weather

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A Walk in the Park

Coast Guard buoy tender moving buoys in the Bay near Annapolis

Coast Guard buoy tender moving buoys in the Bay near Annapolis

But first, a brisk sail 22nm down to South River where we’d stop at Liberty Marina to drop off our screecher and jib for their get well treatment. Warrior Yachting would take those white hankies and in a few days, return them all re-stitched, head webbing replaced and capped on screecher, etc- adding up to a few not unreasonable shekels.

A coastal low, the remnants of TS Karen from the Gulf of Mexico would push its way to shore, stall a bit and make sure we paid dearly for the beautiful warm weather it would replace. Ok, so now I AM glad to have those cold weather, no grill required meals on board.

The Captain outdid himself by finding Harness Creek. A tall tree-lined bank provided complete protection from the NE winds. A dock provided access to Quiet Waters, a 346-acre park with six miles of paved trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, an art gallery, gardens, an ice rink and at the creek, Paddle or Pedal who owns the dock and operates a small-boat and bike rental. Yahoo! Finally we could touch land after nine days.

Entrance to Harness Creek- park overlooks and gazebo

Entrance to Harness Creek- park overlooks and gazebo

The walk through the park was lovely and we came upon joggers, walkers, moms with strollers as we made our way to the entrance and then a couple more blocks to the Main Ingredient where we’d feast on a fabulous breakfast.

Our delicious gourmet breakfast- I was stuffed all day

Our delicious gourmet breakfast- I was stuffed all day

I ordered tea presented in a wooden box for my choosing; the pot was stylish and the loose tea sat in a strainer under the lid.  Divine. With an eye on the approaching rain we pulled our stuffed-selves away from the table and walked to the Giant grocery (picture Stop&Shop) for as much as we could comfortably carry. Local boaters offered a ride but we were headed in the opposite direction. The walk was easily close to two miles; my right knee complained the next day. Sigh.

The rain approached at a turtle crawl which allowed for another brilliant sunset.

Sunset looking at the shore of the creek opposite the park

Sunset looking at the shore of the creek opposite the park

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Tide erases plans written in sand

Looking across the Sassafras from our anchorage

Looking across the Sassafras from our anchorage

 

Need I say more?  As we peered into the weather or not crystal ball, Monday’s event was to give way to a one day break before a coastal low would sneak in Tuesday evening and hang around long enough to mess up our sail repair plans for St Michaels. Annapolis remained in play and Russ found a great place to anchor near a park with dinghy access.

Once the fog cleared enough on Sunday we bid farewell to the Sassafras and hung a left (that’s south for you precise nautical minded folk) down the Bay, our Baybeard in full display above the waterline. Alas, no sailing as the NE winds couldn’t muster more than 8kts but we had a favorable current (have you noticed our good luck in this regard?)

Our destination today was Bodkin Creek on the opposite (western shore) where we’d have protection from SE to N winds, great cell service (so I can catch up on these posts), no fetch whatsoever and pleasant surroundings. Only one other cruising boat was nearby. For the past two days we’ve been underway with one of the front panels rolled up; an extremely rare occurrence outside of the Bahamas. Thanks to this heat wave and barely breezy we enjoyed the fresh air and an improved view.

We greatly enjoyed happy hour on the bow as the heat wave continued

We greatly enjoyed happy hour on the bow as the heat wave continued

The trip of 32 nm (roughly 37 land miles) took five hours and if we didn’t have to dodge crab pots we might have dozed off J.  The creek is lined with attractive homes most with small docks or lifts for their boats, and plenty of trees to keep that natural look. Monday’s event was, for us, mostly hype and little action- thankfully. Plenty of rain and the temp dropped from 73 to 64 in five minutes. Tornado warnings in the vicinity made my stomach churn but we had only a few gusts to 25; they felt like gentle nudges.