August 18-25, 2014 Magothy River to the Potomac River (Big Vibrations!)

 

The Severn River: We rose late and had a leisurely breakfast, showers, and even watched a little TV news. Backed out of the Magothy Marina slip after 3 weeks - still remembered how - and stopped for another pump out before heading down the Magothy River and into the Bay. It was overcast and that kept the sun out of our eyes as we were traveling east. We went under the center span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - 168 feet clear - just to say we did it and continued south and west toward the Severn River.

Annapolis is at the mouth of the Severn and this is the first time, even with living here in the 80's, that we approached town from the water - pretty cool feeling as Annapolis is one of our favorite cities. There is even some language in the will about having Ger's ashes scattered here. As we passed the Naval Academy, we saw all the training boats lined up - about 15 of them in two rows, and the always impressive education buildings.

We then passed under two more fixed bridges and headed 3 miles up river to Little Round Bay and settled R Island behind an island and out of the wind in about 15 feet of water. Consistently beautiful homes on both banks of the river. Probably "Wealthiest River" of the trip.  Ate lunch and did some small "do list" activities, read our books and just relaxed. There were passing boats to watch and kids enjoying the last week of vacation. Funny thing - after our 25 mile trip. we are only about 3 miles from where we started - as the crow flies.

Small snap-shot of the Magothy Marina and Hotel.

Our view off the stern for 3 weeks.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge  and her twin spans.

Some guy actually working on the bridge!

Naval Academy

PT boats - or a close cousin.

The West River:     Lots of black mud on the anchor when Judie pulled it up. She used lots of water to wash it, and the deck off, and make everything clean. Passed Annapolis one last time and into the Bay. We saw a  large ship, looked like a grain hauler, drop her anchor. We assume they are waiting for their berth to open up in Baltimore harbor - she was riding high and empty.

We went around Thomas Point Light - most popular light on the Bay for it's beauty and durability. There were actually visitors there that day, but our photographer had trouble with the boat rocking and could not get their craft in the picture.

We went on to the West River and the town of Galesville. Docked at Hartge Yacht Harbor. Hartge is the oldest family held marina in the US, started in 1865. It is a working boatyard that happens to have 270 boat slips attached to it. The marina is up a side creek and we were in a very well-protected slip. There is a lot of work going on here, but also an effort to preserve the past and foster the family pride. The second night is free, so we stayed two nights. The second day Judie cleaned all of the exterior stainless steel while Ger put air in the dingy, cleaned the boat transom, and mounted a new drink holder in the bridge.

 Thomas Point Light

 

 This big Cat had dual steering stations - one at each pontoon.

The guest House

The original house is now the museum

The office

                             
The Patuxent River: Judie woke up early, so we all got up early. We finished our morning routine, including a nice breakfast, and were away from the slip by 6:40. It was a great cruise down the Bay. Periods of sun and clouds and a very light breeze - none at times. This is only the second day of the trip that we traveled on water like glass.

Stopped at Solomons, at the mouth of the Patuxent and refueled at Calvert Marina. 95 gallons and the worst mileage of the trip. Judie says it's from going fast to keep up with Inch-N-Along, and using the extra power. She's probably right - looks like the skipper will have to back her down a little bit. Moved over to Zahnisers Yacht Harbor (a re-visit) and got a very nice end-tie with a great view. Took the shuttle into town and the Food Lion. the went to CD Café for one of the top 5 dinners of the trip.

Our view of the house of the founder of Solomons.

The Potomac River: Our goal for today is to travel 39 miles to the Point Lookout Marina on Smith Creek near the mouth of the Potomac River. We want to spend the weekend getting ready for our trip up the River to Washington DC. It was a nice day as we surfed down the river with a light following breeze. In fact. part of the time the water was flat - only the second time on the trip.

About 10:00 Ger noticed a vibration in the lower stern of the boat. with Judie's great hearing, we were able to determine that if we kept the engine RPMs low we could eliminate the vibration and still make 6 knots of speed instead of our usual 7-7.5. We called the marina and they agreed to do a "short Haul" (leaving it in the slings) so we could see what was happening and hopefully fix it. Well, no crab line tangled on the shaft or around the propeller. We did find a wobble in the rudder and the top bushing needs to be replaced. We went back into the water and decided to move on to Deltaville the next day where there are more facilities and related marine businesses. Point Lookout Marina is pretty isolated, pretty but isolated.

After 4 days we are still here waiting for the rain and now wind to let up. Our trip to Washington DC will have to wait  - maybe next year. We will still visit our son and his family in Annandale VA before heading back to AZ.

This marina took it tough in Hurricane Sandy. They lost their main dock and most of their customers. They are coming back slowly. They have a restaurant on site and there is another one close by, but we have eaten almost all meals on the boat while watching it rain and the wind blow. Hopefully we are out of here tomorrow.



Rain and high tides have really brought the water level up!