Day 204 - May 14, 2013: Solomons Island, Maryland and Zahniser's Yachting Center

Nature can be incredibly still at night, and away from city noise with no wind and just a sliver of a moon, we both slept extremely well. Early in the morning, we reluctantly departed this area, started down the St. Mary's River, went out around Point Lookout, and turned north up the bay.

Large home and grounds along the St. Mary's River

Point Lookout Light

After cruising north and entering the Patuxent River, we passed the Patuxent River Naval Air Systems Command, which hosts the Naval Air Warfare Center, a test pilot school, and numerous other test range and simulated warfare capabilities. We watched as Navy jets screamed past overhead on training runs circling out over the bay. Our destination was Zahniser's Yachting Center in Solomons, Maryland.

After arriving, Anne headed for the laundromat, and I began trying to diagnose a problem with our stern thruster. This required examining the propeller underneath the swim platform in 60 degree water. Unfortunately, due to the record cold spring, this was only the second time on the trip I had a chance to get into a swim suit for the purposes of getting wet! Then, we rode bikes out around the island to get more familiar with what we would see tomorrow.

Zahniser's Yachting Center on the left

Larry checking the stern thruster prop in 60 degree water

Day 203 - May 13, 2013: St. Mary's City, MD

Again this morning, despite high winds and waves, we braved the Chesapeake and crossed back over to the west shore to visit St. Mary's City. It is on the St. Mary's River, a tributary of the Potomac River. We docked during the day at the St. Mary's College free dock before anchoring overnight in one of the most peaceful and scenic rivers we have seen along the Chesapeake.

St. Mary's River and college dock

Historic St. Mary's site along the river

This city, the forth oldest permanent British settlement in North America, was established in 1634 when Leonard Calvert arrived with 140 settlers in two ships named The Ark and The Dove. St. Mary's was established as the first capital of Maryland, and in the 17th century prospered due to successful tobacco farming. During this time, it became well known for its religious tolerance. The capital was moved to Annapolis in 1695, and the site where the city stood reverted to farmland.

Today, thanks to archaeologists, the town has been outlined, building locations identified, and replicas of these buildings constructed. The entire area is called Historic St Mary's City, and we toured the reconstructed city which has comprehensive explanatory signs and pictures along the route. There is also a full scale replica of The Dove, created by local artisans. This historic city is set among beautiful grassy fields and trees overlooking the river, making it a special place to visit.

Reconstructed State House built in 1676

Reconstructed lodging house

Full scale replica of The Dove

We also rode bikes through the St. Mary's College of Maryland. Established in 1840, the college shares its campus with the Historic City. Designated as a Public Honors College, there are 2,000 students and BA degrees in 22 disciplines. Students here take advantage of learning to sail on the St. Mary's River and have a nationally-ranked sailing team.

St. Mary's College Student Center

Day 202 - May 12, 2013: Tangier, MD

We moved up the Chesapeake Bay and crossed over to Tangier Island, which was one of the most unexpected and unusual places on this trip. The wind was up, and we were challenged with 2 to 4 foot waves most of the way. Coming in we were greeted by Milton Parks who runs the only marina on the island. He is 82, was in the Coast Guard, and then came back to be a waterman fishing for crabs and oysters until he retired. He was on his scooter in a black suit, just having returned from Sunday church services. The Parks Marina is basic, but Milton is full of stories that are unforgettable.

Entering Tangier among the crabbing boats

Milton Parks

Tangier Island is small (1 by 3 miles) and so isolated that inhabitants lived here for centuries with little or no contact with the surrounding world. Captain John Smith visited here in 1608 finding Indians who had been here for thousands of years. The island was first settled in 1686 by James Crockett and his sons.

People here have always lived off the sea, and there are generations of descendants with common names in the area (Pruitt, Parks and Crockett are dominant still today). Many of the people still retain an unusual accent which is kind of a cross between British and South African. They use it unless outsiders are around who find it hard to understand.

Basic services like electricity and phones came far behind those on the mainland, and today we had no cell service. The few streets are more like sidewalks, and almost everyone gets around either on foot or on a golf cart. There are about 500 people, two churches, a school, three restaurants, a museum, and a couple of gift stores. The homes are very small on very tiny lots, and the front yards frequently contain the burial sites and tombstones of the previous generations that lived there.

Main Street

A typical house and small lot

We went first to the Tangier History Museum, which although small, covered the historical events and lifestyles of the people here very well. Then we got on our bikes, even though you could walk every street on the island in a couple of hours, and enjoyed this place frozen in time.

Tangier History Museum ($3.00)

These relatives will not be forgotten!

There are tourist boats that come over daily, and the passengers scurry around the streets for an hour or two and then disappear back onto the boats. While talking to Milton Parks, he said that he could not understand why tourists were coming to Tangier and that some day he would get on one of those tours to find out! Despite the hilariousness of the remark, it reflects how much these inhabitants may be out of touch with the rest of America.

To our surprise, there was another American Tug named "Slo - Gin" here when we arrived, and we spent some time later in the day getting to know Joe and Ginny who live in St. Petersburg. They invited us over for a glass of wine, and we had a great time together.

Great Laker and Slo - Gin

Anne with Joe and Ginny

Day 201 - May 11, 2013: Our second day at Dozier's Regatta Point Yachting Center

Today was the perfect day to relax. We caught up on some reading this morning, and I spent some time removing rust from the bimini top rails, and Anne continued her research to determine our itinerary for the Chesapeake Bay.

After lunch, Waterway Guide organized a blindfolded dinghy race. The purpose is to navigate a course in the least time with one person driving with the blindfold on and the other person giving voice commands to navigate the course. The race was conducted in one of the marina fairways, and you had to go up about 50 yards, around a buoy, and back.

Ted Stehle in charge of the race

Loopers waiting to compete

This race is more difficult than you might imagine, as steering an outboard with the handle behind you is counterintuitive: pushing the handle left causes the dinghy to go right and visa versa. When commands don't lead to the proper result, frustration ensues and voices get louder and louder especially if the contestants are about to run into a dock. 

Looper working to get back on course

Celebrating getting back to the finish line

This evening the loopers had a potluck dinner at the marina with wine and mixers provided. Along with live music, there were awards for the dinghy races and more food than you can imagine. As always, the people were great, and we enjoyed the event.

Day 200 - May 10, 2013: Deltaville and the AGLCA gathering

Today was our 200th day cruising the Great Loop on board Great Laker! It seems like we just started a few weeks ago, and yet we are still just as eager to keep going as when we started. This adventure continues to exceed our expectations.

The day opened with more sunshine and almost no wind. I set up the boat in "full dress" with all the canvas, chairs, flags and lines properly placed in anticipation of a day of relaxation. While working, I  made a new friend who came by and hung around hoping I would share a snack with him.

Great Laker in full dress

My new friend

We borrowed the very tired and almost 20-year-old Buick Roadmaster loaner car and drove a curving, two lane, tree-shaded road 3 miles into Deltaville. Here we discovered the J&W Seafood store where Anne bought fresh crab cakes, catfish, shrimp, shrimp salad, and coleslaw. The crab cakes and coleslaw made a wonderful lunch.

Buick Roadmaster

J&W Seafood

The town is very small and peaceful, with less than one thousand full-time residents. But it swells to several thousand during the summer with people looking to boat, fish and enjoy the waters. Surprisingly, there are ten marinas within a few miles of each other here and another ten nearby on the tip of Stingray Point.

The marina has filled up with looper boats coming up from the AGLCA Spring Rendezvous, and I enjoyed sitting on top watching their docking maneuvers. This evening, Jack Dozier, who owns both the marina and Waterway Guides, sponsored a wine and cheese party for the loopers. We joined in and spent time meeting other boaters and learning more about the Chesapeake Bay.

Day 199 - May 9, 2013: Departing Portsmouth for Dozier's Regatta Point Yachting Center in Deltaville, VA

Leaving Portsmouth/Norfolk is a bit intimidating. There are Navy ships everywhere, some in for maintenance, some in mothballs, and some in recommissioning. We saw destroyers, tankers, surveillance ships, aircraft carriers, floating dry docks, and a hospital ship. If you get too close, beware, as a security boat will dart out and direct you to the other side of the channel.

Navy Hospital Ship

Surveillance and Communications

The USS Enterprise

This was the chart plotter display as we departed Norfolk and headed into the Chesapeake Bay. Each of the dark triangles represents a commercial or Navy ship. Great Laker is in the middle with the curved sides. The red line is our heading, the green line is the course over ground, and the blue line towards the stern is the direction of the tide. We really had to pay attention in these waters!

Chart plotter displaying Navy and Commercial Vessels

The Chesapeake Bay was calm and sunny, and we ran comfortably north passing the Wolf Trap Lighthouse. It was completed in 1894, replacing several smaller earlier structures that didn't survive. The small vertical shape on the right side is - yes, the outhouse. The weather was perfect for sitting on the bow and getting some sunshine.

Wolf Trap lighthouse

Privy is on the right

Anne enjoying the sunshine on the Chesapeake Bay

We continued on towards Dozier's Regatta Point near Deltaville. Many of the loopers are gathering here for the weekend. It turns out this marina is an AGLCA sponsor, and they are offering a wine and cheese party, special games and events, a potluck dinner, and a free third day on the docks if you pay for two. After docking, a margarita, and grilled salmon for dinner, we went out and enjoyed the quiet darkness of the marina and a most beautiful star-filled sky.

Day 198 - May 8, 2013: Back to Portsmouth, VA, from our Michigan Visit

We had a very successful trip back to Michigan over the last few days. The main purpose was to move Elizabeth into a house that she has rented with four other girls for her upcoming junior year at the Universtiy of Michigan. This required moving her out of an apartment, going back to Spring Lake for a few days of reassessing and shopping for an intern's wardrobe, and then going back to Ann Arbor and moving her into the house. We had rented a large minivan and driven it back in order to help with the moves, and it worked out well. The trip was 725 miles to Ann Arbor (a 12-hour day) and another 165 miles to Spring Lake (about 1830 miles overall)!

A side benefit was having a chance to check on our home, catch up on mail, and chat with neighbors and friends. Plus, I did much of the normal spring yard cleanup. This business of leaving our home for the better part of a year is challenging but is proving easier than we thought thanks largely to good neighbors.

We awoke here in Norfolk this morning, feeling fairly well rested. It was good to be back on Great Laker, and we are anxious to begin cruising again. The unpacking went smoothly, and after lunch we took the ferry over to Norfolk to see how the AGLCA Spring Rendezvous was going at the Sheraton Hotel. We ran into and visited with a number of other loopers we had met along the way.

We also visited the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial and Museum, which tells the story of his rise through the Army, his great success as a military leader during WW II and the Korean War, and his removal from command by President Truman. It is very well done, free of charge, and well worth seeing.

General Douglas MacArthur Memorial