D.C. TO ANNAPOLIS

When we left Washington D.C., we again had to travel a little more than 100 miles on the Potomac River, only this time we did it in reverse.  Our goal was to stay on the Maryland side of the river if and when we made stops.  As it turns out, before leaving this great river, we made 2 stops and had some very nice times.

Parts of the Potomac River were like a mirror.

Our first stop on our trek back down the Potomac was at a place called Cobb Island.  Never heard of it?  Neither had we.  I was perusing the charts when I saw this place that looked like it would provide good protection for the night in just about any conditions.  Then I looked it up in the cruising guides.  Also, since we have had good internet connectivity all the way down the river, I was able to check the place on Activecaptain.com.  It sure looked good.  More importantly, however, it looked like an opportunity to have a local culinary experience.  One of the cruising guides mentioned this place where you can eat really fresh Maryland Blue Crabs.  Had to do it!  So we pulled into this anchorage and dropped the hook. 

This was a beautiful anchorage.  It was like being in the middle of a pool surrounded by beautiful Chesapeake Bay homes.  What's more, we were, for the first time, anchored in yet another state; the beautiful state of Maryland.

There we are anchored in the bay at Cobb Island.

So there we were, anchored at Cobb Island, and we hopped into the dinghy and motored over to Shymansky's Marina, Bait Shop, Fuel Dock, Tool Shed, Restaurant, Bar, Ships Store, Marine Supply, Convenience Store, Etc., (small town.....you get the idea), and asked permission to tie up for a little while so we could explore the town.  He pretty much said we had already seen it and hoped we hadn't blinked, but if we wanted to........sure.  He asked us where we were from.  Somehow, he knew pretty much right off the bat we were not locals, so we told him, Santa Barbara, California.  He and two other guys sitting at the counter railed off a flurry of expletives and then said, "Really?"  We said, "Really."  They were all friendly folks.  So, off we went in search of Maryland Blues.

Since Shymansky's Crab House was closed Mondays, we headed across the street to another Crab House and found what we were looking for - a menu that had lots of crab stuff, and a steak for Brenda.  Now, I don't know about you, but I had never eaten a Maryland Blue Crab before.  Well, on the way down the river, I pondered just such an eventuality, and did a quick search on the droid and actually found three U-Tube videos that explained how to eat a Maryland Blue Crab.  So, I was all set.  Nevertheless, when the waitress came to the table, I did not hesitate to let her know I was interested in eating some and had never actually had any experience with them beyond a U-Tube video.  She was very nice.

First, she came back with beer and wine and a cover for the table a welder could have used in a metal shop, along with a wodden hammer and a knife.  Brenda's reaction was to ask if she was going to get a shield of some sort to protect her from the effect of hammer usage on crab on the covered table.  Well, the waitress just sort of looked at her and said nothing.  Then we discussed the menu.  I saw a guy with a red plastic tray stacked high with crabs and asked about it.  She said that guy was eating the crab extravaganza - sort of an all you could eat affair.  She directed me away from that, however, citing my inexperience, and suggested I try a simple half dozen steamed.  So, I said, "Sure, what the hell?" and ordered that.

Soon thereafter, arrived an orange plastic tray stacked with 6 of the most delectable, steaming hot Maryland Blue Crabs I have ever seen.  (Well, let's not forget that, this was the only orange plastic tray stacked with 6 of the most delectable, steaming hot Maryland Blue Crabs I have ever seen.)

So off we went.  I dug into the crabs like I had seen on the videos and it actually worked.  They were really good.  I highly recommend them.  Messy, but delicious.  We had a fun time there.  Then it was back to the boat.

Since we had seen the town, and eaten at one of the two crab houses, we decided we need not stay another day, and decided to make tracks in the morning for the bottom of the Potomac River, to an anchorage as close to the mouth as possible so we could wait out some weather before reaching the Chesapeake Bay and turning left.  So, we stopped for the night in a place called Smith's Creek.

Smith's Creek is a place you go to relax as there is absolutely nothing there, but trees and good water.  Again, once you wind your way in through the marks, you are surrounded by greenery.  It was quite beautiful and made an excellent refuge from the storm that pounded the crap out of us that night.  Interestingly, we saw it coming on the radar as we were heading down from Cobb Island.  For a while there, I was really wishing I could squeeze a few more knots out of the old girl, but the storm kept sweeping around us and not over us.  So, we got in without incident.  We did get it right in the teeth that night, though.

This was one hell of a storm.  It came from off the land, so it was not packed with that much moisture.  What it involved was a cold front coming from the north and meeting the warmer Atlantic airmasses over the lower Potomac tidal basin.  The storm was, however, full of lightning fury.  It was quite the electrical show.  Needless to say, as you can probably tell by now, we made it through just fine.  We have become accustomed to storms and know what to do.

The next day was not the day to be on the Chesapeake, so we just held tight where we were and had a relaxing day doing pretty much nothing in beautiful surroundings.  We did enjoy taco night over on Love Shack, however, and talked with Barry and Jodie about where were going next.  We both had already decided we were going to Solomon Island, so that was not tough.

I'm not sure really why folks crowd Solomon Island.  There is plenty of stuff for the cruiser there, but not a whole lot more than that.  It is a nice place with nice marinas, and some anchorage room in the harbor.  We anchored, per usual, and had a nice evening.  We dinghied over to a place called the Captain's Table and met Barry and Jodie for dinner.

As you will read below, it was kind of a rough day on the water so I was glad the Captain's Table had Captain Morgan.  The other thing they had was the opportunity for another local culinary experience - the deep fried soft shell crab.  Never had one of these before.  Hell, never even seen one.  Fortnuately, Barry had, and he explained that they are usually served between two slices of white bread.  Well, I decided to have the platter which included two and some sides.  The two crab arrived nicely deep fried.  Now, you have to understand that these are served intact with all parts attached and deep fried.  The object I guess is to catch them when they are nearing a molt so their shells are very soft and chewable.  Then, roll them in flower and deep fry.  They were delicious.  I could actually cut them with a fork.  Another food feat accomplished.  Highly recommended.

This day, on the way to Solomons, the trip was not boring as usual - which, by the way, I like.  No.  At first, I noticed that the voltage meter was giving me some strange readings.  I noticed that it had dropped from 12.7 (on the upward charging swing) to 11.5.  I'm thinking to myself this is not right.  So, I thought something electrical was happening and I went looking for the heavy draw.  I found nothing.  Then, I noticed the tachometer was completely going haywire, and concluded my alternator was suffering.  So, I carry a spare, and would simply change it out when we got there.  The engine sounded fine and I saw no abnormalities in temperature or oil pressure; no smoke or anything else that would have clued me in to an engine problem. 

Passing Point No Point.  What's the point?  I love the Chesapeake.

So, having concluded that the alternator was freaking out, I decided to just check to make sure it was still there and that the belt was on it.  If the belt comes off, we risk overheating because the same belt is on both the alternator and the water pump.  When I opened the hatch, however, the engine room was wet and there was a bunch of water under the engine.  Ok, stop the engine and shut down.  When I opened the other side of the engine hatches, I saw water pumping out from under the space where the water heater is. 

So, when you appear to have water where it is not supposed to be, the first thing you have to do is determine the source.  Now, for those nonboaters out there reading this dribble, two things are important when you are looking for the source of a leak:  1.  is the water fresh or salt?  2. is the water hot or cold?  Well, if you got hung up on the first question, good for you because there ain't no salt water this far up the Chesapeake Bay.  Thus, the issue could have become more complex, but even the fresh water of the bay has a smell to it.  So, we determined it was definitely not salt water.  Next, was it hot or cold?  On first glance, there was a lot of steam so I feared that it was hot.  I thought I had blown a hose that connects the engine's heat exchanger to the water heater.  Then it occurred to me that, had that been the case, I would have been sensing hot coolant spraying all over the engine room......and it was not coolant.  Ok.  Time to regroup. 

This time, I strapped on a head light and went into the engine room through the generator hatch and discovered the source of the leak.  I always hesitate to do this with a hot engine since it is a very dangerous proposition.  Not only is it very hot down there, but if there really were something wrong with the engine's cooling system, then there was the risk of a hose blowing or the cap on the heat exchanger letting loose and I could be sprayed with very hot liquid and possibly burned badly, so we always approach these things with extreme caution.  This, and the boat was not at a dock.  Of course, we were drifting and rolling slightly.  Well, within a minute I found the source of the leak. 

There is metal T fitting on the bottom of the accumulator tank for the fresh water system.  In one side of the T was a plastic fitting with a hose barb on it.  The barb broke.  As such, pressurized fresh cold water was gushing out of the bottom of the accumulator tank and spraying on the engine which, of course, included the alternator.  So, this was why we were getting such strange electrical readings.  Solution?  Turn off the water pump and allow the accumulator tank to drain.  No more water leak.  I suspect we lost 30-40 gallons of fresh water, but oh well.  If we run out, we can always get more.  Hey, this is America, right?

So, we cancelled the tow boat, and made our way to Solomons.  Within an hour, I had the problem repaired as I just so happened to have a fitting to replace the broken one with.  However, it too is plastic.  It will do for now, but when I get to a place with a real hardware store, I think I will replace it with metal.

So, we had a nice evening in Solomon Island and left the next morning for Annapolis, where we are now.  It was a bumpy ride for the first several hours, but it calmed down and we got settled into our anchorage spot right in front of the Naval Academy.  More on Annapolis later.

By for now.