Back at Solomons then on to Oxford - 38:41.43N, 76:10.10W
AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Sun 6 Sep 2009 21:33
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How time flies - our last report was from St Mary's
City but that already seems ages ago.
We spent 8 days back in Solomon's. We
like it there as it's a good jumping-off point when you are trying to get north
again, which we were. Unfortunately, with a low pressure area stalled off the
eastern seaboard we had non-stop north easterly winds of some strength so didn't
feel inclined to bash our way up the Chesapeake unnecessarily. Daily there was
no change to the wind direction and finally a week after we arrived we
reluctantly left on the forecast of lighter north-easterly winds, not
before stocking up with amongst other goodies, some more outstanding corn on the
cobs to barbecue which we have been enjoying from various supermarkets along the
way. We were also fortunate to make some new friends that sailed all the way up
from South Africa on their present cruise. We felt complete novices after
hearing of their sailing adventures and could have spent much longer chatting
about their exploits. Hopefully we will meet up again in the future as they gave
us a nice send-off with their foghorn which was really sweet of
them.
The trip back up the Chesapeake, despite the
predictions proved to be a real bone shaker, with 15 knot winds added to our own
5 knots making a 20 knot wind and more importantly, nasty short seas that we
crashed into for some hours. We were very glad to enter the Choptank River on
the eastern side of the Chesapeake to get some respite from the conditions
and eventually dropped anchor in Oxford, which is the oldest settlement on the
east side of the Chesapeake. Originally inhabited by (no prizes for
guessing) the Choptank Indians, Oxford became an important port for the import
and export of goods in the later 1600s. In fact it became an official port of
entry for the eastern Chesapeake.
Oxford is a delight, with small but long
established boatyards tucked into tiny creeks, with plenty of space to
accommodate visiting yachts, whether anchored or in visitor slips.
 There were some beautiful sailing craft in
Oxford
The dinghy dock for visitors - Ajaya in the middle anchored
off
We took the opportunity to walk ashore for a couple
of hours, calling into the museum and then walking back to the waterfront on
the Tred Avon River side of the peninsular that Oxford stands on. Being a
holiday weekend the river was full of sailing and power boats enjoying the
perfect Saturday weather. We paid a visit to the ferry terminal - the oldest
ferry route that has been in continuous operation since the 1800s. The museum
had pictures of some of the earlier craft carrying traffic across the Tred Avon,
although the latest ferry doesn't look in the first flush of youth
either.
  The small ferry terminal with just a mile to
cross to
Bellevue
Incoming ferry
 The pretty waterfront with $Million
homes
One of the small marinas in the harbour at Oxford
Having paused for an ice cream at the
Scottish Highland Creamery (all hand made they say)
So many flavours to choose from .....
we pulled up the anchor and joined the weekend
crowds out on the river and headed for a peaceful bay just up river in Trippe
Creek, a large anchorage that the pilot book suggested could take 100
anchored boats. If so then we would not like to be counted amongst that
number.
On arrival there were about 12 boats already in
residence so there was plenty of room left. The yacht that followed us in was
flying many burgees, a warning sign that it was an organising boat for a
gathering, maybe a yacht club or owners association get-together. Soon others
followed, one by one rafting up to the lead boat about 150 yards ahead of
us. The lead boat had put out their anchor with 150ft of chain we
clearly heard them say and eventually there were 12 yachts of differing sizes
all rafted up. We were then serenaded to a dreadful rendition of various sea
shanties which gave the impression that they had been going heavy on the
fall-down juice for some considerable time before arriving. Fortunately their
repertoire soon expired along with the singers themselves perhaps and the
general level of shouting across the raft eased off considerably as they set
about soaking up the alcohol with some food. One by one push-pit mounted
barbecues erupted in flames like mini crematoriums
to incinerate various steaks and burgers brought along for the
occasion. The night proved to be super quiet after a picture book sunset, as the
raft assembly had an early night. (Thankfully)
  The next morning members of the
'raft' peeled away one by one heading for other locations. We also moved on
towards the enchantingly sounding Baby Owl Cove some 12 miles to the west
in Broad Creek just off the Choptank. This looked smaller with less chance of
bumping into a large raft-up.
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