IMAGE- St Michaels – full of Maritime of History.

WEDNESDAY 2 – we left our Spa Creek anchorage for the 9.30am bridge opening. Spa Creek was a good spot for us – and another view of Annapolis. Sadly we had no wind, in calm condition we motoring north for the day to Rock Hall on the eastern shore.

It got SO hot we let the boat drift so we could dive overboard for an afternoon swim – lovely and cool, and enjoyable until I spotted some jellyfish!!

We motored into Rock Hall harbour arriving right on low water and had to raise the keel to come alongside the town dock – all OK. The dock is provided by the town for visiting boats at no charge – we were they only yacht here at the moment. Some local guys came to do some fishing for a few hours in the afternoon, but they were no bother.
I took a short walk around the area – many yacht marinas and fishing boats offering day charters and waterfront houses for holiday let… but the summer season is over now so things were really quite.

THURSDAY 3 – ROCK HALL -we took a wander around the little town today. We found the 2nd hand marine store for some boat shopping. We got a string bag for the dive gear we had been looking for plus a new night anchor light. We now needed a specific battery for the light from a hardware store which was on the outskirts of the town – so the store owner called the locally run trolley (bus) service to take us there. This little service works well for taking visitors and sailors without cars around the little town – at $1 each plus a tip for the informative driver it worked out well for us. The driver said that most of the yacht owners drove down from the Philadelphia area for their sailing weekends, and the town also really relies on summer holiday visitors. The population in the winter is just 1,400 people. After getting the battery we decided to walk back though the small town- to the boat – even though it was a hot and humid day.

At the supermarket we found a great lunch special – crab soup and a sandwich for $5 and we could enjoy it in the shade of the nearby outdoor pavilion – lovely indeed. The main street shops were not very interesting – so we headed to the Museum and library. The museum was full of wonderful memorabilia of the past thriving Rock Hall in the oyster, clam and rock fish days. I caught-up on some banking and emails and weather forecasts at the library.

We wandered back to our dock- but there was little breeze. In the early evening a local sailing cruiser – Bill- called by for a chat, all very helpful and friendly. A hot and still night on the town dock.

FRIDAY 4 – We were considering whether we would head further north to Baltimore for the weekend or not bother and stay on the Eastern shore – the Eastern shore wow. So now we were in no hurry to leave Rock Hall, as we were now waiting for the right current flow south to help us through Kent Narrows later in the day. So it was the usual morning – 7.30am listening to Chris Parker SSB weather whilst still in bed, then up for breakfast listening to the local NPR radio. The BBC world news come on most NPR stations at 9am. The promised east wind was slow to kick-in – so we were motoring and motor-sailing to our weekend stop at St Michaels. Thankfully James had done the research to have the strong river flow with us for the 1pm bridge opening at Kent Narrows. You would NOT want to get this shortcut wrong!! We did hear a story about a catamaran that did get it wrong and drifted with the strong current into the bridge and lost his mast!!
We made our way up the wide and beautiful Miles river. We had been told that St Michaels is very popular and the small anchoring space can get very crowded. Thankfully we found a good spot and protecting for the easterly due this weekend. After anchoring our neighbour from ‘Merlin’ came over for a chat and told us that this weekend is a long weekend – Labour Day, and huge annual marine auction event will be held at the Maritime Museum tomorrow. The anchorage was full by early evening and more yachts arriving all having to anchor far out into the bay.

SATURDAY 5 – ST MICHAELS - we had put out 2 anchors, but the blow from the east really didnt come to anything overnight –thankfully as the anchorage was busy. We headed over to the dingy dock and then to the Museum to check-out the boat auction – there were several 100 people- a big event indeed. The admission to the auction included access to the vast Museum as a vastly reduced price – so it became a lovely day out for us.

The auction was full of lively bidding. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is the premier Museum with a vast 18 acre grounds. The various exhibits were excellent, and we especially really enjoyed walking around the fully restored 1879 Hooper Straits lighthouse.

About 2pm we went for a short wander through the really quaint tree lined village. With the good weather and a holiday weekend the village streets were very busy. The various B & B’s were in beautiful restored colonial timber buildings – the oldest from 1665. The variety of shops on the Main Street was extensive - full of atmosphere and busy with many locals and visitors.

It was hot in the afternoon, with the west sun coming right into the cockpit, so we decided to head back into town to some relief in air-conditioned comfort. Rather than head for a local bar we decided on the library for some internet time for a few hours.

There was a late afternoon wedding on the lawn of the Maritime Museum so we were entertained until 10pm with a great live band – and also fireworks far off up the river at another party.

St Michaels is a very popular spot – and more so this Labour Day long weekend. By Saturday evening the outer anchorage was full - a beautiful sight – full of anchor lights – this is the most yachts we have been with for a long, long time.

SUNDAY 6 - after James cooked our usual Sunday breakfast, we had a wander of the busy high street shops – all the arts and crafts shops were all very well stocked and very interesting. After our window shopping we needed an afternoon icecream. Back to the boat to watch all the coming and goings of the busy anchorage over this Labour Day long weekend. Apparently Marylanders refer to St Michaels as the Marthas Vineyard of the Chesapeake – and it really did feel like that to us too. A very enjoyable stay.