Tangier Island to Annapolis, MD
We left Tangier Island on 24 May at 7:00 a.m. It was another beautiful day for cruising. Our first plan was to travel about 30 miles and anchor close to Solomons, but we decided to make it a long day since the winds and seas were calm and we were having such a good time enjoying the day. We traveled 80 miles today, which made for a long day.
Our next selected anchorage was one at Harness Creek in South River, but once we got there we could readily see that the anchorage was too small, especially if another boat was anchored there, which there was. So, we went just beyond this little anchorage about a mile west and anchored in a nice spot for the evening. We were, at this point, only 10 miles from Annapolis, so the trip into Annapolis on 25 May would be very short.
Earlier today, we passed Point No Point Lighthouse, many crab pots, and boats of many shapes and sizes. There also were Navy live fire exercises being conducted on the Chesapeake, and all marine traffic was being warned to stay out of the danger areas. Needless to say, we heeded those warnings.
As we got up on Friday (25 May) to depart our anchorage, we discovered that the crabbers and fishermen had been out before daybreak to set their crab pots and nets. We were surrounded by these things!! It made for an interesting time getting up the anchor, but we managed to get it up and the boat out of the anchorage without snagging one or more of these pots or nets.
The morning was warm and beautiful, and a great day to be on the Chesapeake. As we left our anchorage, we soon passed Thomas Point Lighthouse. We arrived in Annapolis, VA, at The Chandlery Dock at Fawcetts Boat Supply on Ego Alley at 9:30 a.m., where we had reservations for over the Memorial Day weekend. Chandlery Dock has five transient boat spaces. The remaining docks in this canal are the Annapolis City Docks, and boats are always tied up there. There is always a lot going on! More about this later.
Before making our turn to get to Chandlery Dock, the U.S. Naval Academy was directly in front of us.
Immediately upon arriving at Chandlery Dock, we pulled out the cleaning supplies and began washing the boat. We worked until about 5:30 cleaning a very dirty boat, and were about to quit for the day when Looper friends, Teri and Scott, knocked on our door. We had dinner with them at Middleton’s in Annapolis, and shared “boating” adventures. They told us that they have decided to quit the “loop” for now, and will be headed back to Florida. Their boat is somewhere in the Norfolk area on the Chesapeake to be sold. It turns out that this was not what they had hoped it would be. We understand their decision and wish them well.
On Saturday, our nephew Patrick and his girlfriend Katie drove from Mt. Airy, MD, to spend the afternoon with us. They rode Patrick’s Harley which made both of us miss our own Harley even more. We had lunch at an Irish Pub in Annapolis and did a little window shopping before they had to head back home. It was great to see them again. We last saw them at Biker Week last year in Myrtle Beach, where we had a blast.
Later on Saturday afternoon, Ginger and Laura (STARGAZER) stopped by to see us. They were at anchor on a mooring ball beyond the Bascule Bridge not far from where we were docked. They had docked their dinghy in Ego Alley and saw our boat there, so they came by to visit for a while. We are always happy to see them.
On Sunday, our “second son” Randy and his fiancé Kasia drove from St. Michaels to visit. This was our first opportunity to meet Kasia and we wish them well as they begin a life together (their wedding is in June). We spent time catching up on everything, had lunch and reminisced about old times. We hope to see them again soon.
Soon after Randy and Kasha’s departure on Sunday afternoon (27May), Richard and Marcy, friends from Knoxville, arrived. We were so happy that they were able to meet up with us to spend a few days and to travel from Annapolis to Baltimore with us on our boat. While in Annapolis, we spent a couple of days being tourists, walking the streets of Annapolis, window shopping, sightseeing, etc.
On Monday, 28 May, longtime friends from our Army days, George and Myrna drove from Woodbridge, VA, to visit with us. We served together at Fort McClellan, AL, from 1981-1984, and have been great friends ever since. It has been a couple of years since we last saw them and we were thrilled that they drove to Baltimore to visit with us. We don’t get to see them as often as we would like, so we always enjoy any time that we can spend with George and Myrna.
Now back to Ego Alley. Ego Alley is an appropriate name for this location, since captains of boats of all shapes and sizes cruise through this small canal to show off their boats and themselves to the public. If you are a “people watcher” this is a great place to be, but it is not a good place for your boat. It is a narrow alley, about 100 feet wide and a quarter mile long, right in the heart of the tourist area of downtown Annapolis.
Chandlery Dock is a very busy location. Several water taxis come and go from this location, as well as several tour boats. In addition, folks on big boats, dinghies, kayaks, canoes, sea doos, you name it, are all competing for space in this small area. We felt it was just a matter of time before our boat would be hit and sure enough it did happen. Our second day there, we asked to be moved and a refund of our money because our boat was hit on three different occasions while parked there. Fortunately, the boat suffered only black marks from the other boats with no fiberglass damage. We actually witnessed one of the boats hitting us. We were sitting on the front of our boat on Saturday, enjoying the beautiful evening, when we heard and saw a small boat run into our boat. The driver of the boat did not see us on the front of the boat until Mike yelled at him. The driver of the boat then backed up and apologized for hitting us and offered to leave us his personal information to pay for any damage. A water taxi backed into our boat and another boat side swiped us on Sunday morning. At this point, Mike had had enough and told the dockmaster at Chandlery’s he needed to find us another place to dock our boat. He was understanding and made arrangements for us to stay at the Yacht Basin right around the corner from Ego Alley. (Pat had tried to get reservations at the Yacht Basin a couple of weeks before arriving in Annapolis, but they said they were booked.) The Yacht Basin facilities were much nicer than the City facilities that we had to use, and the protection from the “crazies” was well worth the move.
We enjoyed our time in Annapolis despite our experience at Chandlery Dock. We were so happy that we were visited by our family and friends while there. Our next stop is Baltimore. Stay tuned.
Our next selected anchorage was one at Harness Creek in South River, but once we got there we could readily see that the anchorage was too small, especially if another boat was anchored there, which there was. So, we went just beyond this little anchorage about a mile west and anchored in a nice spot for the evening. We were, at this point, only 10 miles from Annapolis, so the trip into Annapolis on 25 May would be very short.
Earlier today, we passed Point No Point Lighthouse, many crab pots, and boats of many shapes and sizes. There also were Navy live fire exercises being conducted on the Chesapeake, and all marine traffic was being warned to stay out of the danger areas. Needless to say, we heeded those warnings.As we got up on Friday (25 May) to depart our anchorage, we discovered that the crabbers and fishermen had been out before daybreak to set their crab pots and nets. We were surrounded by these things!! It made for an interesting time getting up the anchor, but we managed to get it up and the boat out of the anchorage without snagging one or more of these pots or nets.
The morning was warm and beautiful, and a great day to be on the Chesapeake. As we left our anchorage, we soon passed Thomas Point Lighthouse. We arrived in Annapolis, VA, at The Chandlery Dock at Fawcetts Boat Supply on Ego Alley at 9:30 a.m., where we had reservations for over the Memorial Day weekend. Chandlery Dock has five transient boat spaces. The remaining docks in this canal are the Annapolis City Docks, and boats are always tied up there. There is always a lot going on! More about this later.
Before making our turn to get to Chandlery Dock, the U.S. Naval Academy was directly in front of us.Immediately upon arriving at Chandlery Dock, we pulled out the cleaning supplies and began washing the boat. We worked until about 5:30 cleaning a very dirty boat, and were about to quit for the day when Looper friends, Teri and Scott, knocked on our door. We had dinner with them at Middleton’s in Annapolis, and shared “boating” adventures. They told us that they have decided to quit the “loop” for now, and will be headed back to Florida. Their boat is somewhere in the Norfolk area on the Chesapeake to be sold. It turns out that this was not what they had hoped it would be. We understand their decision and wish them well.
On Saturday, our nephew Patrick and his girlfriend Katie drove from Mt. Airy, MD, to spend the afternoon with us. They rode Patrick’s Harley which made both of us miss our own Harley even more. We had lunch at an Irish Pub in Annapolis and did a little window shopping before they had to head back home. It was great to see them again. We last saw them at Biker Week last year in Myrtle Beach, where we had a blast.Later on Saturday afternoon, Ginger and Laura (STARGAZER) stopped by to see us. They were at anchor on a mooring ball beyond the Bascule Bridge not far from where we were docked. They had docked their dinghy in Ego Alley and saw our boat there, so they came by to visit for a while. We are always happy to see them.
On Sunday, our “second son” Randy and his fiancé Kasia drove from St. Michaels to visit. This was our first opportunity to meet Kasia and we wish them well as they begin a life together (their wedding is in June). We spent time catching up on everything, had lunch and reminisced about old times. We hope to see them again soon.
Soon after Randy and Kasha’s departure on Sunday afternoon (27May), Richard and Marcy, friends from Knoxville, arrived. We were so happy that they were able to meet up with us to spend a few days and to travel from Annapolis to Baltimore with us on our boat. While in Annapolis, we spent a couple of days being tourists, walking the streets of Annapolis, window shopping, sightseeing, etc.
On Monday, 28 May, longtime friends from our Army days, George and Myrna drove from Woodbridge, VA, to visit with us. We served together at Fort McClellan, AL, from 1981-1984, and have been great friends ever since. It has been a couple of years since we last saw them and we were thrilled that they drove to Baltimore to visit with us. We don’t get to see them as often as we would like, so we always enjoy any time that we can spend with George and Myrna.Now back to Ego Alley. Ego Alley is an appropriate name for this location, since captains of boats of all shapes and sizes cruise through this small canal to show off their boats and themselves to the public. If you are a “people watcher” this is a great place to be, but it is not a good place for your boat. It is a narrow alley, about 100 feet wide and a quarter mile long, right in the heart of the tourist area of downtown Annapolis.
Chandlery Dock is a very busy location. Several water taxis come and go from this location, as well as several tour boats. In addition, folks on big boats, dinghies, kayaks, canoes, sea doos, you name it, are all competing for space in this small area. We felt it was just a matter of time before our boat would be hit and sure enough it did happen. Our second day there, we asked to be moved and a refund of our money because our boat was hit on three different occasions while parked there. Fortunately, the boat suffered only black marks from the other boats with no fiberglass damage. We actually witnessed one of the boats hitting us. We were sitting on the front of our boat on Saturday, enjoying the beautiful evening, when we heard and saw a small boat run into our boat. The driver of the boat did not see us on the front of the boat until Mike yelled at him. The driver of the boat then backed up and apologized for hitting us and offered to leave us his personal information to pay for any damage. A water taxi backed into our boat and another boat side swiped us on Sunday morning. At this point, Mike had had enough and told the dockmaster at Chandlery’s he needed to find us another place to dock our boat. He was understanding and made arrangements for us to stay at the Yacht Basin right around the corner from Ego Alley. (Pat had tried to get reservations at the Yacht Basin a couple of weeks before arriving in Annapolis, but they said they were booked.) The Yacht Basin facilities were much nicer than the City facilities that we had to use, and the protection from the “crazies” was well worth the move.
We enjoyed our time in Annapolis despite our experience at Chandlery Dock. We were so happy that we were visited by our family and friends while there. Our next stop is Baltimore. Stay tuned.
posted by Irish Ayes | 8:25 PM
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