I awoke as usual with first light, but being on a raft of boats, a walk was not practicable, so I tiptoed around to capture a few images.
Following the Directed Net - "Seas The Day, no traffic" - we gathered in Skylark's cockpit for some coffee cake which Laura prepared for all the rafts. (It turns out Laura was from Lady L, the small power boat with the green bimini we almost hit yesterday.)
As we were eating the coffee cake, we discussed an issue Vicky and I were noticing with our batteries. When we anchored before, we could easily keep most of the boat running without any concern for power for at least an overnight. Last night we noticed that depending on what equipment was running, the voltage meter for the 2nd house bank was jumping around anywhere from 10.8 to 12 volts. I was worried that we might have trouble starting up (and more worried that the new batteries may have been fried from the "dead boat" syndrome we experienced over the winter and the year before).
After we departed the raft, I decided that I would hightail it down the Severn River... I wanted to get my engine speed up high enough to charge the batteries, so I set it for the 2500 RPM cruising speed and we quickly headed down the Severn at 6 or 7 kts.
I'll let the photos tell the story. I passed a lot of member boats, some of which I know the names of, and some I can't name.
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| I think this is Willow with Mark & Chris. |
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| Domino with Peter & Gail. |
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| A view down the Severn River |
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| Eau de Vie passing one of the nice homes along the Severn River. |
The last landmark we passed as we reached the mouth of the Severn River was the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.
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| I think this is Weatherly with Dennis and Carol. |
A few miles down the Chesapeake Bay, we approached the Thomas Point Light just as John and Colleen were passing it in Scrimshaw. We radioed them and coordinated a photo shoot with me on my iPhone and Vicky manning my Fuji. Can you tell which one of the three below was the iPhone photo?
That was a trick question because all the photos above are from the iPhone. Vicky's Fuji photos are below.
After the excitement of Thomas Point Light, we continued down the bay for another 11 nm or so before heading into Herring Bay and Herrington Harbor South.
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| This might be Star Reacher |
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| The approach into Herrington Harbor South |
We arrived at Herrington Harbor South to find out that we were being placed on the T-head (the end of the pier) for A-Dock which meant that we could capture boat portraits for those arriving after us.
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| Scrimshaw with John and Colleen. |
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| Terry and Richard on Eau de Vie. |
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| Willow with Mark & Chris. |
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| Pleasure's Mine with Bev and Bart. |
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| Brio with Bruce and Leslie (and a third person). |
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| Mystic Star with Bill and Donna (heading out to the Beach Dock). |
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| Windward Passage with Randy and Susan (and guests). |
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| Star Reacher with Scott, Kathy and Amy. |
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| Skylark with Bill & Joan and John & Betty |
We missed a couple of boats while we were checking in and taking care of things below.
After everyone arrived Vicky joined Terry and a small group interested in the pool and I took a nap below.
Later, Scott (our Engine Maintenance class instructor) and Bill stopped by to check on our battery issue. We discussed the options and tried to load the battery while we were all there. It seemed to be taking the load OK and after a bit of thought, I'm (hopefully) thinking it may be that the extended sail and low RPM trip up the Severn River may have meant that we used more battery than we first thought. I'll keep a closer eye on it when we are at anchor tomorrow night.
This brought us to 5:00 PM and the "Meet for Drinks Only" gathering at the big tent. My understanding is the title had something to do with how the marina allowed transient boaters to use their spaces. So we all brought our drinks and a few brought "personal snacks" (that somehow found their way onto the same table), and we had a wonderfully informal "non-event".
Following this we took Terry and Richard to the Ketch 22 restaurant at the marina. Terry and Vicky met at an international women's group in Wilmington over the winter and realized both had boats in Rock Hall. They encouraged us to join the ABCW and have really taken us under wing to ensure we had a positive first cruise, so Vicky wanted to thank them.
We finished dinner just as the sun was setting in a nearby garden, so the four of us headed over there for an informal photoshoot.
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| A row of ABCW boats line up on B-dock |
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| All the ABCW flags catching the last rays of the evening. |
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| Vicky's photo of me coaching Terry on how to edit iPhone photos |
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| Vicky's photo |
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| A few from the group prepared their dinners in the big tent. |
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| Vicky's photo |
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| Vicky's photo |
Afterward, I spent some time writing this blog and then went outside to see the view.
Tomorrow we head across the Chesapeake to the Eastern Shore and an anchorage on the Wye river. We were hopeful for another drone shot (like when we visited this spot in September), but I fear the wind will be too strong. Distance is 24 nautical miles.
Summary of Costs
Herrington Harbor South - $148
Chesapeake Market & Deli (ice cream) - $8
Ketch 22 - $168
Tips for dockhand - $20
Total for this post - $344
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