DAY 34 -- ANNAPOLIS TO OXFORD, MD
DAY 34 -- ANNAPOLIS TO OXFORD, MD
We met our friends Sue and Dave at the entrance to the Naval Academy at nine so we could see the inside of the chapel (which was closed when we took the tour yesterday due to a wedding rehearsal), and we went on to see the crypt for John Paul Jones below the chapel and the ship model museum across the street. The chapel was built in the early 1900s and has many lovely stained-glass windows. I like this one behind the altar because it is so nautical (as well as religious) and because of the inscription above, which are the first words from a great old Victorian hymn often used by both the US and the Royal Navies.
We got underway at 1040 bound for Oxford, MD. It was a lovely sunny day with a light breeze out of the south. Two hours later we pulled into a quiet bay in the lee of Tilghman Island (Dun Bay just inside Harris Creek) for a light lunch sitting in the cockpit and an hour after lunch we pulled into the fuel dock at the marina in Oxford. We were intrigued to see that one of our neighbors also had a 31' flybridge Ranger Tug. After introducing ourselves we went back and forth between our two boats for quite a while looking at how they had outfitted the interior for better storage and what had or hadn't changed between their 2018 model and ours. We ended up with some good ideas on how we can improve our cabin interior and storage.
After cleaning up (another set of showers that met the First Mate's exacting standards) we met our friends for dinner at the Robert Morris Inn, where they spent the night. This place dates back to 1710 and claims to be the oldest inn and tavern in the country. Be that as it may, it was a charming old place, and our meal was excellent. While the inn makes great use of portraits of Robert Morris, Jr. -- one of the founding fathers -- it is clear from his Wikipedia page that it was his father who set up the inn and that Robert Jr. had little to do with it.
We ran 37 miles today. Tomorrow we will head run 55 miles to Chestertown up the Chester River, with a lunch stop at Kent Narrows. Then Monday to Havre de Grace at the mouth of the Susquehanna and Tuesday to Sea Isle NJ to return Sue and Dave to their home. That will leave us two days to get the boat to Brooklyn, which should be very doable. The marine forecast is looking good for running down Delaware Bay on Tuesday and running out in the Atlantic along the NJ shore. We have been very lucky on our weather so far, and it looks like our luck will hold these critical few days next week.
Love that you met more Ranger Tug friends and learned some storage tips! Thanks for the photo of the Captain as well 💗
ReplyDeleteThe Susquehanna is quite the river and one of the oldest in the world, even older than the mountain ridges through which it runs. (Just in case you didn’t have time to check it on Wikipedia, I looked it up.) I followed it on the map up to Cooperstown and Otsego Lake in New York and the west branch to about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh.
DeleteI’ve greatly enjoyed following your journey and reading about your adventures.
Hi to Sue and Dave.
Ted -- You should read the section of the Wikipedia page on the Chesapeake Bay that talks about its geology. The Bay is essentially a drowned Susquehanna River -- drowned about 10,000 years ago when the glaciers melted and sea level rose. That explains the very odd bathymetry that one sees in the charts -- and keeps the Captain attentive.
DeleteHope the weather holds. As you round Cape May, to your starboard will be . . . Portugal ! As we recall, even on windless days in the open sea, distant weather can produce big rollers; not at all scary but the motion has one reaching for the Dramamine. We envy your next few days, entering New York Harbor should be spectacular.
ReplyDelete