The Chesapeake Escape

As you head east there is a point, somewhere after crossing the Bay Bridge, when Maryland starts to feel a little different. The traffic thins out. The landscape opens up. The big-city urgency of Baltimore, Washington and Annapolis seems to be gradually left behind on the other side of the bridge.

And then you arrive in Rock Hall. It's not exactly a secret. Sailors have known about it for generations. But compared with Annapolis, Rock Hall has a wonderfully different personality. It's small. Quiet.. A little less concerned with where you're supposed to be. Which is precisely why it's such a good place to go sailing.

Sometimes the best part is getting away

Annapolis is beautiful. Its harbor is full of sailboats, restaurants, bars, waterfront walks, historic buildings and a lot of people enjoying themselves. On a summer weekend, it can almost be overwhelming. And there's nothing wrong with that for some people, some times.

But if you've spent enough time navigating traffic, parking lots, crowded restaurants and busy waterfronts, there's something appealing about passing through a town with only one stoplight, getting on a boat in a quiet marina and heading out, wherever that may be.

Away from the crowds…
Away from the schedule…
Away from the noise…

Once you leave Swan Creek in Rock Hall, the Chesapeake immediately open up in front of you. The shoreline gets smaller, the horizon gets bigger, and the wind becomes considerably more interesting than whatever is pinging on your phone. That's usually when people start to relax.

The Bay has a way of changing your sense of time

Three hours on land can disappear without much notice. Three hours on a sailboat is different. You might spend the first hour getting the sails up and watching them fill, silencing the engine, feeling the boat heel gently, and figuring out which direction the wind wants to take you.

Eventually someone asks, "Where are we going?" The answer can be surprisingly simple: "That way." Maybe you head toward the middle of the Bay. Maybe you head south to Eastern Neck and look for bald eagles, or explore one of the creeks or coves along the Eastern Shore. Maybe you drop the anchor and go swimming. Maybe you set a comfortable course and just enjoy the motion of the boat. That's one of the pleasures of sailing. It is the journey, not the destination.

There are no strangers on the boat

That makes a private sail different. Your family. Your friends. Your partner. The people you've chosen to spend the afternoon with. best Nobody is sitting next to you asking the captain to turn around. Nobody is announcing that they're ready to go home. Nobody is posting videos of your trip on their page.  Only you and yours.

You can talk. Or not talk. You can listen to music, eat lunch, take pictures, watch an osprey dive into the water or spend twenty minutes trying to identify something swimming beside the boat.And if somebody wants to know how sailing actually works, there's a captain aboard who will be happy to explain it and let you do it.

The Eastern Shore does something for a day trip

One of the nice things about going to Rock Hall is that the sailing doesn't have to be the entire day. Come over early. Have lunch. Walk around town. Look at the boats in the harbor. Then head out onto the Bay for the afternoon. When you return, you can have dinner before making the drive home. Suddenly, you've spent an entire day somewhere that isn't home, work, or the usual weekend destination.

It is a unique Chesapeake escape. It is not necessarily an elaborate vacation, just a change of scenery provided by a 42-foot sailboat.

And then there's the sunset…

There are sunsets everywhere. But sunsets are different when you're sitting on a boat in the middle of the Chesapeake. The shoreline becomes a silhouette. The wind often softens. Thewater and sky change color. The boat gets quieter. For a few minutes, nobody seems particularly interested in checking the time. And eventually somebody says the inevitable: "We should do this more often."

They're usually right. Sailing doesn't have to be an adrenaline-filled adventure. It doesn't have to be a sightseeing tour. And it certainly doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes it's simply an excuse to leave the house, drive across the Bay, get on a boat and spend a few hours in a place where the pace of life is considerably slower.

So, if Annapolis feels a little too busy, keep going.

Cross the bridge.

Head to the Eastern Shore.
Find Rock Hall.
Go sailing.
No rush; the Chesapeake will still be there. It isn't going anywhere.