day ten - across Chesapeake Bay and back again

Morning comes with a distinct feeling of fall.  Cool and crisp, rich blue skies.  The sunrise creeping its way south.

Sail off anchor 7:25, a gentle drift out of the little cove.  7:30 catch the breeze out on Hudson Creek.  7:45 jib to the Little Choptank, 2.5.  8:20 at green marker "5", 4.9 and feel the swell rolling off the Bay with wind ow the starboard beam.

I scan the horizon for James Island and don't see it.  Fifteen years ago it was a series three eroding islands with small stands of trees.  Each year there have been less and less trees.  Now I don't see any.  

9:00 reach Oyster Cove at the southern edge of the mouth of the Little Choptank.  Glance back north and see two barren trees, tall sticks really, all that is left of James Island.  

8:20 3.8 with wind over the seaboard quarter.  9:30 think about heading to the Patuxent River and Solomons Island, the wind seems to want me to go there.  9:30 entering the shipping channel, doing 4.1 with wind aft of starboard beam.  No shipping traffic in sight.  10:05 out of the shipping channel.  

10:20 Drum Point off the starboard bow.  Decide it is too early in the day, I could be in Solomons Island at noon but the wind it too good and want to keep on sailing.   11:05 jibe towards Barren Island on the east side of the Bay.  Making 4.0 with wind after of port beam.  

See a ship of some sort heading up the Bay.  It will be long gone by the time I reach the ship's path.  

With the wind I am angling across the shipping channel, taking longer than I like to cross.  

I can make out barges anchored off Barren Island which tells me I will soon be out of the channel. A second ship comes up from the south but we are leaving the shipping lane at 12:15 and are well clear of the traffic.  

I look south along the Hooper Islands and the bridge between Fishing Creek, an island, and Middle Hooper Island emerges from the shoreline.  1:35 an easy pass under the bridge with a helping tide.  On the Honga River making 3.4.  2:20 round Bentley Point.  2:40 jibe in light wind at Windmill Point.  3:05 anchor down in Pauls cove.  

28.42 NM