Saturday, June 15: Catching up with Friends in Baltimore

Date:                           June 15, 2013

Day on the Cruise:      61

From:                          Annapolis, MD                                                            

To:                              Henderson's Wharf Marina, Baltimore, MD

Statute Miles:              30.6

Time:                           4.0 Hrs

Cumulative Miles:       1,476.9 SM

On Board:                  Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut, Michelle, and Jack

Today we are in Baltimore, MD!

Baltimore, MD

We are in the inner harbor area of Baltimore

We got a beautiful day to cruise up to Baltimore Harbor. Winds were very light and it was clear and warm. There were dozens of boats in the Severn River and in the Bay. It was a textbook day for Summer boating on the Chesapeake.

Passing an old wooden SkipJack as we leave Annapolis

Good bye Back Creek and Annapolis!

A beautiful morning on the Chesapeake Bay

The twin spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at Annapolis. This bridge is over 5 miles long as it crosses the Bay.

Shady Pint Light House in the Bay between Annapolis and Baltimore

The trip from Annapolis to Baltimore is not all that far. The real surprise that we had was how long it took to get from the Bay to the inner harbor area where we are staying. At one point you can see the Bay Bridge at Annapolis as well as downtown Baltimore. It seemed like it took forever to get into the downtown area.

The recreational boat traffic was very heavy. No courtesy or rules of the road up here. Anyone that can buy a pair of boat shoes is out in a big boat. We were passed by two big Sea Rays up on plane, one on each side of us, throwing huge wakes, without any effort to pass us slowly, and this created a big problem for us with severe rocking. I saw some of the worst boat operating skills and rudeness that I have ever seen, and this includes experience in the ICW in South Florida!

There is an area of the Potapsco River that connects the Bay with the inner harbor where two shipping channels converge. It is know for being very dangerous for huge ship wakes if you encounter commercial shipping in this area. So, I was very cautious and wary of passing ships in this area. Luckily, the one ship that we passed in the channel was way before this channel intersection, and while this big ship was pushing a huge bow wave, the wake was not as bad as the aforementioned Sea Ray incident.

We passed this huge ship in the channel coming into Baltimore. Look at the bow wave she is pushing!

Here she comes, right by us!

One neat thing that we saw on our way into the harbor was Ft. McHenry. This is the fort that was attacked by the British fleet. During the attack, a fellow by the name of Francis Scott Ket was imprisoned on a British ship that was positioned overlooking the battle. It was on this ship, during the attack, that Key wrote the "Star Spangled Banner". There is a red white and blue buoy in the river marking the spot where the British ship lay and where the song was written. By the way, the British fleet that attacked Ft. McHenry actually staged at Tangier Island and Oxford, MD, both places that we have visited since being in the Chesapeake Bay.

Approaching the Francis Scott Key Bridge coming into Baltimore

Downtown Baltimore in the distance through the Key Bridge

This buoy marks the spot where Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner"

I picked our marina here in Baltimore from experiences of some of the bloggers that I read. I wanted to stay in the inner harbor area, and Fells Point with its restaurants and shops and proximity to Little Italy, seemed like a neat place.

I am somewhat disappointed with the marina. Maybe we were spoiled in Annapolis. This place is built indeed off an old pier or wharf. I could imagine the old pier being covered by a huge building at one time. The marina is bigger than I imagined, but only about 50% of the slips have boats in them. The boats are somewhat aged and seem to have a lot of liveaboards on them. The docks are floating, which we like, but they are old wooden docks. The docks are connected to a huge gravel parking lot where the wharf used to be. This lot is used for employee and guest parking for the adjacent hotel.

Marina here in Baltimore. Beautiful, isn't it!

We have had a real problem finding a suitable place to walk Maggie. There is no grass on the marina property. Once outside the gates, there are some planter areas and some artificial grass areas in front of a very nice condo building. We did find a city park about two blocks from the marina that has some grass. This is really our first experience of staying in an urban setting with our dog. It will take some getting used to, for sure.

Tonight we got together with my old Air Force friend and his wife. Jack and Michelle live on the outskirts of Baltimore, and they drove in to eat dinner with us. Jack and I were young Lieutenants back in 1971 in a Red Horse Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. We were both newly married and fresh out of college. We bonded together and have kept up with each other over the years. We last saw Jack over 20 years ago when he had a project in Alabama.

We went to a great Italian place to eat. I think it was near Little Italy. We enjoyed reminiscing about the "good ole days" and catching up on what everyone has been doing. It was really a lot of fun seeing each other again.

Jack and Chuck

Jack, Chuck, Michelle

Susan, Jack, Chuck

Michelle makes a friend with Trooper

Tomorrow we stay in Baltimore and we hope to explore Fells Point. From walking around with Maggie, it looks like a very interesting place.

Thanks for Reading!