Steamed Blue Crabs

Sunday morning we dropped our mooring and headed out Spa Creek. In line with three others, we passed through the bascule bridge and out into the Severn River and out into the Bay. In a S-W 10-15 knot breeze we set sail for Knapps Narrows.
Just out of Annapolis, we sailed into the middle of a racing fleet as they rounded the windward mark. I know how it annoyed me when I was racing to have someone not racing to sail through the fleet, so we luffed up into the wind to allow the racing fleet to pass. Safely cleared, we headed down on a close reach in warm sunny skies, for our first waypoint off Knapps Narrows, 16 miles away.
Arriving off the narrows we dropped our sails and motored through, waiting only minutes for a bridge opening. Then we were off into the Choptank River with all sails set in flat water and 15 knots on the beam. Rounding Nelson Point, we headed north, dead downwind, up Broad Creek and in the dying breeze, into San Domingo Creek where we rounded up and dropped our sails and set the anchor in the dying breeze.
After tidying up, we headed in to the village of St Michaels. Although late in the day, we wanted to be sure to get to Big Al's Seafood, where we found all the crab we needed. Back aboard, we had steamed Chesapeake Blues, not an easy dinner to eat gracefully. For a tablecloth, we spread newspaper over the cockpit table and an hour later a dozen crabs (and cole slaw and potato salad) were reduced to a messy pile of crab shells.
Monday, we headed back in to town in the morning, Sarah for a run and Jeannie and I, as usual, finding groceries (and wine). Back aboard, we motored out of the creek into the Choptank and out into the Bay and headed across for Solomons Island. With no wind, it was our only day of motoring.
Arriving in late afternoon, we took a dinghy tour of the area, three creeks jammed with marinas, yacht clubs and boat yards. And we counted 40 cruisers heading south like us. Back aboard, we returned to the aroma of roast chicken with all the vegetables and a quiet night.
Tuesday we headed south and across the bay again, this time aiming for Tangier Island. Just outside Solomons, we met our first pelicans, in exactly the same spot to the mile as we have seen them in previous years! Arriving at Tangier Island, we called to Parks "Marina" (just a wooden dock with some piles to tie to) and were met by 80 year old Milton Parks, prop.
He had us secured in no time and began to talk. Eventually Jeannie and Sarah went for a walk, leaving me to Milton. But I had my revenge. He announced he would be back to take us on a tour of the Island in his golf cart, the only form of transportation on the island. So when they returned, I went for a walk, timing it to be well out of sight when the tour began. They saw everything from the church to the town dump. When he learned Sarah was a doctor, he wanted her to tour the medical center, but it was closed.
Tangier Island is an odd place, with about 500 people living there with Crab fishing as the main source of income, followed distantly by tourism. Milton says that if the fishery continues to drop, the island will be uninhabited in 10 years. That would be too bad, as the Islanders are unique. By the way, in Chesapeake Bay, they are not called fishermen... they are watermen. Tangier Island has only about three family names in the whole island. They settled the island in the eighteenth century, and lived such an isolated existence that today they still have an accent distinct from the surrounding area.
Back on the boat it was crab #2 for dinner, this time sautéed soft-shelled crabs. They are crabs that have been harvested and put on ice immediately after molting. A few parts (lungs, eyes and something else) are removed, and the rest is lightly dusted with flour and sautéed in butter. Sarah was dubious, but declared them delicious!
Next morning saw us heading out in a downwind sail of 20 knots, again crossing the bay. Our destination was Sarah Creek on the York River, but dead downwind was too uncomfortable, so we modified our course and arrived in Deltaville, Va. in the late afternoon. All day we had had rain showers, so we put on our wet gear and headed ashore... just in time for the heavens to open up. After a mile's walk, we found no real downtown, just a quiet highway with the odd business. Waiting out the rain, we found an interesting hardware store, but that's it.
Back aboard, we had grilled pork chops. Thursday dawned with fresh south-westerlies, forecast to clock west at noon. With our course for Norfolk due south, we headed out into the 15-20 knot winds. We saw only a few other sails, but by the time we had all sails set with two reefs in the main and jib, we were able to just lay our course. By noon, the wind had moderated and clocked as forecast, so with the reefs shaken out, we romped down to the bottom of the bay in a beautiful warm sunny day.
By late afternoon, we were motoring past the US Navy's East Coast Headquarters, lined with aircraft carriers, guided missile cruisers, and some ships whose purpose we couldn't even guess at. A call to Tidewater Marina confirmed our berth for the night, and as the wind dropped completely, we slid into our berth, our Chesapeake Bay cruise over. But not our crab dinners! For dinner we had lump crab cake to finish Sarah's introduction to Chesapeake Bay crab.
Friday, we rented a car and drove up to Williamsburg Historic Village, where we spent the day. For Sarah's last evening, we headed to Fusion 440, a restaurant we had visited on previous trips, but unfortunately, things had changed. The meal was mediocre, but the company was fantastic... Sarah's friend frpm RCS-N School, Heather MacLean lives in North Carolina's Outer Banks and came in for dinner... saving the evening.
Saturday was a sad day... we were up early and off to Norfolk International Airport for Sarah's flight back to Victoria BC. After seeing her off, we returned to the marina for the mundane tasks of laundry, cleaning the boat, etc. In the afternoon we went grocery shopping in Virginia Beach, taking a couple on a catamaran next to us.
From here its down into the Dismal Swamp Canal and into North Carolina. Contrary to its name it is beautiful, and we plan to spend some time exploring the area. Then, pushing on south!