Epilogue

This was a wonderful trip — not the start of the Great Loop that we originally planned — but, a great trip never-the-less.  As Linda continues to explain to others: we set out for an adventure, and boy, did we have one — just not the one we were anticipating, which made it all the more fun to experience! Having the openness and flexibility to experience it as it came was a remarkable gift to each other. The scenery was beautiful, the people were personable, and the weather for the most part, was great. We learned much more about the United States and Canadian history during our revolutionary war and the war of 1812. With our companion — the brick —we learned more about church history as well. Of course, we became more knowledgable about our boat and boating; to include locks, bridges, navigation, trip planning considering tides, currents, wind, rain, distance, and fuel consumption. In addition, Linda proved that traveling with a “disability” is a not as hard as we initially thought. In her case, we just needed a little more attention to our meal planning. We completed the Triangle Loop. The Great Loop may be in our future — or not. We have so many adventures beckoning it is too early to tell what we will try next.

Day 103: Chesapeake Bay Marina to Whitehouse Cove Marina, Poquoson, VA (39.3NM, 3.3 Hours)

Returning to Whitehouse Cove
in Poquoson, VA

We reviewed the weather and marine forecast for this morning, and for Friday the 12th (our 27th wedding anniversary date), and Saturday the 13th (a surprise homecoming dinner with Brian’s Mom, Ella). Once again, it was obvious that the forecasters weren’t certain what would happen today or the next three days based on the dramatic change in the forecast overnight. We couldn’t tell if the wind and waves were going to be moderate or bad, and if there was to be rain or not. We decided to depart and make our destination decision while underway. We found that the winds were greater than the forecasted 5-10mph and were from the south vice southwest. Hence, the waves we encountered were greater than 1-2 feet. We decided to press for Poquoson, VA and spend our

Brian & his Mom, Ella

anniversary in our local area. After three and one half months of cruising, neither of us felt we were being short rifted. Brian even tossed in a promise for another spa date for the both of us, then cancelled our reservations with the Tides Inn, worked with Craig Brown, dock master and at Whitehouse Cove Marina, for a slip, made dinner reservations with Fins in Newport News for our anniversary dinner, and turned off our AIS so Brian’s mom couldn’t track us returning so soon. She has been following us through her desk top computer the entire trip and learning about the local areas we have passed through. Nick greeted us when we arrived, helped us tie up, and transported us home for a quite celebration. In fact, Nick volunteered to be our chauffeur as we celebrated our anniversary. Both our sons had prearranged a dinner date with their grandmother for the evening of the 13th to enable our surprise return. They picked her up in one vehicle, while we traveled to the restaurant in another. The look of astonishment when she arrived at our table was priceless, and worth the added effort to pull it off. Our sincere thanks to Chris and Nick, and the wonderful hostess and staff at Carrabba’s in Newport News, Va.

Day 102: Onancock Town Warf and Marina to Chesapeake Boat Basin, Kilmarnock, VA (30NM, 2.4 Hours)

Historic Christ Church,
Weems, VA

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Interior of Christ Church

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Christ Church 3-Tiered
Pulpit

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Linda & the Brick at the
Historic Christ Church

Up for an early start today…with lines released at 06:24am for our 20 minute ride out Onancock Creek to the Chesapeake Bay, anticipating a two hour ride across to the western shore.  The creek was smooth and very little breeze could be felt.   However, we knew from the marine weather forecast from the internet and VHF marine radio that the wind would be 5-10 knots from the north and waves would be 2-4 feet on the bay — no sweat.  We naturally couldn’t see the western shore, but a nearly full moon was plainly visible and was in the perfect spot to lead us in the direction we wanted to go.  Even though we had our route on the chart plotter navigation, the moon made a wonderful navigational marker in the sky.  Again we throttled up to keep our bow high.  Yet, the voyage was smoother than expected and in just over two hours we had traversed Fleets Bay and were in Indian Creek idling up to the Chesapeake Boat Basin.  Linda called and spoke to George who was gracious enough to accept us with only 20 minutes notice.  We docked and registered and took some time to relax.  At 11:00am we checked out the courtesy van.  We headed

Brian & the Brick at
Grace Church, Kilmarnock

for the recommended burger place, but were pulled to the Smoking Joe’s BBQ that had a plethora of gluten free options for lunch.  It has been a long time since Linda has been able to eat BBQ.  Afterwards, we visited Grace Episcopal Church in Kilmarnock and the Historic Christ Church in Weems for some pictures.  The museum at the Historic Christ Church was open, and we took a brief tour of the museum and the 1735 church that is in pristine colonial condition.  The church is under the care of the Foundation for Historic Christ Church that is made up of members from Grace Episcopal Church, Kilmarnock.  Unfortunately, we had to cut our visit short because our two hours with the car was up and we needed to get back.  The value of having a courtesy car is precious to us, and other boaters.   Tomorrow we will head to Urbanna and Irvington sometime in the morning.  No rush.

Day 101: Onancock, VA

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

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Linda & the Brick inside Holy
Trinity Episcopal Church

We awoke to light rain this morning and stayed awake during the light rain all morning.  Once the rain left around 2:00pm, we went for a walk to see the town.  We visited Holy Trinity Episcopal

Sunset on the Onancock Creek

Church for some pictures then strolled to The Blarney Stone Pub for a light lunch.  Afterward we headed back to the boat and did a light load of laundry.  Brian also made some calls to arrange our slip and a dinner at The Tides Inn for our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary this Friday.

Day 100: Onancock, VA

It hadn’t started raining when we first got up this morning. So we took the opportunity to get a ride into town to get some groceries. It was a very slow morning for the marina.  Charles, the dockmaster, was more than happy to take us the two miles to the store since no boats were expected to arrive or depart due to the bad weather on the Chesapeake Bay.  When we returned, in a downpour of course, Brain stepped over and invited the crews of Lorie Lynn and Sea Pearl, the only other transient boats at the marina, for docktails at 5:30pm.  The rest of the day, we sheltered on the boat listening to the rain, reading and watching Netflex.  The crew of Sea Pearl couldn’t make it to docktails unfortunately.  But, the crew of Lorie Lynn, Lorie and Dr. Ivor Van Heerden, and their guest crew members Rick Knight and Miriam Little made it.  Ivor is originally from South Africa, has a doctorate in marine sciences, and was deputy director of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Hurricane Center.  Lorie is from the United States, and Rick and Miriam are from Scotland.  Both Ivor and Lorie are avid sailors having crossed the Atlantic and Caribbean several times by sail.  They met Rick and Miriam on a voyage to Scotland.  Both Rick and Miriam flew to the United States for a sail cruise on the Chesapeake Bay.  We had a great time talking of recent trips, the weather, the pending Scottish vote for independence (18 Sept 2014), and the sailboat Ivor modified for ‘blue water’ sailing.  Shortly after our guests left, we were relaxing when we heard a thump on the forward hull.  Dashing out in the rain at night, we looked for items in the water.  We didn’t see anything.  We check the lines and cleats thinking that a line might be too taught and pulled a cleat out.  Everything was normal.  However, we did notice the water level of the creek was nearly over the marina’s bulkhead.  Some docks were completely covered with water.  Looks like tomorrow will be another day like today.

Day 99: Somers Cove Marina to Onancock Town Wharf and Marina, Onancock, VA (23.6NM, 3.0 Hours)

Onancock Wharf & Marina

The rain continued this morning until around 8:00am.  Yet, the wind continued to blow from the northeast at 10-15MPH with higher gusts (small craft warnings were in effect for waves 3-5 feet and higher).  Currents on the Chesapeake Bay were flowing south. So, we said to ourselves, “What, me worry?” and decided to make a run for Onancock (pronounced Nancock).  We topped off with fuel then headed out not far behind another trawler heading north.  Once we passed the no wake zone buoy we

Exterior of Mallards: Formerly
Hopkins & Bros. 

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Inside Mallards: Old mercantile
counter

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Inside Mallard's: Steamboat
ticket window

trotted up to 18,000 RPM (10 - 14 knots depending on whether we are climbing a wave or sliding down the other side).  All-in-all it was a great ride for us.  But the trawler that preceded us out radioed back to Somer’s Cove Marina that they were returning.  We had the advantage actually of being able to run close to marshes and the shallow waters of Great Fox Island, Little Fox Island, and Watts Island to try to reduce the size of the waves we’d experience as we headed south.  We also had the current with us.  Once we got into the protection of the Onancock Creek everything went quiet.  It was like night and day.  The water was smooth.  The wind was light.  We idled up the creek and enjoyed the views.  After docking and checking in at the Onancock Wharf and Marina, we had lunch at Mallards At The Wharf restaurant next door.  It

Sunset on Onancock Creek

was so pleasant, we elected to eat outside and were joined by many others shortly after.   Hopkins & Bros. was founded in 1842 as a waterfront store, warehouse, shipping business, steamboat ticket office, and occasionally a bank.  Some Marylanders were sympathetic to the Confederacy at the start of the Civil War and the owner Steven Hopkins had to take an oath of allegiance to the United States to continue operations.  Although the location of the 1842 building has moved and the outbuildings have been removed, the business operated until 1965.  The remaining buildings and all of the business records were donated to the Virginia Historical Society (VHS), Eastern Shore.   The building has been leased from the VHS and has operated as Mallards since 2010.  We gave Splash Down a well deserved washing when we got back from lunch.  Then we walked the town and had dinner at the Charlotte Hotel and Restaurant.  They had great gluten-free food options.  Returning to the boat, we looked at the weather and decided to stay put for a day or two and not beat ourselves up trying to get to the western shore.   There is much more exploring to do in Onancock.

Day 98: Smith Island Marina to Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD (10NM, 1.3 Hours)

Again the winds were strong from the south-east.  The channel to the east of Smith Island is approximately four nautical miles long.  Brian went slowly noting PVC poles have been added to mark shoaling in the channel.  Once exiting the channel and the protection of Smith Island from the 2-4 foot waves coming up the Chesapeake Bay, we throttled up and made a run for Crisfield.  Not much has changed in Crisfield’s harbor since we were here a few years ago with the Hampton Yacht Club.  It was much too hot and humid to stroll the town; we opted to stay cool on the boat.  Later as the sun set, we walked over to dine at the restaurant we enjoyed the last time we were here - the Crisfield Crabhouse Grill and Tiki Bar.  We viewed a beautiful sunset as we enjoyed our meal on the outdoor porch.  Late night, the storms hit with thunder, lightening and lots of rain.

Day 97: Slaughter Creek Marina to Smith Island Marina, Ewell, MD (44NM, 5.3 Hours)

Sunrise over Little Choptank River

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Sunset over Smith Island

Today’s marine forecast was for south-east winds at 5-10 mpg, with higher gusts, and waves from 2-4 feet. We got up early for a twilight departure.  Brian followed the same course out as when we arrived going very slowly.  The first half of the voyage was fine with light winds.  But, as the sun rose higher, the wind and waves picked up as well.  We throttled up

Smith Island Cake

from 8 knots to 15 knots to minimize the rolling and yawing.  Once we were in the protection of Smith Island we dropped back to idle and followed the channel into Ewell and Smith Island Marina.  Once tied up, we went to lunch at Ruke’s Grill.  It was the only restaurant open since tourist season is over and the watermen business is down.  Brian tried the Maryland State Cake for dessert - the Smith Island Cake. After lunch Linda took some photos around the heart of the town.  Brian checked the engines.  There was not much else to do but watch the Deadrise boats with oysters pass by to unload their catch further up the channel.  Tomorrow we have a short run to Crisfield, MD.

Day 96: Cambridge Municipal Marina to Slaughter Creek Marina, Taylor’s Island, MD (24NM, 3.3 Hours)

Linda using Ped-O-Pilot

It was another beautiful day to be on the water.  The Chesapeake Bay was calm enough Linda could use the ped-o-pilot.  She drove most of the voyage this way (that would be with her feet).  Brian turned off the ped-o-pilot when we approached the channel for Slaughter Creek.  The Slaughter Creek Marina dock master had given us instructions on how to navigate the channel yesterday.

“Stay close to Green Daymarks 3 and 5.  At Green 5, turn 90 degrees to Green 7.  Pass Green 7 three feet on the wrong side and head for the center between Red 8 and Green 9.  After marks 8 & 9, proceed to the marina”.  

After all that we hailed the marina on radio and called their phone number, but there was no answer.  We took the first T-head.  The dock master arrived as we were setting our lines.  He had been mowing the grass.  While checking in at the marina office some

Interior of Palm Beach Willie's

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Exterior of Palm Beach Willie's

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The barge as it appeared in ABC/
Warner Bros. TV show Surfside 6

watermen came in after unloading their boat of crab-pots and loading them on a truck.  I remarked that there was a very noticeable lack of crab-pot buoys in the bay.  One of them said that there is a parasite that is affecting the blue crab all over the Chesapeake Bay.  After checking in, we did chores.  We went to Palm Beach Willies Tiki-Bar for dinner after chores for their special — prime rib.  Palm Beach Willie’s is a barge nestled between land and a pier for outdoor dining.  The two story barge was once a set for an ABC television show called “Surfside 6” that aired from 1960-1962.  It was about young ‘hot body’ detectives in Miami Florida.  The United States Coast Guard purchased the barge from the production company after the show was canceled and moved it from Miami to its current location to be a training facility. A few years ago the Coast Guard sold the barge to the current owners.  The building was remodeled into a restaurant and named for the owner’s dog.  This place is popular with the locals.  The prime rib was excellent.

Day 95: Knapps Narrows Marina to Cambridge Municipal Marina, Cambridge, MD (16NM, 3.1 Hours)

Skipjack Rebecca T. Ruark

Before leaving Knapps Narrows and Tilghman Island, we borrowed the marina’s courtesy car to go see the oldest working Skipjack on the Chesapeake Bay - the Rebecca T Ruark.  The Ruark was built in 1868. The Ruark splits it time oystering and sailing charters.  Unfortunately, we could not find anyone around to talk to about the boat. So, we left and drove to the very southern end of the island called Black Walnut Point; turning round in a parking lot of the Black Walnut Inn.  Enroute we passed marshland with tall grasses that harbored large black flies that were attracted to the car.  Linda wanted to stop and take

St. John's Chapel - 1891
United Methodist
Tilghman Island, MD

pictures of a small chapel on the side of the road, but we had to settle for taking photos through the window that wasn’t covered by a flys.  We prepared for departure after returning the car.  We did a brief stop at the marina’s fuel dock.  From there Brian hailed the Knapps Narrows bridge on the radio and requested passage.  It was a smooth short ride to the Cambridge Municipal Marina.  The dock master at Cambridge asked if we were staying for the upcoming Marine Trawler

Christ Church (Episcopal)
Cambridge, MD

Owners Association (MTOA) rendezvous September 9 - 11.  We told him we were aware of the rendezvous, but had plans to visit other places along the Eastern Shore instead.  We walked into town, took some photos, then had linner  (lunch/dinner)  at Snappers Waterfront Cafe.  Our waiter, Gary, was wonderful.  He worked with the chef to get Linda gluten-free crab cakes.  We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon & evening on Splash Down’s lanai.

Day 94: St Michaels Harbor Marina to Knapps Narrows Marina & Inn, Tilghman Island, MD (18NM, 2.3 Hours)

Knapps Narrows looking East.
Tilghman Island on right.

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Knapps Narrows looking West.

It was a nice slow morning.  There was no rush since it was only a two and a half hour ride to Knapps Narrows - a navigable channel separating the mainland eastern shore and Tilghman Island.  Plus the wind and current were in our favor.  Brian took the complementary ride back over to the Acme Market for some additional provisions while Linda cleaned the cabins.  The waters were just as we hoped and made for a very enjoyable ride.  After checking in at the Knapps Narrows Marina & Inn, we made a beeline across the Knapps Narrows Bascule Bridge to Characters Bridge Restaurant for lunch.  It was very hot and humid — we were discouraged from doing any touristy stuff this afternoon.  So, we walked back to the boat and relaxed for the rest of the evening - Linda with her latest book and Brian and his electronic media.  We’ll do the touristy thing tomorrow morning since we have a short run to our next destination at Cambridge, MD.

Day 93: St Michael’s Harbor Inn & Resort, St Michael’s, MD

The Brick & Brian at
Christ Church, St. Michael's

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Interior of Christ Church

We took advantage of the complementary breakfast this morning. The room came with complementary air conditioning, too, which it was fortunate since it was a hot and humid morning.  But, it all came to an end when we ventured out to play tourist in the historic area of St. Michaels.  We took a complementary air conditioned ride to Christ Church; a beautiful Episcopal Church in the downtown area.  After a walk around the church grounds, we checked out The Christmas Store and the Acme grocery

View of Splash Down at the
St. Michael's Inn & Marina from the
Crab & Steak House Restaurant

market.  Then called for the air conditioned ride back to the Inn to make our spa appointment.  Ahhhhh.  Most excellent and relaxing massage.  Just what we needed.  Plus, the wine and beer we had afterward helped, too.  Later that evening we took the complementary air conditioned ride to the Crab and Steak House Restaurant for dinner.  It was cool enough to walk back through the neighborhood of circa 1850 homes.