Summer Wind

Kunta Kinte Festival in Annapolis

Saturday September 25th -29th- Early Saturday morning we untied the lines and began our journey out of the creek when off in the distance we heard a 'Bon Voyage'. Brian and Joy were out on the dock. Thanks so much Brian and Joy!! The north winds had settled down to 10-15 knots but when we pulled out into the bay you could call the seas "soupy and bubbling'. The roughest part of the journey is where the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay meet just north of the Bay bridge.
Early afternoon we were entering the Annapolis mooring field where we picked up a mooring. It was surprising to find a lot of empty moorings. When we shut off the engine, we heard some great 50's music from MO'town and realized some kind of celebration was happening, What luck! Down went the dinghy and off to shore for some exploring and to join in on the fun. We went to the visitors center to inquire what was the celebration and learned that it was the Kunta Kinte festival. Apparently Annapolis is the place where Kunta Kinte's ship first landed. There were amazing displays of jewlry, art, and rich smells of food being served. We enjoyed listening to many styles of music that afternoon.
The streets of Annapolis were jammed with people and all the stores were buzzing with tempting signs of sales. Many young cadets from the naval academy were on weekend leave, you can always spot them in their brilliant white uniforms.
Returning to the Summer Wind by dinghy was an exercise in skating all the big powerboats trying to enter Ego Alley. Both walls were full of boats but those that wanted to be seen tried very hard to cram themselves in the now over packed waterway.
We spent a few extra days in Annapolis, the weather turned rough and we spent a few days bouncing in thunderstorms.The mooring field is not the greatest spot to wait out weather but we were secure. The temperatures dropped from 90*to a refreshing 70.

Scooting Around Back Creek

Provisioning by Dinghy

Sunset in Annapolis

Dick did a routine check on his engine and discovered that his newly repaired muffler was still leaking. Oh, Oh, back to Worton Creek!!

Joining the Cruise to Nowhere

Hopkins Creek Anchorage

Saturday Sept. 18 - Our original plan after the rendezvous had been to go to Worton Creek to have the boat hauled and the bottom painted. Plans changed because the marina doesn't do haul outs over the weekends. The CBC (Chesapeake Bay Cruiser's, a regional group of the MTOA) were beginning their "Cruise to Nowhere" , so we decided to tag along for a while. Their first stop for the night was Hopkins Creek up the Middle River. The Middle River entrance is not for the faint of heart. Depths of the water are 10' usually but make sure you stay in the channel and oh yes, watch out for the zillions of crab pots, not to mention the many power boats, no auto pilot in this spot! Maryland is famous for having the best fresh crab cakes and it takes a lot of crabs to make just one!!
Early afternoon we dropped the hook and watched several other MTOA members follow suit.This was the first time for us to anchor in this spot and we found it to be a delightful spot. Around 4:30 we dinghied over to Lowe Key and Polarity for a refreshing cocktail party. Most of us then dinghied in for a great dinner at the Riverwatch restaurant. We think our table was the rowdiest because there was constant laughter. What a great night!!

The Quiet Group

The Rowdy Bunch!!!

The "Baltimore Bash"

White Rocks??

Sunday Sept. 12, 2010 - An early morning shower delayed our departure from the Chesapeake basin. Once the rain stopped we untied from the dock and headed for our next destination Rock Creek anchorage just a few miles south of Baltimore. The trip to the anchorage was uneventful. It was a muggy, dull and very damp day. This was our first time into the anchorage and we were a little leary when we read 'be aware of white rocks'. Well we discovered that the area is well marked and the rocks were above water, so they were easy to spot.

The bottom of the anchorage was heavy black mud and once we were able set the anchor she was set in good, but what work it made to clean off the anchor, YUCK!This anchorage was a great jump off stop to get into the Baltimore Harbor for the Northern Rendezvous of the MTOA (Marine Trawler Owner's Association).

Anchorage Marina, Baltimore, MD

Monday Sept. 13-17 2010 - Woke up fairly early and excited that we were heading for Anchorage Marina in the Baltimore harbor. The MTOA was having a National Northern Rendezvous and its their 20th Anniversary Celebration. We always have a great time with this very active cruising group. There were over 80 boats participating and over 200 people in attendance. Believe it or not there were 6 Nova/Heritage East boats and seven couples, we had our own little mini rendezvous.

Nova/HE Owners' Group

Each morning most MTOAers congregated for a wonderful breakfast and then spent the rest of the day in seminars. One of the highlights of the week was the Dinner Cruise aboard the Spirit of Baltimore. The cruise took us through the Inner Harbor of Baltimore and there was an outdoor concert being held at Pier Six Pavillion by Crosby, Stills & Nash. Unfortunately we couldn't convince the captain that hey this would a great place to drop the anchor for a while! Oh well, we ate, drank and danced the night away, what fantastic fun! As usual the captain was very curious about the bridge and it was open for anyone that wanted to come have a look.

Friday was supposed to be our day of departure but the winds were blowing on the bay. The sun was shining and the temperatures were warm despite the wind so we decided to take a side trip to Fort McHenry. It's a star shaped fort that survived the British invasion. Scott Key wrote the tribute to the Star Spangled Banner that is now the American anthem. There is a 'Star Spangled' buoy that marks the spot where the British prison ship was stationed just above the Scott Key bridge.

Fort McHenry