2007 ICW Cruise to Key West, Florida

Rosa and Joe departed Castle Harbor Marina about 0715 on November 11th with an immediate course to Solomons Island, Maryland and courses to continue down the bay and into the Inter-Coastal Waterway (ICW) to southern Florida.  The sky was somewhat overcast with high clouds but the winds were gentle from the north.  Our initial goal was to quickly pass through the Kent Narrows bridge and then head through the Chesapeake's Eastern Bay to the Miles River and then into the Chesapeake for an almost straight south cruise to Cove Point on the northern shore of the Patuxent River.  We soon learned that a quick passage through Kent Narrows early on a Sunday morning was not possible.  After several respectively spaced attempts to contact the bridge tender on VHF channel 13, and the challenge of keeping the boat positioned away from the bridges  in the strong southbound current, I asked Rosa to obtain the telephone number of the bridge tender.  Sure enough they answered the phone, and after a short wait we were able to continue through the opened drawbridge. 

Sometimes these events are omens of other delays but this time it was just a small blip on one of the most pleasant cruises we have enjoyed on the Chesapeake.  By 0900 the overcast skies were burnt away by the sunshine, the northern winds became gentle giving us light one foot waves and a slight push down the bay.  A perfect cruise to enjoy a light breakfast on the upper helm of Surprise.  The sunshine on the water is really bright during any southern journey in November, and soon we were searching for our polarized sunglasses to assist in seeing the hundreds of crab pot floats we encountered in deep - thirty five to forty foot - water near the sunken Sharps Island at the mouth of the Choptank River.  The watermen are chasing the crabs which migrate to deeper and warmer water in the fall and winter.  I've read that during some winters the crabs will migrate to warmer ocean waters just to turn around in the spring and return to the Chesapeake. 

Our cruise was beautiful but somewhat cold with the winds from the north.  This changed immediately as we approached Solomons.  We began to shed layers of clothing as we approached the floating pier at Solomons Yachting Center, arriving about 1345.  Joe soon changed into a short sleeve shirt after we were secured to the pier.  Solomons Island is a favorite stop for us, especially when our friends Don and Jean are onboard their 32 foot Grand Banks DONJE.  They were in Solomons to prepare DONGE for the winter and were able to join us for dinner at Stoney's.  The crab cakes were great.  Don and Jean have traveled the ICW several times and were able to share experiences and travel tips.  Overall an excellent finish to a great day.