May 28. Day 56 On to Oxford MD. 12.8 Nm. Total 1363 miles

Last night took drone shots of our anchorage on St Michael’s.

Today we are going on a short run further up the Choptank River to the Tred Avon River and an anchorage near Oxford,MD.

The creeks we traveled to return the Choptank River are filled with crabbing boats that either drag their baskets on the side of the boat or using small nets to dip into the water. When the baskets fill, they are hauled up and picked through with the small crabs returned to the water.

Oxford was established in 1683 as a port town that thrived through the Revolutionary War. Like St Michael’s, the town was built on shipbuilding, sail making, farming tobacco and vegetables, crabbing and oystering. You can still watch the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry pick-up or discharge it’s passengers as it has for over 300 years.

Oxford’s famous resident, Robert Morris built a house here in 1710, which has been incorporated into the Robert Morris Inn. His son Robert Morris Jr was considered one the chief financiers for the Revolutionary War.

Entering the harbor you pass a number of marinas. We got anchored and settled, just as we were getting ready to leave a young couple in a motorboat approached us asking about the Great Loop. They had dreams of doing the Loop and asked us all kinds of questions. We invited them aboard to see the boat.

Afterwards we launched the dinghy and headed for the Capsize restaurant. There we had a seafood lunch that was delicious. There was so much food that I will use the leftovers for dinner! We were told by the locals that the ice cream shop next to the restaurant was a must do, so after our walk around town, we will indulge. Never pass up good ice cream!

During our walk, we visited the Robert Morris Inn

and homes of sea captains dating from 1770- 1898, all with white picket fences.

Watched the Oxford-Bellevue ferry in operation

And wandered through the Cutts and Case Shipyard where they refurbish old wooden boats.

If you look closely thru the glass and expand the picture you will see the beautifully restored Foto.

Having finished our tour of Oxford we indulged in sharing ice cream.

Then Bill took some more drone shots. He is actually getting pretty good at controlling the drone and getting some excellent shots.

Reflections on the Great Loop -

Over the 5 and half months last year and the almost 7 months this year for a total of 351 days, we travelled 6348 miles, through two countries 19 states, traversed over 200 locks to find large cities, small towns, farmland, and vast natural waterways and bays. Our route took us through sites of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War, as well as the history of how America grew along her waterways. Beginning with canoes, rafts and barges people and goods moved through these waters. The sailing sloops and steamships changed these rivers, requiring locks and canals to be built to facilitate travel and commerce. Today it is amazing how much commerce moves through these waters. We developed a healthy respect for the freighter and tow captains and lock masters and harbor masters that keep the system working. We have lasting impressions of early morning sunrises, beautiful sunsets, and moonlit bays, the hospitality in all the towns we visited, the vast undeveloped shorelines

Day 194-195. 2nd year. December 3. On to Redington/Clearwater and then to Home. Miles 15 Total MIles 6021

Slept in again. Was nice to finally catch up on our sleep. Found our morning a bit foggy but promises to be a sunny day once it burns off. One of the boaters attracted a female manatee and her baby with his hose, so we walked over to the next dock to enjoy the show. Manatee are often found in shallow areas this time of year as they like the warm water. They also will take advantage of access to freshwater, especially if a hose is left hanging over the side of a boat. Bill also took some drone shots of Caladesi State Park. We did one last beach walk before we left today, turning north to explore that part of the island. Found a few turbans, an olive, 2 small horse conch and a whelk for our shell treasures today. Sea fog started to come in off the Gulf so we turned around and headed back to the boat. We left later in the day as we had to be close to a high tide to get out the channel at Caladesi. A local boater offered to lead the way to a cut that provides more water so we took

April 2 2022. We cast off our lines!

Day 1. April 2 We cast off our lines at 9:00am on out Great Loop adventure. Our friends, Phil and Aggie helped record our departure. The weather was overcast as we traveled out our canal and into Tampa Bay. As we approached the Skyway bridge a dolphin twice leaped completely out of the water, playing in our bow wake. An omen of good fortune for our adventure! As we ended our Tampa Bay crossing, the sun began to peek out and as we traversed past Longboat Key/Bradenton and entered Sarasota we had ourselves a sunny day. We traveled 34.4 nautical miles in four hours and anchored behind Otter Key, a mangrove Island near Lido Key in Sarasota. There we joined another boat from St Petersburg, FL. The owners were for many years sailors from the Caribbean down to Panama. What adventures they shared! The anchorage sports lots of manatees, dolphin and of course, the osprey who lords over Otter Key. Once settled properly, we took a nap, Will spend the rest of our day with a glass of wine

Crustacean Travels

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