Day 47 – N 38° 46.420’ W 76° 13.844’ - St. Michaels, MD

We hopped into our dinghy this morning ready to go explore the town of St. Michaels. But this day, the dinghy’s outboard motor, which had been performing beautifully just the day before yesterday, totally refused to start.  For almost an hour, Peter tried checking things, tightening things, searching for the problem… but with no success. The only way to get to town from our anchorage would be to row the dinghy.  The breeze was against us, and inflatable boats do not glide smoothly along when rowed, but Lyn actually enjoys rowing, so we stayed close to the shore to lessen the headwind, and made our way to the dock where the working boats tie up right at the end of a street in St. Michaels. The forecast was for the wind to strengthen, but unless the direction changed, that would only help us get back to where Kite was anchored.

A sailing bugeye

St. Michael’s is a pretty town especially in Spring.  The houses were all from the 19^th century and very well kept and landscaped.  It was pleasant just walking around, but there were also some interesting shops along the main street.  Passing a bakery, we simply had to go inside and order croissants and coffee.  After that we walked to the end of the town first to see their maritime museum and planned to see some of the shops in the afternoon on the way back.  The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is really a campus of buildings where different aspects of life on the Bay were displayed.  There was boat restoration in progress so we got a close up look at the construction of a skipjack (the sailing vessels for oyster dredging).  Their in-water fleet included an original sailing bugeye that had never been converted to motor power.  There were also places along the dock where you could try using oyster tongs to bring up oysters from the bottom, or try raising a crab trap.

A fine specimen of seafood from the Bay!

We had lunch at the Crab Claw restaurant where we both ordered crab cakes again, something that is becoming a favorite for us. From the restaurant we could see the main St. Michael’s harbor and anchorage.  The wind was strong as we watched some boaters pound through the waves in their dinghy to get to their anchored boat and we were so glad we had chosen the much more protected San Domingo Creek where we had anchored. Walking back to the shops, Lyn simply had to visit the toy shop, and after exploring the two floors crammed with toys, games and books for children we ended up buying an unusual puzzle for one of our grandchildren.  Then on to what we get in every harbor: ice cream cones! A quick stop at a grocery store for some fresh fruits and vegetables and we were ready to return to our boat.  I can see why this is a popular place for cruisers to stop.  Everything you need is conveniently located on the same street, even a post-office, bank and pharmacy, and all with a lot of charm.

We loaded our treasures into our dinghy and since the wind had not changed direction, it helped us row quickly back to Kite for the night.  As we approached Kite, we noticed that three other boats were now anchored in San Domingo Creek, but this is a wide creek and we are not crowded at all.