We have been invited to dinner at Truitt & Valerie Sunderland home, they live only 5 minutes from St. Michaels in a town called Wittman.
We first met Tru & Val 7 years ago while cruising in the Bahamas and this was the perfect opportunity to visit them at their home on the Chesapeake.
Truitt arrived at the marina and greeted us with his familiar warm smile and humorous relaxed manor.
Their charming home that Truitt built himself is on several acres of partially wooded land that fronts Harris Creek.
After Val told us about her new job that recently took her on a trip to both China & India she disappeared to the kitchen.
With the clanging of pots and a large plume of smoke from the BBQ out Val came with a great dinner complete with crab cakes (the best on the Chesapeake), corn on the cob, salad and home grown sauteed zucchini.
Great to see old friends. The evening went by way too quickly.
We returned to Rula Bula with no need for a late night snack.
The Aft Deck Gym was in full use by the crew early this morning to work off those weekend ice cream and pancake calories… Actually Barbara and Bryan used the gym while Julie and Scott talked long and loud about going to use the gym — never happened!! Well they did burn some calories we suppose talking about it…
Anchors away at 08:25 hours and we were cruising to St. Micheals 46 miles to the north on the eastern shore of the Bay. This was the first truly 3H (Hazy, Hot & Humid) summer day we have experienced in the mid Atlantic and it is going to get worse over the next three with highs over 97F (36C) with humidity over 90% — uugh!!
Our trip to St. Micheals was uneventful 8.5 hour trip 6.5 hours of which was motor sailing :( We did get a little sailing in when the afternoon onshore winds came up around 3:00pm :) but not for long.
St Micheals has grown some since my last visit some 20 odd years ago. In particular The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has more than doubled in size and very well worth a visit. The town is still charming, nestled around the old central harbour, if now a little over touristy but is still worth a visit particularly by water. For those who may have interest here is the town website: http://stmichaelsmd.org/
We dropped anchor at 17:00 hours in a small cove just across from The Maritime Museum and immediately got ready to go to dinner at the home of boating friends of Barbara and Scott. So I sign off and leave the dinner party log to Barbara and Scott.
A beautiful Sunday morning at anchor in Solomons Island had everyone up early and organized to meet and have breakfast with my ex-Federal government consultant Letitia White whose weekend home is close by. Letitia took us to her favorite close-by breakfast joint “The Frying Pan” where we tucked into excellent stacks of blueberry and peach pancakes… “No oatmeal today” said a very happy and relieved crew!!
After breakfast Letitia took us on a tour of the Southern tip of Calvert County MD that ended up at Letitia’s weekend home which sits on a high bluff overlooking beautiful St. Leonard’s Creek a tributary of the Patuxent River. An amazing property all the more splendid with it’s recently completed boatshed and dock.
As we sat and talked on the dock the afternoon onshore wind started to pick up so we collectively decided a short afternoon sail was in order. Back at RB by 13:15 hours we raised anchor and sailed out to the Patuxent River for a relaxing sail north and then south before returning to anchor by 15:30 hours. Shortly after, Letitia departed to meet up with family members back in DC. It was so good to see Letitia after more than four years — particularly as she look so well and relaxed. The most relaxed I think I have ever seen Ms. Lite (I mean White).
In the early evening the crew went ashore for one more short walk around tiny Solomons Island with a compulsory stop at the ice-cream shop! Where we watched the sun set and felt relief as the evening air started to cool.
06:30 another early start and I’d barely rolled out of bed and was most definitely not out of my pj’s when the ropes from Tangier were cast off and we were heading for our next destination.
The winds were light and what was available was blowing mostly from the south west. To avoid a long day of slow tacking, we set our course and submitted to the fact that we would be motor sailing for the next six hours. With all sails hoisted we got up to an average speed of 6.5 knots.
Arriving in Solomons Island, a small town on the west side of the bay, which comprises of a town which runs for 1.5 miles along a single road with numerous but small marinas nestled along the banks.
Check out http://www.solomonsmaryland.com
We dropped anchor and enjoyed a hearty bowl of fish stew… prepared on route with helpful input from the whole crew, what a team and all while some, no need to mention names, were still in their pj’s!
So feeling refueled S,B and J packed the dingy with trash and laundry and headed for a tour of Mill Creek. Much to Scott’s delight the laundromat no longer existed so we returned having had a delightful exploration of the nearby waterways and marinas.
Later we had an excursion on our new land, we had for the first time on our trip entered the state of Maryland. This afforded us picturesque views up and down the creek and across the Patuxent River and of course the mandatory purchase of ice-cream.This peaceful day ended with a lazy glass of red wine on board RB as the sun set and evening fell into night.
After seeing all these wonderful images taken by the entire crew — there may be some people interested in learning more about Tangier — so here are a couple of links:-
So this morning started with much enthusiasm as Barbara’s main aim was to get RB shipshape and detached from Parks Marina main pier pronto! Bryan had headed off for an energetic run round Tangier where he introduced himself to the local residents and befriended a dog, who was not going to be brushed off with a wee “hello” and a pat…. he ran the length of the beach and home again having found a new best friend.
Mr. Parks, who had been born and raised on the island, kindly offered us a tour of the island. However, by the time we had our daily dose of oatmeal he was now not available. He nodded graciously and in a pure Cornish accent assured us that he’d be back in a couple of hours.(Most islanders are descendants of immigrants from Cornwall who landed here in the 1700’s, and the accent has never been lost). So alas we decided to explore the island on foot and although there are only three roads in Tangier and one that goes in a circle it seemed incredible that we managed to lose each other. Bryan and I headed to the South end of the island where an idyllic golden beach stretched out along a thin peninsula trapped between the marshlands and the ever encroaching waters of Chesapeake Bay.
We returned to the town and before we afforded any more time to finding Scott and Barbara, Bryan decided that we should now buy a well deserved ice-cream from Spankies… We almost had them consumed when B and S appeared from the museum, Scott’s face said it all…”you had ice-cream without me!”
Having now sprung into action around this little hamlet S B and J headed to check out the waterways around the watermens piers and stilted fish huts. We purchased gas and although we had had quite a frightening culinary experience last night we decided that the Fishermen’s Corner restaurant was worth a risk, so for all you future visitors this is our recommendation.
The island and its history are what seem to be keeping this ever dwindling community together. New fishing regulations, rising water levels and children graduating and moving on are all contributing to an uncertain future.
We will depart and head north tomorrow with fond memories of our short stay on Tangiers — particularly the Three Times Fried String Beans!!.
Left Port Charles 8:15 a.m.
Arrived Tangiers 6:35 p.m.
Bryan called ahead of time for a slip at Parks Marina and Mrs. Parks told him her husband the dock master wasn’t around. She said there might be something but he would have to ask her husband and he’d be back at 6:00p.m. To which she added “I hate boats” so I know nothing. So, Bryan said we will be there in an hour.
Upon arriving at Parks Marina, we tie up and Mr. Parks is still no where to be found.
There is a brick house at the end of the pier where Scott attempts to find the dock master. He knocks on the door and a lady’s voice tells him to come in. He opens the door disappears momentary before coming out gasping for air, clutching his chest, with an expression on his face I’ve never seen before. ”CATS! Lot of cats” and still no dock master….. After exploring the town, finding the church from which all other facilities are geographically referenced — we headed off to Lorraine’s for dinner as recommended somewhat hesitantly by a local in a golf cart (the preferred mode of transport). So off we go to Lorraine’s and let’s just say it was quite an experience (see photos). If you can’t fry it you can’t eat it. Then there were the THREE TIMES FRIED String Beans ???
We left Cape Charles on the VA Eastern Shore around 08:15 hours with a 20 knots blowing out of the North Northeast —just the direction we wanted to go to get to Tangier Island in the middle of the Bay some 42 nautical miles away. So we spent the greater part of the day until around 15:30 hours tacking back and forth across the Bay to make progress northwards. Great sailing but slow forward progress. By 15:30 hours wind clocked round to the East which was perfect for our desired direction however it also dropped to below 10 knots so we motored sailed the remaining distance to Park’s Marina in Tangier central cut. Tying up to Park’s Marina around 18:30 hours. We then went to dinner at the only resturant that was still open. I will let Barbara and Julie’s following blog describe that initial eating experience — now that they finally taken to writing blog entries…
NOTE: NOTE: NOTE: IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE CAPTIONS ON PHOTOGRAPHS THAT ARE IN GROUPS ON YOUR COMPUTER — CLICK ON ONE OF THEM AND THEY SHOULD REVERT TO INDIVIDUAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND SHOW THE CAPTIONS…
Well after a day of no wind at all – we got it all in the space of 30minutes this evening when a line of severe thunderstorms fronting the leading edge of the approaching cool front from the North Northwest gave us wind speeds gusting to 45knots and again a full lightening fireworks display – which brought forth screams of delight — right? From both Barbara and Julie!
Luckily we were anchored by ourselves in a large open harbor area so even though we did drag anchor at the height of the storm we had lots of room to maneuver and then reposition ourselves after the worst was past. We do have to work on a method of better communication between the person on the helm and the crew working the anchor lines in these trying conditions. As it is impossible to hear or see what the other is saying or signaling – walky-talky radios??
Newly repaired bimini stood up just fine to this latest assault — thanks again George…
The reported cool front arriving later tonight is now predicting to bring us temps only in the mid 70’s Ahhh!!
