Soft Shell Crab

Chesapeake Bay, MD
39 24.11 N 076 03.80 W

Yesterday was one of those days when the weather radio is full of warnings of severe thunderstorms all around us. They announce the warnings by county and since we don't know the names of local counties, every warning sounds like it is for us. Rather than trust the soft bottom mud to hold firmly, we elected to go to the Crab House Restaurant in Kent Narrows. YOu buy dinner there and you can stay overnight free at the dock.

Believe it or not, this was the first time ever that Libby and I tasted soft shell crab. It was very good. I had a soft crab sandwich. However, while eating I learned the real way to do it. The locals just order a dozen crabs. They come with wooden mallets, melted butter, vinegar and cajun seasoning. It looked like great fun and it was terribly messy. Next time we'll try that.

Today we won't make great progress. The tide is against us almost all day. We're heading for Chesapeake City. If we get in there, we'll stay there all day Saturday. It's not too far from Havre de Grace MD. We heard that our daughter in law Cathy will be in Havre de Grace this weekend, so we might get a chance to see her.

UPDATE Saturday:
Well our plans went completely awry. When we arrived at Chesapeake City it appeared to be completely full of boats. No place at the dock, no place to anchor (it is Memorial Day weekend after all.) Worse, we ran aground at the entrance. We were able to back off the soft grounding (thank goodness.) What next? It was almost sunset so continuing on to Delaware Bay was a very unattractive option. We had to back track and go back to the Bohemia River on the Chesapeake. Still worse, we motored against current all day long and arrived at Chesapeake City at exactly low tide and when the current reversed direction. That meant we had the current against us when we backtracked. How unkind.

We never stopped in Chesapeake City before. Several of our cruising friends have stopped there and they speak highly of it. However, the basin is very small with limited capacity and shoaling seems to be a constant problem. If we did plan to stop at Chesapeake and upon arrival we couldn't stop, what then? Currents in the C&D canal can be very swift and motoring against the swift current is not practical. So, what happened yesterday fulfilled our worst fears about Chesapeake City as a destination. Too bad for us.

Today, we're trying again. We'll be on the Delaware all day heading for Cape May. What happens when we get there? The anchorage and the marina may also be full. It's still Memorial Day weekend. I think perhaps Libby's policy is best. All cruisers should find quiet out-of-the-way places to hide out during the big holiday weekends.