Don & Kay Besom - A Winslow Homer seascape          This was our first spring cruise with the SWS, and we have to admit, it was a memorable one.  For a time, we thought the trip was set up to test the mettle of newcomers to the group.          Among the memories that will remain with us was the put-in ramp, which required a front-loader full of gravel and five stout construction workers to get our Bay Hen in the water.  Then there were the thirty hours of rain, peaking as we all moved from Hunting Creek along the Miles River to Leeds Creek in a downpour so heavy we could hardly see the shoreline we were approaching.          But the trip planners were canny, for they front-loaded the hardships and arranged for the good weather at the end of the trip, knowing that was how we would best remember the weekend.  Besides the weather, we will remember well Saturday afternoon when the rain stopped and we all rafted up for the afternoon.  There were refreshments to drive off the chill of the day and plenty of talk and getting to know people and boats and experiences.

Kay Besom on her Bay Hen surrounded by
two more Bay Hens on the Leed's Creek raft-up

Then came the sunny Sunday morning made more glorious by contrast with the days before.  The sky was clear and birds called from the woods that bordered the cove where we were anchored.  The air warmed to the season, and the breezes became brisk as we headed back into the Miles River.  It was a day out of a Winslow Homer seascape.          And then suddenly, the boats were on their trailers, the lunch at the Miles River Yacht Club finished and we were on our way home.          Memories-there were many that would linger with anyone who loves boats and water.  But perhaps the best were of the people we met on our first spring cruise and hope to meet again on the next one.