Memorial Day Shake Down Cruise

Finally the weather and timing came together perfectly. Spent the first half of Saturday finishing the boat prep with Chris and Kelly. The task list grows continuously,  but the work is fun. The deck had a month's worth of pollen, and those little black mold spots that slowly cover the deck. Chris and scrubbed. Meanwhile Kelly gave the entire interior a super clean.  After 2 hours Iolair was perfect. One nice thing about a smaller space- it's not such a chore to clean.

With 70 degrees, sunshine, and no wind, we happily motored to Saint Michaels, MD. Left at 3:30 making 7 knots. Anchored out side south east of town at 7. We dinked into town for Pizza At Kelly's favorite,?Ava's. 40 minute wait but she has good taste-fantastic atmosphere and food. 

Slept well in a full anchorage. Wind and rolling northern swells picked up at 2 am,  but woke up to a perfect morning. Motored back out to the Bay @ 3 PM. Found some wind at Bloody Point and sailed back under the Spinnacker.... Then full sail into the Rhode River with 12 knots. Had to get out of the way of a monster cargo ship heading full steam for Baltimore.  Iolair always impresses us when there's a nice breeze blowing.  It is true. "She sails her self. "

Kelly's colorful veggie and chicken stir fry for dinner. Smooth as glass all night. Boats pointing every which way. Perfect sleeping and anchoring conditions. The Rhode is a beautiful place, even on a full Memorial Day with boats and people everywhere. The old homesteads lucky enough to be surrounded by Nature Conservancy lands must feel different about the boating season.  Sharing this place with boaters is part of their deal. All 30 minutes away from the slip. 

After a quick breakfast Monday AM,  we headed on over to the West River.  Kelly did a "full stop Chesapeake waterman move", bringing 33000 pounds and 47 feet to rest against the dock with a the spring line.  Her first time bringing Iolair into Hartge, and much better than my first time.  We quickly drove back into the "hustle... or get run over" NOVA megalopolis. Always hard to remember why.  

Started planning our summer trip. A week around the DelMarva peninsula.