August 28, 2014  Day 123  Chesapeake Bay

Vienna Town Dock
Vienna, MD

We pulled anchor at 0740 to take advantage of the current and tide and headed back up Marshyhope Creek. We were aware of depth issues of a particular bend that we remembered on the way in when we bumped something on the port side. The chart shows a depth of 30’ but the depth sounder knew better.  So, we tried to avoid it today and still went aground.  After analyzing the situation, knowing the tide was going to be going out, Bill got in the dinghy and eventually managed to pull us into deeper water.  So we were back on our way and soon left the creek and reentered the Nanticoke River.

We arrived at the Vienna Town Dock and tied up in the same spot we had last weekend. Docking was not easy because the current was pushing us off the dock. We managed to get the boat secured on our own.  We knew we could dock to our port side and it would have been easy, but we wanted to come into starboard and this was a good challenge for us.

We walked back to Millie’s for lunch and then stopped in at the small bakery. The owner, Jeanne, has been so friendly to us and even offered to lend us her car. We thanked her but just planned to stay on the boat.  Joyce did walk back to the post office later this afternoon.   Other than that we relaxed after our challenging morning.

We will depart early Friday morning and cruise over 50 miles to Salisbury, MD and spend four nights at a marina over the Labor Day weekend.

August 27, 2014  Day 122  Chesapeake Bay

At Anchor, Marshyhope Creek, Nanticoke River
Near Brookview, MD

We spent another day here at anchor as planned.  We woke to fog that lifted by 8:00.  In the afternoon, we took a long dinghy ride farther up the creek, under two low bridges that are not a problem for the dinghy! 



Love the reflection of the sunrise mixed with fog



Fisheries Services dropping nets

Bridge at Brookview

The creek is lined with trees and a few houses.  Lily pads line the edges as they do on the river that the creek joins.  We spotted men in a fishing boat dropping a long net with floats. They pulled over to talk to us and explained that they are with a Fisheries Service. They are attempting to catch the sturgeon that inhabit this area. They will then tag them with a telemetry device and release them.

We also saw eagles, vultures, and an egret on our dinghy ride.

We had dinner on board and made plans to depart in the morning, We still have to go five miles back out of this creek and then head back down the Nanticoke River. We will return to the town of Vienna and spend another night at their free dock.

August 25,26 2014  Days 120-121  Chesapeake Bay

At Anchor, Marshyhope Creek, Nanticoke River
Near Brookview, MD



Broad Creek

We don't usually see farmers at work 



Charts are not always right!  This shows us on land
but we cruised at least two more miles with
plenty of water on Marshyhope Creek

The 11' bridge at Brookville - end of the creek ride for us!

The bridge did open as promised and we left promptly at 3:00pm and retraced our route down part of the river. We decided to check out Broad Creek as a possible anchorage and cruised on it for two hours, returning near the entrance to the creek to anchor. It is another meandering, narrow creek with houses dotting the side in many places.  We had an amazing quiet night and the stars lit up the sky!

We departed that anchorage at 0800 today and traveled five miles to the entrance of Marshyhope Creek. We then cruised another five miles up the creek and could go no farther due to an eleven foot bridge that does not open. So, we turned around and anchored about ¼ mile from it.  A resident came out and took our picture when we turned around. We doubt that many big boats come up the creek this far! This is another quiet spot. We only saw one fishing boat and two jet skis today!

Bill took advantage of the warm engines and changed the engine oil this afternoon.  Joyce worked on reading and budgeting!  She also took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and posted the video on Facebook.

We will spend one more night here and plan to take a dinghy ride on Wednesday.

August 24, 2014  Day 119  Chesapeake Bay

Nanticoke River Marina
Seaford, DE

We left the town dock at Vienna, MD at 0800 and continued up the Nanticoke River to Seaford, DE.  We had a 1.5 knot current against us all the way so it took us three hours to cruise 17 miles. 

 

The cable ferry crosses this narrow section of the river

Another tow with barge -
we learned the sand goes to Baltimore

We passed one tow with its barge of sand, a few fishing boats, and a pontoon boat, but again not much boat traffic today. We did wait briefly for a cable ferry to cross the river, and for the ferry captain to radio us that the cable was on the river bottom when he docked so we could safely pass.

The Seaford, DE commercial wharf

We arrived in Seaford around 1100 and passed its commercial and industrial docks.  Shortly after that we were happy to see the railroad swing bridge open.  This led us into the marina. We did not have a reservation and when we could not reach them on the radio or by phone we went ahead and tied up on the face dock with the help of another boater who was there working on his boat.  The dockmaster came out and all was fine – he was very friendly and happy to have us for the night.  He did warn us about the work being done on the railroad bridge. It may or may not be open on Monday!  We will see what happens. 

Later in the afternoon we had a request from the boaters who helped us dock for us to come and talk to them and another boater about the Great Loop.  We spent an enjoyable time with Andy & Cheryl on Grand Folly, and Bill on Irony, talking about our looping experiences. We hope they will be able to take this amazing trip some day!

We came back to our boat and had dinner on board – chicken dijonnaise, yellow rice, green beans, and fresh cantaloupe!

Joyce finished the laundry and we planned our travels for the next week. The dockmaster will call us in the morning to let us know the status of the bridge!

Update: Monday morning – the bridge will not open until 3:00pm so we will leave then!

August 22-23, 2014  Days 117-118  Chesapeake Bay

Nanticoke River, Vienna Town Dock
Vienna, MD

It rained most of Friday so we stayed on board.  Bill did more bird carving and Joyce read and did some cleaning.  We saw lights of another boat approaching about 10:00 pm and Bill went out and helped them get tied up.  They traveled all day in the rain on their sailboat and were grateful for the help in the dark.  We are at a free town dock so there are no facilities and no lights. We do have very good and well maintained docks though!



A view of some of the booths from our boat



The Tomato Wars

Bluegrass band entertainment

More booths

Today, Saturday was the day for the Tomato Festival, so we attended that off and on all day. It was right here on the waterfront, so we could come back to the boat as needed. We walked around the booths and met many of the vendors. We walked down to the Community Center and met a local author. We listened to two different music groups perform in the gazebo.

We had lunch under the tent – had to have fried green tomatoes with the cheeseburgers!  The final event was the “Tomato Wars” which was consisted of teams throwing very ripe tomatoes at each other! It was a full day of family fun for the community and we enjoyed the atmosphere. The weather was cooler today and the rain held off until after the event was over!

We also walked to a Farmers Market today and bought cantaloupe, fresh corn on the cob and yes, a tomato! 

We had dinner on board and planned our trip tomorrow. We will continue to the headwaters of this river, the Nanticoke, which will take us to Seaford, Delaware.

August 21, 2014  Day 116  Chesapeake Bay

Nanticoke River, Vienna Town Dock
Vienna, MD

The load was sand but there were
several birds taking a free ride!

We departed Crisfield at 0800 and cruised back into Tangier Sound, then to Fishing Bay and then north into the Nanticoke River under a mix of sun and clouds and very calm water. The river is bordered by marshland and winds back and forth for several miles. There are only a few homes scattered along the shoreline.  We passed one tug boat with its barge and saw one fishing boat on the river. Otherwise we had it to ourselves!

We had planned to find an anchorage, but continued on to the small, historic town of Vienna, MD.   The town has very nice free public docks and we decided to dock here for two nights.  There is no power or water, but we can run the generator as needed.  And, we can get off the boat and walk!

One of many homes on Water Street built in the 1800's

We walked two blocks to Millie’s Roadhouse, the only restaurant in town. We had a nice seafood dinner of shrimp and scallops.  We also spotted a bakery across the street and stopped there on our way back. We bought a couple of cupcakes and cookies for tomorrow. The owner told us about the annual Tomato Festival here at the Waterfront on Saturday and insisted we stay for it!  So, our two night stay has now become three nights!

August 19-20, 2014  Days 114-115  Chesapeake Bay

Somers Cove Marina
Crisfield, MD

On Tuesday we waited for the rain showers to clear and then walked to a drug store and to Dollar General, which has some limited food supplies. Many of the storefronts on Main Street are empty, which is unfortunate. There are some tourists who come here to take the ferry to visit either Smith Island or Tangier Island.  Crisfield is known as the Crab Capital and we have seen many watermen on their deadrise boats heading out for their catch.

The weather was good on Wednesday, so Bill took advantage of this and washed the outside of the boat.  Joyce worked on cleaning the inside.  We will not be at a marina again until next Tuesday, so it is important to get many tasks done that require water or power. We had dinner on board and spent a quiet evening reading.

We will depart Crisfield in the morning and cruise north to the Nanticoke River, about 30-35 miles from here. The river is 40 miles long and we may go as far up as we can over the next few days.  This river will be new cruising grounds for us!