For years, I’ve sailed the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, exploring creeks and coves, delighting in the birdlife that is seen in its air and along its edges, and weathering all kinds of storms.
Today was an adventure of a different kind. I generally SAIL on the Bay, and do not ever motor. It’s not been for lack of opportunity, but for the fact that I’ve always considered myself a sailor. But when good friends invited me for a day on the bay on their new power boat, I happily said yes.
We started by heading up-river into the city to see if we could find the Francis Scott Key buoy, which we did pretty easily.
The biggest difference between motoring and sailing is that you can actually get places when you’re under power. The creeks we explored today would have taken us days to see under sail, and if the wind wasn’t right, we’d never have made it up through some of the cuts.
However, along the same creek, we’d see a view like this.
I have to admit, I love crumbling old things, so it was such fun to see the hulks of old wooden ships slowly rotting in the creek.
And there were others.
The old piers, old ships and old houses are just left to slowly return to the sea and to the land.
And then there were the beams, rails and bridges that dot this part of the Bay.
As we motored through the creeks, we saw Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, 
The weather was great and it was fun to see Baltimore and this small part of the Patapsco River, and the Chesapeake Bay from a completely different vantage point.
Thanks for a great day, Kit 
what incredible pictures..so amazing to see all the bridges the wooden boats and houses and the amazing wildlife birds...thanks for the great photos...
ReplyDeleteThanks! Regardless of which part of the Bay I am on, there's always something fun to see!
DeleteHi Meg, Thank you for opening my eyes to another aspect of life. Whereas I usually decry industrial intrusions, you have made them seems beautiful Hope that you are having a super start to this week. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteMary
Mary... some are wonderful, and some are pretty ghastly.
Deletebeautiful Photos + great to see the river + the river is so grand. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteNothing better than a day on the water!
DeleteIt seems there is a lack of respect to fellow sailors that someone would leave a boat to rot away and become a navigational hazard. Honestly where is the Harbor Watch or Coast Guard in the role of keeping Trash out of the water ?? A leaking engine oozing oil into the pristine waters, quaint, really? Empty houses-- I hope someone is still paying property taxes and the county is collecting something perhaps the eminent domain laws should be employed to remove the structure -- a potential fire hazard; in the parlance of lawyers it is an Attractive nuisance as in it attracts a nuisance... squatters arsonists... contraband conveyors and the like. This is the harsh reality of a decaying city oh wait Go Ravens.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that it's a lack of respect for fellow sailors, i think it's just general neglect. Someone walked away. Did they know it was the last time they'd be there? Or were they planning to come back and rescue the property?
DeleteDiscovering general neglect as you put it Meg is a Major concern of the Maryland Abandoned Boat and Debris Program when Reported... Call the Maryland Natural Resource Police at 410-260-8888 to report the location of these navigational hazards. How can one have a clear conscious otherwise if one abandons a general civic responsibility .
ReplyDeleteAs this is a very well-travelled creek, I am sure that DNR is aware of it, as are the local Coasties, whose yard is on this creek. Much of the time, the expense to remove things like the abandoned wood ships and the old docks is prohibitively expensive.
DeletePerhaps everyone else thinks someone else will do the right thing. Oh come on Meg set a good example. Let them decide-- it is not your job to set a priority and assume the department knows about it. Is it.
ReplyDeleteCheck the chart for Curtis Creek. Turns out they've noticed it already and it's marked as wreckage.
DeleteThank you for the reply. I wonder if marking it on a chart is an effort to absolve authorities of any legal responsibility. The waterways of this country were once a life line and i suppose on a well traveled water way (decades ago) abandoned vessels would be cannibalized solving the problem of eyesores and potential navigational hazards. If cities and counties continue to give tax breaks to large business entities to lure them fewer tax dollars are available to fund services for the public good. Oh Go Ravens.
DeleteIf there's one thing that's well known, it's that Curtis Creek has a lot of sunken and semi-sunken boat remains and has for decades: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=boat+wrecks+curtis+creek
DeleteWhat a great day trip. Thanks for reminding me of what a great backyard I have. Now I want to go pick crabs!
ReplyDeleteWe saw lots of crabbers, although (if I ate crabs), I'd be reluctant to eat them out of some of the industrial areas we were yesterday!
DeleteThis would make for a great Fishbowl essay. Ghost ships on the Urban Baltimore waterways. Oh Go ravens.
ReplyDeleteTwas indeed on the Fishbowl!
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