November 6th, 2019
SHINY
Pearl looking pretty
November 6th, 2019
MUSEUM
The staff were so passionate about their subject as they made rope, ran the farm, cooked and made bees wax candles on an open fire.
November 6th, 2019
St MARYS
From St Michaels we made for a safe anchorage just up the river from Solomons Island to sit out a forecast with 50knt gusts. This necessitated taking the Bimini and dodger down and making off the leading edge of the solar panel to the patented Pete Goss paddleboard rack. The cunning idea worked like a charm so we were very pleased to see it in action after lying redundant since we added the rack a year ago. I grabbed the opportunity during the calm before the storm to explore the creek and was accompanied by a very grumpy Heron, Kingfisher, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Duck and a variety of fish.
The night proved to be a long one for when 50knts is forecast on a front I like to sit up and see it through for if you get hit by 50knts and you're still in bed then its too late. As it transpired we didn't see more than 30knts with bursts to keep things lively. It did offer a bonus in that it provided a chance to try out my cunning hurricane anchorage set-up which will benefit from some consequent mods.
We went into the night in shorts and came out of it in full thermals, hats and gloves as the northerly that followed the front brought winter weather. With cold often comes crisp air and so it was that we hoisted the anchor and set off for a fantastic sail in gusty conditions of up to 30knts. As ever Pearl looked after us well and made the experience a pleasurable day that blew the cobwebs out of our system. Chesapeake is a funny place for it seems there is either no wind or loads of wind.
St Marys Bay is a stunning spot which saw the arrival of the vessels Dove and the Ark in 1634 looking for a place devoid of religious persecution. St Marys City became Marylands first capital until the legislature moved to Annapolis. At this point it quickly fell into disrepair until the St Marys Living Museum started to breathe life into its past.
We spent a lovely day walking about the reconstructed plantation with many re-creations from a farm through to a church, Indian village and Inn.
October 29th, 2019
HALLOWEEN
As you can see Halloween has started to rear its head and I couldn't walk past this amazing dragon without taking a picture. It is lit from within and its wings flap!!
October 29th, 2019
WORK
I do an awful lot more work than people realize and enjoy the variety it brings. The last four mad weeks have meant that a lot of admin has piled up and so I have spent two full days bashing away in the office. The hope is to get on top of it today and in so doing liberate a new chapter which will be the winter migration south for some rum n sun. We purposefully don't have plans and will let the wind decide progress as we winkle out any hidden gems that lie in our random path.
October 29th, 2019
TWO YEARS
How things change, amazingly, this picture was taken on the evening of Ians rainy picture. We had just had an amazing paddleboard crammed with wildlife. Hundreds of very noisy Geese joined us in the bay and all took off at the same time as we approached them ....... childish but fun. There were lots of jelly fish and those prehistoric Horseshoe crab with a tail. A huge stag, crowned with magnificent antler waded out of some reeds and bounded off.
Tracey cooked up a storm and we had Ian and Michelle over to celebrate two years since we drove onto the cross-channel ferry with a van full of equipment and sailed into our new life. A life which we are still enjoying as we explore new territory and meet wonderful new people. You may recall we met Grant and Brigitte in Maine on their lovely yacht Louise. They very kindly sent us a gift pack of Whiskey and Gin.
A toast with their Hendricks Gin and Tonic could not have been more apt.
October 29th, 2019
BLOWY ANCHORAGE
Time to move on from Annapolis and with a blow on the way we decided that Shaw Bay looked a safe anchorage. Although it didnt blow as much as was forecast it definitely called for a safe haven. As you can see from Ians lunchtime picture it rained cats and dogs.
October 29th, 2019
FILMING
Wednesday was the day to go filming which turned out to be rather fun as we worked with T2PTV. Ashley was on board with Bruce driving the support boat and drone. The shoot was for Garcia who are putting together some video for their website and I have to say we are both delighted and honored to be supporting this amazing boat.
