Chesapeake Bay Cruise - Part 2

For the second part of the cruise, we decided to head south on the Bay. From the West River, going south there are only three options for the first leg of the trip. You can go all the way to The Solomons, go into the Choptank River through Knapps Narrows and anchor at Dunns Cove, or head to the Little Choptank River. A straight run to The Solomons would take over 9 hours, and Knapps Narrows is a little too shallow for Rosalind. We got fuel and water in the morning and did not get underway until 10 am. We did not want to get at the Solomons at 7 pm, giving ourselves only an hour or so of margin for head winds and currents to arrive before sunset, so we chose the third option, the Little Choptank River. There were a number of power and sailing boats in the West River and on the Bay near Thomas Point Light, but soon after passing the Bloody Point Light we started seeing fewer and fewer boats. The Little Choptank River is a favored destination for sailboats heading north or south on the Bay between the Patuxent River and Eastern Bay or the West River. The entrance is well marked but there are shoals extending well out into the Bay. We entered the river and soon could see a number of masts behind the low land terminating at Casson Point. We got in Hudson Creek and found a spot to drop the anchor. Last time we were there, over six years ago, it was late in the season and we had been all alone. This time, we shared the creek with half a dozen sailboats. We put up our anchor riding sail and after dinner turned in for the night.

The next morning we were up with the sun and headed to The Solomons. We motored out the river, motorsailed for a short distance then enjoyed a very pleasant sail for 2 1/2 hours. We then motorsailed the rest of the way to Solomons Island. We motored up Mill Creek and dropped anchor at the entrance of Spring Cove. We had not been at The Solomons by boat for 13 years and were looking forward to revisiting some of the old familiar places as well as seeing what had changed since our last cruise.

 Sunset, Mill Creek, Solomons Island, Maryland 

We enjoyed Solomons Island and the surrounding area for the better part of week. One day, we walked to Annemarie Sculpture Gardens, associated with the Smithsonian. It was a great adventure, the 5 mile (8 km) round trip walk was pleasant, albeit hot, but the gardens were well worth it! We met some old friends at Zahnizers Marina and met a fellow sailor who lives at Spring Cove.

Sunset, Mill Creek, Solomons Island, Maryland 

While we were at Sping Cove, we got buzzed by an F16 fighter jet out of Pax River. The plane flew right over us, very low, and with the afterburner on it was unbelievably loud. We were down below and heard the roar. The intensity was such that one had difficulty thinking and everything was humming or resonating. We got to the cockpit just in time to see the plane passing over Rosalind. I would not be surprised if the plane was under 1000 ft (300 m) high. I do not think the buzzing was intentional, as planes do touch and go maneuvers at Pax River Naval Air Station all the time, but for the duration of our stay, all other planes stayed to the east of us! One morning our outboard refused to start. I took it apart and it was clear that we needed some carburetor cleaner as the low speed jet had gummed up. We managed to get it started and after taking the necessary tools with us, we headed to shore. We got carburetor cleaner then, after enjoying the day on shore, took the outboard apart at the dinghy dock, cleaned it, reassembled it and presto we were back in business. As the saying goes, "Cruising is doing boat maintenance in exotic places"!!!


We watched the weather and with southwesterly winds we headed back north towards Galesville. We enjoyed a great sail in 15 to 23 knots of wind and spent the night in the Little Choptank River, this time in the company of only a couple of sailboats. The next day we sailed back to Galesville, in similar weather, where we picked up our mooring.

 View of the West River, Galesville, Maryland

The mid-Bay cruise took 19 days. We were on the hook (at anchor) for the duration and had some nice sailing weather ranging from very light airs to moderate breezes. We met old friends and made new ones while visiting some familiar places.


Thanks for joining us,


Alex and Cheryl