- 51.9 miles
- 5 hours 38 minutes
- 9.2 mph average speed
- 2-7 mph winds
The trip to Havre de Grace could not have been more calm on the Chesapeake. We followed Off Leash most of the way until they turned off for a different destination. We hope to meet up with Karen and Rob again along the way.
After docking, we walked along the promenade and had lunch before heading back to the boat to rest. We were able to get our generator fixed which had not worked since we were in Belhaven and had the oil changed and the engines serviced. The self proclaimed “expert” in Belhaven assured us that it was nothing they had done and that we needed a new fuel pump for the generator. He also said they don’t usually just quit working like ours had. Kevin ordered a new pump and we were able to find someone here that could replace it. It turns out, however, that rather than needing a new fuel pump, the previous worker had disconnected the fuel supply during the service and failed to reconnect it. Needless to say, Kevin was livid and sent a scathing email to the “expert”. At any rate, we are glad to once again have a working generator.
Havre de Grace is a lovely town but, as we’ve noticed with some of the other smaller towns we have visited, many of the sites and restaurants are closed during the week. The one thing that was open was the Decoy Museum. Who knew that Havre de Grace is the decoy capital of the world?!
We had a delicious birthday breakfast for Kevin at Vintage Cafe and scrumptious birthday burgers for dinner at Abbey Burger.
One of the interesting things we learned while visiting the Decoy Museum was that hunters used to use a type of blind called a Sinkbox Boat. A Sinkbox is a flat, wooden, weighted structure that enables the hunter to hide at water level among decoys that are placed on the Sinkbox. Due to the success of the use of Sinkboxes and the subsequent decline in the duck population, Sinkboxes became illegal in 1935.
Concord Point Lighthouse was built in 1827 and decommissioned in 1975 as. the oldest lighthouse on the Chesapeake in continuous service. The first light keeper was John O’Neil who served from the age of 58 until his death at age 70 in 1838. O’Neil is known for his bravery during the War of 1812 when the British attacked Havre de Grace and he single handedly defended the town until he was injured and captured before subsequently being released. Four generations of the O’Neil family maintained the lighthouse until 1920 when it became automated.
The Keepers House was also built in 1827 and had several additions added over the years. The restored building shows the outline of the original house on the side.
