Rock Hall MD to Oxford MD

Start time and hours                       0755                               3359.83

End time and hours                         1400                              3365.66

     We arose at the crack of dawn in Rock Hall MD, OK, sunrise was about 0710 so it wasn’t that early, and headed out of the harbor toward Oxford MD  http://www.oxfordmd.net/.  The forecast was for 5kt winds and seas of 1ft or less, a much better forecast than the last two days.

     It was going to be a short cruise, about 40 nautical miles.  This seems to be a very good distance for us to travel in a day.  It is not too long a day on the water and we get into port in the early afternoon.

     There was not much boat traffic, the usual crabbers, fishermen, and a few cruisers.  We passed several large cargo ships anchored and waiting to head north up the bay.  I think that they were waiting for the tide.

     We had a great tide all day long and made good speed.  The wind and seas were as predicted and we had a comfortable cruise.

     We got into Oxford MD at about 1330 but had to wait for the fuel dock to clear so we could pump out.  We were staying at Brewer Oxford.  https://www.byy.com/marinas/brewer-marinas-oxford-boat-yard-marina-oxford-md/ It is that last Brewer we will see as we continue south.  After pumping out we moved over to the next dock for a side tie and settled in for the day. 

     Brewer Oxford is a great marina.  I would give it five stars if it had floating docks and full finger piers, but everything else is first class.  There is a captain’s lounge with big screen TV, comfortable chairs, microwave, coffee maker, fridge, and all the other comforts of home.  The bathrooms are spectacular, better than you might have in your home. 

     We came to this marina because it was half price (we are Brewer gold card members) and because we had developed a small water leak from out oil cooler.  We didn’t know what the repair would be or how long it would take.  The manager, Graham, who also doubles as a mechanic came to the boat right away and quickly discovered that is was a loose drain on the inboard side of the cooler.  He tightened it up and stopped the leak.  It is fortunate when a suspected repair turns out to be nothing.  The service here is great.

     We walked into town to check out the Oxford Market  http://theoxfordmarket.com/ and mail some birthday cards at the Post Office.  We thought that Rock Hall was a quiet small town but it is nothing compared to Oxford.  Oxford is deadly quiet.  It is a peaceful little town with almost nothing to do.  The market was little more than a poorly stocked convenience store.  They did, however, have a very fine bottle of Bombay Sapphire with my name on it.

     We did some laundry and hung out in the Captain’s lounge with cocktails and Hors d’vouers and then had dinner on the boat, Shrimp and broccoli alfredo.

     We thought we may have had to stay here for a day or two to fix the oil cooler but we will not take advantage of our good fortune and move south as the next few days look good.