Chesapeake Adventures Begin!

*Cover design and photo credit: Wilbur Ryan

Our luck with the weather had finally turned! Our overnight trip from Manteo to the Chesapeake was beautiful and we operated with wind as our power source for this leg of the journey. In fact, we made such good time that we traveled much further than planned, stopping at Point Lookout, Maryland on July 13th. We found a small anchorage which was just deep enough for us, and which had dinghy dock access to a State Park.

Anchorage at Point Lookout, Maryland

During our explorations the next day, we learned that this location is notable from an historic perspective; John Smith landed here in 1608 during his survey of the Mid-Atlantic region, it was raided during the American Revolution due to its strategic location, it served as an important observation post during the War of 1812, and was the site of Union Fort Lincoln and prison camp for Confederate prisoners during the Civil War. A reconstruction of Fort Lincoln and some of its buildings were available to tour.

Reconstructed Guard House at Fort Lincoln

Reconstructed Officer Barracks at Fort Lincoln

In addition to the historical displays, Point Lookout State Park offers campgrounds, a fishing pier, a pet beach and a wonderful view of the Chesapeake Bay.

We stayed an extra day at Point Lookout based on a windless forecast for 14th and a good sailing day for the 15th. The wind decided to keep its own schedule, though, and came early. I guess I spoke too soon when I said our luck had changed.... By the morning of the 15th the wind had died but we decided to motor to Galesville - our summer home-base - where we had plans to meet my brother, Bill, and his friend, Jay, on July 17th. There was no wind predicted for the whole next week anyway, and we wanted to have time to prepare for their visit.

The trip to Galesville was uneventful and we arrived early enough to pump-out our waste tanks and fill up our water tanks before proceeding to the mooring field. The trickiest part of this leg of our journey was finding our assigned mooring ball, Red #7! The marina map did not show the first five or six rows of mooring balls, which took a bit of time for us to figure out. Even after that discovery, Red #7 was nowhere to be found. After cruising through the mooring field for 30 minutes, weaving in and out of numerous moored boats, and circling the balls to try to get a look at their numbers (which were always on the side opposite to where we were), we finally gave up, called the dockmaster, told him we couldn't find #7 and requested a new assignment. Thankfully he answered the phone right away and gave us a new number. I would mention here that he did not try to direct us to #7. We searched the next day again (by dinghy) and found that #7 was (mis)located in a place (out of numerical order) other than what was shown on the map. We felt better after that, since we had begun to seriously question our navigation skills!

We had left our truck at Jess and Will's (our daughter and son-in-law's) house over the winter and spring, and they came to visit us the day after our arrival, bringing our truck with them. Thankfully, Galesville is close enough to their home for a day-visit. Having a vehicle here in Galesville is important since the nearest grocery store is 5 miles away, so it was very nice to be able to have the truck starting on day 1.

The next day Bill and Jay arrived, their intention to experience life on a boat. Unfortunately, the wind forecast was only 5-10 knots, as it had been for much of our time cruising from Florida to the Chesapeake. This was disappointing since 5-10 knots is not quite enough to sail in but, then again, adapting to the conditions at hand is also part of boat life.

Bill and Jay Stop at a Scenic Vista on the Blue Ridge
Mountain Parkway En Route to Starry Night

One of our goals for this summer, in addition to spending time with family here in the northeast, is to explore more of the towns in Chesapeake. St. Michaels, one of the places at the top of our list, is also an easy day's journey from Galesville so we chose that as our destination during Bill and Jay's visit - even if we had to get there under engine power.

St. Michaels did not disappoint. It's a lovely town which hosts the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM). The museum was quite interesting, and we spent the afternoon touring the lighthouse, the working shipyard, and an exhibit displaying the shift of focus in the Chesapeake Bay from a working-man's world to a mecca for sailing afficionados, whether they be racers, cruisers, or pleasure yachtsman.

Boatyard at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Part of the mission of the staff at the boatyard is to provide information and answer questions. The gentleman we spoke to shared that one of their recent projects was construction of a replica of a 80 foot, 17th century tall-ship sailing vessel, The Dove, which sailed to the Maryland colony in 1634. The new ship, called the Maryland Dove, took three years to complete and is located in St. Mary's City which is not far from Point Lookout. It's one of the places we have been wanting to visit and is on our short-list of destinations as we make head south in the fall so we'll be able to see the CBMM boatyard's craftsmanship in person.

One of the things that is apparent when you spend time in Maryland, is the strong sense of identity and history shared by its residents. The Maryland state flag and crab paraphernalia of all kinds are visible everywhere, and there are clear, concerted efforts to preserve their maritime legacy. One example of this is the tradition of log canoe races. Log canoes were originally working boats, primarily used by oyster tongers. As motor power was introduced to the industry, boat designs shifted to frame construction rather than log. At the same time casual racing of log canoes developed into a sport of sorts, and by 1885 clubs and organizations began sponsoring official races. These races continue until today.

Log Canoe Displayed at CBMM

Another fascinating exhibit at the museum was a building from the former St. Michaels Seafood Packing Plant. The company was founded in 1902 by Frederick Jewett and William H.T. Coulbourne, two black entrepeneurs who grew up on the eastern shore of Maryland. When the company was established, oysters - Chesapeake Gold - were the primary seafood product from the Bay, but oystering began its decline around this time due to over-harvesting. Jewett and Coulbourne would become important players in developing the new crab market, which has become so integral to Maryland's identity. The company developed the classification scheme which indicates the quality of crab being sold, i.e. special, blackfin, claw and lump, which is still in use today. In its hey-dey between 1935 and 1940, the company's huge cookers could steam 25,000 crabs at one time, and they packed 1 million pounds of crabmeat per year. Keep in mind that this meat was picked by hand!!

We ate dinner at one of the local restaurants and ended the day - as we often do - sitting in the Starry Night lounge, enjoying a peaceful sunset on anchor.

The next day Jay prepared shaksuka for breakfast, a delicious Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, which is also quite popular in India. Afterwards we took a short walk in St. Michaels and then weighed anchor to return to Galesville.

Honeymoon Bridge in St. Michasls

Local Shop in St. Michaels

As luck would have it, we actually got enough wind to raise the sails and turn off the motors! Our good fortune only lasted about an hour or so, but I was pleased that we were able to sail, even if only for a short while.

We treated Bill and Jay to the "full charter experience" and allowed them to pump waste tanks and refill our water tanks upon return to home base. I'm sure they were thrilled 😝

My Bro Accompanying Jimmy Buffet's
"Son of a Son of a Sailor"

Although their visit was short and the weather wasn't perfect, our new crew experienced dinghying, motoring, sailing, docking, tying to a mooring ball, anchoring and weighing anchoring, and on-board living. It may not be as glamorous as they expected, but at least it was authentic!

The following weekend, Jessie, Will, and grandpup, Tito, joined us again with hopes for actual sailing! Up until then, all of their experiences aboard Starry Night had been at a dock or while moored. We had successfully convinced Tito that walking on the dock and riding in the dinghy were safe during their last visit, so this would be the last step in salty-dog training.

Dinghy Dogs in Action

The forecast for sailing was marginal that weekend but we wanted to get out into the Bay in any case, so after breakfast on Saturday, July 25th, we began preparations for a day on the water.

Demonstrating One of My Favorite Sailor Tricks,
the Rope Loop Self-Hanger, After Releasing Us from the Mooring Ball

Steve and Newest Crew, Tito

The wind conditions as we started out were favorable and we were able to sail for a couple of hours. It was lovely and there was just enough cloud cover and breeze to make it quite comfortable to sit up top...something I've very rarely done since I'm usually looking for shade.

Working the Winches

As the afternoon progressed, the wind dropped so we stowed the sails and motored back to our mooring field. It was about time to head back anyway, since the marina where we are moored was having a summertime light-fare picnic.

Stowing the Mainsail

Summertime....Yum

Checking Out the Maryland-Style Appetizer Offerings

As we wrapped up the end of our first week and a half in the Chesapeake, Will captured a few images within view of our boat. I'd say life is pretty good.