Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes – SBFL* 2 – PLANNED – My Slow Boat to Florida (SBFL) Intracoastal Waterway trip was inspired by National Geographic authors Dorothea and Stuart E. Jones. (See SBFL) In their 1958 National Geographic article, they describe how they sailed down the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis and stopped in Solomons, Maryland, and then crossed the state line over to Virginia. My second source of inspiration, Allan C. Fisher, covered a bit more territory above Solomons in the Chesapeake Bay in his 1973 book, America’s Inland Waterway, published also by National Geographic. While I intend to follow the path of both authors in this 2019 boating season, I also plan to do a few trips between Baltimore and Chrisfield, MD on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay. While I will sometimes be in search of the previously visited spots of Fisher such as St. Michaels, Deal, and Smith Island, I will sometimes also explore new locations as well. Since I would be doing part of my truly slow boat to Florida journey, and my destination is the entire journey not just Florida, I am going to count this year’s stopovers in the Chesapeake Bay as a part of my SBFL series.

For example, Fisher shared a photo of brothers Lem and Steve Ward, famous sons of Crisfield, MD, mentioning that their coveted wooden waterfowl carvings brought prices as high as $1,000. Well, these days, although the Ward brothers are no longer with us, some of their decoy ducks are going as high as $50,000 or more. I will cover my visit to Crisfield on the Eastern shore. I am also planning to visit Smith Island. Now, that is where I will have to make an exception to this blog’s rule that any spot that I visit must be reachable by boat and motor vehicle. In the case of Smith Island and nearby Tangier Island, I really have to break that rule. Smith Island is reachable by private boats for sure, but you can also catch a public boat from Crisfield. Likewise, from Crisfield, you can catch a public boat to Tangier Island, which is on the Virginia side. I intend to visit that island as well. They are the last stronghold of the old way of life on the Chesapeake Bay that I love.

Yes, I want to continue sharing my excitement and discoveries with you, but at the same time let’s have fun together. I am launching my charitable Let’s Shake Hands fundraising campaign starting in late May and running through late September. The first person in each marina who spots my boat, Life’s AOK, when it’s tied up in any marina outside of my homeport and says hello and shakes hands will trigger my making a $20 donation to the melanoma campaign of the Melanoma Research Foundation. In addition, you will get $10 for just saying hello. Your alternative is the very exclusive Life’s AOK T-shirt. 

As May is Melanoma Awareness Month, I would love us to support the Melanoma Resource Foundation by shaking hands. However, if our paths do not cross this year, there is still a way to support them. Just click the picture below please.

Don’t Fry Day

Every year, the National Council on Skin Cancer designates the Friday before Memorial Day as “Don’t Fry Day” to raise awareness of skin cancer prevention and to encourage everyone to protect their skin as they head outdoors to kick off the summer season.

Check Me Out!

Research shows that patients, not doctors, are most likely to spot melanoma. The Melanoma Research Foundation encourages you to thoroughly check your skin each month for moles that are new, changing or different than other spots on your body. Here is a simple exam guide.

Have I turned you off enough? Please don’t — if you are boating or simply spending some time outdoors under the Sun, just be aware of the Sun’s effects and protect yourself to have a safe and fun Summer season.

I hope to say hello to you if you spot me in one of my locations that I will be visiting.

3 things I learned

• For all ages, there are now sizable amounts of SPF 50+ as well as UPF garments available on the market. These garments give you protection while you are outdoors, especially on the water. All you have to do is to search the Internet using the phrase “SPF 50+ garments” or “UPF garments”.
• This article, How to Choose Sun Protection (UPF) Clothing, gave me some insights.
• Here is another great article and tips by KUHL.

3 things I recommend

• – Take the side effects of UV exposure very very seriously.
• – Check out this article, What is Sun-Safe Clothing?
• – Protect yourself by buying SPF 50+ garments. My favorite is UVSkinz;
  however, there are many others such as KUHL, LandsEnd, LL Bean, REI, Orvis as well as garments listed under Amazon’s UV or UPF Protection Clothing.

How easy?

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*SBFL stands for Slow Boat to Florida. It is a series of my blog posts, which started with a posting that had the same title.  Each numbered heading has two parts. The first is “Planned,” and when we visit the planned location, a “Visited” label appears at the beginning, next to SBFL. The essence of this series is not to seek new lands and exotic cultures. Rather, it is to cover our journey of discovery (hence the title of our blog Trips Of Discovery) that has to do with seeing with a new eye the coastal locations of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) where present-day America started to flourish. The SBFL series represents part travel, part current and historical anthropological highlights of selected locations and coastal life.  We’re comparing then and now, based on observations made by Dorothea and Stuart E. Jones in their 1958 National Geographic article titled, “Slow Boat to Florida” and a 1973 book published by National Geographic, titled America’s Inland Waterway (ICW) by Allan C. Fisher, Jr. We also take a brief look at the history of the locations that I am writing about. Finally, we bundle it up with our observations during our actual visits to the locations and our interviews with local residents. Think of it as a modest time capsule of past and present. My wife and I hope that you, too, can visit the locations that we cover, whether with your boat or by car. However, if that is not in your bucket list to do, enjoy reading our plans and actual visits as armchair travelers anyway. Also, we would love to hear from you on any current or past insights about the locations that I am visiting. Drop me a note, will you?