Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend is the official start to boating season on the Chesapeake Bay. We've had the boat out already this year but this was our first overnight trip. We traveled to Fairlee Creek Friday evening and rafted up with many of our boating friends until early afternoon Monday. Boats came and went throughout the three nights and we had up to 15 boats rafted up together in our group. We only knew about half of the boats at the start of the weekend, but we are always happy to make new boating friends. We also had a couple of friends drive out to join us for one night. We love having company on the boat.

Fairlee Creek is a great, large protected cove near Chestertown, MD on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. There is a marina for people who prefer to dock but we like to anchor out there. Getting into the cove is a little tight and can be hairy when the currents are running strong but it is well worth the effort. Be sure to visit Jellyfish Joel's for a dreamsicle or a rum runner while you're there.

When you get so many boats together, there is sure to be mischief of one kind or many others. Beware of water gun or water balloon attacks. The boats seen here being soaked by water guns later started flinging water balloons in our direction. One of our friends has a huge slingshot which is perfect for a water balloon counter-attack. Okay, so our (and their) aim was rarely on target but it sure was fun.

Be sure to avert your eyes when speedo man strikes his best Captain Morgan pose and rides by on his zodiac. I didn't get a picture of this but I think that is best for all involved.

On Sunday evening one of the boats coordinated a potluck dinner for everyone. It's simply amazing how well you can eat on a boat if you just plan wisely. We had cream of crab soup, jambalaya, meatballs, chicken wings, pasta salad, fabulous desserts, etc. I'm going to have to watch what I eat carefully during the workweek so I can indulge on the boat each weekend.

Finally, a couple words of wisdom:

• Be careful when you make sangria on your boat. The bilge is not the ideal place for mixing the wine and fruit together. (She didn't intend for the sangria to end up in the bilge but accidents happen.)
• It is not a good idea to climb the mast of a small sailboat. We saw this while standing on the beach at Jellyfish Joel's. They got it upright again but it still had a lot of water in it.
• If you don't want to run your generator for AC at night, try placing a fan on the outside of the porthole above your bed. I came back to the boat Sunday night and saw a strange cord hanging down from the ceiling in our stateroom. My husband had figured out a great way to move lots of cool air in and it actually worked.