Sunday afternoon October 17th, following a strong cold front that swept through the Northeast the evening before (taking with it the unseasonable 80 degree plus weather enjoyed by the Part 1 crews), saw a number of crew changes. Eighteen intrepid sailors in the newly formed crews journeyed to old favorite Waterman’s Crab House in Rock Hall around sunset to enjoy fresh seafood and libations.

Monday morning dawned sunny and still blustery, with Bob Rainey’s Akula setting the pace out of Haven Harbor around 9 a.m., followed by Gary Brubaker skippering Cathy Sea and Mia McCroskey on Dilly Dilly. Upon leaving Swan Creek, the full force of wind and waves greeted the boats, streaming out of the west-northwest between 20-30 knots, with four-foot waves. Reefed sails were in order and the boats were rocking and rolling!

A beautiful dawn greeted the sailors, with somewhat diminished winds. True to form, Akula got a jack rabbit start out of the anchorage. As of 10 AM, Cathy Sea’s “Cap’n Fancy Pants” was guiding the final boat out of the sheltered area, while modeling the latest in casual yachting attire

Along with Dilly Dilly, all three boats tacked west and west-southwest zigging and zagging together in 15-20 knot west-northwest winds and two foot seas, toward the Herrington Harbor South Marina on the western shore of the bay, arriving mid-afternoon. Herrington Harbor is a sizable resort and marina, with many large docks. After squaring away the boats, the crews availed themselves of the many hot showers. As evening fell, the crews gathered to make pizzas – Cathy Sea’s and Dilly Dilly’s crews utilizing the extensive picnic area and gas grills (and even making friends with, and swapping ingredients with, another ship’s crew). Dilly Dilly won the Martha Stewart Award for most well-designed table setting. The Akula crew made fresh pizzas in their own galley (and were not accused by the other crews of being stand-offish). All pizzas were deemed very tasty!

Wednesday morning the winds had diminished somewhat to a comfortable 10-15 knots, from the west-northwest shifting to the west, which was ideal for the sail north to the Severn River. The annual Annapolis sailboat show had been held the prior weekend, and some yachts were still in the area. The crews admired the fine yachts as well as the sizeable mansions gracing the hilly shores of the Severn as we sailed and then motored upriver past Annapolis, the Naval Academy and west into Little Round Bay, winding into a hidden gem, Maynadier Creek (known to us thanks to Cheri’s local knowledge). In this beautiful, protected anchorage, the boats were able to raft; Mia and Dilly Dilly hosted an awesome sundown cocktail party, then the crews retired to their respective boats to enjoy fine dining “on the water”.

Thursday morning brought another beautiful sunrise, with light mist coming off the creek – truly a slice of heaven. After breakfast, the boats un-rafted and began to head down the Severn and east-northeast across the bay to Rock Hall. The wind had calmed to 6-7 knots and shifted to the south-southwest, so the boats were on a run for most of the voyage home. Cathy Sea enjoyed the advantage, being the only boat of the three with a regular jib rig, so she was able to sail wing-on-wing.