Port of Call: Reedville, Virginia

Fishing Bay to Reedville - Day 4 - 36 nm (passage total: 116 nm) A splendid sunrise had us anchor up at 0730 and on our way from Fishing Bay to our next port of call, Reedville, Virginia. Out the Piankatank River, back into Chesapeake Bay and then up the Great Wicomico River to a fine little anchorage in Cockrell Creek.

We were looking forward to Reedville for several reasons. First, we had planned a late afternoon meet-up with Jeremy McGeary, Senior Editor of Good Old Boat. We'd worked with him for the past couple of years, but never had the chance to meet him. He had also told us a bit about Reedville and we were looking forward to visiting the little Reedville Fishermen's Museum and having a chance to stretch our legs after two days without shore time. Second, and just as importantly, we were meeting Jeremy at Chitterchats (“ice cream and gossip parlor”). Need we say more?

Once Cups was comfortably set in the creek, we dinghied into the small museum dock and tied up. The approach to the dock was a picture-perfect postcard.

We weren't ashore more than a couple of minutes when we were approached by Tom Miller, an off-duty docent for the museum who just happened to be at the museum. He welcomed us and chatted a bit before pointing us in the direction of the museum entrance.

For such a small museum in such an out-of-the-way place, the Reedville Fishermen's Museum is a gem. After a very informative video, we spent an hour or more viewing the well-displayed exhibits. We learned about the history of Reedville, from Elijah Reed's arrival c.1874 to the present day. The history of Reedville is tied intrinsically to menhaden fishing. Menhaden, you ask? Stay tuned. I'll explain more tomorrow.

After touring the museum, we were allowed to tour the Walker House, the oldest home in the community. Built in 1875 by William Walker, the museum restored, refurbished and refurnished the house and it now represents a 19th century waterman’s home.

Along the dock where we'd tied up the dinghy, there were several boats owned by the museum, representative of the vessels that plied the Chesapeake waters and environs. The Claud W. Somers is a classic Chesapeake Bay skipjack, built in 1911 in Young's Creek, Virginia. Sadly, in 1977 Claude W. Somers was struck by a squall near Hooper Strait Light, leaving six drowned, including her owner-captain.

The Spirit of Reedville was of particular interest. Used as the working boat for corralling and netting menhaden (that mysterious fish I mentioned above), this vessel is known as a purse boat.

After the museum, we headed down the town's main street, oddly named Main Street. Reedville is a tiny, sleepy little town – population ~2,341. There are very few shops, no supermarkets, no 7-11s nor Ace Hardwares, but it's quite pleasant and the people are friendly. Lined with stately Victorian mansions, this street was once considered  a Millionaire's Row during the height of the menhaden fishing days. The Morris House was a good example, particularly grand and ornate.

One of the museum ladies told us to be on the look-out for the “Sears-Roebuck” house. We found the Dey Cottage and did a little research into its history. According to The House and Home Magazine, “the  Russell Dey Cottage is a Sears and Roebuck Modern Home — a home that was mail ordered from a catalog and then built upon delivery, using a 75 page instruction manual, from a kit containing between 10,000 and 30,000 pieces. Sears and Roebucks Modern Homes were built between 1908 and 1940 and it has been estimated that over 70,000 of these homes were sold during this time. It was suggested by Sears that “A man of average abilities could assemble a Sears kit home in about 90 Days.” Russell Dey Cottage or ‘The Hathaway,’ a two bedroom house, was ordered from a Sears catalogue in 1926, for a modest $1,299 and was then barged via steamboat into Reedville, via Baltimore, where it was assembled by local carpenter at the time, Mr. Dotson. The fact that it was barged into Reedville was an oddity at the time, because most Sears Roebuck homes were transported via railroad boxcars because of the weight of the materials being shipped.”

After the museum tour and walk, we were ready to meet Jeremy … and get an ice cream! Chitterchats is a wonderful little ice cream parlor with great flavors of rich, creamy ice cream. Jennifer, the owner, welcomed us warmly, then set about scooping our choices. Yum.

We managed to waddle our way out of the ice cream shop to Jeremy's car. He offered to take us to the closest supermarket which ended up being about a thousand miles away. We returned to Nine of Cups in the late afternoon to give Jeremy a nickel-tour of the boat and share a glass of wine. Then he was off and we spent a lovely, calm night in the Cockrell Creek anchorage, all geared up for more adventures in the days to come.

Stay tuned tomorrow for all you ever needed or wanted to know about menhaden. Yup … you're gonna be overwhelmed!

10 Fun Facts About Chesapeake Bay

As we start exploring the Chesapeake, I thought I'd share some facts and trivia with you.

1. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the USA. An “estuary” is an area of brackish water where fresh water, from rivers and streams, meet with the ocean. Chesapeake Bay and its network of streams, creeks, and rivers, encompasses over 64,000 square miles throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Virginia, Delaware, and Washington DC. According to internet sources, it is the third largest estuary in the world. The St. Lawrence River is the largest and the Rio de la Plata in Uruguay/Argentina is number two.
2. According to NOAA, “more than 250 fish species use the Bay and tributaries for some portion of their life cycles, including American and hickory shad, river herring, striped bass, eel, weakfish, bluefish, flounder, oysters, and blue crabs. More than 300 migratory bird species can also be found in the watershed. During the fall, the skies come alive as one million ducks, geese, and swans return to overwinter on the Chesapeake.
3. The Bay itself is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Its width ranges from four miles near Aberdeen, Maryland, to 30 miles near cape Charles, Virginia. The mouth of the Chesapeake Bay is about 12 miles wide between its northern point near Cape Charles, Virginia, and its southern point close to Cape Henry, Virginia. The Bay and its tidal tributaries have 11,684 miles of shoreline—more than the entire U.S. west coast. The Chesapeake Bay watershed has 150 major rivers and streams, but contains more than 100,000 smaller tributaries.
4. The Bay is surprisingly shallow. Its average depth, including all tidal tributaries, is about 21 feet. A person who is six feet tall could wade through more than 700,000 acres of the Bay and never get his or her hat wet.
5. The Chesapeake Bay holds more than 18 trillion gallons of water. Approximately 51 billion gallons of water flow into the Bay each day from its freshwater tributaries. The Bay receives about half its water volume from the Atlantic Ocean in the form of saltwater. The other half (freshwater) drains into the Bay from the enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed, the Susquehanna River being the largest tributary, and contributing about 19 million gallons per minute.
6. The Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plants and animals, including 348 species of finfish, 173 species of shellfish, over 2,700 plant species and more than 16 species of underwater grasses.
7. During the winter, the Bay supports 87 species of waterbirds. Nearly one million waterfowl winter on the Bay–approximately one-third of the Atlantic coast’s migratory population. The birds stop to feed and rest on the Bay during their annual migration along the Atlantic Migratory Bird Flyway including more than 500,000 Canada geese.
8. The Bay produces about 500 million pounds of seafood per year. Since 1990, commercial watermen have harvested more than 1.6 billion pounds of blue crabs from the Bay. Data show commercial harvest has experienced a steady decline, and in 2014 hit the lowest level recorded in 25 years: 35 million pounds.
9. The word Chesepiooc is an Algonquian word referring to a village "at a big river." In 2005, Algonquin historian, Blair Rudes, helped dispel the widely-held belief that the name meant “great shellfish bay.”
10. Historically, there were many different Native American tribes in the region before Europeans arrived, but the dominant group were Algonquin speakers known collectively as the Powhatan tribes. In 1524, Italian Captain Giovanni da Verrazano became the first recorded European to enter the Chesapeake Bay. In 1608, Captain John Smith set off on the first of two voyages where he charted the land and waterways, and later drew an elaborate and remarkably accurate map of the Chesapeake Bay.

And there you have it, more than you'll ever want or need to know about the Chesapeake Bay. Let's get on with the exploring.

Wining and Dining in Rhode Island

The tiny state of Rhode Island does not come to mind when I think about wineries, but believe it or not, there are quite a few in the Rhode Island/Connecticut area now and we decided we'd give one a tasting opportunity. The Nickle Creek Winery is located in the unlikely little town of Foster, Rhode Island, not far from Providence, the state capital. We followed the GPS directions and turned onto a dirt road, thinking there was some mistake, but finally spotted a sign for the winery.

It's not glitzy like some, but it's out in the country, surrounded by trees and quite pleasant. There are a few umbrella tables outside near the tiny vineyard, but the cool tasting room was much more appealing on this hot, humid day. We bellied up to the bar and began a 7-wine tasting. Mary Jane, our hostess, was both amiable and knowledgeable as we tasted our way through chardonnays, pinot grigios, cabs, pinot noirs, some heavy offerings and finally a suite of sweeter, fruity dessert wines. We agreed their award-winning pinot noir was the best of the lot and bought a bottle with a special occasion in mind.

Lin and I enjoyed checking out the “wining posters” decorating the walls.

We found it much easier to pose AFTER the 7-wine tasting. Hmmm ...

We walked through the small vineyard, the vines heavy with clusters of green grapes, then decided we'd all benefit from some ocean air and perhaps lunch.

Wickford, Rhode Island is a quaint little New England coastal village situated on the west side of Naragansett Bay. When we saw the sign entering Wickford village, we all seemed to remember it was the model for some John Updike novel, but couldn't remember which one. In actuality, Wickford was known as Updike's Newtown because of the surname of the first settling family. Coincidentally, John Updike did indeed use the town as a model for his The Witches of Eastwick novel.

It was hot and sultry as we strolled along the narrow village streets during mid-afternoon. Antique shops and boutiques lured us in, but our wallets stayed in our pockets. We admired the well-maintained, privately owned 18th and 19th century houses for which the town is known.

We finally settled on the Tavern by the Sea for lunch, situated on a tiny estuary off the bay. Local craft beers like Newport Storm and Foolproof Brew were on tap and we gladly sipped cool beer while making our menu choices. Salads and sandwiches seemed appropriate for such a hot afternoon. We enjoyed lunch as we watched a fellow tie up his graceful dory in the protected waters just off the restaurant's comfortable deck.

The high-pitched cry of a bird overhead caught our attention. It sounded so familiar … not a seagull nor a tern. It was a large osprey perched high on a utility pole calling for its mate.

We lingered over the last of our lunch, walked a bit more and then headed back home. A stop at Three Sisters in Providence for some homemade ice cream topped off a most enjoyed day. No photos of ice cream … I was too busy licking my cone.

For once, David didn't mind the whining ... er, I mean wining.