Gale on the Chesapeake

After a pleasant trip across the bay, we grabbed a mooring ball at Solomons, and got some rest, especially well-deserved for Jason. I had a  cold, and he took the bulk of the helming for the day. The only exception was when I managed to shred the self-tailer on the winch, while raising the mainsail. The good news was that we had broken it once before and knew what parts to order.

We enjoyed the hospitality of our mooring ball at Zanhiser’s and marveled at the number of Canadian boats. Each evening 4 or 5 would arrive and each morning they were gone. Was the whole country emptying? Clearly, some Snowbirds were moving South with a bit more purpose than we were. We saw numerous Catamarans, including sister ship Blue Dawn. Two Fish could finally feel that she wasn’t the beamiest boat in the basin. We visited the local Calvert Marine Museum; the highlight was watching the otter eat his lunch, including a boiled egg for dessert. Solomons’ current name derives from a businessman who bought up most of the town in the early 1800’s and established a cannery; be sure not to call it “The Solomons”. The town used to be connected to Solomons Island by a bridge, but the water has been filled in over the years, leaving just a bit of the original wooden structure.

 

We waited for some good weather for our sail to Deltaville – there is always some debate on Two Fish as to what that means. Based on the forecast, I thought I could be okay with a couple of hours of gusts to 25 with the wind dying down as the day went on. We rarely saw 25 as most of the day was in the low 30s with a gust to 39. I visited my traditional windy spot – the master cabin – as Jason steered us downwind through the waves. At one point, I heard “Do you want to know how fast we are going?”.  I responded that the less I knew about speed the better.   The master cabin can become the denial zone.  Jason ignored my request for silence, claiming he could not help himself.  “15.7 knots. I stowed some canvas as the water was stacking up by the bow in the big puffs.”

Needless to say, I was happy to anchor in Deltaville. After navigating through the tricky channel, we found a great spot in the Western arm of Jackson Creek. If you visit via boat, take care to follow all channel markers and check their numbers to make sure you find all of them, especially the first two.  They must have bought the markers on sale, since they do not match.   Looks like a bachelor’s sock drawer full of mismatched reds and greens.

Anchoring was easy for us in the Chesapeake.  There are many places to drop hook. In most cases, the 33kg Rocna set very well on the first time.  We had to thoroughly wash the chain with our sea water pump during weighing to remove profuse quantities of mud.  At the bow, I would do an odd dance of pressing the up button on the windlass, operating the hose, removing the beehiving chain and directing Jason at the helm.  He would be doing very little at these times. Oh, to be Captain.   Frequently my sailing gloves and my jacket would acquire mud stains after weighing anchor.   Jason offers a deluxe service and washes them at our next sighting of a hose. We like a lot of space and were able to choose creeks with enough space for Two Fish.

We took the dinghy ashore, passing two Antares on the way: Blue Summit and Echo.  Echo (nee Barefeet) was owned by our former crew, Chris and Erin. While there was not much within walking distance, the people were very friendly – we were even offered a ride by a passing motorist, after she confirmed that we were sailors.