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Tangier Island Homecoming ~ Chesapeake Float 2015

video: Mailboat entering Mailboat Harbor on Tangier Island

direct Youtube link 

 

Two other times I’ve been to Tangier. Once as a boy of 12, my grandparents took us – me, my brother and sister – on the ferry from Reedville, Virginia, just up the road from where they lived, where I spent summers. Thirty years later, when my own daughters were the same age, I took them over on the same ferry. Ten years later still, on the mailboat from Crisfield, will be the third time. What’s most surprising is not how much has changed in all that time, but how very, very little.

 

 

 

Our group meets for breakfast down by the town dock at the Waterside Cafe. (It’s good hearty food, with omelettes that cover a dinner plate and endless coffee.) From there the we split and parts ways. Some head back to the campsite to sleep and read through the rainy day; others drive south to scout the lower peninsula; five of us wait on the dock to board a boat for Tangier.

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Camping Out the Storm ~ Chesapeake Float 2015

 Crossing Tangier Sound

 

Getting out of Smith Island at low tide is proving a surprising challenge. A text comes through from home saying the storm knocked out the power, the same front heading our way. VHF weather says rain and high wind, with gusts to 30+. We dallied longer over lunch than prudent, we realize, and now dark clouds are filling the sky to the southwest.

Everyone ties in reefs and shoves off. We have three miles of sailing within Smith Island just to get out, and all dead into a wind still coming from the southeast. Beyond that it’s another 7 miles to across Tangier Sound. A couple of hours of sailing, at best. That’s a lot of time for wind and waves to build in the Sound.

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Site Change and RSS Feed update

Click to Proceed to the Site

 

For a long time now, the blog portion of this site has been by far the most active. Started as a side project, I had no idea whether it would carry on or fizzle. That was over 8 years and 470 posts ago. Meanwhile, the old EyeInHand portion of the site has remained all but static.

Probably should have done this a long time ago, but over the next few days the site will change, making the blog the new Homepage. All links to www.eyeinhand.com will arrive at the latest blog post on Marginalia.

The only downside is this could change the URLs of the RSS feeds. A number of people subscribe this way, which is why I’m making the announcement in advance – this may be the last post that comes through the old feeds.

If you’re a subscriber, thank you. Please return in a few days and resubscribe. There are a number of new posts queued up, including sailing trips, videos, exploring the Columbia River Gorge, and sailing and hiking around Monterey, California.

Cheers,
Barry

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Hudson Icebreaker

 

My father-in-law’s family was in the chandlery and barge business on the Hudson in New York, for a century or more. His mother’s family was in the tug business, a match made on commerce, as it were.

A fine article and video on the icebreakers of the Hudson. Many communities along the river still rely on barges to supply them with essentials, like heating oil, salt for roads, and bulk staples.

Icebreaker Sturgeon Bay on the Hudson

 

 

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“Their school bus is an old station wagon.” ~ Life on Isle au Haut, a Maine Island Community

the harbor at Isle au Haut, Maine

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MASCF 2014 ~ To St. Michaels on a Flood Tide

St. Michaels Marina

 

It is dark Friday night when I finally roll into St. Michaels. Much later than usual. Too late to get a campsite or set up a tent, which I didn’t bring anyway. I’ll have to unhitch the boat and find a place to park, sleeping in the car with the gear. Later. First order of business is some food and beer while the restaurants are still open.

There’s a place we favor on the docks by the marina, the St. Michael’s Crab & Steakhouse. It’s at the end of a road, tucked back in a neighborhood off the beaten path, dog friendly (very), with tables outside. Not as touristy as others, mostly locals and regulars, and the food is good. Crossing the road to the bar I see there is water coming up through the storm drains. Not unusual right on the waterfront. I pull out the phone to check the tide schedule, though, and it’s not close to high yet. Four more hours of rising water still to come. Wow, this could get interesting.

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