September 27, 1998

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since last I wrote. We had been headed for the Tred Avon River and Oxford and hoped to meet up with Charlie & Joyce on Woodstock. Well, we did!! We had a great visit with them, but was it ever hot! Luckily, they have airconditioning! We spent a few days in Oxford and walked about to see the sights of this lovely town.

Just before we left, we ran into Soleskin – an Alberg 37 with Becky & John aboard. We had met them at the Alberg Rondezvous at Kindale which we attended with our friends, Brian & Kathy Marsh. To make a long story short – they told us to stay at their dock in the Magothy River where we were headed next.

The dock was in use when we arrived and we anchored out. The next day, we met the owners of the dock and they insisted that we use a slip at another dock of theirs. Another cruiser took me to Price Club and the grocery store. Then we borrowed a car to meet Jeremy. In total, we stayed there 4 days and these people even gave us the “shirts off their backs”. Ted Tepper works for an electrical company and gets given lots of t-shirts. He said that he didn’t like the ones without pockets, but I think that he figured the poor Canadians could use them! And we did.

Jeremy arrived on the Saturday. On the way back from the airport, we picked up some of the Blue Crab ( cooked ) to give Jeremy a taste on the Bay. Sunday morning, we set sail for the Chester River and anchored further up in the Corsica River. It was a lovely afternoon and evening.

The next day, we sailed down the bay, through the Kent Narrows bridge and into the Miles River to visit St Michaels. The Soleskin crew had given us passes to the Maritime Museum and we certainly took advantage of those. As we were relaxing after a busy day, a loud cry of ” it is you!!” was heard. One of our friends from Port Stanley, Jean Vedova ( Kettle Creek Inn) was aboard a sailboat just entering the basin. Much catching up ensued. In the morning the female crew visited Windswept for coffee and muffins.

We got a late start that day, but were only going a short ways. We went up the Wye River into Dividing Creek. What a wonderful anchorage! There were no visible homes and only a few boats. The night was very cool and clear and we spent a lot of time watching the stars.

>gt;From there, we sailed out of Eastern Bay and across the Cheaspeake into West River to anchor off of Galesville. Another lovely spot with only one other anchored boat.

The next morning, we left for Annapolis and picked up a mooring buoy. As we are hooking it, we hear ” Hello Windswept!!” It was Alex and Colleen from Dromenon. They also said Terry and Jeanie from Blythe Spirit were still in the harbour, but leaving in the morning. A cocktail party was scheduled for 5 pm on Blythe Spirit and we crashed it! The suprised look on Jeanie’s face was well worth it. They left Saturday morning and we did some land touring ( the Naval Academy etc ).

Sunday morning early Jeremy left for the airport. We moved from the mooring field and anchored in Back Creek, just off of the Gemini plant. Then, it was time to do the two weeks of laundry that had been accumulating. And of course, the day was the hottest it had been in a few days.

Now, we must get groceries as the larder is depleted. And we have to take the mainsail in for repairs. The lowest batten in the sail has worn through and needs repair. Then, we will probably move on to the Magothy River for a day or two. The big BAM – used boat parts sale will be start on Friday and we must be back here for that.

We had planned to leave right after the boat show and head south. But…… There are a lot of hurricanes in the Atlantic and we may just take our time leaving. We will wait and see.

Bye for now and all the best to everyone

Heather
Heather & Murray Rand
aboard Windswept IV
Ham Radio VE3 ZUA