BB10: Chesapeake Bay

Week 2 was a great time to hone my anchoring and navigation skills. I had never been to the Chesapeake Bay but what a beautiful place with lots of small towns and secluded coves to explore.

After leaving Solomon’s Island, I traveled 9 hours to Swan Creek Marina near Rock Hall. It was Sunday so I wanted to make good time and try and get past Annapolis. It was a gorgeous day for boating. Calm seas and lots to see.

Swan Creek was not my best choice. I called ahead but there was no looper magic here. The dockhand was super helpful and secured my boat without hitting the sailboat 3 feet from me but I was sandwiched into a tiny slip with the dumb 1/3 finger piers which means they only go about a third of the length of the boat. I pulled straight in instead of backing in so there was no way for Kali nor I to get off the boat easily. I had to put her in her sling and carry her across the gunnel every time she had to get off the boat. We tried to walk to town but it was too far and there was just a sense of “bad juju” here. Maybe I was overtired from the long day before but I don’t know. I just really could not wait to get out of this place. My goal was to anchor out a few times this week so moved on to Still Pond. At least I got free drinks!

Still Pond was my BEST choice yet. It was only a couple hours past Swan Creek but as I was pulling into the secluded little bay, an eagle flew overhead and filled me with a sense of peace. I had wide open space with plenty of room to swing around on the hook. It was the perfect place to gain a little confidence in my ground tackle. It turns out that the eagle who welcomed us was not alone. A whole family of at least 2 matures and 2 immatures actively fished the bay and chattered overhead. The ospreys argued with them about the best fishing spots. Kali and I sat up on our flybridge, watched the sunset, and just listened. This was the first place on my journey that I really did not want to leave. I felt myself starting to settle into this adventure a little.

We could have stayed at Still Pond but Kali is not a fan of her pee pad and did not pee or poop the whole 18 hours we were there. We needed to move to a place where I could dinghy her somewhere to pee. We went just 2 and a half hours further to anchor in Sassafras River. It was not as secluded or peaceful as Still Pond but it had a perfect little stretch of beach for Kali Bong to run and allowed her welcome relief.

Sassafras River to Delaware City is only about a 4 hour ride but I delayed a little to time my arrival for the weekend. The marina there is a staging area for the somewhat treacherous Delaware Bay crossing. If it was up to Kali, she would just take the dinghy the whole way around.

I decided to stop at Chesapeake City along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal on Wednesday and Thursday so that I would have an easy 2 hours into Delaware City on Friday. My choices were getting better! What an adorable walkable little town. It is full of history and was an active stop on the Underground Railroad. The homes retain a lot of the history and the town honors the brave souls who risked their lives along the route. The docks are always crowded as it is a hot spot with restaurants and bars now, but there is an open anchorage basin a short dinghy ride from the action. Kali chooses dinghy rides above all else so we agreed that we would anchor a couple more nights. It turns out that some loopers were there and Kali and I went to our first docktails aboard Toscana! Kali didn’t even try to bite anyone – she was so good and even let people pet her!! I had dinner the next night at the Chesapeake Inn with a few other loopers who were stopped there. This was the first town where I felt like I enjoyed being there and could relax a bit.

The Delaware Bay connects to the Chesapeake Bay through the C & D Canal on the northern end and the Atlantic Ocean on the southern end. The tides, currents, and fetch are wicked. There are no good places to stop in the Delaware bay so picking the weather window for the 9 hour trek is vital. The Delaware City Marina holds a weather briefing every day at 4pm to provide information on the next day’s weather and their recommendations for go/no go. The owners are known for their hospitality it happened that there was also a mini-rendezvous looper event happening that weekend. Great timing!

There were about 34 of us. Delaware City Marina is delightful and they really pack in the boats. It is truly a great resource for loopers getting ready for the long journey down the Delaware Bay. I caught up on laundry, cleaned the boat, fueled up, pumped out, filled my water tanks, hit the farmer’s market, charged my batteries (literally and figuratively), fixed my head (also literally and figuratively, I suppose), fixed my generator (with the help of some of my new looper friends), picked up my Fedex’ed fuel filters and spare impeller, introduced my new looper friends to Skyline dip, and then prepared for an early 5:15am departure on Sunday. Notice the gorgeous boat below called Not-A-Byte is from Cincinnati and they especially appreciated the Skyline dip. Once again…the looper community… incredible. I met so many kind people here and I am excited to cross paths with them over the next year. Ready for week 3!