June 9- Time to leave Solomons and head to Galesville, MD for last anchorage before Baltimore. Galesville is just south of Annapolis on the West River. Not as crowded or congested as Annapolis..easy to find good anchoring spot. Last time I was there in July 2012 it was during the week and not much boating activity….this time it is a Sunday….. and it was like running a gauntlet, with sailboats, both under pure sail and motoring, power boats and large motor yachts all vying for the same fairly narrow channel while dodging crabpots! I anchored a ways outside of the channel behind a red marker before the last turn into Galesville proper
I did not see any racing marks/buoys but several Hobie-style cats came at high speed very close by me flying brightly colored spinnakers…maybe I became a racing mark! I could have handed a drink to one of the guys as he flew by!
Anchoring spot was not a good choice for Sun afternoon and night…every boat going in/out of the several marinas/yacht clubs in Galesville went by me at full speed…..lots of work boats, power boats and go-fast boats with big wakes. Coming and going until very late and then starting very early. Celerity felt every one of them! Not a restful night.
June 10- Glad to depart Galesville and be on my way to Baltimore! Chesapeake was calm with the current and a light wind behind me but with T-storms in forecast….dark threatening clouds forming in distance so decided wiser to not put sails up.
Arriving in Baltimore was thrilling….several large cargo ships were following me in…was uncertain who would get to the Francis Scott Key bridge first…….me or them. I just managed to pass under the bridge and get outside the main shipping channel before any of them caught me! I stayed outside of the shipping channel rest of the way into the Inner Harbor. Tugs and pilot boats were zooming around, throwing very large wakes….tried to take them on bow quarter but not always possible….so some rocking and rolling. Abbie was not thrilled to say the least!
Fort McHenry is North of the bridge. During War of 1812, the British bombed the fort from ships in the harbor. Francis Scott Keyes was a prisoner on a British ship anchored near site of current bridge…..he watched the bombing and was inspired to write a poem “The Star Spangled Banner”…with the bombs bursting in air! There is a “star spangled buoy” just above the bridge where he was supposedly held on the ship.
Baltimore Harbor is a beehive of activity……very busy with large cargo ships, water taxis, tourist tour boats, sailboats, power boats, etc going in all directions. I found my way to the Baltimore Marine Center Inner Harbor marina where I had a reservation. Very friendly, knowledgeable staff with great facilities. Located at the top of the Inner Harbor, surrounded by skyscrapers, shops, historic ships, museums, National Aquarium, restaurants. At night, the skyline was breathtakingly beautiful! There was a very severe T-storm that passed through Baltimore my first night…..brought back memories of what happened last year in Baltimore’s anchorage……couple of you e-mailed or called me…really grateful for your concern! All was well with Celerity…just rain and some wind…but this time I was tied to a floating dock and protected by breakwaters surrounding the marina! Next morning, heard that there were water spouts in the harbor and a roof was partially ripped off of building along the harbor. Was very relieved not to have been in the anchorage for that! Yikes!
A woman on a 38 ft cat across from me stopped to chat and to ask if I wanted to walk to grocery store (YES!!)….Fiona, her husband and their 13 year old son came on the boat from South Africa (!!!!!) to tour the US. Her husband was gone for couple of months…he works as a diving supervisor and flew to Malaysia for a job! Fiona and her son will stay in Baltimore onboard until August when the will fly home to South Africa to renew their visas…….pretty amazing stuff!
June 11- 16. My nephew, who flew in from San Diego (thanks to Frank for picking him up at BWI and bringing him to the marina), and I had a great time, celebrating our significant birthdays….his b-day is the day after mine. We visited many of the attractions including the USS Constellation, a tall ship from the War of 1812, a WWII sub, Torsk, which sank the war’s last enemy combatant (how did the men survive in such close quarters? Some of the bunks were above the stored torpedoes. Kudos to Nelson Gainey and any others who read this who served on a similar sub!!!! Other vessels include the US Coast Guard cutter, Taney, last ship still afloat to have survived Pearl Harbor and the Lightship, Chesapeake. Spent 4 hours in the incredible National Aquarium and could have stayed longer. Did the Mirror Maze in Ripley’s Odditorium …best thing in the museum! We also took a Seadog ride in their go-fast “Fountain-like” boat (44 knots!!); toured the harbor and went down to the Key bridge and circled the Star Spangled buoy…..there is a large Domino sugar factory on waterfront with huge sign on top of building…we learned that the sign is size of a regulation basketball court and that the “I” in Domino is 6 ft tall! Seems impossible that it’s that big! Ate lots of great food including delicious crab cakes and Spanish Tapas (small dishes) which were tasty. Was sad that he flew out on Sat; wish he could have stayed longer! Fortuitously, David Kew and Margaret McEwen called to say they were at his house north of Baltimore. Collected me and we went to Fells Point (old area of waterfront Baltimore) and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant with atypical food…deliciously different! We walked around Fells Point and had a great visit…kept me from being too sad with Greg’s departure that day! Thanks guys!
I stayed in Baltimore until Mon morning to do necessary chores (laundry, haircut for Abigail, fill water tanks, wash the boat and recover from a hectic few days.