DAY 29 -- GLOUCESTER POINT, VA TO CRISFIELD, MD

                            DAY 29 -- GLOUCESTER POINT, VA TO CRISFIELD, MD

            We started the day with Uber rides to and from a nearby Food Lion and Virginia state liquor store to stock up on some supplies. We were underway just after eleven with the goal of Smith Island, which is a 68-mile run. The Bay was a bit sloppy but bearable at speed -- wind out of the NE at 5-10 with 1-2 footers, but no whitecaps, more like residual from the weekend blow. But the wave action diminished as we passed Wolf Trap Light -- probably because the Bay widens out there -- and continued to do so as the day progressed, and the wind lessened and shifted to the NW. (There's all this talk about wind and waves because essentially the entire run was out on big open water, which was nice.)

            Starting out we saw over a dozen big commercial ships anchored out in the Bay off Hampton Roads. (If you click on this photo, you can expand it and see them.) We couldn't tell what kind they were, but I'd guess container ships.  

            Wolf Trap Light was built in 1894 and decommissioned in 2017 (replaced by a lighted buoy farther out in the channel). There is a good article about it in Wikipedia, including how it got its name. 

            Smith Island is famous for its isolated fishing community (just over 200 year-round residents) and its multi-layer cake. (It's the state cake of Maryland!) The island is about five miles off the eastern shore and is comprised primarily of salt marshes with patches of higher ground. I called the "marina" in advance and the guy said we could tie up for free since it is being rebuilt and has no power or water or other amenities. We found the "marina" right in the middle of town, but there was no one around. We also discovered that Smith Island's salt marshes has big nasty biting flies just like the ones in GA and SC -- and that we had left the pilot door open as we pulled into town and docked (temps were in the mid-70s yesterday with the cabin opened up) so the cabin was full of them. Janet went after them with the hand vac while I walked into town and looked around. She was very successful. 

            I happened upon a couple local teenagers while Janet was battling the flies, and they informed me that the two restaurants in town were closed until noon tomorrow -- and ditto the little town museum. Between that sorry news and the flies, we decided to change plans and leave Smith Island for the town of Crisfield, which was just a 12-mile run to the east. Janet jumped at that option when I offered it (and I'm glad that she did). We left Smith Island an hour after we arrived and were tied up at the state marina in Crisfield less than an hour later. This turned out to be somewhat an "out of the frying pan into the fire" situation, as there wasn't much happening in Crisfield either, but at least they had a few restaurants, and the marina was decent. We ended up having an all-crab dinner that was excellent (even though the place didn't have a liquor license). It was at the end of the main drag, and while we ate, we could watch the locals drive to the end of the street and then turn around. That seemed to be the thing to do on a Monday night in Crisfield. The marina was very quiet as well. 

            As an afterthought, here is a picture of the southern end of Smith Island. The two markers (there is one in the distance close to shore) indicate the MD/VA state line. The chart shows eight of them extending west of Smith Island about four miles out into the Bay, and another dozen or so following the border as it zigzags east of Smith Island. My guess is that the two states take such care marking the border because their fishing regulations differ.