Solomons, MD to Gibson Island, MD

Miles Traveled 62.6

Total Miles Traveled 4106

Day 252

What a beautiful site when heading back out on the Chesapeake Bay this morning, a full boat load of crab pots removed from the waterways.

This is a ship fuel dock, there are several huge tanks behind the trees from the dock.  We’re not sure if it is a dock to load and unload tankers, or a fuel dock for cargo ships.

This is Cove Point Lighthouse, first constructed in 1828.  The lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation and is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay.

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant producing over 1700 megawatts.  In  February 2009, Calvert Cliffs set a world record for pressurized water reactors by operating 692 days non-stop.

Sharps Lighthouse located about 3 miles from Tilghman Island in Maryland is best known today for evoking the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a condition caused by an ice floe in 1977.  The first lighthouse built in 1838 was replaced due to island erosion.  The second lighthouse lasted until 1881 when it was forced off its foundations by an ice floe.  It floated nearly five miles down the Chesapeake—with its keepers still inside—until it ran aground, allowing the men to escape unharmed.

The bay was really calm today; we are over 4 miles from land, a great day to be boating on the Great Loop!

Thomas Point Lighthouse is the most recognized lighthouse in Maryland.  The current structure is a 1 ½ story hexagonal wooden cottage, equipped with a foghorn as well as the light.

This is the Baltimore Harbor Light, first lit in 1908.  In May 1964, the Baltimore Light became the first and only American lighthouse powered by nuclear power as a test of the 60 watt radioisotope thermoelectric generator.  One year later it was removed and a conventional electric generator was installed.  Currently the light house is solar-powered.

We passed a several nice homes on the way to our anchorage behind Gibson Island.