We left Annapolis on a chilly morning and headed back across the bay to St Michaels. We sailed under jib only with light winds behind us, which steadily built to about 22 knots. The trouble with cruising up rivers is that at some point you end up turning through at least 180 degrees, so once the wind was on the nose we gave up and motored the rest of the way.

Sailors we chatted with at the Star Worlds regatta in September had recommended St Michaels, and I’m so glad we heard about it. What a pretty little town! It has a bit of an Edgartown vibe to it, although without the fancy restaurants (at least, if it has any, they were either closed for the season or we just didn’t find them). We enjoyed our night tied up there.

The next day we had about 45 miles to go so we left early and headed down the bay to Solomons. We soon realized we were part of a steady stream of sailboats headed south, some of whom we’d seen before and some who will be on our rally. Solomons was another pretty spot. Big shout-out to Zahnisers marina, where we had the best showers since leaving home, and an excellent Italian dinner!

The following day was a longer day, and again we left early. Mist was hanging around the harbor, and it was eerily beautiful. As we left, we heard music playing for Colors from the military base across the other side of the Patuxent River – it must be deafening there and was certainly going to wake everyone up! Again we were in a stream of sailboats headed south, many of whom ended up in the same harbor as us, Fishing Bay in the Piankatank River. It was warm enough for cocktails on deck to watch the sunset. A boat with three men in it spent the evening motoring around the anchorage and greeting everyone – I wonder if this annual migration is a regular source of entertainment for them?

Today it is windy and pouring rain, and we feel sorry for the local yacht club who are holding their annual regatta today – not a great day to be sailing. Like most of the other boats here we decided to stay put before our final leg down to Hampton tomorrow. We’ve used the day to do a bit of cleaning and tidying up, and I’ve made my final provisioning list for the passage to Antigua – which has me rather alarmed since all my food storage lockers already seem to be full!