Down the Cheasapeak Bay to Annapolis

We woke Thursday Morning to a resounding clap of thunder at 5 am. Our sheltered little cove kept the waves away but we felt 25 kt winds. I fixed breakfast and in short order the rain stopped leaving misty haze fog on shore. Tom went to work a raising our anchor manually and we were off. One disconcerting thing was the occasional loud (very) re-percussive BOOM we surmised came from the Aberdeen testing grounds. I was on the watch for an errant shell to come landing across our bow. Tom didn't think we had anything to worry about.  We found the secret to getting by the crab pots. they have buoys on the river side to mark the boundary  so we did not go through the middle yelling at each other "watch out" "to Port" "no left" and various other instructions. 

Our trip to Annapolis was uneventful but finding a mooring ball was a comedy of communication and tight maneuvering around dozens of boats. We were successful at last, settled in and down for the night

shore in front of anchor site

dawn

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge crosses the bay in Maryland from Sandy Point (near Annapolis) to Kent Island; 

entering Severn River and Annapolis

things are out of order here - this is the Sassafrass River

Tom wearing our wench cover- since he was the acting wench that
morning

Deleware City to Anchor in Sassafrass River

an example of a crab pot with float

We stayed two days in Delaware City, caught up on some housekeeping and learned a lot from Tim the Dock Master for the marina. Wednesday in the wee hours of the morning we had some rain, but the wind sputtered out and we decided to take our chances, leaving when the tide turned. It did not take long for us to motor to the C & D Canal and in 2 hours we were in the Chesapeake Bay.We decided to find and anchorage for the night and choose the Sassafras River that leads to Georgetown. In the entrance we encountered crab pots, or floats marking where there are under the water. There were dozens and dozens of floats spread out across the mouth of the river. It took about 10 minutes for us to thread our way through the maze. Free of our obstacles we quickly found our perfect site. Tom got us ready to drop anchor with our electric windless and it didn't work. After much futzing and fuming and kicking, he had to had release the anchor.   But we were down for the night.

inlet to Delaware City Marina

These are buzzards - there were dozens circling around

several of the markers had large nest built in them

.

Second half of Fort Delaware -

Here are some odd facts and information about the fort.

In 1794, the French military engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant was surveying for defensive sites. He identified an island that he called "Pip Ash" as an ideal site for the defense of the prize of American commerce and culture".^[3][4]

The island that L'Enfant called Pip Ash was locally known as Pea Patch Island. This island was mostly unaffected by humanity with one exception. Dr. Henry Gale, a New Jersey resident, used Pea Patch as a private hunting ground.^[3] Gale was offered $30,000 for the island by the US military, but he refused. The military was determined to get the island, so they appealed to the Delaware state legislature, which seized the island from Dr. Gale on May 27, 1813.

PEA PATCH ISLAND — A chill fills the corner of the kitchen at Fort Delaware. The arrival of fall pleads innocent to the plummeting mercury that ghost hunters have measured at 14 degrees below room temperature. The reading indicates a cold spot – a portal to “the other side” or the spirit world.

Fort Delaware, sitting in the middle of the Delaware River, possesses a rich Civil War history and an unworldly populace. Restless souls seem to be the only inhabitants of the former prison and lure believers and skeptics inside its brick-and-granite walls.

The fort hosts Candlelight Ghost Tours, which provide visitors an opportunity for that close and unexplained encounter. Intrepid visitors tread cautiously through the shadowed belly of the fort while listening to historical, legendary and eerie tales. The program usually is offered on spring, summer and fall weekends. Several October dates are planned.

The most well-known resident spirit haunts the officers’ kitchen. Okonowicz, who wrote “Civil War Ghosts at Fort Delaware,” told the crowd that during a re-enactment, women, dressed in Civil War era clothing, huddled around a table, preparing food. A woman, thought to be another re-enactor in costume, appeared and observed what the workers were doing. She nodded her approval. No one thought much of the encounter until the woman disappeared into the corner walls.