Run to Chestertown back on the eastern shore -- July 5

ZJ&A returned to the boat a bit before eleven and we left soon after. We got fuel and a pump-out at one of the big marinas in the big harbor and then headed across the bay and up the Chester River to Chestertown. This 37-mile run took us three hours.

Chestertown is a decent size town (population 5,500) with a charming old downtown and quite a few 18th century houses. We stopped here on our Intracoastal trip two years ago and thought it would be worth revisiting. The handsome brick building below is the Custom House, built in 1746 for a guy who was a local leader of the Sons of Liberty and also one of the most active slave traders in the Chesapeake region. 



We saw some interesting boats as we pulled out of Annapolis. The First Mate looked up this big yacht (the M3) online and found that it is available for charter at $145k per week, including crew, and can accommodate five couples. 


The Captain liked the old-style sailboats that were taking people for day trips. 


We had another sloppy run across the Bay, mainly due to lots of boat wakes and yet again running against the outgoing tide. But once we got into the Chester River it was calm. We got to go under the Bay Bridge again (the first time was yesterday coming down to Annapolis.  Officially known as the Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge), it is actually two bridges -- the first opened in 1952 and the second in 1973. It is named for the governor who pushed for its construction back in the late 1940s.



We pulled into the town marina at 2:30, which gave us time to get ZJ&A checked into their hotel downtown -- the White Swan Tavern -- and make ourselves comfortable in their TV room to watch to France vs Belgium Euro Cup match at three (which, unfortunately, Belgium lost). The White Swan Tavern was a beautifully decorated and furnished house from the 1730s that also had excellent air conditioning, which was most welcome given the mid-90s temperatures and high humidity. We had dinner at a fancy place across the street and then the Captain and First Mate headed back to the boat for bed. 

Here are a few other photos of Chestertown taken the next morning but included here to give a better feel for the place. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Now to Plan B

Image
More interesting developments today has us now working Plan B. First off, the seas in SW Florida are definitely not favorable for running south to The Keys for the next couple of days. Secondly, another sea trial this morning (with a very rough ride) had the engine getting up to 3500 rpm again and left the mechanic and I scratching our heads. He thinks we might have a problem with some gunk and debris in our fuel tank (which could explain how the problem comes and goes) and suggested that we do a tank cleaning. I agreed to this as it makes sense (they saw signs of algae when they changed the fuel filters last week), is probably good practice after over 800 engine hours and many dozens of different fuel sources, and won't cost us any time getting to The Bahamas given the marine forecast. And finally, Janet remembered that we have a gift coupon for a two-night stay at the Coconut Point Hyatt, which we "won" at a charity auction last winter. This will help us pass the time w
Read more

Bummer!

Today was supposed to be our departure day but we encountered more engine difficulties and had to head back to port after traveling just 8 miles. Bummer! So now we are back in Naples waiting for a mechanic to come next week. We don't have an appointment scheduled, but the guy said he will fit us in as soon as he can. We have switched to an independent mechanic who was highly recommended by two separate marine businesses here in Naples because we've lost trust in the company that has been doing the work so far. (Our engine difficulties makes a long story that most folks probably don't want to hear, and the story isn't over yet, so we'll save that for a separate post when the engine problem is finally resolved.) We won't be posting again until the engine is fixed and we have developed a new cruising plan. Hopefully it won't take too long and we'll still be able to get over to The Bahamas. 
Read more

Our 2024 Cruising Plans

We are almost ready to go for our third summer of cruising in Craunological II. In 2022 we did the Intracoastal Waterway from Naples to Maine. Last year we did the Great Lakes. In both those years we were gone all summer. This year the plan is a bit different -- just cruising for the first half of the summer and then doing various land trips in the second half. The plan this year is to leave Monday, May 13 for The Bahamas, spend a couple weeks there, then head back to the US, run up the Intracoastal to Chesapeake Bay, and finish up with a couple weeks cruising in the Chesapeake. Our only time constraints are that we have to be in Norfolk by June 15 because we have a flight that day to Boston. After spending some time visiting with our kids and their families in Lexington MA and Manhattan NYC we'll fly back to Norfolk on June 24 and then take two weeks cruising the Chesapeake. We will then have Capt. Dan -- our regular boat trailering guy -- pick up the boat somewhere on the western
Read more