I woke late and sailed off the anchor and then down the Sassafras and up to Turkey Point on as nice a spring day as you could ask for. The wind went light about a mile from the lighthouse on its high bluff which feels like it marks the entrance to the bay for vessels coming south through the canal. I started the engine and headed up towards Charlestown at the head of the North East River intending to anchor there for the night.
The sand cliffs of Elk Neck are amazing and were lit perfectly by the late morning sun making it a beautiful run even under power. A Coast Guard security notice about fireworks on the Susquehanna River came over the air as I was negotiating the narrow and shallow channels that lead to Charlestown. This made me think about anchoring back in the lee of the cliffs, a decision which was finalized by finding Charlestown full of moorings and with a sailboat race filling most of it. I turned around and anchored under the highest bluff of the White Cliffs.
I then rowed ashore for my first walk of the year in upland hardwood forest with green leaves! The scale of these cliffs is not the kind of thing one usually associates with Chesapeake Bay cruising. Seldom in Maine have I looked down on Strider close at hand from such a height.
Over about half of the bay between the narrow channel just beyond the buoy and Harve de Grace on the far shore, you could stand with your head above water.
Can you spot the people standing on the overlook in this picture?
Here’s a detail if you need help:
I returned for a nap, a lazy couple hours of reading, dinner, and am now waiting for the fireworks.
The sand cliffs of Elk Neck are amazing and were lit perfectly by the late morning sun making it a beautiful run even under power. A Coast Guard security notice about fireworks on the Susquehanna River came over the air as I was negotiating the narrow and shallow channels that lead to Charlestown. This made me think about anchoring back in the lee of the cliffs, a decision which was finalized by finding Charlestown full of moorings and with a sailboat race filling most of it. I turned around and anchored under the highest bluff of the White Cliffs.
I then rowed ashore for my first walk of the year in upland hardwood forest with green leaves! The scale of these cliffs is not the kind of thing one usually associates with Chesapeake Bay cruising. Seldom in Maine have I looked down on Strider close at hand from such a height.
Over about half of the bay between the narrow channel just beyond the buoy and Harve de Grace on the far shore, you could stand with your head above water.
Can you spot the people standing on the overlook in this picture?
Here’s a detail if you need help:
I returned for a nap, a lazy couple hours of reading, dinner, and am now waiting for the fireworks.
