Back on the Boat

A few weeks ago we went out for a sail with the intention of spending the night at anchor at Trippe Creek, one of favorite anchorages on the Chesapeake. We had a nice sail and had just finished dropping the anchor when I received a tornado watch alert on my phone. We knew there was a chance of thunderstorms and were willing to take that risk. Tornadoes were a different story, especially when we were just over 3 hours from home. So, we pulled up the anchor and motor-sailed home, arriving just before dark. 

Yesterday we set out again with a plan to anchor out for a few days. It was gorgeous day and we set sail for Hudson Creek on the Little Choptank River. We dropped the anchor and had the entire anchorage to ourselves, with the exception of a pair of osprey and a bald eagle. I used our new Omnia Stovetop Oven to make a chicken, rice and vegetable casserole. It worked really well and the casserole was quite tasty. As we were getting ready for bed the mosquitoes started to swarm inside the cabin. We quickly put the screens in the port lights and on the companionway. It gave us a chance to use our new screen door. I had purchased one of the magnetic screen doors that I had seen advertised. They have Velcro on the outer edges and magnets in the middle. The idea is that you just walk through the door and the magnets separate, then reattach themselves. Since the companionway has a horizontal as well as a vertical surface, George was skeptical that the magnets would hold. I thought it was worth a try. Several days ago while we were at home we attached the adhesive-backed Velcro to the companionway. I then removed the binding and Velcro from the sides of the screen door, cut the door to fit, then reattached the binding and Velcro. When we tried it last night it worked like a charm. 

After George killed all of the mosquitoes inside the cabin we slept very well until a waterman woke us sometime before dawn. He started his trot line right off of our bow. We don’t like to complain since catching crabs and oyesters is how the watermen make their living. We are in their way so we consider it part of the experience of anchoring on the Chesapeake.