Heralded as “the best anchorage on the Chesapeake” in several Waterway Guide reviews, we headed from Oxford to the LaTrappe. Apparently the word is out… a sailboat was moored tight to the cove’s edge and a Sabre look-alike power boat slipped into a spot behind it after we moored a hundred yards or so away.
This spot is semi-protected by a sandy, grass covered spit of land that has sweet beach spots and lots of no trespassing signs. We took the dinghy to the far side of the spit and beached it on a spot without a sign. Though there were some blue skies peeking through the clouds, it was mostly cloudy but warm. The water was cool and clean with a steep drop-off just a few feet from the shore. I was in over my head with one stroke. Heavenly. So I got my swim and dinghy ride in!
We can see a lovely house with comfortable looking outdoor seating from our mooring. It has a small dock with a very small sailboat and a larger, open power boat. They ferried a group of children and adults and lots of beach equipment to the sandy spit around 6pm. It took three trips and I think the captain of the boat barely had time to step on the beach before it was time to start ferrying everything back. The house came from was across the creek from the beach (definitely not contiguous with their property) so I think they were probably ignoring the trespassing sign, too.
Dinner aboard — Tuesday grilled Italian sausages with peppers and onions. Portioned out our red wine stash. I am determined (we’ll see how determined!!) to save the bottle of wine Mary & Jack Anderson brought us from her brother’s vineyard to share with Gary K when we meet up in Annapolis. Wednesday we had grilled lamb chops with crispy smashed potatoes and a romaine/tomato salad (the last of the fresh vegetables aboard!) I see a provisioning trip ahead of us at our next stop!
Cliff reports there was a deluge of rain around 3am. I slept right through it. The boat is sparkling with all of the brackish spots rinsed away. I’m repeating myself if I remind our Lake Michigan friends about how nice fresh water boating is:-)
First thing he did Wednesday morning was check the “breadcrumbs” on our charts to see whether the boat had slipped any on the anchor. A bit — not much. But the wind is up and we decided to tuck into the more protected spot where the sailboat and power boat had been moored. Both of them left last night, which seemed strange to us. Hope they don’t know something about this anchorage that we should know! Just in case, Cliff set his alarm for 3am to check on how the anchor is holding.
Off to the Kent Narrows Cut tomorrow. Staying at Knapp’s and they’ve “promised” that the swift current of the narrows is nearly non-existent once you are inside their docks. We’ll see!
More photos to come!