Three-In-One Antipoison, Solomons and Selby Bay

May 18, 2022

In the afternoon, when the fog finally lifted in Kiptopeke, we were going to make the journey back to the other side of the Chesapeake Bay. Our destination was an anchorage in Antipoison. As we left the sunken ships in Kiptopeke, there was an equally impressive sight in the distance. Almost 30 massive cargo ships were anchored out in the ocean, just sitting there, in the haze.

Because we had a shorter day of travel planned, and the conditions were smooth, we decided to putz along at 6 knots so the kids could throw out their lures and troll again while we were under way. It was a lovely, uneventful day and after four hours of travel, we pulled into Antipoison and threw out the hook for the night. The anchorage was a little more like a bay we would see back home. Antipoison was smaller than the anchorages we'd been in so far on this trip. Also, the wind, current and waves were aligned so when we set the anchor it set fast and the continued to be taut at the bow of Holy Cow. No perpendicular anchor line for us that day. How abnormal for this area! As we settled in, ospreys and eagles were hunting in the bay. Of course, when I pulled out the Nikon to get pictures, they all quickly disappeared.

We loaded up the dogs and kids and headed to the nearby beach/sand bar. The dogs had an off leash run and so did the kids. Brooklyn and Brodie had rolled around in the sand and were not allowed back in the boat until they had been hosed off. Brooklyn decided she would jump off the swim platform into the salt water of the Chesapeake to help rid herself of the sand in her hair. Our dear daughter is the only one of us who swam in the Chesapeake, and truly, who has been in the water since the Florida Keys. We then hosed her sandy hair down in the cockpit before she could hop in the shower. She was cold and shivering. Here is the thing though, living on Holy Cow is next level boating. We turned on the generator and while Brooklyn had a warm shower, I put her towel and comfy clothes in the dryer. I never thought that having a washer and dryer on board was something I would use. This is the first boat we've had with this luxury and now there is no turning back. Having the convenience of doing laundry on board has been wonderful on this trip. Now, warming a towel for a shivering child will not be done everyday, but it sure was a special treat for her after climbing out of the cold water on a breezy cool May evening in Virginia.

Later that evening, we set up some chairs on the bow and watched the eclipse until we were tired and ready for bed. The next day, we were off to Solomons and would be at a marina for the night.

Voyage Log

See the Kiptopeke VA to Antipoison VA log here.

CALVERTS MARINA

The run from Antipoison was a lovely jaunt up the Chesapeake. We arrived at Calvert's Marina in Solomons and were assigned a spot at the end of a long dock with our stern pointing towards the bay. We had a great view which made Gord very happy. We settled in and starting planning for the coming days. Gord also realized it was likely time to see a doctor about his fingers. A couple of them were still ridiculously swollen, and his pinky is still not the correct shape. While I made plans for his clinic visit for the next day, he looked at all his marine apps to consider, wind, waves, currents for the best plan of travel in the coming days. The kids had taken the dinghy off the bow and were driving it around and taking turns practicing their docking skills.

In the morning, we headed over to Calvert's Marine Museum. It's a great museum, and lucky for us, had a special limited time shark tooth exhibit on the upper level. Gord joined us for awhile, but then needed to head over to the Patriots Urgent Care Clinic. The kids and I wandered the floors of the museum. There were nautical exhibits, fossil exhibits, live otters to watch inside and out, a small boardwalk through a marsh, and an old lighthouse. Truly, this is a must see stop along the way if you find yourself in Solomons VA.

Gord joined us a little later in the afternoon and we enjoyed a tour of the Drum Point Lighthouse. It was built in 1882 near the mouth of the Patuxent River where it meets the Chesapeake Bay. It was decommission in September 1962 and moved to the Marine Museum in Solomons in 1975. What about Gord's fingers you ask? He was told at the clinic his digits have abnormal swelling and spacing and they want to refer him to an orthopedic surgeon. In the meantime, they prescribed anti-inflammatories. I'm no doctor, but an x-ray wasn't needed to determine there is abnormal swelling and spacing. Two of his fingers are double the size of the matching ones on his right hand and his pinky has a curve in it.

We decided that it was a dinner out kind of night. We dinghied over to The Lighthouse Restaurant and Dock Bar and as we pulled in, a man came to take our line and helped us tie up. It turns out, he's a fellow Canadian. Luke lives in Britt, Ontario and he and his family are doing The Great Loop and had just returned from 2.5 months in the Bahamas. While he was talking, I told him he reminded me a little of someone we knew back home, he asked who, and when Gord told him the name, Luke said, "Oh, I've snowmobiled with him!" It's such a small world. Gord and Luke exchanged details so we could follow each other on the Nebo app. They are running a similar schedule to us, so we may see them along the way.

Dinner was great! Gord had crab cakes which were actually just two tennis ball sized heaps of deliciously seasoned crab, with virtually no fillers. I had a tuna poke bowl which was chucked full of fresh tuna.

As we left the restaurant, we said goodbye to the Canadians and loaded up in the dinghy. Brooklyn drove. Gord still doesn't have any captain's rights to the tender.

Voyage Log

See the Antipoison VA to Solomons, Calvert Marina here.

SELBY BAY

In the morning, we headed out towards Selby Bay. As we passed by The Lighthouse Restaurant, we could see that Oh Henry had already left the dock. We kept in touch with them through the day since we were headed generally to the same location. They told us they were going to Selby Bay to anchor and then were headed to a friend's place for a beach bon fire. They told us we were welcome to join, which we did. Selby Bay was a decent anchorage, although we did rock a little through the night. The bon fire on the beach was amazing. There were kids there to play with, s'mores to roast and lots of stories and laughs.

The next destination for both families was Annapolis MD. When morning came, Oh Henry had run into a repair situation and was going to be delayed a little. We took their girls with us for the day to give them the space they needed on board to fix the issue. Also, the kids got along so well, we knew they would have more fun travelling together on the same boat for the day. Annapolis was only a 10 mile run from Selby Bay, so we knew we'd meet up later in the afternoon. We gathered up their girls and were on our way.

Voyage Log

See the Solomons MD to Selby Bay here.