LAT: N 39° 31.5' LON: W 75° 48.5'		fair winds and following seas
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You Can't Judge a Day By It's Morning

It's hard to say goodbye, but we know she will give a new owner a place to live or cruise, pride and projects!
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The biggest different between our first visit and this one was, of course, the season. We had woken to a frost covered boat, pulled up to the free dock and we dined at the only places we noticed were open. A couple stores had been open but there weren't many people. This time it was warm enough to swim and the place was hoppin'. The free dock was full, boats filled the tiny harbor marina and there was a restaurant and tiki bar on the water. It was the summer version of Chesapeake City. The Tap Room, however, was the same: full of helpful staff and happy people covered with butter and Old Bay.

Are you a slow cruiser? A smooth mover? A lover of deliberate living? Well have we got the store for you! Come on down to Shop Slowly and try on some of the hot and spunky new fashions. We've got great garb.
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Hannah takes a plunge off of Slowly's bow.

How It Feels to Go 11 Knots

Slowly Goes Fast

We woke very early this morning as the mooring field was a rockin'. It may have had to do with the extreme tides but there were small swells rolling in that got every boat moving. It was very uncomfortable so we decided to get up, get fuel and get out. It was a rough start as the rocking had kept us from getting much sleep, but there was no point in staying when it wasn't dying down. There were some solemn clouds looming overhead and we were a bit nervous about getting caught in a thunderstorm, but they were supposed to calm down quickly. We soon realized that the main fuel dock in Annapolis doesn't have any provisions (milk and water, etc...), so after fueling up we puttered around the corner to the City Marina which we were told has a little store. This store does exist; however, it does not have provisions such as milk, and the gallons of water cost $2.50 each! We couldn't bring ourselves to buy more than 2 and figured we should cut our losses and get out into the Bay before things got more complicated. Of course in our haste to get to the fuel dock we had forgotten to do an engine check before we left so we grabbed another mooring ball, shut her down, did the check, then started her up again and got out of the harbor safely amongst the common throng of littlesailors.

At that point, we needed breakfast. We pulled out into the Chesapeake and already the weather was looking better. We passed under the Bay Bridges and got pushed along by a 2-3 ft. following sea. Tides can make such a huge difference to one's comfortability. Taking these waves on the nose would have been wet and unpleasent, the boat rising and crashing down into the next. Instead, running with them, each wave gives us a little speed boost as it approaches from behind, then it pick the boat up, and lastly gently puts us down and slows us as it passes from under us. Our experience cruising this time also showed us that navigating from the flybridge at all times makes the waves seem smaller. It is more quiet up top and it is easier to have a sense of control.

As we reached the northern part of the Bay the water became smooth and we watched what looked like an amphibious vessel test drive, with four other boats following it around. We hooked to the right and entered the Elk River. We still had the tides with us and we were moving. We passed a neighborhood made up of the same small houses packed together up against the water as well as huge estates up on the hill above their moat of lawn, jet-skiers jumped our wake and camp groups waved to us as we kept picking up speed.

We peeled into Chesapeake City in a great mood and with time enough to take a dip before going ashore. Last time we were here we managed to get a spot on the free dock but this time we anchored in the tiny harbor. This was the first place we had been to where we didn't see a bountiful number of jellyfish, so we jumped in. It was our first time swimming with Slowly. We had been wanting to swim off the back of the boat since our first cruise but never had an enticing opportunity.

After a few cannonballs off the bow we got ready to go ashore and dropped the dinghy for the first time this trip. It was a lovely evening. We pulled Surely into a small space on the free dock and strolled around the charming town. We ended up at one of the restaurants we had been too last time. (name?) Last time at the Tap Room we had been given a blue crab to try, this time we went ahead and ordered a bunch. Apart from the lack of needed bibs, we had a swell time. Our evening row back to the boat was lit by the active restaurant and bar on the water. The water was very still and we clambered back aboard anticipating a night of much needed sleep.

We saw this little guy after enjoying our swim. We couldn't properly ID him but we think he may be a Chimney Swift, Chaetura pelagica or a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis. What we do know is that he was a juvenile. He and a parent flew in together and then the parent took off and returned to feed him while he hung out on our lines. We waited awhile to see this activity again but he eventually flew off after hearing his parent call from another boat.

We dined, once again, at the Tap Room where the waitstaff was very friendly and where they indulged us with blue crabs, mozzarella sticks and a pitcher of... Hannah had only had crab a couple of times before and had never experienced ripping them apart. After a lesson from the hostess she looked around at the other tables of people sucking the meat out of the little legs and pounding on the crabs with a small hammer, and took it from there. Filled up on Old Bay seasoned crabs we decided to balance the day out with a little Canal Creamery ice cream.

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