We got up early today to head to Crisfield, MD and stay at Somers Cover Marina which would be about 40 miles and about 5 to 6 hours. The weather forecast called for 15 to 20 knot winds out of the south with 2 to 3 foot waves. We followed our trail that we came in on staying in the narrow and shallow channel taking an east heading then a NNE heading up the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. The wind and long rolling waves were off our starboard making for a bumpy miserable ride as we passed a lone sailboat enjoying the wind. I decided to burn a little fuel, clean out the turbos so I ran the boat at 2500 rpm’s for about an hour getting us across the Chesapeake and then heading NNE that put the rollers at our stern so all I had to do was run at 9 knots and surf the waves.
As we headed into the Tangier Sound we contemplated running through the center of Tangier Island but with the strong winds it would have made the navigation in the tight and shallow channel difficult so we continued to Crisfield.
Tangier Island is a wild, marshy landmass in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia on the east coast of America. The tiny population of around 500 people survives mainly on fishing, harvesting crabs and oysters and, in recent years, tourism.
It is a remote, isolated community, cut off from the mainland for centuries. The islanders have developed their own culture and way of living Separated from the mainland by a deep channel 12 miles wide Tangier Island is only accessible by seaplane or boat.
After entering the Tangier Sound the winds and waves laid down a little and made the trip much more pleasurable. Make the final run into Tangier was a little tricky with the buoys that did not match our chart plotter and the depths got down to 3 feet under the bottom of the boat. Somers Cove Marina is tucked away in the village of Crisfield with several crab fishing boats and several empty slips. We were assigned our slip which was fun sterning into it with strong winds off our port, two pilings on our starboard and a rookie dock hand that tied his best to keep the boat off the poles. The docks we were on were in good shape as compares the rest of the empty marina. They have a fuel and pump-out station close to the ship store which had bike you could borrow for a couple hours, clean laundry and showers.
After settling in We headed out on a bike ride to a food lion about 1 mile away. The main street had a nice wide bike lane and the traffic was light as it was early in the season and most of the stores and restaurants were closed. We were the only Loopers in the marina so Maria and when for a quiet dinner at the Captains Quarters which was the only restaurant open on this Sunday afternoon.
On day 2 in Crisfield we got out our bikes and took a long bike ride through the town which had numerous large abandoned historic homes.
Founded in 1666 by Benjamin Summers, Crisfield was originally known as Annemessex and the
cove bordering Benjamin Summers’ land was known as Somers Cove.
Annemessex was a typical small Eastern Shore village. Gradually the name of the village was
changed to Somers Cove.
This came about because boat captains and crews consistently referred to the area by the small
cove which afforded them protection from the weather in the Chesapeake and was a fine docking
place.
We rode down to the main street pier where you could get a ferry to Tangier or Smith Island or jump on the Mail boat which leaves at 1230. It was Monday so there was only one restaurant open which was the Waters Edge Cafe. Most of the shops were closed but we did grab an ice cream from a small spot on Main Street. The weather was not very conducive for travel so we ended up staying for 3 days and once a few other Loopers showed up it made for a more enjoyable time in the empty marina. We were able to get to gether with Doug and Shari on “Thistle and Rick and Ruth Ann on “R & R” for docktails. The sunsets were phenomenal and even with the high winds the cove was calm. After exhausting our stay here we made our decision to head out the next day and say goodbye to this sleepy town that I’m sure in full season is super fun.
