Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

Tuesday, May 21. A break in the weather finally arrived, so Second Wind and Happy Destiny cast off our lines and headed north and east on the fickle Chesapeake Bay. After the pounding we took a few days ago, this ride was smooth as glass. We are currently docked at the Cambridge Yacht Basin on the Choptank River, along with hundreds of sailboats, working boats, and power boats of every description. One particularly interesting boat is the Nathan, which I’ve learned is a skipjack, a type of sailboat developed on the Chesapeake Bay for dredging oysters. Skipjacks still remain in service because of Maryland’s laws restricting the use of powerboats for oyster fishery. The most notable characteristic of a skipjack is the length of its boom, which is usually as long as the boat’s deck. The mast is very tall and slightly raked, and the bow spirit is also unusually long.

Cambridge is another lovely small town with a charm that we miss in big cities. James Michner’s novel Chesapeake was based on Cambridge. As we walked down High Street this afternoon, we were reminded of Huntsville’s historic Twickenham district -- charming Victorian houses, towering old trees, lovely gardens, roses on trellises. We stopped at the Christ Church and marveled at the adjoining cemetery with headstones dating back to the 1700s. Cambridge has a colorful and fascinating history. We passed the plaque where John F. Kennedy delivered his “Ask not what your country can do for you . . . “ speech and a monument to the Underground Railroad, which told the story of a slave auction, in which a black carpenter successfully “bought” back his wife and daughter. The Underground Railway enabled them to escape.

Because we are eating our way around the Great Loop, the six of us (Staggs, Hicks, and Cowhigs) were compelled to stop at Snappers Restaurant for supper, where the crabcakes were perfect! We’re liking Cambridge a whole lot!