Cambridge

We left last Thursday the 27th and headed north across the bay to the Choptank River and then up river to Cambridge.

The city dock was full so we went to the Cambridge Yacht Club.

We strolled around town and saw many old but restored homes as well as this old church. The lighthouse sits at the entrance to the harbor

Happy hour was at Snappers and then dinner at Leaky Pete's wine & Oyster Bar. Excellent food!

Pete's is decorated with oars that people paint and bring in.








The next day we went over to JM Clayton Co. which is the oldest working crab processing plant in the world. We wound up with 2 pounds and a few photos.

Sunrise the next morning was incredible!!

September Fun

The past 2 weeks have been filled and a lot of fun. Sunday the 16th we went down to the riverfront boardwalk in Solomons to watch the Offshore Powerboat races. There were several different classes of boats with the fastest going about 150 mph.

Fast one, up to 150 mph!

Slow one, only 80 mph!
















Monday the 17th we drove down to Portsmouth, Va. to attend the MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Association) rendezvous. Portsmouth is the home of several navy shipyards and is just across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. Monday evening we had dinner with a friend that I flew with in Afghanistan.

Tuesday through Thursday were spent with a wonderful group of trawler owners, about 180 of them. The association's logo is a turtle because our boats for the most part are slow. We attended many seminars, happy hours, wine tasting and the final night the awards banquet. Ann especially enjoyed knot tying and the womens only hands on in the water training where she got to practice maneuvering and docking a trawler. We made many friends and felt very much at home. Collected a bunch of boat cards and received several invitations to visit.

We also did a walking tour escorted by Col. Crawford through the old town section of Portsmouth. He was the original land owner and laid out the city. He was dressed in period attire of the 1600's and spoke with a British accent.

 Wine tasting from a shot glass!

Norfolk side.

Sunday the 23rd we watched the annual water-mans festival in Solomons. These are actual working boats that compete for trophy's and a cash prize. The start point is at the dock and the objective is to pull out of the slip as fast as you can, move 4 slips down and back in while placing 4 lines on 4 poles in the slip. I think the winner was 20.87 seconds. There is individual heat where the boat driver also places the lines and a team heat where a second person places them. It was a fun afternoon watching the great boat handling.

The trophies.

He is on his way down 4 slips.

 Turning to back in.

 Full speed to the rear!

The crowds!

Wed. the 13th of Sept. we departed Solomons for a short trip north up the Patuxent River to St' Leonards Creek. This was to be our first time anchoring out. It was a beautiful day and only a short 1.5 hr. trip. The creek is about 12' - 15' deep down the center with several good anchorages identified on Active Captain. There were quite a few beautiful homes along the creek.

The creek is also the home of Vera's. It's a bar and restaurant opened years ago by an ex movie actress. The pictures will tell the story!

Yes, palm trees and a sandy beach in Maryland. The palm trees are fake but you can't tell until you look closely.


The anchorage we selected was great and very peaceful. All systems aboard worked as they should for which I am very thankful.We had a very relaxing time.

Friday morning we awoke to a very dense fog. It finally lifted about 930 and we got underway back to Solomons about 1030. We are off to Norfolk Mon. for the Marine Trawler Owners Association MTOA fall rendezvous. We hope to make one last trip this summer leaving the last week of September.

Back to Solomons

After a most enjoyable stay at the Corinthian Yacht Club we got underway yesterday morning, Wed. the 29th and headed back to Solomons. It was a rocky ride after departing the Potomac and getting into the bay. Waves were 2-3' with 15 knot winds. Quite a few waves broke over the bow splashing over the windshields. Ann did a great job driving on.

This is Point no Point lighthouse on the west side of the bay. We had the whole yacht club to our selves the last few days. Monday night we had dinner on the dock and watched the sunset. We also got to explore the creeks by dinghy one afternoon.

Now that we are back we are starting to plan our next trip. We have time for another 5-6 day and an overnight anchor somewhere. We plan on hauling the boat the second week of October and leaving here by car on the 16th to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Chattanooga and then to Joe Wheeler Park in northwestern Alabama for the Great Loop Association fall rendezvous before heading home. 

Work and more work!

A lot has been going on since the last post obviously. May, June & part of July were spent working on the boat. Inverter problems, steering problems, replacing all the batteries, trying to figure out all the wiring and plumbing as well as many more small things. Ann arrived on June 11th and has been thoroughly emersed into boat life. Thankfully she loves it. We've done 4 or 5 short trips of a couple of hours each to learn the handling of the boat and for me to practice close quarter maneuvering with 1 engine.

 Finally everything has come together and we made our first overnight trip down the bay to the Potomac River and in about 5 miles to Smith Creek. Here is the home of the Corinthian Yacht Club, a beautiful place.

We left Solomons on Friday the 24th of August. It was a 4.5 hour trip down with nice conditions. We are on a T dock just below the club house. All the facilities are very clean and well kept. Yesterday, Sat., they had a Luau which is why we came here. The food was great and we danced the night away. Everyone is very friendly and you feel like family here. The property has 3 covered docks and 2 open docks. Also 5 cottages and rooms upstairs in the club house.

Today has been a lazy Sunday. We went out for a short boat ride with some of the members to return in the pouring rain. Did I mention it has been raining off and on since yesterday morning. Tomorrow it is supposed to be nice again and we'll head back to Solomons.