Chesapeake Bay –September 17 to 27

We have slowed down the pace a bit since we arrived in Chesapeake Bay. It’s finally starting to feel like retirement! After spending a few days at Georgetown, and then Swan Creek, we stopped in Annapolis to do some pre Boat Show exploring and stock up on provisions.

The view off our transom in Spa Creek.

Tom had been concerned that since he installed the new motor, a Yanmar 3YM30, the old prop was not producing as much speed as it should. He found Claude at Bay Shore Marine who was very helpful and explained how to do a sea trial that would tell us whether or not we needed a new prop. It turns out that our prop is just fine. Thank you Claude!

Similar to the Clearwater on the Hudson, this restored skipjack, the Stanley Norman, promotes environmental protection issues on Chesapeake Bay.

The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse.

After Annapolis we hooked up with the Seven Seas Cruising Association (of which we are members)at Rhode River for their annual “Gam” (definition from dictionary.com: A social visit or friendly interchange, especially between whalers or seafarers). When we arrived early Wednesday there were about 20 boats anchored near YMCA Camp Letts. By Thursday morning there were around 45 boats and by Thursday evening, more than 60. I stopped counting after that. The first event we attended was the Thursday afternoon ‘raft up’ which is normally an appetizer pot luck held on dinghies tied together. This time the dinghies were replaced by a small sandy island nearby.

Tom climbed the tallest tree on the island to take this picture.

My contribution to the pot luck was an attempt at re-creating the blue cheese dip that I had purchased at the market in in NYC.

NYC Blue Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

crumbled blue cheese

roasted red peppers from a jar

sun dried tomatoes

garlic

oregano

parsley

sliced black olives

olive oil

Mix the ingredients in whatever quantities suit your taste. I went heavy on the roasted peppers and garlic. The olive oil came from the jar of sun dried tomatoes and I used some liquid from the red pepper jar to get the consistency I liked. I served it with thin slices of rye bread.

The dingy parking lot.

Over the course of the weekend we attended presentations on troubleshooting diesel engines, how to avoid collisions at sea, SSB and HAM radio installations and weather forecasts. Lots of good stuff but I came away with information overload. There was also a presentation on cruising the Chilean Channels and Cape Horn by Beth Leonard who has done it three times. Not a challenge I’m ready for! After being surrounded by so many people who have travelled the world in their own boats I came away feeling rather inadequate and unprepared for our little adventure.

The Seven Seas Cruising Association can be found at www.ssca.org.

We purchased a Single Side Band radio system from one of the vendors and will be back in Annapolis installing it while we wait for the boat show.

Domestic Note: In order to get the sale prices at the larger grocery chains in the US you need to have a membership card. I have collected three so far. Some of the discounts are substantial.