Sail off anchor at 7:10, light NW wind, light overcast giving way to blue skies. SPARTINA is just one, the smallest one, in a string of boats heading out of Solomons Island. Cruising sailboats and trawlers, some head south around the shoal, others taking the channel north of the shoal. I take the channel on the north side along with the trawler GRIN. 7:50 light wind and motorsailing towards Drum Point. Lots of chop, maybe wind against tide.
8:20 sailing. Approaching the shipping channel I see the a large ship in the channel to the south. I can just see the superstructure of the ship, but can't tell if it is moving north or south.
I watch the ship for a while. Usually it is obvious which way a ship is headed, but not this one.
I check AIS on my phone to see that it is the W SAPPHIRE and, for whatever reason, it is not moving. I check AIS multiple times to confirm. 8:45 cross the markers on to the shipping channel. Sailing into the wind and waves, lots of spray coming over the bow. 9: 25 sail out of the channel on the eastern side.
9:40 the waves seems small, sailing a bit easier. 9:50 see the first crab pot float. We're in shallow water on the eastern side of the Bay. See one deadrise working a string of crab pots. 10:00 begins a series of tacks. 10:30 tack, 4.5, 10:45 tack, 11:15 tack, 11:30 tack, 11:45 tack and we've made our way far enough to the north that I get a glimpse of Hills Point at the moth of the Little Choptank River. 12:00 tack behind a shoal and find calmer water there.
12:15 tack, 12:30 tack, making 4.5. 12:45 tack towards Oyster Cove. Good wind, smaller waves, making 3.3. 1:20 a last tack towards the Little Choptank.
1:30 in the Little Choptank, 2:20 making 3.7 towards Hudson Creek. Wind picks up and making 4.4 across calm water. Cut across the shallows well inside of the channel marker. 3:00 a last series of short tacks into Hudson Creek, getting friends waves from two cruising sailboats out of Annapolis. 3:15 anchor down in a little cove inside Casson Neck.
30.57 NM
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