Ben came down from Boston for a visit and
we were able to do an overnight cruise to St. Michaels. Nudge found her way
across the Bay with ease – outside of a few fishing boats, we saw only four
pleasure boats. We practically had the whole Bay to ourselves. We berthed at
the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. There were only three other boats on our
dock and we were in an easy access slip against a 20’ wide grass bulkhead –
perfect for the dogs. The Museum Marina was quiet in the extreme. The heaviest traffic
was one local fisherman tending his trotlines.
Ben honed his navigation skills, helmsmanship and line handling. Valentine was her usual laid back self and Chelsea Seadog provided the comic relief. As we were berthing and line handling, Chelsea seized upon the opportunity to explore beyond the open, unattended pilothouse door, navigated an 8” wide side deck between the pilothouse and the edge of the hull and hopped onto the foredeck. We were able to re-secure her before any acrobatics off the boat occurred. While we fueled at the St. Michaels Marina the following morning, Cathy and Valentine took a relief walk, leaving Chelsea aboard. While Fred was fueling, Chelsea decided to repeatedly test the horn, running lights and anchor light. Fortunately, the dock master thought it was hilarious.
The transit back to homeport was calm under grey skies. Occasional drizzles made us appreciate being in a powerboat under cover rather than in an open sailboat cockpit. We passed two sailboats and again had the feeling that the Bay was all ours.
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| Ben and Valentine |
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| Fred and Ben underway |
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| Fred concentrating at the helm (autopilot!) |
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| Fred napping in the cabin with Chelsea as eyeshade |
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| Fred and Chelsea at rest in the cockpit |
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| Nudge berthed at the Museum |
