Adieu Lankford Bay Marina
It is the last day of August and time to leave Lankford Bay Marina. It was a great place to stay while exploring the Eastern Shore. Somewhat remote with beautiful scenery and space to sail on the Chester River only a few miles away. Rock Hall was only a 15 minute drive by car.
Everyone here was friendly and helpful. We enjoyed all the amenities (laundry, internet access picnic area and swimming pool). We'll plan to stop by again sometime next spring.
Family Sail on Chester River
Brian, Janet, Rob, Leah and Josh joined us for a great day sailing on the Chester River. Winds and temperatures were ideal for a fun, relaxing day on the water. Everyone who wanted had a chance to take the wheel and/or perform crew duties.
Fried chicken, cole slaw, mashed potatoes and gravy for lunch before casting off. Grilled brats and burgers, potato salad and watermelon for dinner after sailing. A little beer, pop, tea and water washed it all down.
Antietam Battlefield
Dwayne and his brother visited the Antietam Battlefield. This battle which took place on September 17, 1862 and resulted in the largest number of casualties on a single day during the Civil War. Over 22,000 men died, were wounded or went missing. Union forces under General George B. McClellan caused Confederate General Robert E. Lee to abandon his invasion of the North and return to Virginia. As a result, President Abraham Lincoln decided the time was right to issue the Proclamation of Emancipation.
Road Trip - Shenandoah Valley
Fort Frederick
Dwayne went to Fort Frederick located in western Maryland
on the Potomac River. The fort was built
to protect English colonists from attacks by the French and Indians during the
French and Indian War.
The fort has been
restored and serves as a living history museum of the period. Re-enactors representing all sides in the conflict
engaged in mock battles and educated the park visitors on various aspects of
the conflict and the people engaged in this war which ultimately put the
English in control of most of North America.
The French and Indian War
began over the specific issue of whether the upper Ohio River valley was a part of the British Empire, and therefore open for trade and settlement by
Virginians and Pennsylvanians, or part of the French Empire.
Aug 17 - 21 Maintenance and Repairs
Carla was in Nashville spoiling grandkids. Dwayne worked on the boat. The genoa sail went to the sail loft. Meade A. Breese, sailmaker of Rock Hall did
the work. He re-stitched the sacrificial
cloth, patched and re-stitched the clew seam, added some webbing to reinforce the
clew ring, and installed a new leech cleat.
Randy came out to trouble-shoot the air conditioning/heating
system. Diagnosis: the compressor is overheating and needs to be
replaced. Terrie from Kato Marine called, the
steering wheel was re-welded. Dwayne cut
out the plastic starboard pieces and bought the materials necessary to install
the dinghy’s sonar/depth sounder and the anchor wash-down pump. He also washed the bird droppings off the
deck.
Carla Flies and Katos
Carla is flying to spend time with her grandkids.
We stopped by Kato Marine enroute to the airport to get some spokes re-welded on our Edson steering wheel. Kato specializes in custom stainless steel products. They fabricated our davit system, Terrie gave us great advice on its design and installation.
Corsica River
Chester River Cruise
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| Mike at the helm on the Chester River |
It was a beautiful day. So, we decided to take a cruise up the Chester River to Chestertown. Mike who keeps his boat at our marina joined us and provided a guided tour of the river. The Chester River is very long and very deep compare to most rivers entering the Bay and has many tributary creeks. However, the channel can get pretty narrow in some places. So, you have to keep an eye on the chart and depth gauge.
The Chester River was a major east-west travel route in the colonial period. Its length and depth made it particularly attractive as a river road. Chestertown which is located half way between the mouth and origin of the river was a port of entry during the colonial period and one of the larger settlements. It is still the county seat.
Maintenance and Laundry Day
Dwayne scrubbed the hull's port side and stern. Carla cleaned the cockpit and washed clothes. Spent the rest of the day reading, napping and in the pool.
Life on the Bay is rapidly changing because the Bay is rapidly changing. Population growth, urban development and the resulting pollution are adversely affecting what lives in and around the Bay. The following short video provides a brief introduction to some of the issues.
Tilghman Island and St Michaels
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Traveled the length of Tilghman Island and stopped by Dogwood
Harbor to see the skipjacks and other boats used by the watermen of the
island. The skipjack, Rebecca T. Ruark, sails out of Dogwood
Harbor and is featured in Skipjacks, a book we are reading. Life on the island has changed significantly
in the past 50 years. The completion of
the Bay Bridge has allowed it to become a distant suburb of Annapolis. You have to get to the very southern-most end
of the island before you feel you are in a community that relies on what is
caught in the Bay for its economic livelihood.
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| Tilghman Island Watermen's Boats |
Crisfield and Smith Island
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| Smith Island Waterman's Boat and Crab Shack |
Crisfield is the southern-most city in Maryland and was once the second largest city in the state with a
population of over 27,000. It was once indisputably the “Seafood Capital of the
World”. At the turn of the 20th
Century there were more than 150 seafood processing plants in Crisfield. Today, there are only 3 and the population is close
to 2,700 or 1/10th of its peak census.
Annapolis and Mail Run Aug 10 -11
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| Nathan of Dorchester |
Picked up spare filters and belts for the engine in Annapolis. Had a great lunch at Chick and Ruth's. Read the mail and watched "The Grand Budapest Hotel". Spent the night in Columbia. Bought a apple pie at Chick and Ruth's enroute back to the boat.
Pictured is the skipjack "Nathan of Dorchester. Skipjacks appeared on the Chesapeake in the late 1800's to meet the need for a shallow draft vessel capable of dredging the shoals the Bay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skipjack_(boat)
Kent Island and Centreville
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| Centreville Court House |
A statue of Queen Anne (1665-1714) stands in the town square.
We had a great lunch at O’Shucks Irish Pub. Half pound of mussels in a terrific cream sauce with French fries for $6; six jumbo shrimp, carmelized onions and Old Bay seasoning with boiled potatoes $6; a Reuben sandwich and beer.
Pirates and Wenches Weekend - Rock Hall, MD
Pirates and wenches invaded Rock Hall for the weekend. Friday night we joined them in sampling and
voting on our favorite rum. Of course,
sea shanties are mandatory if you drink with pirates. So, to avoid conflict and promote goodwill,
we drank and sang along with the best and worst of the pirates and wenches.
Saturday was filled with many activities. The pirate dinghy parade and subsequent melee
in the harbor were great fun. Water
cannon were quite effective in drenching towns-people and pirates alike. The battle lasted for nearly an hour.
August 2 - 6 Rest and Maintenance
Talked to locals about life on the Eastern Shore and how
much has changed in the span of a life time.
Pictured is a monument to the oystermen who hand tong oysters on the Bay’s
rivers. Tonging is hard, laborious work.
By Maryland law, a hand tonger can
gather up to 15 bushels of oysters per day.
Tonging is one of the oldest methods of harvesting oysters dating back
to the early 1700’s in Maryland.
Hung around the marina and Rock Hall. Read, took naps, swam in the pool. Changed filters and v-belt on the Yanmar
engine. Did laundry. Re-provisioned food, water and fuel. Time just seems to fly, even when you are not
doing all that much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRWGHgbCbHQ
Lotus Festival at Mount Harmon Plantation and Mason-Dixon Line
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| American Lotus Pond at Mount Harmon Plantation |
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