Time at anchor can be very productive

There are LOTS of things to do while at anchor, after the first day...

1. make a new list of those boat projects to do now or later
2. if it's raining (and you are "trapped" in the boat), what better way to notice the (very few of course) leaks and where they come from?
3. bake something from food you have too much of. The banana bread we baked is good. Who says bananas aboard are bad luck? Recipe from "The Boat Galley Cookbook" by Carolyn Sherlock and Jan Irons
4. organize cubbies and lazarettes. These are hard to do while under sail.
5. list the stuff you forgot at home and wish you had
6. list the bags to take off the boat not needed for local trips (that get in the way)
7. figure ways to make less waste and items to recycle, as we usually have to carry them with us through our whole trip. We hang these bags from the back rail with the 3 fenders. They stay put with bungies in front of the fenders.
8. listen to the NOAA weather VHF Radio channel -can take a long sitting to listen to all the tides, winds and temps of the area
9. clean and do laundry, when you feel like it, then figure out where to hang it to dry if it's raining
10. think of boat parts we could 3D print. Last year, Dave printed some blocks that are easily accessible and not under great loads. Even if they break, they would cost a $1 to reprint.
11. Re-arrange rooms...

State room before...

After...

And of course, watch movies, like 6 of the 12 Star Wars movies (before the end of the trip)

Dream and Dream Project observations of late...

1. at home in the house, we dream about sailing
2. on the boat, we dream about the house

1. at home we think of what we need to get done to go on a cruise
2. on the boat, we think of projects to do at home.

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On May 30, we motored in the rain from Mill Creek by Hawks Nest to Mill Creek at Solomons.

crabber

A sailboat anchored across the channel, but there was not much choice. Only rec boaters and small crabbers come up this far to their houses, so fine.

We anchored at the first fork in the river.

The three tugs

TowBoatUS on their way into Solomons. We on our way out.

Breaking News (Oreo Cookies)

 The octopus has brought out the Oreos! We have to eat them! ( yes, this is the breaking news )

Here are some pics from out trip from Choptank River/Oxford MD to Patuxent River/Solomons:

LNG - Liquified Natural Gas export station by Calvert Cliffs, MD

Cove Point Lighthouse  https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Land/All/Article/1912767/cove-point-lighthouse/ 

Flashes white every 10 Seconds!  10!  Built 1828. 40' above the waterline.

Bridge over Patuxent. Narrow and Tall! Joints Calvert and St. Mary's Counties. 1.37 miles long. 140' tall. Opened in 1977.

"The Spit" as I call it. A spit of beach parallels the bridge from the right. You have to take immediate left to go around. The river continues beyond to the right. One of the deepest parts of the bay is here, FEET from the end of the spit. We measured 118'

Try MarineTraffic.com

Above - Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge over the Patuxent

Above - Johnstown above the bridge
 

VesselFinder.com is not showing our updated position.

Try MarineTraffic.com to put in our MMSI #  367492040

Call it cruel, but I am adding photos to previous pages. We have more time since waiting out a storm.

May 27,28, we are in Mill Creek off the Patuxent River.

A seaplane landed near us and took off again.

Mill Creek seems to be the perfect place for PWCs racing and waterskiing. We occasionally see helicopters and jets associated with Naval Air Warfare Center/Aircraft Division at the entrance to the Putuxent. 

below - northwest view of Mill Creek.

The new bar (after sliding ice tea pitcher). Nonskid sheets are good for many things on a boat.

Racing PWCs

1. In Mill Creek, long stranded grasses made little islands in the middle.

2. Yaks are strapped down in case of wind storm. The wind can come from the side suddenly and it takes time for heavy Justice to align with the wind again.

3. Hmmmm

                    (1)                                (2)                                   (3)

Big ships, barges and tugs.

 I love big ships, tugboats and barges.  Their captains have amazing skills to get up and down these waterways, some with very narrow channels.

- Claire

below VERY narrow channel, out in the middle of the bay, just South of Magothy River. See both the red and green buoys

See both red and green again.

Oxford on the Tred Avon, Maryland

While anchored at Oxford, these passed us by.

This barge was likely involved in the Tred Avon reef restoration project.

Info here:  https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/oysters/tred_avon.aspx 

We kayaked to town, to the designated area next to the Oxford-Belleview Ferry dock. https://oxfordferry.com/  Ferry Service founded 1683. 

 Town of Oxford info https://portofoxford.com/ 

A small town (531 acres including 183 of water) comprised of more marinas than eateries. A waterman and sailing town.

We talked about the gingerbread on the old houses, as we have some gingerbread to put back on our own house. On the historic streets, it seems every house and inn has a name.  Found a little grocery store and the nice Treasure Chest gift shop https://www.treasurechestoxford.com/ 

Galesville to Oxford, MD. Weighing anchor

In Galesville, Monday's drizzle turned into overcast Tuesday morning and chilly. 

Next stop Oxford, MD on the other side of the bay,  since friends schedules are not matching with ours (or ours with theirs) and Dave has not been there before.

We'll sail east across the bay to the Choptank River, then north on Tred Avon.

 Started the motor at 8:45 am. I got more practice pulling up the anchor. We have all chain.

While pulling in the chain with the windlass, the chain needs to be pushed to the side in the anchor locker before it piles up and doesn't fall from the windlass outlet. We use a boat hook to move it to one side or the other. When I lean over to put weight on the other foot to see how far to push it, enough of my weight moves off the windlass foot switch and it stops before i want it to. I try not to take weight off that foot, but it's hard and it makes it for a long anchor weigh. Dave has a remote, that I'll try next, but that requires a hand, which I'd rather keep on the boat hook.

If ya don't get the chain in the locker moved on time (for me- because you can't see, leaning over, since you're trying to keep weight on the button)  the chain piles up on the deck (just a little pile), so you have to let it out again to get the tension and reset the links in the gypsy.

Then there's the Chesapeake Bay mud. Ya want to stop every 5 feet to pull the chain side to side to get the mud off in the water, to keep it off the deck and out of the locker. 

Winds are 10-15 with white caps. Sailing to windward, headed to Oxford. Spray covers the dodger windows.

We saw 2 NOAA vessels that seemed to be coordinating movements. The large one in front of the tanker, and below the other.

At the entrance to Choptank, you see the leaning Sharps Island Lighthouse on the right,

(Jan 1977 winter ice caused this 15 degree tilt)

and Bloody Point Lighthouse on the left. (both photos zoomed in)

Pass the fishing net sticks that are on the Tighlman Island side. The places where these are allowed are marked on the chart, but they may or may not be there and they can move within the boxes. Don't take shortcuts on this bay.

Below: Tighlman Island Blackwalnut Point. We'll pass it on our port side.

Below, last turn to Tred Avon River at Benoni Point

We admired a pretty boat where we anchored off Oxford.  here: Susan B. Merriman.

 

The Super Flower Blood Moon. Partial Lunar Eclipse will occur in the morning.

More info here https://www.space.com/super-flower-blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-2021-photos