Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): May 28

Back Creek - Anchorage

We had a relaxed morning in our anchorage, while we waited for the boat yards in the area to open. Solomons, is a picturesque island town nestled on the Patuxent River where it meets the Chesapeake Bay and advertised as the sailing capital of Maryland. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of boats in this small harbor, which means there are a lot of boat yards that offer any service a cruiser might need. We wanted to get the boat hauled out and check the bottom and propeller. We've noticed a loss of speed while cruising up the ICW, so Stan figured the prop was covered in barnacles...it was. There were more barnacles on our prop than we've ever seen before. We had the boat hauled, the barnacles scraped off the prop, the hull pressure washed and a few zincs replaced in less than an hour. I've seen our boat hauled out and moved around in a sling a half a dozen times and it still amazes me. Boat yards move boats a lot bigger than ours around like they were bathtub toys, but I still worry like a mother watching their child take their first ride on a two wheeler, when they lift our boat from the water. I take lots of pictures and even video each event...not only does it give me material for the blog, but it also serves as a reference to see if there are any changes in the bottom. We used Washburn's Boat Yard, they were able to get us in at a moment's notice, they were professional, friendly and gave us a fair price.

Once we were back in the water we moved further back in Back Creek and anchored in a beautiful little cove. Last spring we found a little brewery with great brick oven pizza, so we took the dinghy and bikes ashore to visit Ruddy Ducks again. They didn't disappoint...we had a great meal and got a little exercise. We spent the evening relaxing on the bridge watching a lightning show in the distant sky.

Out she comes