Great Loop & Cruising Adventure Blog

The 8th annual Solomons Watermen Festival is a great taste of the local culture and one we’re glad we were able to attend. Scott, Angie, Lisa and I went by dinghy to the county docks where the competition was being held, so we could witness the standing room only Watermen Docking Competition.

Here’s how it works… one at a time a watermen boat backs into a slip to wait for the signal to start. After the signal the waterman’s goal is to power his boat as fast as he can out of the start slip, slam it into reverse and back into another slip, stop and (one person doing all this) throw four looped lines onto four pilings, all the while sending cascading waves around the harbor and up onto shore. It’s the equivalent of a rodeo’s lassoing of a horse. Nineteen boats broken down into four categories so everyone seemed to win something. An astounding new festival record was accomplished in just nineteen seconds… fun entertainment to provide our guests on their first day in the Solomons.

We have had some interesting neighbors while spending the summer at Solomon’s Yachting Center especially Ron and Suzy Striegel on their beautiful Hatteras yacht, Reel Estate. Ron and Suzy invited us over for Happy Hour while Scott and Angie were here and we were all captivated, not only by the spread of hors d’œuvres and Golden Margaritas, by their boating stories and experiences.

They showed us photos of 9/11 as they were transiting down the Hudson River past Manhattan during the disaster. We have never seen photos like these, from this perspective. They have consecutive photos showing the towers being hit all the way to the big smoke and debris cloud that totally obscured the island. AMAZING!

Ron and Suzy have lived on their boat almost twenty years and have traveled up and down the ICW about twenty-eight times. The Striegel’s share our passion for living aboard while cruising America’s waterways.

We were out in the dinghy when this storm moved over us. Very dramatic with the dark clouds and rain off in the distance. We made it back to the boat just minutes before that big downfall.

 Last night Scott and Angie treated us to a fabulous dinner at the Dry Dock just down the road from our marina. Thanks guys!

Jim and I celebrated our seventeenth wedding anniversary last Saturday then on Sunday afternoon we welcomed our friends Angie and Scott Way, Waterways (above, right), who flew in from Charlevoix, Michigan, for a brief stay on Kismet.

I think we would all agree that the highlight of the visit was, after waiting for a calm day, going up the Patuxent River to St. Leonard’s Creek to anchor out for the balance of the afternoon enjoying grilled hamburgers, a little deep breathing on the flybridge and watching the jellyfish and schools of fish disturbing the waters around us.

Scott helped Jim and Rick with boat projects and Angie and I walked, cooked, went over some blog issues and played games. Scott and Angie, avid boaters themselves, are taking a one-year hiatus, from their jobs, to do an educational tour of the United States, in an RV this fall, with their three children (see sidebar for a link to their blog). Anyways it was a pleasure for us to have them onboard. They are so easy going and helpful guests we really felt a void when they left.

 Here was an unusual boat we saw. Looks like several stuck together to make one.

MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Association) is a member driven cruising club that Lisa and I joined earlier in the year. We joined as a means to meet like type boaters as we travel and through their national and regional gatherings. As luck would have it MTOA was having a National Rendezvous in Crisfield, Maryland… a short 45 miles southwest of Solomons on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The mission of the group is to share, compare, help and educate its mostly trawler owner members in their boat cruising lifestyle and with over 2,000 members there is a large collective data base in the minds of its members, which for us translates into being more informed.

Crab picking night (above - left to right Brantly, Brenda, Frank Erwin-President of MTOA)

 Hurricane Hazel gave a real life demonstration on crab picking.

We were surprised to see some boaters we have met over the last four years. The Hucks on Sybaris, the Romans on Andante and the Esch’s on Fet-Esch to name a few. MTOA, much like AGLCA, has group dinners, cocktail hours, pot-luck spreads in the evenings and it’s all great fun.

Above right to left: Lee and Carol, Carol Anne; Louis and Diane, Bella Luna; Brantly and Brenda, Reel Estate. Below right: Karen and Jeffery Siegel (Active Captain) aCappella and Brantly and Brenda again.

It’s always easy to strike up a conversation with a fellow boater, they’re always willing to help or share an idea and this is what MTOA and AGLCA are all about. It was even easier for us at the MTOA rendezvous because it’s an all volunteer organization where everyone chips in with chores, committees, etc. Lisa poured drinks and I worked moving tables and chairs… all stuff that needs to be done but in the course of doing so we were getting to know our new club members.

Life is soooo good especially after a piece of Smith Island layered cake.

On our way to the MTOA Rendezvous we planned an overnight stop at Tangier Island.

Tangier Island, Virginia is a set of low lying islands, first settled over 300 years ago, that sit off the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. We had heard and read good things about this watermen (men and women who make their living fishing and crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay) town and because we had never been we needed to go. Tangier Island is not a resort town, it’s a blue collar working town that has a lot a character and history and therefore represented a logical stop for Lisa and I.

It’s all about crabs, they are king here. Dotted along both sides of the channel entering Tangier Island are crabbing sheds, work stations, piles of crab pots and mostly small boats. The few restaurants they have all specialize in crabs and crab cakes so naturally we had to partake. We had the best crab cakes we’ve had since we’ve been in the Chesapeake Bay at Fisherman’s Corner Restaurant.

Besides the crab cakes, two other highlights of our visit were getting to know our harbormaster Milton Parks. Milton was born, raised and continues to live on the island and is the owner of the 40-year old Parks Marina. Milton greeted us upon arrival, helped with docking, offered to take us around the island and provided navigation guidance out of the narrow, shallow swift current channel. I think he liked Lisa. He asked her a couple of times “Do you like living on a boat honey?” I’m not sure but I think he’s secretly hoping she’d say, “No” so that she’d stay on the island with him!

The other highlight was the Muddy Toes Library. This cute little library is a book exchange like no other. It’s set up inside a six by ten-foot shed and has books stacked all the way to the ceiling and they are all free for the taking. Of all the library exchanges we’ve been to in our boating travels this was by in large the best. Great selection of current authors and topics

We’ll be back!

The was our sunset view tonight, off the back of Kismet tonight, looking back at the entrance to the channel of Tangier Island.

It was time for a complete overhaul of my little herb garden. I had to cut the thyme and parsley way back and hope it comes back with some fresh soil and a little loving care. Boating just wouldn’t seem right without being able to dig in some dirt once in awhile. Jim is a sweetheart to go along with my herbal obsession, most captains would not allow anything this messy aboard.

Lisa and I are crazy about being on our Kismet traveling, anchoring or sitting at the dock. Some might say we’re a little over the top! We never are at a loss for things to do, places to go or projects to work on, but every once in a while it’s nice to get off the water and onto land. So when we were extended an invitation from our boating friends Louis and Diane to join them at their beach house in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina over the Labor Day weekend we jumped at the chance to visit them.

Louis and Jim spent time on a rainy day to research boat supplies, weather and trip info while the girls watched movies. We will be hooking up early November to head south to explore the St. John’s River together. We are all excited and anxious to travel together.

We thought that this restaurant, Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q, was unique. This is a local restaurant and as the readily available sink suggests, you may get your hands a little dirty eating this delicious southern home-style cooking.

For three days we laughed, told stories about boating, went to the local marinas and boat stores, sampled the local restaurants, Cox’s Family Restaurant, Smithfields and Picatta and were their guests at their Coral Beach Club for a wonderful dinner dance (see post below this one). We sure had a great time even though Louis, Diane and Lisa all beat me at Greed. I call this Louis’ revenge, because he lost the last time we played the game on our boat during their last visit.

Louis took us to the Island Marina Marine Surplus store to meet Ron, the owner, and the guys had so much fun looking for parts and spares for their boats while the women patiently waited. It’s amazing what you might find in this surplus store if you just dig deep enough.

Besides the camaraderie and Louis and Diane’s overwhelming hospitality one of the other highlights of the trip was sleeping in a king size bed… there was so much room it felt like we were sleeping in two different beds. Lisa even asked me in the morning if I was mad at her because we aren’t used to sleeping so far away from each other.

Three days went way too fast, I guess it always does when you’re having a good time.