Cruising south in the Chesapeake has been beyond beautiful! Conditions have been suburb, sunny, no wind, still water and currents going our way. When we pulled into Rock Hall, we saw some strange orange buoys and very large yellow triangle floats. We said, “That is strange” and went about docking on their free wall.
Rock Hall, MD
When we were walking around town we noticed they were setting up for some kind of event, looked like a 5K or marathon of sorts. Returning to our boat we saw many folks milling around the dock, and pointing out in the harbor. Finally, we realized the event was a triathlon, the strange yellow and orange buoys were lane markers. We also learned that the harbor was closed in the AM and athletes would be swimming right by our boat. Needless to say, it was exciting the next morning to be literally in the middle of the race. We enjoyed our coffee on the deck watching swimmers jump in and make laps around the harbor.
Kent Island, MD
Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay with the narrowest channel referred to as Kent Narrows. It should be called Kent, Shallow Narrows. We skipped this stop in the past but decided to stop and check it out. After reading and studying the charts, we slowly cruised through the shallow, narrow channel with all eyes on the water, charts and buoys. It was well worth it, Kent Island did not disappoint. We docked at Piney Narrows Yacht Haven, which was a boat condominium complex, but offers one or two transient slips. Kent Island is extremely bike friendly with a few trails. The Cross Island Trail is a 6.5 miles and runs east to west and conveniently for us, right by the marina. We hopped on and enjoyed a great ride through farmlands, woods over wooden bridges and ending at Terrapin Park. Of course, we found the Pour House along the way and stopped to try a local beer. We could not leave Maryland without ordering some crabs. We walked over to Fisherman’s Village and enjoyed some steamed crabs. Our waitress was fabulous and while teaching us how to crack open the crabs she referred to trying Maryland crabs as an “experience.” It was a delicious experience that we look forward to trying again.
Segment Stats
- Havre da Grace, MD to Rock Hall, MD
- Friday, September 29, 2023
- 38.5 Nautical Miles
- Travel Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
- Docked at Rock Hall Bulkhead
- Rock Hall, MD to Kent Island, MD
- Saturday, September 30, 2023
- 10.5 Nautical Miles
- Travel Time: 1 hours 35 minutes
- Docked at Piney Narrow Yacht Haven
- Kent Island, MD to Patuxent River, MD
- Tuesday, October 2, 2023
- 47.1 Nautical Miles
- Travel Time: 6 hours 13 minutes
- Docked at West Basin Marina in West Patuxent Basin
- Patuxent River, MD to Deltaville, VA
- Wednesday, October 3, 2023
- 56.5 Nautical Miles
- Travel Time: 8 hours 2 minutes
- Anchored in the southeast fork of Jackson Creek
