Day 7, Year 8: Patuxent River to Great Wicomico River
Date: Saturday, November 10, 2012
Weather: Another Beautiful Day, Temp High 50’s F; Wind SE 10
Latitude: 37 37.522 N
Longitude: 076 19.363 W
Location: Mill Creek Off Ingram Bay, Great Wicomico River, VA

The weather gets just a little warmer each day and the sun keeps shining. It looks like we will meet up with windy, rainy weather on Tuesday, but we’ll keep enjoying these beautiful fall days while they last. We got up and had a leisurely breakfast with Ron and Suzie so didn’t leave Leason Cove until 9:30 am. Before we left, Ron showed us their little oyster ‘farm’ that is attached to the dock. Ron and Suzy and many of their neighbors grow these oysters and then release them in order to help boost the diminishing oyster population. We then got the official ‘cheerleader’ farewell on the dock. A few years ago when I first met Ron and Suzy, they somehow found out that I was a cheerleader in high school and they aren’t going to let me live that one down.

We had 10 knots of wind on the nose today and didn’t get current going our way until late afternoon. It wasn’t until we were passing the mouth of the Potomac that we got a little boost from current. We ran the engine at almost full throttle all day and watched a beautiful sunset just as we were rounding the last marks to the entrance to Mill Creek. It was dusk when we reached the anchorage so we barely made this one. We had a little trouble getting the anchor to stick but since there is no wind and very little current in here, we finally decided we were secure enough. We launched the dinghy and headed over to Merganser for dinner with Kevin and Claire. Kevin put fish on the barbeque and Claire made a red grapefruit and roasted fennel salad. It was yuumy. But the best part of dinner was dessert (or at least it was the most fun part). Kevin and Claire brought ice cream packed in dry ice. The ice cream was a great idea, but the dry ice did its job too well. The ice cream was frozen so hard that we were able to clink it with knives and make music. Kevin and Claire were playing Cherry Garcia and Mud Pie. It was great. Then Kevin attacked the Mud Pie with a knife, missing once and stabbing his thumb, so that we could finally eat the ice cream. We had a lovely dinner, caught up on each other’s lives, and made plans for tomorrow morning. Kevin and Claire will come to Windbird for breakfast and then we will head out in the dinghy to do a little exploring. There are dolphins and pelicans in this part of the Chesapeake and so many birds. Kevin and Claire were greeted by a flock of mergansers when they arrived earlier today. Merganser met mergansers. We will find a beach to explore and then just before noon, we will pull up that anchor that we aren’t sure is securely stuck in the mud and head to either Deltaville or Jackson Creek in the Piankatank River just south of the Rappahannock. It is only about 20 miles, so hopefully we will arrive before dark.

121110 Day 7 Passage South, USA–Patuxent River to Great Wicomico River