Sassafras River

George recently commented that the Sassafras River had become our "white whale"--as in Moby Dick. We had wanted to visit the Sassafras for over a year but just couldn't get there. Last week we finally caught our white whale.

We left on Monday afternoon after George's dentist appointment. We sailed for a few hours and anchored in Dun Cove, near the mouth of the Choptank River. We left Dun Cove early Tuesday morning and started the 70 nautical mile trip up the Chesapeake toward the Sassafras. Our plan was to get there before dark. We started out with good sailing conditions. After a few ours the winds dropped and we decided to motor-sail to improve our chances of getting as far as the Sassafras. We checked the weather radar throughout the day, watching for thunderstorms. By the afternoon thunderstorms were starting to head our way and the Coast Guard broadcast severe storm warnings. We cranked up the engine even higher hoping to be securely anchored by the time they reached us. It was a long, hot, not-very-enjoyable day of motor-sailing. George likened it to a "forced march". I began to wonder if the Sassafras was worth it.

The bay becomes narrow in the northern parts. Ships pass very closely!

 

We turned into the Sassafras and made it to our first anchorage 15 minutes before the first severe thunderstorm was due to arrive. We had the option of anchoring in the open, outer portion of Turners Creek or going through a narrow section to a more protected area. I trusted our chart plotter to get us through to the more protected area. Well, the chart plotter was wrong! I went aground on my first attempt. I reversed off of the shoal and circled around to the area between the green marks and the shore. It was only about 20-30 feet wide and was listed as being 2 feet deep on the chart plotter. It was actually 17 feet deep! We anchored, went for a quick swim and watched the storms go on either side of us. Phew!

I came to a stop when I went aground. I backed up, looped around and went through the "shallow" blue, polka dotted area.

Not much room between the green mark and the shore.

 

The next day we took the dinghy to shore and walked around Turners Creek County Park. After lunch we moved a short distance to Back Creek behind Knight Island. This anchorage overlooked Mount Harmon Plantation, a privately-run historic property. The following day we dinghied over to their dinghy dock and took a one-hour tour of the house. It was very interesting. After the tour we walked on the trails.

Mount Harmon Plantation

 

Tobacco farmed by an Amish farmer on the Mount Harmon Plantation

View from the roof of Mount Harmon Plantation house

 

Breeze On

 

The next day we moved to the Georgetown Yacht Basin and picked up a mooring. We ate dinner at the Kitty Knight restaurant, high on a bluff overlooking the river. The sunset was stunning.

Sunset from Kitty Knight Restaurant

This blue heron liked to roost on mooring balls in the Georgetown Yacht Basin

 

On Friday morning we went back down the river to anchor in the outer Turner's Creek area. We once again watched thunderstorms pass nearby but did not get a direct hit. We were rewarded with some beautiful rainbows.

 

We got up early Saturday morning to start our return trip to the Choptank. The wind was from the northwest at about 20 knots. After we turned into the bay we were moving right along at over 9 knots. We once even hit 9 1/2 knots, a new record for us. It was a fantastic day of sailing.

A great day of sailing!

 

We spent our last night of the trip anchored in Leadenham Creek, off of Broad Creek.

We had a few challenges during the week. My reading glasses broke right in the middle. I tried taping them back together, but they would still fall off my face. I finally settled on using a pencil to brace them and they worked fine the rest of the week.

 

Also, the toilet in the forward head finally quit. We had been expecting it since the other head had broken months before. Fortunately, we had the composting head in the aft head as a back-up. Jabsco had already sent us a "re-engineered" toilet to replace the first one that broke, so we will use that as the replacement for the forward head.

A reminder to not use this toilet!

We very much enjoyed our trip to the Sassafras in spite of the challenges and the initial "forced march" to get there. The water is fresh and nettle-free, making the swimming very easy. It is always nice to see new scenery and visit new and interesting places.

 

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