Cheryl's Notes:

We got to St. Mary's River on Friday afternoon and laid around all weekend. It is such an idyllic spot. We had the students from the college sailing and kayaking around us. The whole weekend we experienced bait balls of fish erupting all around our boat. Then a much bigger fish would jump out of the water in the middle of them and much chasing would ensue. On Saturday night we had cocktails aboard The Cooper, a Monk 36 owned by Rusty and Betty. What a perfect cruising boat. They are in the process of doing the Great Loop, having left from Naples, FL. We had a great evening sharing stories and experiences.

Last time we came up to the Chesapeake, we had only a few months on a list of must see spots. We hit all of the highlights and went back to NC. This time we have decided to stop and smell the roses along the way. We are taking our time. We have also decided that we have to try a new spot every week. The last two weeks were spent on our trip to and from DC, but we are in a new anchorage tonight. We decided to have a short run to get closer to the mouth of the Potomac River. Tomorrow we will make the trek back out into the bay and up to the Patuxtant River to the Solomons. We have been there before, but it is a great spot to catch up with other cruisers and get provisions.


John's Notes:

We are currently anchored in Glebe Creek. We left St. Mary's about 08:30 this morning and had to motor for three hours. Absolutely no wind. There is no particular reason that we are anchored here. We just haven't been here before. Some day we are going to get a big chart of the Bay and mark all the places that we have visited.

I don't know what the rest of the season is going to bring, but, the anchorages we have used in the last six weeks have been nothing short of fantastic. I love the anchorages in the Apostle Island on Lake Superior but there is a limited number of them. Here on the Chesapeake, there must be thousands. That is no exaggeration. Unless you are out on the open bay, there really isn't much in the way of sailing, but, for just pure cruising and relaxing, you can't beat the Chesapeake. If we were to stay on the East Coast for another couple of years, we would have to give a lot of consideration to relocating up here. You can start cruising in April and extend through November. That's two extra months based on Bayfield time. Something might happen to change my mind, but, not at the moment.

Caught up on the radio this morning with a Canadian couple that we met in D.C. They are on their way back to Canada and have to be back some time in July for doctor's appointments. They have been living on their boat (smaller than ours) for almost thirteen years. Good on them.

This morning, after we had been underway for about an hour, we heard several radio calls to the Coast Guard advising that there had been several sightings of at least three water spouts between the mouth of the Patuxtant River and Hooper Island light. Hard to believe considering that there was hardly a cloud in the sky. As the crow flies, the Patuxtant River is only about twelve miles from where we were. Things that make you go "hum."

After three years, I finally got Cheryl aboard a Monk 36. Far be it from me to say that it is the "perfect" boat for the type of cruising that we do, but, it has a lot to offer in the way of things that we would like if and when we ever decide that we need to move from sailing to a trawler. I could see her eyes light up looking at the galley and the aft cabin and head. Just another thing that makes you go "hum."

Late Night Update:

We got a call last night from our old friends Wes and Deannne of Liberty. We were just talking about them because two years ago we explored DC and this area with them. It turns out that they had laid their boat up for the last 18 months and had just relaunched. They were anchored in Smith Creek at the bottom of St. Mary's River, about 8 miles from where we were. Big change in plans. This morning we turned around and headed back up St. Mary's to rendezvous with them. It will be so great to catch up with them.