It was a long day - we cruised for 7-1/2 hours to an anchorage in Godfrey Bay near Deltaville, Virginia. It was a nice, quiet anchorage and we were the only boat. It was very hot, though, so we turned on the generator so we could run the air conditioning.
The next day, Friday, July 15, we left at 8:45 a.m. and crossed Chesapeake Bay to Crisfield, Maryland where we docked at Somer's Cove Marina. It was a very nice marina with floating docks and clean washrooms. It also had a pool that we took advantage of since it was so hot! Not many marinas have pools.
On Saturday, we took the ferry to Tangier Island to explore. The Tangier Island Ferry left at 12:30 p.m. and returned at 5:15 p.m.
The ferry ride is an hour and 15 minutes each way, which doesn't leave a lot of time to explore the island. It turned out that there isn't much to see or do on the island. You go there, eat lunch, walk around a bit, then it's time to load the ferry boat at 4:00 p.m. to make it back by 5:15 p.m.! There is only 1 ferry per day and there are about 4-5 restaurants, a handful of gift shops, and several bed & breakfasts if you wish to spend the night. Many of the homes had grave sites in their front yards. There were cats everywhere and we even saw a pet goat in someone's front yard!
We planned to stay for 3 nights at Somer's Cover Marina, but it turned out that the water conditions were deteriorating so we only stayed 2 nights. We wanted to get back across to the Potomac River before conditions changed for the worse.
We left early the next morning to cross the bay and enter the Potomac River. Because we left Somer's Cove Marina in Crisfield a day earlier than planned, our cruise was smooth and very enjoyable. Our destination was to an anchorage called Horseshoe Bend near St. Mary's, Maryland. It was a beautiful anchorage near St. Mary's College. There were students paddle boarding and kayaking near where we were anchored. No one was swimming in the water and we realized why - there were jellyfish all around us!
It was a peaceful night at anchor. We got up the next morning (July 18) and continued our cruise up the Potomac River. The weather was a bit unsettled and by the time we got to our next anchorage at Fairview Beach, the Coast Guard was on the radio warning everyone about a severe storm headed our way, with promised 50-60 mile an hour winds. The warnings included telling people in small boats to get off the water because the wind could overturn their boats. There are not a lot of good anchorages on the Potomac, but we thought we would be safe at the Fairview Beach anchorage. It turned out that there were hundreds of crab pots in the water near the shore so we had a hard time finding a good place to anchor. In the meantime, the storm was getting closer and closer. We had just dropped the anchor when the storm hit with a vengeance. Suddenly we were in the brunt of the storm with high winds and 3-4 foot waves. Because the storm hit so quickly, we could not deploy more scope or go out on the bow to deploy the bridle between the boat and anchor chain. The bridle give the boat more stability and distributes the weight of the anchor and chain so that the windless is not taking all the mechanical load.
This storm lasted about an hour and during this time, the captain stood at the helm trying to steer the boat in line with the waves so the boat wouldn't roll. We weren't sure the anchor was completely set and we couldn't tell if the anchor was dragging. Captain Carey stayed at the wheel for more than an hour battling the waves. In the meantime, Nancy was also in the helm hanging on as things flew to the floor. Slowly, the storm subsided and we were able to set the bridle on the anchor chain and clean up everything inside the boat. That was the worst storm we have ever been through on a boat! There are no pictures because we were both busy hanging on as the boat rocked and rolled!
Later that night, another storm came through. It was not as severe and since we had the anchor set up with the bridle, the boat handled it very well. And so did we!
The next morning we woke up to a beautiful day on the Potomac and the rest of our cruise to Washington, DC was great. We did pass through an area on the Potomac where the Navy was conducting live fire exercises. We heard a "thump" and then saw a puff of smoke in the sky, but we didn't fully understand what we were seeing. Then we were contacted by a Navy Range Police boat and they asked us to alter our course a bit to stay away from where the firing was taking place. Needless to say, we were happy to comply with their request.
On up the Potomac, we cruised past Mount Vernon. We have been there several times by car, but this was the first time we have seen it from the water! Beautiful and stately!
As we approached Washington, DC, we could see the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. Arriving by boat is definitely a highlight of our Loop! We docked at the Capital Yacht Club with no problems. The marina is ok, but definitely not one of the nicer marinas we have been to. There is a lot of construction at the marina, but the selling point of this marina is that it is about 15 minute walk to a grocery store and a 30 minute walk to the Smithsonian Museums! Our plan was to stay 4 nights, but we extended it by another couple of nights. We have enjoyed seeing the American History Museum, the American Indian Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Capitol, the Archives, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress. One day we took a break from the museums and caught the metro to Alexandria, Virginia and walked around. The only issue we have had is with the heat. Today (July 25) it is 97 degrees, but with the humidity it feels like 111 degrees!
We leave tomorrow and will spend 2 nights at anchor, then go to Solomons, Maryland. Time to get moving again!
