It was the lure of the water that first brought Don and Marcia Demarest to Maryland's Eastern Shore from Wallingford, Pennsylvania, 25 years ago when they began sailing the Chesapeake Bay. In 1989, when Heron Point was just woods and architects' drawings, the attraction was the town.
In the beginning, Marcia was ready but Don was dragging his feet. "Men don't like change," Marcia says. "But our kids were gone. It was a big house. Neither of us wanted to be left alone in that house. And we didn't want a townhouse that would mean we'd have to move again." They moved to Heron Point in 1992.
Getting to their boat used to take an hour and a half. Now, with their Pearson 35-foot sailboat at Long Cove Marina on the Chester River, they are there in 20 minutes. They can go for a few hours, work on the boat or have dinner on-board. "If it's 95 degrees and no wind, we can come home," Marcia says.
Their boat, Sodalis, is their second home. They love the Chester River: so many places to go, so many good spots for gunkholing on the bay (which to the landlubbers among us means a place to put down your anchor and stay awhile). The boats in their sailing association circle, raft the boats overnight, and party. Other times, they like to go where the wind blows.
In Chestertown, the construction of a reproduction 1767 Boston schooner, Sultana, is enlisting experienced craftsmen as well as eager amateurs, and offering educational programs in the working colonial shipyard. Don, like Marc Hall and others of his Heron Point neighbors, has lent a hand. "I put the railing on the ladder to the loft," Don says, smiling. "That's my claim to fame."
Not everything in Don and Marcia's life is nautical, of course. Both take courses at Washington College. Marcia walks every morning and did work in the hospital gift shop five minutes away. Both speak enthusiastically about Kent and Queen Anne's Hospital. Don has had both knees replaced there. "It's an unbelievable hospital," he says. "Fine doctors from big cities, who want to get out of the rat race, come here to practice."
As part of the Marketing Committee, the Demarests often entertain people who are considering Heron Point. Very often, after they have talked at length about life here, people will ask, "What don't you like?" "We had to stop and think," Don says. After awhile they found an answer. "Marcia had mall-withdrawal," he says.
This website has been created by, and is maintained solely by, the residents of Heron Point of Chestertown, without input, oversight, or control by any other person, representative, corporation, or entity.
