Chesapeake Chase Day 27: St. Mary’s to Solomons

July 8, 2022: St. Mary’s

We arose early enough that by 8:30 AM we were getting in the dingy on our way to explore St. Mary’s. 

St. Mary’s College allows boaters to tie their dingy up at the college waterfront.  It was a quick ride in the dinghy.  Once we were tied up, we checked the waterfront first.  It was impressive!  There were multiple sailboats, kayaks, and paddle boards.  St. Mary’s also has men and women’s rowing teams.

The following words are taken from a display board in the River Center:

The St. Mary’s River

We sail across its surface to play, and we monitor its depths to learn.  We plunge into its waters to awaken, and we gaze across them to be inspired.  Its waters feed our academic pursuits and our sense of adventure.  As a backdrop for races, concerts, and festivals, the river connects us as a community.  As a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, this watery highway also connects us with the greater Atlantic world of Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.  Aboard the Dove, the British crossed the ocean to reach this very point of land.  Here they established St. Mary’s City as Maryland’s first capital.  Two centuries later, students rode steamboats up the same river to reach this campus.

In all these ways and more, the St. Mary’s River defines the college, and the River Center celebrates this identity.

The college was originally known as St. Mary’s Female Seminary.  It began in 1840 as a state- owned secondary boarding school for women. 

Fred and I walked through the campus.  It is beautifully laid out with so much lush greenspace.  There appears to be much concern for, and respect given to environmental issues.

We ended our walk in a reconstructed portion of the original St. Mary’s City which was founded in 1634 by Leonard Calvert. 

One of the buildings is currently occupied by Enso artisan bakery.  We had read about it in our guidebook and were very happy to find it open for business. We bought two lemon glazed yeast donuts, best donuts we’ve had in many years, and a loaf of sourdough bread.  The bread was scrumptious!!!

Captain’s Comments: St. Mary’s

It’s actually pretty easy to wake up early on a boat in an anchorage, especially after a peaceful night of sleep. I’ll let you in on a boater secret: if you go out on deck before sunrise to take a picture of the beautiful sky, no one will notice.

It was still a beautiful morning the next time I got up, and the temperature was tolerable.

After walking through the beautiful St. Mary’s College campus, when the Admiral asked which way back to the boat, I set the destination on my phone for the bakery. Almost as good as ice cream.

On to Solomons

It was soon time to head back to Betty Lou.  Today’s destination was Solomons Island and the Safe Harbor Zahnisers Marina.

Things of interest along the way were a lighthouse in the bay, a large barge being pushed by a large tug, and an interesting motor sailboat.

We were going to arrive past closing time, so Fred called ahead to get our slip location.  We would be on a t-dock which would be easy for the two of us to manage on our own. 

As I age, there are occasions when adjusting to something different doesn’t happen quickly or easily–I know many of you can relate to that.  I had all the lines and fenders on the starboard side of Betty Lou ready for docking, and was prepared with the stern line to get onto the dock and tie off, then grab the bow line with the boat hook.  As we got closer to the dock and I was almost close enough to step off, I realized there were no cleats on the dock to tie off to.  There were just posts.  Instead of adjusting to the situation, I panicked.  Fortunately for me there was little wind or current and my expert captain handled things.  Next time, I will be ready!

The marina personnel had left us a packet tied to the post with all the information we needed, and life was good!  Dinner had been cooking all day in the crockpot so once we were securely tied and the electricity was hooked up, we went to explore the marina and amenities. 

It was a lovely marina with the best swimming pool yet.  They even provided a lifeguard. 

There was no grocery nearby; however, the marina provided a free shuttle to the store, and we took advantage of it.  The laundry and bathhouse were being remodeled but there was another spot to take showers.  If we had a lot of dirty laundry to wash, the shuttle service would also go to the laundromat (we didn’t try that option).  A boater’s lounge was well equipped with games, jigsaw puzzles, books and magazines, a coffee maker, and a large screen TV.  (We did not take advantage of this, either.)

Tomorrow we would explore the island.  There seemed to be plenty of places we could walk to, including a marine museum.

This had been another wonderful day.

Captain’s Comments: Solomons

Safe Harbor Zahnisers Marina was heavily focused on sailboats, as are many on the west coast of the bay.

Even though the office closed before we arrived, they posted reserved signs on the dock where we had our slip.

They also had a unique way of mounting their power and water connections on the docks. Seemed to hold up well.

And another Moxie.