The front one is actually pushing the Skip Jack, which is his only power. It was a very crude set up, but it was working.
When we got to St. Michaels, there was another Skip Jack. This one is in the Musuem
Straight ahead is St. Michaels Marina...the town is just behind the marina.
Log 149Day 414
Thursday, July 09, 2009
6:45 AM EDT
Location: St. Michaels Marina; St. Michaels, MD
Weather: 67, with light NE winds; forecasted to be 83 and sunny today
Tuesday...we left Inner Harbor about 9 am, after waiting for the office to open, so we could get ice. I think it would have been impossible for the weather to be any better. We had all the isinglass either taken down, or rolled up, to get a breeze. As many times as we have made that trip through the harbor over the years (we first boated here in 1985) is still does not get old, and with new folks on board, it’s fun to show them the area.
It’s a surprising (at least to me) 17 miles from the dock, out the Patapsco River, to the center of the channel on the Chesapeake. We cut the corner a little bit, to save some time, but it took us a couple of hours to reach the Bay, and then take the channel north. There was not a lot of boat traffic, but we did pass a very large ship coming in the channel. As we started to head north, the wind picked up a little bit, but it was coming from the south, so it just made the boat roll a little. Deb and Donna went out on the bow to enjoy the ride, and rode there the rest of the way. About 20 miles further north, we came to the mouth of the Sassafras River, and made a sweeping turn to the east to head up the river, and after another 10 mile run, we were in Georgetown.
The Georgetown area is really beautiful. I actually don’t remember where the town is, but I do know you can’t walk there from any of the marinas. This area on the Sassafras is really about marinas, and many of the folks who keep their boat here, are from the Philadelphia area. When we arrived, Deb and Donna decided to use the marina bikes, and take a ride into a small town (don’t know the name...but it wasn’t Georgetown) and check it out. As Donna put it “it was great exercise, but not worth the trip”. On the other hand, Darrell and I decided to do some exploring of our own, and ended up walking up the hill to Kitty Night House, to get a margarita. And, we both agreed...it was worth the trip. For dinner, we walked up the hill to the Kitty Knight House. This restaurant is built from the original home of Kitty Knight, who was a “revolutionary Belle and Beauty” (according to the book), and “a personal friend of General George Washington”. Supposedly...the British were trying to burn all the houses in this area, and Kitty was so defiant, that the British officer was impressed by her, and let her house stand. We are glad he did, because it’s a nice place, and a cool sight, sitting up on the hill, overlooking the marina.
Wednesday...another beautiful morning. 68 degrees; light winds; a cloudless sky. We were not in a hurry to head out, so after breakfast, Darrell; Donna; and Deb, walked up to the marina store to check out a few things. When they got back, we fired up the generator, unhooked everything, and left the marina about 9 am. The wind had switched overnight, and now the winds were coming from the North, which, the further we got out in the river, and out in the Bay, made it a little cool. We started out with all the isinglass open, but had to close some of it, to wait for it to warm up a little. But, as soon as we made the turn south (leaving the Sassafras River and joining the Chesapeake) the wind was on our stern, and it felt much warmer. The trip down to St. Michaels ended up being a 59 mile run. Once we got on the Chesapeake, we ran about 20 miles south to the Chester River, then southeast, to the Kent Narrows, and finally another 15 miles south to St. Michaels. We arrived at about 3 pm. While Darrell and I got the boat hooked up, and we checked in at the marina office, Deb and Donna went into town (which is only about 1 block from the marina). We decided, since we were going to stay 2 nights at St. Michaels, that there would be time for exploring on Thursday, so we stayed on the boat for cocktails and dinner. Another great cruising day.
Refrigerator update...things are not going as well as I had hoped. Deb is doing a great job of cleaning, and putting in new “smell removers” every day, but the smell continues to be there, and it looks like we will need to take more desperate measures. I’ve made a lot of calls to find a replacement, and have located one in Annapolis. We will probably have it installed on Friday. I have also made a few calls to the insurance company. The good news is that it is covered...the bad news is that our deductable is so high, we will have to pay for this ourselves. We have also solved the dilemma of getting the refrigerator out of the salon. I talked directly to Cruisers, and they told me how to move the door over further. I plan to work on this today.
Today...we do not yet have any plans (at least that I am aware of) for today, but I’m sure we will do some walking into the town to check things out. The last time we were here was 9 years ago, so it will be interesting to see what has changed. Also...as many times as I have been here, I have never visited the Maritime Museum...so maybe that could be on the agenda today. Whatever the plan, I’ll bet it will not be a hectic schedule.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
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