Hitting the "8's" (Day 011)

Swan Creek Anchorage, Rock Haul, MD to Anchorage in Galesville, MD off the West River

Distance = 28.7 miles
Time = 4:35
Average Speed = 6.3 mph

A Different perspective of the The Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Weather: Mostly sunny! (Yeah!!) True wind strength north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was 15 knots, gusting to 20. 3’ chop on the bay. South of the Bay Bridge, the wind moderated to 10 knots and there was a slight chop on the bay.

Comment: After firing up and raising the anchor (Anna Marie loves the new windlass), we motored out of Swan Creek into the Bay. The port engine is (and has been for about 10 hours) running rough and it won’t idle at all. We’ll have to do some work on it soon.

Thomas Point Light

Today was a very good sailing day! With the motors off and the rags up, SUNSHINE loped along at between 8 and 9 mph for three hours, reaching 9.5 mph on several occasions. We sailed under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, saluted Annapolis off to our starboard side, and took a few photos of Thomas Point Light.

M/V Reflection

As we reached Thomas Point, one of our favorite lighthouses, M/V Reflection hailed us on the radio. It was great to hear them on the radio again! Both Reflection and SV Tally Ho will be joining us at anchor on the West River, in Galesville, MD. We have been looking forward to seeing, partying and traveling with them again. Joining us for will be the former owners of our SUNSHINE, Chester and Jeannie. They motor over on their boat, Sea Paws II, from their dock near here to raft with us for a few hours. We are rally looking forward to seeing them and hearing about their sailing adventures.

S/V Tally Ho

We set the anchor at 1316, cleaned ship a bit, and welcomed M/V Reflection to raft with us for a few hours. We shared stories of our summers. They have sold or rented their houses and most of their possessions that are not on Reflection. You may recall that they are now full time cruisers! We wish them well.

SUNSHINE offered to host the first potluck dinner/cocktail party of our trip south. We had a great meal and great conversation. Shortly after dinner, SP II arrived to raft with us for a few hours. Chester graciously gave Ray and Andrew a tour. They couldn’t get over the size of it!

After Pat, Ray, Vanessa and Andrew bid good evening, we were able to catch up with Chester and Jeannie. They are ticking off their list of projects aboard SP II. One recently accomplished task was to replace the flooring. They did a great job. It looks terrific!

After all the company left, Anna Marie and I attended to a few chores, watched two or three episodes of Cheers, and hit the sack!

That's today's SUNSHINE Story!