Today is the big day. I started my adventure of solo sailing down
the Intracoastal Waterway. I didn’t
sleep well last night. I finally crawled
out of the bed at around 4:00. I worked
on the blog, checked my route to the Solomon Islands again for the 7th
time, fixed breakfast and it was still only 6:00. I had set my departure time for 8:00 so that
Jim could help me cast off. Finally at
7:45 I walked over to Jim’s boat and he poured me a cup of coffee as I passed
through the doorway. In the conversation that ensued, I mentioned that it was
recommended that we pick up extra fuel storage because marinas in the Hurricane
ravaged areas may not have electricity and therefore would not be able to pump
gas. Jim offered that we run
back out to
West Marine so I could pick up a couple of 5 gallon gasoline cans.
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| What can I say! |
The one thing that I didn’t bring is some form of
warm footwear. So, while I was at the
West, I also bought a pair of warm high top shoes. It’s only money!
We cast off the lines at 8:00 and I motored out into
a glassy harbor in a bright sunny sky.
Once out in the bay, I turned south and was greeted with a nice north
easterly breeze so I put up the sails, shut down the motor and enjoyed about
two hours of sailing before the wind died.
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| My AIS system said he was traveling at 12 plus knots He shook up the waters |
As I traveled along, I was aware of probably 5
sailboats within my view at any one time that were also heading south. Heading north, there were numerous large
power boats all heading for Annapolis for the powerboat show that begins at the
end of the week.
At around 2:00 in the afternoon, I noticed a large
ship heading in my direction at a relatively high rate of speed. It turned out
to be some sort of navy cruiser. He was
obviously watching me because after he passed, he changed course to cross
behind me.
By the time I reached the inlet the Patuxent River,
the bay had become glassy smooth with absolutely no wind. It made travel and the spotting of crab trap
floats easy. I swung into the river and
headed about 2 miles north to where Back Creek and Mill Creek join to enter the
Patuxent and form the Solomons. Much
like the port of Annapolis, the area is crowded with marinas and boats. I called the Zahniser marina requesting a
mooring ball and the lady informed me that ther
e were possibly 3 left
unoccupied. Upon entering the crowded
mooring field, there was only one left.
With no wind and current, catching the mooring lead was simple.
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| The villanous crab trap float |
After securing the boat, I put the motor onto Damn Dink Too and went looking for the
dinghy dock. A gentleman on the first
boat that I passed offered that the dinghy dock was right next to my boat and
that they had nice showers and a laundry.
The next boat guy that I passed suggested that there is a good restaurant
within walking distance. I had gotten
out cheesy hamburger mac but a fresh crab cake sounded much better. So, I started walking and at the first
juncture, I took the wrong turn and after about a half mile I passed another
West Marine. I needed another boat
hook. Back when we were sailing near St
Michaels and I hooked a
crab pot line, I tried to use one of my two boat hooks
to get free. Once free and sailing away,
I realized that he hook had gone to “Davy Jones Locker” and was never to be
seen again. I asked the clerk about the Stoney’s Kingfisher restaurant and he
told me that I had made the mistaken turn.
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| Sunset in the Solomon Islands |
I hiked back to the turn and on to Stoney’s where I
enjoyed a crab cake, a cup of crab soup and Old Bay seasoned fries watered down
with a local craft porter. I love the Chesapeake!
Back at the boat I collected my laundry and shower paraphernalia
and headed out. The facility was really
nice and I enjoyed a long hot shower.
I made it back to the boat in time to honor my 9:00
bed time.
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