"A Peaceful Anchorage" Bruffs Island Travelogue by grandmaR

Rounded Bloody Point Bar at 12:15. This lighthouse is a reddish brown and leans a little bit. I've got a book with the Chesapeake lighthouses all pictured, and in one edition, they mixed up Sharps Island (which is red and leans a bit more than this one) and Bloody Point.

Eastern shore end of the bridge

The South wind is 5 to 6 knots and the sea is glassy and rolling.

I found a section in a book that had the heights of the various sections of the Bay Bridge

Going under the bridge

and we tried 3 sections away from the west channel where we thought it would be about 88 feet..

Bay Bridge with sandblastin operation

I panicked at the last minute, but we made it through fine.

The cell phone keeps wanting me to give it a credit card number. I can't make any calls on it at all and have to use the car phone.

Sailboat approaching the Bay Bridge

We saw Ernie on his way to St. Michaels, and then as we motored into Shaw Bay off the Wye River. We were there by 2:30 after 31.5 miles at 5 knots.

Another CSY in Shaw Bay

There were about 25 boats in Shaw Bay by evening time. About half were power and half sail.

There was another CSY there - the owners came over in the dink for a visit.

Bob asked me to see what shape the prop was in, so I put on a dive skin and free dived. It was covered with barnacles. Bob gave me a scraper, and did several dives to scrape it off.

Got a jellyfish tentacle on my neck, and a gouge and some scratches from the barnacles on my hands. Bob scrubbed the waterline from the dink.

Another CSY in Shaw Bay

Sunday August 27th

The wind picked up last night, and we had to power up to the anchor because of the wind. Anchor finally up at 9:30 am. Ran the refrigeration, and put up the sails (main and staysail only) coming out of the Wye River. When we turned off the engine after running the refrigeration and feathered the prop, our speed went from 4.3 to 4.8 knots, so the feathered prop gives us at least an extra half knot under sail. Sailed in 11 to 16 knots of wind.

Saw Ernie ahead of us coming out of St. Michaels. We didn't hail him on the radio because we know he doesn't turn it on.

Motor boat passing fake lighthouse

As we rounded into Eastern Bay, the wind picked up to 20-23 knots from the south, and we were heeled 15 deg. Bob didn't seat the drawer in the aft head completely, and it fell out (I don't use this drawer so it wasn't me!!) - But I did leave the door with the toilet paper on it not latched well, and some of it unrolled with the motion of the boat.)

After we rounded the corner into the Chesapeake the wind was directly on the nose, so we furled the sails. Motoring into the wind is quite slow, and since thunderstorms are predicted (and seem inevitable) I am a little worried. We are only making 2 to 3 knots forward progress.

Next - Anchoring in Cook Cove in the Choptank