We left Annapolis after a wonderful stay in which we managed to cross several items off our 'bucket list' including stopping traffic to take our boat under Spa Creek bridge.

We were making our way down the bay towards Kinsale and a rendezvous with both old friends, Derek and Sue (Derek was to be crew for the next leg of the trip) and with fellow Albergers, Tom and Kaye Assenmacher, who had invited us to stay at their dock for a few days. But, we wanted to make a couple of stops along the way first.

The first night out of Annapolis we went about 20 miles down the Bay to Harring Bay and decided to go into Harrington Harbour Marina North so that we could do laundry, get water and fuel. Harrington Harbour is a huge marina facility and although lovely was like any other marina but it did offer facilities for accomplishing our tasks.

Next morning, chores done, we headed for Solomons Islands and accomplished a 35 miles run and arrived at the harbour on the island by mid- afternoon. Along the way our chartplotter stopped working and so we decided to take a slip at Calvert Marina in order to try to fix it. As it turned out, it was merely a corroded connection and was repaired in about 10 minutes but by that time it was too late to move out into the anchorage. We dinghied across the harbour to a restaurant called the Captain's Table and had a marvellous meal since this was likely to be our last night alone together.

Next morning we fuelled up and got a pump-out before leaving Solomons and heading for Kinsale. The winds were light and on-the-nose (where else) so we motored down the Bay and into the Potomac River (the one that runs up to Washington, DC) where we were met with some rather choppy water where the Bay and river met. But, after a few minutes, we past over the confluence area and motored up the Potomac and into the Yeocomico River to find the small town of Kinsale. We sailed right into the Yeocomico River and up to the dock at Assenmacher's home and parked beside their Alberg 37 Shearwater.

We were greeted with open arms and treated to the finest of southern hospitality for the next 4 days. Tom and Kaye couldn't do enough for us and on the first night we treated to some fine home cooking and story telling at its finest. The next day while we were being escorted all over the countryside by our gracious hosts Derek and Sue arrived and received the same welcome and generous hospitality as Cindy and I. A strong cold front prevented us from taking Sue sailing on the Potomac and adjacent waters for a couple of days but we enjoyed being at Assenmacher's dock and didn't lack for things to do. The girls went shopping while the boys played with the boats. But, sadly, Friday rolled around and Cindy and Sue had to leave for home. Leeway is a little lonely place right now and feels like she's lost a big piece of her heart when Cindy left but we both feel that making the boat into a southern-based winter home is the right thing for us to do, so we carry on.

After such great hospitality it was hard to tear ourselves away and it felt like the dock had Velcro along its edge but Derek and I found a weather window on Saturday. And so, we bid adieu to the feasts of oysters and crabs that we were offered during our stay and took Leeway down the Bay looking forward to new adventures.