CHESAPEAKE - week 2

Beyond Annapolis, the topography and character of the Chesapeake changes. The bay broadens and it becomes increasingly difficult to see from one side to the other. Now it’s more like Lake Ontario with vast stretches of open water and areas of dense population along the western shoreline. With Washington and Baltimore an easy drive away, many people choose to live along this coast or play in vast marina complexes housing pools, gourmet restaurants and hundreds of boats.

On Sept. 17th, my 61st birthday, we decided to “do it up right” and celebrate at “Herrington Bay South”—the epitome of swank marina resort. Leaving the romantic coves of St. Michaels behind us, we headed off across the bay and 4 hours later arrived on the western shore. The glossy brochure had promised a “south seas motif” complete with palm trees set into a lush garden landscape. And it was just that—beautiful beyond belief. But what the brochure had neglected to say was that pool and restaurants were closed on Mondays, yacht club members were at work in the city and, aside from three Hispanics polishing chrome on million dollar boats, we’d be the only people there. What a bummer!! The dockmaster tried to console us: “there IS a deli open across the road” We saw signs advertising ice cream delights, fresh baked goods (maybe a cake?) and specialty sandwiches. With hopes up a little, we crossed the street. But once inside we found the counters empty. “Sorry—the season’s over. But there’s packaged cookies and if you want ice cream there’s drumsticks and popcicles in the freezer”. Bummer!! And it was too late to leave! We couldn’t make it to another destination before dark. So we made the best of it—finishing off a bottle of wine, leftover sausages and pasta sitting in a garden of eden.

We set off the next morning with rough seas battering the nose of the boat. It took us forever to negotiate the narrow channel back out into the safety of deep water. Wind and waves punched the prow slamming the boat up and down relentlessly and, despite having the engine revved up at max, the strong current threatened constantly to pull us back and to destruction onto the shoals. Foot by foot the boat struggled onwards until finally, after almost an hour of fighting the seas, we were able to change course and have conditions work with us rather than against us. It was a choppy ride down to the Solomons—our next destination—but with the wind and waves at our back we knew we were safe and with the mainsail up, relatively comfortable. Six hours later we rounded the tip of Drum Point and entered into the quiet sheltered bay of the Solomons. Gliding through a maze of tranquil inlets lined with boats, we chose a pretty cove and, as Vince set the anchor, I cracked open a 2nd bottle of wine. Ahh—what a relief!! I understand now why there’s so much talk of “bottles of rum” associated with sailing and if I’m not careful I could easily go that route.

If St. Michaels was romantic and Herrington hedonistic, then the Solomons have to be the most perfect place we’ve seen yet for retirees. Situated halfway down the Chesapeake, when weather conditions are right, it’s an easy sail north to the delights of the Annapolis/St. Michaels area or south to pretty Virginian rivers and historic towns. When weather conditions are not right it’s an extremely comfortable place to hunker down in until they are. There are free anchorages or well-appointed marinas. The choice is yours and will depend upon either the financial or emotional state you find yourself in when you arrive. It’s possible to eat here at a different restaurant every day of the week with a never-ending variety of seafood specials at reasonable prices. The “essential” West Marine store is right in the heart of things and you can walk everywhere you’d need to go. For those sick of sleeping in Spartan conditions aboard their vessel, a gorgeous Holiday Inn offers docking facilities, restaurant, gym, swimming pool, hot showers, TV, and king-sized beds in climate controlled rooms. A bus stops on the hour and, with a $1.00 daily pass will take you to the library, seniors centre and 3 different shopping malls. Need to get out of town? Enterprise Car Rental will bring the vehicle right to you and for $16.99/day you can drive to the museums in Washington or Williamsburg and Jamestown—all less than an hour away. Fed up with restaurant food? Visit the Gourmet Supermarket, a few minutes walk away from your boat and have your mind blown away by everything they have on offer. A large section of this shop is even set up like a buffet restaurant with an amazing selection of salads and seafood entrees. You can either “take-it-away” or dine in their cozy café corner. The desserts are to die for and it’s a treat simply to walk down the aisles looking at bottles of sauces, packaged items and regional foods that have never graced the shelves at Loblaws or A&P. One could spend an entire month here sampling new foods, or trying new recipes and never get bored.

Yesterday we spent over three hours in the fascinating Marine Museum across from our boat. What makes this such a special place are the “live exhibits” and inter-active programs. We saw tanks full of sting rays, crabs, shellfish, turtles etc. and listened with interest as knowledgeable curators explained their roles in the ecological history of the bay. Then it was on to the archaeological section where we saw the remains of prehistoric creatures found in the region. The cliffs above the Solomons are one of the richest sources of Miocene fossils in North America and at the museum we took part in an activity with dental tool and brush in hand, gently scraping debris away from fossilized shells in an inter-active archaeological program. The gift shop was full of marvelous treasures, but, with limited space aboard, we find that our spending now has shifted to buying“experiences”rather than “things”. That afternoon we met another interesting couple from Florida. They spent the evening with us aboard Fortnight bringing with them two tubs of frozen Ben & Jerry’s yogurt! They invited us to join them in their rented car for a trip to Annapolis tomorrow but we declined—too much we still want to do here.

Despite our affection for this place, nothing is perfect. And for us, the mid-week, out-of-season Solomons are a little too quiet. Apparently during the summer and on warm weekends the harbour hops. I can believe it, but it is a little unsettling to be anchored among hundreds of empty yachts.