St. Mary's

Just off the beaten track of cruising up the Western Shore of the Chesapeake is the St. Mary's River. It is the first tributary past the northern part of the Potomac River. By the way, the mouth of the Potomac is so wide (10 n. mi.) that you can not see across it. After another 10 n. miles the St. Mary's opens up to the north. It is a gentle, deep and wide river. After another 10 n. miles in the middle of pastoral splendor and around Church Point (see picture of cross above) is St Mary's College and old St. Mary's historical district.

I was interested in St. Mary's College because it is routinely ranked #1 in college sailing. Old St. Mary's was the first capital of Maryland and was a ghost town by 1750. In fact it was completely obliterated by time and only archaeological records remain. It was founded on the principal of religious freedom. This was taken away when the capital of Maryland was moved to Annapolis. Only the first amendment returned that freedom to the people of Maryland.

Jan and I anchored off the college and watched the kids practice sailing. It was so energizing to see and feel those kids returning to school (This was the first week in September.)

We toured the country side of rural Maryland, toured the campus, and toured old historic St. Mary's. We were sad to be chased away by the imminent arrival of tropical storm Hanna.