Day 206 - May 16, 2013: St. Michaels, MD, and the anchorage in Broad Creek 

Last night was still, warm, and "one sheet" sleeping. I opened up the boat early to a welcomed warm day. We departed Solomons in still wind and total glassy waters and went out past the south end of the Calvert Cliffs. These high cliffs are eroding rapidly, exposing the layers of silt and marine artifacts that reflect millions of years of the Bay's rising and falling water levels. While the cliffs are protected for scientific study, you can walk the beaches and frequently find a shark's tooth or fossil of astounding age. We passed the ever-present crabbing boats, the Cove Point Lighthouse, and an immense offshore Navy refueling station.

The Calvert Cliffs

A super-sized crabbing boat

Offshore Navy refueling station

After crossing the Bay, we entered the Choptank River, the setting of much of Michener's book on the Chesapeake. Here, we were finally able to measure our imagination against the real river which we'll see more of tomorrow. Our destination was St. Michaels, a popular destination for boaters. It required turning north on Broad Creek, and we anchored at the very north end in a narrow, secluded, tree-lined channel. With the dinghy lowered and the bikes inside, we headed for a dinghy dock not far ahead. It turned out to be quite shallow, and after a struggle motoring through weeds, I was able to get us to a low wall just as it started to rain. Fortunately we had umbrellas and spent time waiting for the dark cloud to pass before venturing out.

St. Michaels is a small town (~1,000) that was developed in the 1770s by James Braddock, and its earliest industry was shipbuilding. During the War of 1812, its shipyards were building schooners known as Baltimore Clippers, which were fast enough to evade the British blockades. Shipbuilding declined after the war, but a very substantial oyster industry took its place.

This town has an immense Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which covers 18 acres along the waterfront. It has numerous uniquely different buildings filled with displays and historical artifacts about boats, oystering, waterfowling and more. They tell the story of both the bay, the watermen, and St. Michaels. The museum has also preserved another of the screw pile lighthouses that resided at Hooper Strait. Anne and I both got a chance to try our luck at working as a waterman. I used a long handled rake on an oyster bed, and Anne pulled up a crab trap. Neither of us had any luck.

Skipjack outside museum

The art of building boats by hand

Larry raking for oysters

Anne pulling up a crab trap

We spent the entire afternoon at this great museum before a fine meal of oysters (of course), tuna, and scallops at 208 Talbot. We returned to Great Laker just in time to catch this sunset over the river.

Sunset at the Broad Creek anchorage