Early Summer Cruise Report

By Karen Hagarman

Sunday June 20,2021

We met the group at Knapp’s Narrows Marina, after the weekend kick off at Annapolis. As the boats arrived, we all turned to have the bow face west so we would be headed the correct direction to leave the next morning.

Harry the dockhand was extremely helpful as we arrived. John Jennings made arrangements for us to tour the Knapp’s Narrows bridge tender’s office. So, a group of us went to the bridge and talked with Skip the bridge tender. Here is some of the information he provided while we were there.

1. They have about 14,000 lifts a year.
2. The bridge was built in 1997.
3. For the month of June, they had had 740 lifts so far on the day we were there, June 20^th.
4. When they activate the lights, that is when the bells start ringing.
5. The bridge tenders are required to write down the boats names that go through the bridge.
6. They also count the cars that go across the bridge.
7. They have 3 motors and an auxiliary back up.
8. They are not paid much per hour, and they do not have benefits except for 3 sick days.
9. They are typically busy around 3:00am when the work boats go out and then there is a slower time around 10:00am until the work boats return around 11:30am.

Coming from the bay, you need to call the bridge tender when you are at marker 5. After you pass through, the bridge tender will generally ask if anyone else needs the bridge while it is up, if he gets no response, he will say Knapp’s Narrows bridge is going down.

They typically have about 5 bridge tenders and it is operated 24 hours a day.

After our tour, many of us headed to the pool to cool down and then some went to dinner while others ate onboard.

We had a very peaceful night at dock.  When we got up the next morning, we had an early breakfast that the marina provided then it was time to head to Solomons.

Monday, June 21, 2021

We left dock about 9:00am with the wind (up to 18 knots) on the nose for our long trip to Solomons. We were able to sail part of the day.  John Jennings provided a little history as we transited down the bay.

When we arrive at Safe Harbor Zahnisers, we headed to the pool to cool off, however it was closing in ½ hour, so we set up some tables outside the pool area to have a social hour and talk about our trip down the bay.

Tuesday June 22, 2021

Everyone had a brief lesson in the morning on diesel mechanics thank to Tidechaser.  Then we all found something to do in Solomons, like shopping, visiting the Tiki bar, walking the town, or visiting the museum. They were calling for an afternoon storm, so we all headed back to the safety of our boats and then had plans to meet for dinner at 6:00.  We had dinner at Kingfishers, where we had good service and a nice dinner.  We then walked back to the marina and started planning for our next day’s adventure.

Wednesday June 23, 2021

Everyone prepared to leave dock after getting ice, pump out and fuel and we headed up the bay to the Little Choptank to anchor in Hudson Creek.  As we approached, Halcyon was lucky enough to spot dolphins close to the entrance of the Little Choptank. The weather was a little cool but sunny and pleasant.

As we approached Hudson Creek the wind was blowing from the north so we found a spot where we could get most of the boats in close proximity and we all dropped our anchors.  We were then preparing for our dinghy drift for our social hour.

Those that had a dinghy picked up the others that did not, and we headed north of our anchorage and then tied the dinghies together and shared our appetizers.

It was a fun experience as we floated down toward our boats.  We stopped by John’s boat and dropped off some appetizers and hung out a while and talked.  It was the perfect day for this as it was not too hot.

We all then headed to our boats and experienced the sun setting and the moon rising at the same time. We all shared pictures of each other’s boats while the sun was setting and the moon rising, what a lovely evening it was! We had a very peaceful night at anchor.

Thursday, June 24, 2021

We all headed out of Hudson Creek about 9:00 to our next destination, Rhode River on the western shore. Most boats were able to sail a good part of the day to our anchorage.  We all managed to find a nice spot in Rhode River and Summer Breeze hosted social hour, which consisted of sharing appetizer and our good ideas that we had to share regarding boating.

1. Suggestion regarding water filters to use the water out of the tank for drinking.
2. Put coffee ground in a sock and put it in the head to keep odors down.
3. Book suggestions – An Embarrassment of Mangos A tale of 2 Idiots.
4. Using a battery-operated winch handle.
5. Use jugs for blocks of ice in the cooler when they melt you have drinking water.
6. Specialty bedding for boats at Beddys.com and RVsuperbag.com (fitted sleeping bags that stay on the mattress well).
7. Using an induction cooktop at dock to save on propane usage.
8. Freeze water in a small (4 oz) container which can easily fit in your freezer (if you have one) around other food so you have a good size ice cube for your beverages.
9. Lock and Lock containers are great for dry or wet food storage.
10. Custom fit the bottom of your top sheet of your bedding, no more feet sticking out.

Friday, June 25^th,2021

We had some early risers heading north to their marina, some heading to Rock Hall to a slip to extend their trip, others being towed back to the marina and others heading south to their marina.

We all had a great time on the water in NC3 fashion as always with everyone helping others and making sure everyone is ok and has what they need to have a safe and fun trip.

It amazes us how great this group is and remains to be!