Rosalind: Chesapeake Bay Cruise

We had been onboard for a few weeks putting the final touches on the Rosalind and we were now looking for a good weather window to start our cruise around the middle part of the Chesapeake. So after we topped off the diesel tank and provisioned, we left our mooring in Galesville and motorsailed to Saint Michaels on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Saint Michaels can be very touristy in the summer but early and late in the season it's a real gem. We spent a couple of very pleasant days walking around town and enjoying the anchorage almost all to ourselves. We were looking at the weather and we knew that a heat wave was on the way. So, we chose to move on and take advantage of a nice breeze from the southwest before the heat reached us. Our new destination was the South River. Even though we had spent over 15 years a stone's throw away, we had never been there.

We had a very nice sail out of the Miles River and with the wind on the nose (dead ahead) we motored out of the Eastern Bay. We were able to enjoy a nice sail across the Chesapeake in light airs and the breeze picked up as we got closer to the South River. On a dead run (with the wind from astern) we decided to reduce sail to gain more control before entering the South River. Our destination was Harness Creek a couple of miles upriver. Despite reviewing the cruising guide and consulting the chart, the entrance to the creek was not clear to us. Where we were expecting to find one private marker, we found three. We knew that there were shoals on both sides of the entrance. The wind was from astern and as we did not want to end being pushed up on a shoal, we decided not to enter Harness Creek and moved on to Aberdeen Creek, the next creek upriver.

Aberdeen Creek is a snug little creek that can hold less than a handful of boats at anchor. The creek narrows pretty quickly so one has to anchor soon after entering. We dropped anchor in 13 ft (4 m) of water, in a muddy bottom, and initially shared the anchorage with a 40 ft (12 m) sailboat. The western shore of the creek is lined with large homes with deep water docks. On the eastern shore, there is a large estate with a pool house and swimming pool near the water and a large mansion hidden behind old growth trees further up the hill. Even though it was clear we were close to civilization, the setting was very tranquil.

The next day, a twenty-minute dingy ride from Aberdeen Creek brought us to the dinghy landing of the Quite Waters Park, and a two mile (3 km) walk through the wooded park got us to Annapolis. This was a new and fun way to get to this great maritime city. We knew that storms were on the way and made sure to be back onboard well before they reached the anchorage.

It was hot, and the ambient temperature reached 96 degrees (36 C) in the shade. Cold drinks and cold showers on deck kept us cool until a violent thunderstorm at sunset dropped the temperature by 30F (17 C). The storm also brought 30 knot winds and hail. Luckily there was no damage. Before the storm we put all of our electronics in the oven. The oven, acting as a Faraday cage, protects the electronics from electromagnetic pulses during storms. As the wind started to pick up, and due to Aberdeen Creek being rather small, we started the engine and took the strain off the anchor.

We enjoyed the creek and Annapolis and a few days later we headed back to Galesville, now as cruisers and no longer mooring holders. The trip was short, less that three hours, but it was foggy and rainy. The enclosed cockpit, radar, and windshield wipers all proved their worth and we had a pleasant short trip. We anchored in front of Thursday's Restaurant and even though we had been on the West River for well over a dozen years it felt different. We were now looking at it with different eyes and from a different perspective. The change was subtle but real.

We stayed in Galesville, at anchor, for almost a week enjoying the setting, doing some maintenance, and restocking Rosalind. Here are some pictures and artwork of the first part of our Chesapeake Bay cruise.