Christmas Party at Mr. Bill's Terrance Inn

Our Christmas party at Mr. Bill’s Terrace Inn turned out great. The crabs where fantastic, but then again at Mr. Bill’s they always are. After dinner Sandy and I had to show Ed and Jerry how to shoot some pool. Good thing Sandy held me up, thanks girl! Everyone had a great time, and it was good to see everyone again. Stayed tuned to this site as we are planning some more events before spring splash day, our current plan is a Sunday afternoon at Boordy’s Winery sometime in January. The date will depend on how far our beloved Ravens go into the playoffs.

Next Season's Trip Plans

Let’s start to plan next season’s trips. We can start by putting together a list of places to go. We need some ideas for weekend (overnight) trips, day trips, and even some ideas on a weeklong getaway.

Use the comment link below for your ideas.

Annual Christmas Party

It’s time to start planning our annual Christmas Party. Every year we go to Mr. Bills Crab House in Essex for Crabs for the party. We are planning the party for Friday evening, December 19th. Mr. Bill’s does not usually take reservations but if we have a large enough party we need to let them know how many to expect.

If you would like to join us, email me at this address: castaway_admin@comcast.net

Be sure to include your contact information and telephone number

Movie Night

Well this is it, only three weekends left in our boating season. Last weekend it was movie night at the Marina. With the cold weather, the movie was moved indoors, “Young Frankenstein” very funny. Hot dogs and snacks were provided as well as some of the best warm cider I’ve ever had, great stuff, Bev. Movie night has become a regular function at the Marina and hopefully it will keep people together and in touch with each other over the winter months. Stay tuned to this site and we will keep you informed of future Marina planned events.

Sunday we went to the duck again for the game. Another excellent cruise and good time, if the weather is good for next weekend we will do it again for the Ravens vs. Browns game.

There is a link below every story on the site entitled “comments”. You can use this link to comment on the post with your ideas or suggestions.

Ravens game at the Wild Duck

Last weekend we went to the Wild Duck restaurant for the Ravens Game. Two boats, “Sandy’s Beach” and “Shellfish” made the cruise to Middle River in excellent conditions. This time of year with limited boat traffic out there makes for great cruising.

The restaurant is under new management now and we met the owners. Ron and Ronda both seem to be very excited about the place and we wish them the best of luck, very nice people. In the fourth quarter when the Ravens victory was pretty much iced, they brought out a pitcher of “Purple Pain” for shots for the house. It tasted like “Cool-Aid” but did have a kick. We had lunch at half-time and drank plenty of beer.

It was just a good time for all.In fact we had so much fun, we are going to do it again this for the Ravens / Raiders games this coming weekend (October 26), weather permitting of course. Feel like coming along? Departing Gunpowder Cove at 11:30.

Saturday Lunch Trip

We took a great lunch trip on Saturday to Dick’s Famous Dock Bar in Bear Creek. It was a fantastic trip with very clam water all the way. The food was great but the meal was a little pricey, but considering we all had drinks I guess it was not that bad.

The atmosphere was fantastic, picnic tables set up on a sandy beach. Docking was easy as they have a long floating pier. We are always on the lockout for restaurants on the water and this one is great.

Fell's Point

The Fell’s Point trip started Friday morning, leaving Gunpowder Cove at 10:00 am before the tide got too high to clear the bridge. The Gunpowder River was a little choppy that morning and the closer to the bay we got the worse it got. We made the turn around Green 7 and headed towards Hawks Cove and “The Cut”. Once in Hawks Cove the water calmed a bit for a smoother ride. Once through the cut we headed towards the Patapsco River, and with the Key Bridge in sight we were cruising at 25 knots with a smooth ride. On arrival at Henderson’s Wharf, I called the marina from the VHF and they directed me in and helped us tie the boat up for the weekend.

After getting settled in, we decided to walk into Fell’s Point and check out the sights. It was a short walk up Fells Street and we were right in the heart of Fell’s Point. People were busy setting up their booths in the street for the festival which was starting the next day. Entire blocks were blocked to traffic. We found a great local bar for lunch, and then walked it off touring. Later that evening we had a great dinner at Shuckers on the pier. http://www.shuckersoffellspoint.com/

Saturday was all day at the Festival. There were booths all over the place with everything you could image. Local crafts and art work, all types of food, and of course the beer and wine gardens complete with live bands. (Spent a lot of time there!) That evening we went back to the boat for the fireworks display from Fort McHenry. (http://www.nps.gov/archive/fomc/home.htm) Some friends came in by boat just to watch the fireworks and the staff at Henderson’s was kind enough to let them dock next to us. What a great view we had, nothing between us with a straight view to the firework barges.

Cruising at 25 knots headed to Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry, 6 knots the rest of the way in

The live bands

Henderson’s Wharf, and Fell's Point

Who are "The Castaways"

Well we have been talking about doing this for awhile now, so here it goes. Our first attempt at putting together a group of people that share a common interest, Boating!

We have done many weekend trips, and have always enjoyed the company, so why not continue even in those dreaded months of winter when the boats are out of the water. (Oh I can't believe winter is coming again!)

So here it is; our group name is “The Castaways”, which has some history behind it! There will be no rules (except safe boating rules of course), no dues, no mandatory meetings, none of these are required. We can use this website and email to convey information, plan trips and events, and publish pictures of past events. We are just out to have fun and enjoy boating. Are you interested?

St Michaels MarineMax Getaway

We spent a fantastic weekend on a MarineMax Getaway to St. Michaels. A total of 19 boats invaded the St Michaels Harbor Inn marina for a 3 day weekend. The cruise over was a little choppy but not that bad, with the only daunting situation was when I drifted off course a bit. I could not see the marker numbers on my GPS without my glasses, so I asked my wife to read it to me. She said ONE, then “no that’s the depth”. Then I said some words that would be censored here and quickly throttle down, real quickly. Just as we got throttled down we bumped bottom just a bit. It was totally my fault, I had the course and compass readings charted correctly, and I just drifted off! Motored back on track slowly, it was less the 200 yards back to deep water, and then continued.

Friday evening we went to St. Michaels Winery for a wine tasting. After that is was back to the boats for more partying into the evening (sure hope they let us back!). Saturday was a day of touring the town, did some bicycle riding and some shopping. Later in the afternoon some of us went swimming in the marina pool. That evening it was a big dinner at the Crab Shack. After dinner what’s next, of course more partying on the boats.

Some of the boats coming in there are just amazing… Attached are some pictures.

Cruising over the bay at 24 knots, heading to Kent Narrows.

Dinner at the Crab Shack

St. Michaels Winery for a wine tasting

Breakfast on the 58 Sedan Bridge

July 4th week brought a fantastic trip to Rock Hall, and Fairlee Creek. We started the week by spending several days in Rock Hall, which always has been a great time for us. Osprey Point Marina is top notch, with excellent facilities. The highlight of Rock Hall was dinner at Waterman’s Crabhouse, between the crabs, beer, and live music Watermen’s is just plain fun. By far though, the best fun turned out to be the baseball games between the adults and the kids. The adults won, but I must say there was a little cheating going on. Like they say “youth and talent are no match for age and treachery”’

After leaving Rock Hall it was north to Fairlee Creek and spending the night on the hook. That evening Fairlee had a great Fireworks display. They really did a great job of it, and it was really cool being so close and not having any traffic issues to deal with afterwards.