MABEL, CHUCK AND A LADY FROM OXFORD
June 14, 2012
Were we at sea, this would by my watch with only an hour to go. It is 0455 and the only sounds aboard are from one small German dog and the a/c unit. That’s not music but at least it is peaceful. During the past few days, we have met more interesting people, all cruisers with extended experience. That is a common thing here since there are boats nearby from Antigua, Great Britain and other places whose flag we do not recognize. We met Mabel and Chuck just a few slips down. They are locals but have sailed the waters of the Atlantic Coast for several decades. Though their home is seven hours away, they manage to spend two months at a time aboard. During that time, they visit the many anchorages and ports on the Bay. They have stories of how they came to spend their 57 years together on the water. They host family vacations aboard yet their boat looks factory fresh. In other words, near show room perfect. That is definitely not the case on Why Knot.
I was allowing Scurv to take me ashore the other day, to the pet walking area at the marina when we encountered a brief lady and her dog Rudder. We spent the better part of half an hour talking about Bay area attractions as well as those farther up the coast. She and her mate arrived with a flotilla from Oxford, Md the other day. I would say they are all about the same age, that being over seven decades. As we spoke, she made no attempts to conceal the fact that she is and always will be a sailor, not a trawler driver. She mentioned that both she and her mate were physically challenged sailing but it is still her passion. She spoke of the gentler motion of sailing vessels vs. square chinned flat bottom vessels and that the Chesapeake treated sailors differently. She spoke of racing Hobies earlier in her life and you could sense that it has never left her. She casually mentioned that she is 88 and there are no plans to leave the sea. Could it be that there is truth to the saying that “God does not deduct from our allotted life-span the time spent sailing” ?

The picture is of the Drum Point Lighthouse relocated to the Calvert Museum in Solomons. It is a screwpile design of the type that was used for muddy bottoms incapable of supporting brick conventional structures. There is one in Port Lavaca, Texas which was used in Matagorda Bay. There are three levels that served as living quarters, on watch quarters and the light lense. This one is very nicely perserved.