October 10th – Swan Creek,MD to Rhode River, MD
We left early and headed further down the bay. North wind again pushing us south, eventually pushing us under the Chesapeake Bay bridge. This was the longest steel bridge (when it was built in the 1950s).
Impressive Bridge.
Despite a “small craft advisory” the sun popped out and we had a nice sail. Generally I work on the next day’s navigation in the evening. I have several guide books (three of them by guys named Bob – The Books of Bob). I pour over the guides and the chart and try to find a good spot 35nm to 50nm away. Today’s trip was a short one so we proceeded at a leisurely pace. The anchorage was only 20nm but we’re doing a little site seeing.
Next we passed the very photogenic Thomas Shoal Lighthouse.
We then headed into the West river and up the Rhode River to our anchorage for the evening. There are some houses on the Rhode but 3000 acres are owned by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. There were a few boats anchored in a huge area. Our only neighbors were a flock of Canada Geese. The moon and stars were outstanding. Just to set the record straight, neither myself nor my dog have ever trespassed on any federally protected SERC islands in the state of Maryland.
Happy pup.
October 11th – Rhode River, MD to Solomon’s Island, MD
I think we’ve had “small craft advisories ” every day, since we left Barnegat Bay. In my normal life I try to avoid sailing on days with advisories. Today was another such day. The Chesapeake was tumultuous when we were leaving the river. Eventually we were able to bear off the wind and waves. Once again, going with the flow. Much of the Chesapeake is shallow so when the wind picks up, so do the waves (quickly). We had a good radio station on (out of Anapolis), so I cranked up the tunes and we surfed down the bay.
Boat or building?
October 12th and 13th – Solomon’s Island
This place lives and breathes boats. We took Catalpa up to the end of Back Creek to a quiet spot. Solomon’s was built up around boats. The entire harbor caters to boats. Among the 1000s of vessels there are restaurants (you can pull up to), fuel docks, a nautical museum (complete with lighthouse) and just about everything a boat gypsy could want. On my first trip to shore, with Ollie, I found a liquor store! We managed to replenish our food supply completely (back breaking work). We picked up fresh fish for dinner (something we haven’t had in a while). The local pet shop delivered a 50lb bag of dog food right to the dinghy dock that we’re using. We haven’t seen any place to get dog food (Orijen) since we left home so this was particularly important.
Solomon’s Island area was used as a training ground for the Invasion of Guadalcanal. Ironically, I’m reading a book about the Marines and the war in the Pacific. I just happen to be on the chapter about The Canal. The story of Guadalcanal is a scary one.
Today we’re going to tour town and look for a chain stopper plate (still). Catalpa’s jib has partially pulled out of the roller furling track so I’m going to fix that today. This is a great spot to reprovision and repair (and relax). Either rock fish or steak for dinner tonight (with fresh crab cakes).
Some of the sites at Solomon’s.
We went to the Calvert maritime museum but it wasn’t dog friendly. We looked around for a while and enjoyed watching the mini skipjack race. Eventually staff seemed unhappy about Ollie so we moved on. The lighthouse is the Drum Point Light.
