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Cool Breeze does the Chesapeake / May 31, 2008

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Cool Breeze does the Chesapeake / May 31, 2008
5-31-08  Wow!  It’s the last day of May.  How time flies when you’re having fun.  We pulled anchor and left our idyllic anchorage before 9:00 a.m., hoping to beat the foul weather predicted for the afternoon and evening.  St. Leonard’s Creek was pretty calm, but once we entered the river again, the wind picked up to over 20 knots, dead on our nose coming out of the creek.  The current, which was over a knot, was against us, but at least we weren’t pounding in the waves.  We did get quite a spray over our bow, though.  We turned up the river and had the wind on our beam for most of the journey, so it wasn’t too unpleasant.  Within 2 hours we were turning back towards Solomons, this time making our way cautiously into Back Creek where the marina is.  This is a very protected cove, and unless we had just experienced it, we would never have known the wind was so fierce and there were small craft warnings on the river.  Brian and Keith, the dockhands who so skillfully helped us dock, said the only way they knew it was really blowing on the river was to have 10 knots at the marina.  We had prepared well for our docking with cowboy piling loops already set on both port and starboard, as well as stern and bow lines, so we had probably the easiest docking ever.  It really helps that the wind is not howling, too!  This is a great marina with a heated swimming pool with a lap lane, tiled individual showers, and as I mentioned earlier, is the home of the Naughty Gull.  Bill washed the boat while I worked on the blog, and then we headed to the Gull for a crab cake sandwich for lunch.  This is where we first experienced a crab cake sandwich over 20 years ago, and we eagerly anticipate eating our fill during the next two days.  The crab cake sandwich and the homemade potato chips were as good as we remembered.  We went back to Cool Breeze and got the bicycles from their perch on the deck and prepared to ride to the shopping center.  Christine came off first and Bill put the seat on and she was ready to roll.  Next came her evil sister, and she had a surprise for us.  The clip that holds the seat to the bike had mysteriously disappeared rendering the bike useless.  Back to the deck she went.  I have to give Bill credit for not having a temper tantrum, though I could tell he was seething inside.  We parked Christine in the marina bike rack and hiked up the road.  The first store we came to was West Marine.  The store manager, John Price, was behind the counter, and Bill told him his sad tale of woe, asking if there were any spare clips from returned bikes that we could have.  He said he didn’t have any, but said that the store in Annapolis, where we hope to be in a few days, might.  He got that store on the phone for Bill, and he talked with Connie, the manager of the Annapolis store.  She suggested that John swap out a clip from a bike that he already had in stock, which John readily agreed to do.  So, West Marine and John Price save the day for us.  If any of our friends at West Marine in Hilton Head are reading this blog, I’m sure you’ll get a big kick out of this.  As always, West Marine gives first rate service, and John went over and beyond to help out customers in need.  This picture is John and his side kick Patricia Lewis coming to our rescue with the much appreciated part.  We returned to Cool Breeze, retrieved evil sister from the deck, and pedaled off to the grocery store, where we bought the few items we needed then hurried home to beat the approaching storms.  We are watching it barrel in, bringing the temperature down by at least 15 degrees.  We have both been so hot today after weeks and weeks of the big chill.  It is my theory that the vast numbers of Canadians who came south to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate have created a huge vacuum, thus sucking cold Canadian air into the southern U.S.  This has lingered all through the unseasonably cool spring we’ve had.  Perhaps now they are all returning home and the reverse will happen.  Warm tropical air will rush northward as the Canadians exit.  My prognostication is for a quick reversal in the temperature and a long, hot summer.  The rains have begun and the wind is over 20 knots, even in this protected harbor.  As I write the wind intensifies, and the rain is coming in sideways.  Soon we have hail battering the boat.  We see 47.4 knots on the wind meter, something we haven’t seen before.  Thank goodness we’re safely tied to the dock.  Bill peers out and sees that the canvas part of the panel we had put in in anticipation of the storm has blown off, leaving only the plexiglass in place.  After the storm finally subsides, we venture out and find the canvas panel lying on the deck next to the mast.  Thank goodness, we thought it was gone for good.  We are under a tornado watch until 9:00 p.m. tonight, so we may just have a simple dinner aboard and take this time to read and relax.  We plan to be here in Solomons through tomorrow. Full Story »

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