Gunkholing

No its not a nasty medical procedure, it is instead the art of cruising in shoal waters, anchoring in small coves that are difficult to enter. This is what Riggs and I have been doing in the upper Chesapeake over the last few days.

Our story picks up last Tuesday, near Cape May NJ. We got an early start down to Cape May and through the Cape May Canal, which cuts into Delaware Bay. Everything I've read and heard says 'watch out for Delaware Bay' as it can be quite rough. So as we emerged into a 3-4' chop, and couldn't see the other side of the bay (its quite wide there), it was a little intimidating. But it was a warm sunny day, the wind soon abated, and we had luckily timed our run with a favorable current. It got quite calm so we moved upstairs to the flying bridge and worked on our suntans as we motored up the bay (Rigg's nose is quite black now). We made such good time that by 3:30 we were entering the C&D Canal, which is sized for large ships, passed through part of the state of Delaware, and anchored in Chesapeake City MD in time for pizza and beer at the Chesapeake Inn (we dined al-fresco so Riggs could partake too).

Thus a major milestone was achieved. Instead of 'racing' southward, to get through the 'big water' sections while dodging the gales of fall, we entered Gunkhole Mode. Wednesday morning we leisurely explored the interesting town of Chesapeake City, and then unloaded my little yellow canoe to explore up a beautiful meandering creek. We pulled anchor at about noon, and cruised for a couple hours down the remainder of the C&D, then the very upper Chesapeake, then turning east and cruising an hour up the Sassafras River, dropping anchor in the mouth of Woodland Creek (in about 5 feet of water).

Another new aspect to this Gunkhole Mode is that the great ATT internet service we enjoyed since leaving Maine is now much reduced. This is a rural area and I typically get '1 bar' of service, which usually kicks me offline after a minute or so. So blogging, etc. is a pain.

Woodland Creek was a great anchorage. Ther were only a couple of houses in sight, and there were several small beaches to visit, plus uninhabited Daffodil Island to explore. We dinghied a mile farther up the Sassafras to see the towns of Georgetown/Fredericktown only to discover that there were no actual towns there, just six humongous marinas stuffed with thousands of boats. It boggles the mind to think what July 4th weekend must be like around here when all of those boats head down the river. Now its post season, so they are all buttoned up. One of the marinas let us tie up to their dock and walk around for awhile, which Riggs appreciated. Upon returning to Woodland Creek, Riggs had fun swimming after his beloved tennis ball.

Thursday morning we again got the canoe down and paddled up to the head of the creek. Really beautiful and apparently popular with duck hunters (many blinds). We explored Daffodil Island and Riggs swam again. Then back to Spray for lunch, a little boat maintenance, and some reading. All in all, a nice day.

Friday morning we motored back down the Sassafras and down the Chesapeake to Still Pond Creek, a cove on the east side of the Chesapeake. It was a narrow and shallow inlet, but we fit and again anchored with about 2 feet of water beneath our keel. In the dinghy we visited the sandy spit at the entrance to the creek, and explored nearby Churn Creek.

Saturday a strong south wind came up, and we left Still Pond Creek for the next cove going southward, Worton Creek, only an hour cruise or so. The bay had a nasty 4' chop that we nosed into, resulting in much spray on Spray. Worton Creek has a couple of marinas, but the one store here was out of milk and beer, and supplies aboard Spray are getting low.

Saturday evening a front came through, complete with thunderstorms and heavy downpours. It was no nasty I had to lay out the astroturf (tm) for Riggs. Today its crisp and clear, the wind has shifted to NW, and we'll do a short cruise to yet another gunkhole, Fairlee Creek. Tomorrow we'll head for a real town, Rock Hall MD, where we can load up on groceries. Until then, we're enjoying being in Gunkhole Mode!