June 26-July 11, 2009

We departed Mill Creek on the morning of June 26th and less than an hour later were in a slip at Point Patience Marina (Navy Recreation Center, Solomons, Maryland). We enjoyed renewing our acquaintance with old friends who have their sailboat in the marina (and happened to be in the slip next to us) and then started getting things together for our family reunion. We rented a car so we could do some shopping, and checked out the locations we would be using for the reunion.

Andrew and family (Rebecca, Alyssa and Avery) arrived in their rental car on Saturday morning, and he and I drove separate cars to Baltimore where he needed to drop off his rental car before noon. After dropping of his car, we had lunch with Jennifer (who lives in Baltimore) and then drove back to Solomons. They stayed on Sanderling with us that night.

Sunday was the reunion attended by Jennifer, Andrew and family, and in-laws, nieces and nephews who live in the area or came in for the reunion from South Carolina and Minnesota. Although it was cloudy and a little windy, we had a great time at a gazebo overlooking the Patuxent River, talking, laughing and taking lots of pictures. Later in the afternoon we checked into the bungalow where Jennifer, Andrew and his family would be staying for the rest of the week. We had a great time that week with everyone from Alyssa and Avery to the adults finding plenty of activities to keep as occupied as desired.

For the rest of the week, Avery and Alyssa elected to spend a lot of their time at Sanderling and on the docks hunting for Chesapeake Blue Crabs with a crab net along the piers. We also enjoyed the beach and swimming pool, miniature golf, and reading for relaxation. Friday was checkout day and everyone moved aboard Sanderling for the night. Rebecca and Alyssa departed on Saturday (July 4th) for Salt Lake City by plane, Jennifer drove back to Baltimore early in the evening, and then the rest of us walked over to Solomons to watch the 4th of July fireworks – a very nice display.

Andrew and Avery departed on Monday – I drove them to Union Station in Washington, DC, for their Amtrak adventure, and then went to Annapolis on my way back to Solomons to check out a used inflatable that we thought we might be interested in as a replacement for our dinghy that had started to come apart. For the next few days Judy and I searched for other used inflatables for sale, and Judy looked at hospitals in the Annapolis and Baltimore areas as potential employers. On Thursday we decided on an inflatable dinghy located on the Magothy River (north of Annapolis) and picked it up. Friday morning Judy got a call from a hospital in Annapolis asking her to come up for an interview. With the probability that she would have a job there, we decided it was time to move to Baltimore where she would be closer to the hospital for her commute, so we prepared to depart Solomons early Saturday morning heading to Baltimore.

The trip from Solomons to Baltimore was the longest distance we have covered in a day, so far – 67.2 nautical miles – and it took almost 10 hours underway. The marina where we would be staying at Fells Point closed at 5:00PM, so we departed Solomons at 0600 knowing that the tidal current would be against us most of the way – and it was! We ran the engine at 200 rpms faster than we normally do to keep our speed up with the opposing tidal current. About mid-day the wind started picking up from the south, and Chesapeake Bay became a little rough. We heard several calls to the Coast Guard regarding overturned small boats, and southbound boats were really having a tough time of it beating into the 2-3 foot seas. Sanderling’s weight, and the fact that the wind-generated waves were overtaking us, allowed us to have a fairly decent trip.

We’re now at Henderson’s Wharf Marina at Fell’s Point in Baltimore – a really happening place. The dockmaster gave us a very favorable rate since we’ll be staying here for at least a month, and Judy has landed a job in the ICU at Anne Arrundel Medical Center just outside of Annapolis. Judy has also completed replacing the failed solenoid on our new windlass with two heavy-duty solenoids – she is the only one aboard who could squeeze into the chain/rope locker and work on on the electrical cables.

Friends are coming aboard on Friday (July 17) and we’ll have a three day cruise across the Bay to the Chester River and to Chestertown, a beautiful little town on the eastern shore and the home of Washington College. Then we’ll be back in the marina until our next mini-cruise. We plan to base our cruises for the next month or so out of this marina when Judy isn’t working at the hospital.

Day: 67.2nm – 9H50M
Trip: 1011.3nm (1162sm) – 166H25M