Integrity Cruise

Day 51: Rock Hall to Baltimore, MD

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Day 51: Saturday, May 28th: We awoke without an alarm and leisurely got underway from Rock Hall about 9:00 am with Baltimore, MD as our planned destination. We were accompanied by many sailboats heading out into the "Bay" (that's what the locals call the Chesapeake - only logical). Rock Hall is a favorite for sailors because it is almost no distance to the great sailing on the Bay.

Crossing the "Bay" was surprisingly rough due to pesky 2-3 foot seas in spite of light winds. We wondered if it was wakes from other boats (it is Saturday of Memorial Day weekend). We never figured it out and in a few hours were jockeying among the dozens of pleasure boats headed into Baltimore. The sport fishermen really threw out a wake. Notice the rooster tail behind this pretty good size fellow. Also, notice how the shoreline has turned from bucolic to industrial clutter:

Ruth snapped this picture from our bow of the Baltimore skyline framed under the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bottom bridge is almost 200 feet high:

The tour boat, Clipper City, was headed out of the harbor as we came in. It looked great from a distance:

As we approached our marina in the inner harbor, a big rain squall let go with all its force. We finally got tied up and waited it out. The aftermath turned lovely, as the harbor showed its best:

From then on, we had a delightful afternoon and evening. We walked around the visitor-friendly waterfront of the inner harbor. The first real attraction was the USS Constellation, a major warship in the Revolutionary war. We will go aboard Monday for a tour:

And nearby was the retired lightship, LS Chesapeake, one of the most venerable of service vessels that shone a light for returning seamen for many years. Behind it in this picture is the National Aquarium of Baltimore, which we will visit on Monday:

The lightships had to stay exactly on station, and did so using giant "mushroom" anchors. You can see their "backup" anchor here:

And the primary was exactly like it, but hung out of a hawse pipe right on the bow:

Moored just in front of Chesapeake is the USS Torsk, a WWII vintage submarine:

The entire inner harbor waterfront presents a festive plethora of people, party, attractions and entertainment:

This Hard Rock Café sign was particularly impressive:

Pedal boats were a popular attraction for the young (and old):

Ruth was fascinated by the "Sea Serpents":

There were several ad hoc street performers. This juggler drew quite a crowd and was undaunted by a very strong wind that played with his "props":

Later, the same space was home to "Hot Harbor," a very good band that is a regular in the harbor:

We had nachos and a beer and watched another performance by a group of four acrobatic/tumbling performers and their drummer. We were too messy with nachos to snap a picture.

Back at the boat, we were serenaded by three battling bands until about 11:00 pm. Festive atmosphere!

Position tonight: N39 16.965 W076 36.537

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