A day of thumping along got us to the Cockrell Creek anchorage, a place we never visited while on Kintala. So far as anchorages go it was a tiny place. One might have gotten two boats in if they were friendly. Fortunately we were the only transient boat around. Across the Creek was a fleet of fishing boats while just a few hundred feet from where our anchor hit the bottom were two small marinas. The fishing fleet came with its own processing plant so, depending on which way the breeze was wafting, it was either a nice place or a nice place that smelled like you had your nose in a bag a cat food.
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| The Morris-Fisher smoke stack in Reedville, VA |
The Solomons lie just shy of 50 miles north and on the other side of where the Potomac River flows into the Bay. We debated the weather as that stretch of water can really knock the snot out of a boat, which has been our usual experience no matter north or south bound. So we bet that the forecast of light winds and tiny waves was a good one and, for the most part, it was a good bet. The majority of the trip was done in near perfect trawler conditions—small swells spread well apart. Later in the day the winds picked up a little out of the south. The waves that did build were all moving in the same direction as First Light so the ride remained easy. We did get a bit of a roll going when we turned into the Patuxent River, but it wasn't too bad and eased off the farther upriver we went. We found our way to Back Creek and dropped the hook in another rather small anchorage. Here though, we are surrounded by marinas and boats. I don't know how many marinas line both sides of the creek, but there are hundreds of boats in here. That wasn't a surprise as we have been here before, though not in this particular spot. This spot is as far up the creek as one can drop a hook. We are, according to Google Earth 4.65 miles as the crow flies from where the two main runways at the NAS / Trapnell Field cross. “Pax River” (as my Navy pilot friends call it) is home to the U.S. Navel Test Pilot School and the Atlantic Test Range. Maybe, if the Navy has any of the UFO's some (seriously crazy?) people claim the Government is hiding, we'll get to see one fly by. Just kidding. One thing for sure, if the Navy has some UFOs stashed here, the test pilots are wringing the snot out of those things and are having a blast doing so.
It looks like we will be here for a couple of days waiting for trawler weather for the trip to St. Michaels. That will be another long day, 50 + miles and 8 + hours. Not a trip to thump one's way through. Both Deb and I have been a little surprised at how quickly the ride in a trawler like First Light gets noticeably uncomfortable. It doesn't take much wave action to make the upper helm station a place to avoid. Below is better, but I'm sure I remember days in Kintala where the waves were bigger than what we have seen with First Light, but the ride much better. We have both made the statement that this is a “river boat” cruiser. Now I understand why No Name Harbor would fill up with trawlers waiting for days to make the jump over to the Bahamas. Some of the weather we have been in while crossing the Gulf Stream would have been really, really, (really) uncomfortable in this boat. There is at least one “outside” jump and a couple of “Great Lakes” between First Light and St. Louis, all part of next season's travel. Those are going to be some interesting trips. For this season we are just a few more stops from being where the boat will be hauled for the winter. Not part of the plan when we started out form St. Louis back in April. But that's the way it worked out.
So we go on, learning more about the boat and a new way to approach the long distance boater lifestyle each mile and every day. Not a bad way to spend part of a life.
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| The view from the anchorage at Cockrell Creek |
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