Voyage 2021: Chapter 1

29 Apr 2021, North to Chesapeake City, 39 31.572 N/ 075 48.486 W

Left Annapolis at 0920 with jib, main, and mizzen full with a light wind out of the SW. The main was especially appreciative of some sailing time. As elsewhere, crab pot floats were few and far between. There were a few pots that we had to dodge as we entered the Sassafras River for a three night stay hiding from nasty weather as the wind backed towards the W.

The last leg to Chesapeake was almost without incident. Current, wind, and marine traffic were favorable. Active Captain (via Navionics) was reporting that all was well regarding the inlet into the basin. Not quite right; the hump in the middle of the entrance channel has returned. At low tide, we would have touched bottom with our 5.5' draft. There was no boats at anchor in the basin so we became the first. Beautiful place! We saw both geese and ducks tending their nests or the new families.

We saw no ship traffic transiting the C&D canal while we were there. That seemed a bit odd as we normally saw such traffic this far up on the Chesapeake. Ann was in quite a bit of pain from her sp and her bp so she could not visit the town this time. It seems that her shingles and her back are conspiring to make life miserable for the Admiral. Bob took the trash to shore, walked the town and picked up some carry home dinner from the Tap Room (it was great). Bob walked the streets and noticed many similarities with our visit over 20 years ago.

4 May 2021, South to Georgetown on the Sassafras, 39 21.642 N/ 075 53.196 W

Time to leave for Georgetown. Only one trouble; the engine does not want to start. It appears that our starting battery is not very healthy. With a few flicks of battery switches, we had the 4 batteries work in unison. Problem solved, sorta. We left at mid tide (1200) so that we could check alternative routes past the 'hump'. As the old guidance suggests, hugging the east breakwater is the way to go. The current was kind and we were making good progress towards the Sassafras. A USCG ATON (buoy tender) vessel was behind us then in front us, then next to us. They were replacing old buoys with nice clean new ones.

Weather is getting nasty with a bad two day forecast with winds out of the WNW-W at 20+ knots. So we will have to cut our day trip up the Sassafras into a two day trip. That's OK as our mooring ball at Georgetown Yacht Basin is not ready yet. We anchored at Hotdog Beach (another Active Captain name) and watched the wind stir up the river. We were fine and we relaxed. Today we got an email stating that our mooring ball was ready. So off we went until we got to GYB and found the ball. Time to clean up a bit.

Annaleace was our dock master, a nice young lady who reminds us of Cori (from Green Turtle). We were the first transients for the season so many things were not in place for the season's beginning (officially Memorial Day). Still it was a good stay. We watched the marina across the river start laying the mooring balls for everyone in the harbor. It was an experience to watch the process of refreshing the mooring balls.

On our last day, Bob walked to the Georgetown crossroads and found a Mexican restaurant, Las Jefas. Sadly, Ann could not walk here and we did not have enough time for carryout. Still it was a nice walk. He saw the bridge, the big restaurant, the marinas, and the Catholic church. He checked out the Granary and its dinghy dock. We would later use the dinghy dock to go to the Granary for a really good meal. Tomorrow we head back to Annapolis for a couple of days. Little did we know that our second visit would not be as pleasant as the first.