A Summer/Fall Cruise to Saint Michaels, Maryland

For our first cruise in eight years we chose to sail to Saint Michaels, one of our favorite destinations on the Chesapeake Bay. This cruise was almost ten years to the date from our shakedown cruise of October 2016! The 25 mile trip from our mooring on the West River took us six hours. Normally we would do it five but growth on the hull and propeller together with some head winds slowed us down a little.

It took four trips from home to load Rosalind with the inflatable dinghy, outboard, food, clothes, paddle boards, and bags of ancillary stuff. After dropping the mooring pendant, we brought Rosalind to the dock, added 50 gallons of fresh water to our main tank, and headed out.

Rosalind at the start of the cruise, with dinghy and outboard onboard

 

The weather forecast called for less than 7 knots from the NE gusting to 10 so we thought we would have light winds all the way. 

Motoring down the West River, the wind picked up and as soon as the wind angle allowed, we rolled out the full mainsail. By the time we got to the mouth of the river we had different conditions from what had been forecast. The direction was spot on but the intensity was not. With a fetch of over 10 miles, the wind had built up a short chop that was amplified by the shallows around the river entrance. Rounding the Green 1 day marker we had steep 3 foot waves and the Chesapeake Bay was covered with white caps. On a few occasions we heard a little whistling of the wind in the rigging. After turning SE, we partially unfurled the jib, shut off the motor and plowed through the chop, close hauled. With full main and partly furled jib, we sailed beautifully at 4.5 to 5 knots.

It took us a little over an hour to sail across the Chesapeake Bay and enter the Eastern Bay. We motor sailed for an hour with the mainsail before furling the main and, with the wind on the nose, slowly motored to the mouth of the Miles River. Another hour of motor sailing, with the jib, got us to Saint Michaels.

Sailing from the West River to Saint Michaels, Maryland

Saint Michaels can be reached by boat, from the Miles River or from San Domingo Creek

Being a holiday weekend and the end of summer, there were about 50 boats at anchor. We anchored in 18 feet of water, three-quarters of a mile from the harbor entrance. We had made it to one of our favorite destinations on the Chesapeake!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and stayed in Saint Michaels until Tuesday morning. After arriving we launched the dinghy, put on the motor and got to shore, taking the last available spot at the public dinghy dock. Saint Michaels was packed and water taxis, center consoles, and tour boats were milling around the harbor. We did a very short walk, had a great dinner in town, and returned to Rosalind. We had been up since 4 am so we switched on the anchor light and turned in early. 

Over the next two days we went to shore a total of six times. We walked around town, walked the parks, and did a 4 mile walk to the nearest supermarket. Saint Michaels is a wonderful small town with lots to offer. The town has a fascinating history, is nicely set up for walking with shaded streets and attractive historic buildings, and has great restaurants and coffee shops. We feel it’s one of the best destinations on the Chesapeake Bay. 

At Honeymoon Bridge in Saint Michaels

Hollis Park and Honeymoon Bridge

On Sunday the town was buzzing with tourists that had arrived by car or by boat. Monday, the Labor Day holiday, was departure day for most boaters and there was a procession of boats clearing out of town. By Monday evening there were only three sailboats and one trawler at anchor and the marinas were empty. The town had transitioned in just a few hours. Monday evening several restaurants were closed and the town had been transformed. While the holiday bustle was fun to experience, we loved this other side of Saint Michaels and it really felt that we were now sharing the town with the locals. The pace was different, calmer, but the town did not feel  deserted. 

At the almost empty dinghy dock we met Alan and Michelle, two fellow cruising sailors, and chatted for a while. They were on one of the other two sailboats at anchor. We motored out of the harbor with our dinghies as dusk was settling in. The sun had set and the wind had gone to bed for the night. Some of the summer heat was gone and there was a small hint of coolness in the air. It had been a great evening. 

The next morning we brought the outboard and dinghy onboard and by 8 am we were on our way back to the West River. The return trip also took six hours and we motored or motorsailed as the winds were almost on the nose for most of the way back. It had been a memorable shakedown cruise and we enjoyed being part of the Saint Michaels summer to fall transformation. 

Historic buildings from the 1600s adjacent to Muskrat Park

San Domingo Creek, the other way to get to Saint Michaels

 Sail #6 - A daysail with the main and jib

We are going through yet another heat wave in the Chesapeake with temperatures over 33C (92 F) and relative humidity over 70%. To beat the heat, the Admiral and I got up early, drove to Rosalind and got her ready to sail by 9:00 am. Wind was light, 5-10 knots from the west, typical summer, so we decided to again sail off the mooring. Our closest neighbor (Gorgeous Girl, a Pacific Seacraft 40) was straight downwind barely 20 meters (65 ft) away so we had to think carefully about our maneuver. To get steerage and avoid Gorgeous Girl we planned the following:

1. Get the engine started - to have it as a backup

2. Remove the mooring lines from their cleats, attach them to each other and place them on the bollard so they are easy to cast off

3. Wait until Rosalind points into the wind and unfurl the mainsail

4. When ready, and with Rosalind’s bow swinging to starboard, take the mooring pennants of the bollard and start walking them down the port foredeck to allow Rosalind to gain some speed.

The plan worked! Rosalind fell off to starboard, we pulled in the main sheet and she started gaining way sailing safely in-front of Gorgeous Girl. After a couple of boat lengths we rolled out the jib and continued sailing down the river. 

There are a couple of spots when sailing down the river where, with light westerly winds, there is very little wind so we kept the motor running (just in case) until we passed through the Red 6/Green 5 gate. After the Red 6 we shut off the motor. Sailing Rosalind in light airs and flat water does not get old. Doing two to three knots on a deep broad reach, the loudest sound was our dingy moving through the water. At that speed the world moves by very slowly and there is time to look and see. Even though we were only a little over a mile from our mooring, and we have been down the river a hundred times, there is always something interesting and new to observe. Wildlife, the wind and the water, and other boats all make great subjects of study. On Rosalind with the sun reflecting on the river it can get very hot, so when we reached Red 4 we decided to turn around. We try to limit our summer outings to about one and a half hours when it’s really hot out.

The temperature was climbing above 30 C (86 F), so the Admiral reached in the cooler and offered me a neck cooling tube. What a difference; within a few minutes I felt refreshed and so much more comfortable. I was sold, the neck cooling collar is now part of our cruising kit! We had it chilled in the freezer at home for the daysail. When we are cruising we will put it in the freezer of our very small onboard refrigerator.

In light winds, we found that when Rosalind is moving at less that three knots, it’s better to jibe than to tack as there is not enough momentum to push her bow though the wind. After the jibe, the apparent wind increased and Rosalind got livelier. But we could not fall off and let Rosalind take advantage of the stronger wind.. 

To get back we had to stay close hauled, and work every puff and wind shift to get to the Green 5/Red 6 gate on the starboard tack. That part of the river is very narrow and there is very little room for tacking so we worked to keep Rosalind closed hauled and we made the gate! 

Approaching Green 5 under sail

Sailing on a summer day

After passing through the gate, we started the motor, and furled the main and jib. It only took a few minutes to get Rosalind to her mooring and get her buttoned up. Another short but exciting and interesting summer daysail.

The Chesapeake is a beautiful place, even in the heat of summer…