Crew Log for October 21st – 22nd, 2022
Trip Summary:
Worton Creek – Rock Hall
Trip Distance of 17.2 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 1,384.3 NM
Departed at 08h30 hours and arrived at 12h00 hours
What a perfect, well almost perfect, morning to wake up to in Worton Creek.
There was a heavy mist, hanging over the water, that filtered the morning sunrise. It was perfectly still except for the sounds of geese and ducks waking up and continuing their journey south. As I sat in cockpit enjoying the morning, I was suddenly “greeted” by another sound. This one less “natural”. The sound of a Honda 2000 generator on the deck of a neighboring boat.
I briefly thought about getting a generator myself for this trip, to supplement our solar and wind. I am glad now I didn’t. What a mood killer. As I listened to the Honda groan under a load, I wondered if it was their electric toaster, microwave, smoothie blender or coffee grinder causing the strain. I’d rather be listening to ducks and geese, so it was time to haul anchor.
The southerlies for the last few days finally died down, so we had a wind-less and uneventful trip down to Rock Hall. Since we were motoring I thought we might be able to take a more direct route to the entrance to the Swan River. I was wrong. We are used to the shallow waters of the Northumberland Strait, but the Chesapeake Bay is very shallow. A mile off shore and we had a foot under the keel and celebrated when we saw 2 feet. Given our unfamiliarity with the area, we decided the smart thing to do would be to follow the navigation markers. Even then we wondered at times if we’d have enough water.
I was reflecting on a windsurfing trip to Cape Hatteras we had taken years ago. A strong northerly wind blew the water out of the Albemarle Sound one day and we had to carry our gear for quite a way just to get to the water. Fortunately for us on this day, what little water there was on the approach to Swan River was still there.
Rock Hall is a beautiful waterfront front village on the Chesapeake, at the start of the Swan River. The collection of commercial fishing boats are evidence that oysters, crabbing and other fisheries provide a source of income for some of Rock Hall’s year round residents. There are a huge number of charter boats for fishermen who don’t have their own boat. And judging by the number of marinas, Rock Hall is also a popular spot for recreational boaters as well.
We had booked a mooring at Haven Harbor Marina, one of many marinas on the northern side of Rock Hall. Haven Harbor Marina was, without a doubt, the most beautifully designed and maintained marina we have visited. Before going to our mooring, we radioed the service dock and asked if we could come in for fuel and water top ups. We were directed to a holding dock to wait our turn in the queue. As we stepped off the boat on to the dock, it was obvious, everything here was well maintained and every detail had been thoroughly thought out. Surprising, given the mooring was not that expensive.
As we waited in the fuel queue, we heard “Elizabeth M! Elizabeth M!”. We looked over and the crews of Teliki and Onalee were passing by on their dinghies from a neighboring marina, on route to town and stopped to say hello and invite us to dinner that evening at a local restaurant. They were heading out in the morning and we were looking forward to catching up and getting to know them better.
Ahead of us on the fuel dock was an older couple from Pennsylvania who were topping up their fuel, before hauling the boat out for the season, and who had visited Cape Breton. We also met a guy on a Nonsuch 30 Ultra. He lives up on the Sassafras River, where he moors the boat for the summer but leaves the boat in Harbor Haven for winter. His winter storage costs were $1,000 including his haulout and launch and if he took a dock for the summer, it was $3,000, which included power and water. Sounded pretty reasonable to me.
For many local boaters, this was the end of the season, although some people do leave their boats in the water year round. I expect Haven Harbor Marina would have a very different feel in the summer when the seasonal residents were all back in town, however it was very quiet when we were there. There was a complimentary laundry facility and private showers. The bar and restaurant on site had closed for the season the weekend before we arrived, but there were plenty of other options in the area, and in the village of Rock Hall if that’s what you were looking for. The marina also had a full service repair facility which apparently had an excellent reputation.
We met Teliki and Onalee at the Oyster House Restaurant, a short walk down the road, across from the Heron Nesting site. If I had one complaint, it was the traffic on the road. There was a paved shoulder on one side of the road, but no sidewalks. As we’ve learned, and have been warned about many times, Americans love to drive fast. Don’t get caught in a crosswalk here. Luckily there was less traffic on the walk home. It was a very enjoyable evening and I got my first taste of crab cakes. They were good.
In the morning I was working on the latest blog. Right around daylight it sounded like a war was breaking out around us. It took me a minute to realize that the bay we were in was surrounded by duck blinds, and it was the sound of hunters I was hearing. I still find it hard to believe how close some of these blinds were to homes and the marinas.
Later in the morning Judy and I walked into Rock Hall to explore the town. It is your typical touristy town with the usual collection of unique shops. It did have a Post Office for Judy to mail the latest postcard to my Mom and a really nice local fresh food market. After a quick snack at the local coffee shop, that also had a wonderful selection of wines, we finished off our provisioning at the grocery store and started back to the boat.
Whenever we go provisioning, it seems like the topic of conversation on the walk back to the boat is: North America's obsession with cars; and, terrible urban design. I find myself quoting Jane Jacobs an awful lot on these walks. In short, there are a lot of cars, because the design of cities and towns necessitates having at least one, more than likely two. The village of Rock Hall was a little over a mile away from the marina. Close, relative to other places we've visited. However, most of the time, grocery and other services are miles away from the town core on the outskirts of the town. Sadly, there seems to be a correlation between the lack of services within walking distance and the presence of a Walmart anchoring a retail complex just outside the town limits. If you have a car, everything is just minutes away...driving at the speed of your average Amercian.
While we were having this conversation yet again and hauling our provisions down a busy sidewalk-less road, a lady pulled up beside us and asked if we were “boaters” heading back to the marina. She was heading that way and offered to drive us. We got her name, but I didn’t write it down, but she was a very nice lady who was picking up her husband who just delivered their boat to Haven Harbor Marina. I seem to recall he was in the service. Possibly the navy. She was very nice!
In the early evening we took a dinghy ride around the Harbor to explore the duck blinds and the Heron Nesting area, while we watched the sun go down. We were happy that we decided to come into Rock Hall and enjoyed our couple of days here. The wind the next day was perfect for our trip to Annapolis, which we were really looking forward to. However, things got off to a really rough start.
But, more about that, next time.
Additional photos.
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