When your friends need a hand getting their 70 foot motor yacht down the east…
Southbound ’17 – Travel Day 10: Solomons, MD to Deltaville, VA
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FROM: The Captain
Forecast: Sun and clouds. Winds from the northwest 10-15kt. Seas 2-3′
Distance traveled: 55.5 nautical miles
Time underway: 5 hours 35 minutes
Average Speed: 10 kts
Max Speed: 18 kts
Fuel used: 68 gallons
It’s still cold but we’ll take the high 40’s over the low 30’s – about 48 degrees and breezy when we shoved off from Solomons, MD at 7:22am. We had contemplated taking a long run to Norfolk but really had no need or interest in being out for close to ten hours when we could easily break the trip up into two legs. So Deltaville, VA here we come. This was Captain Pauly’s first run with us on this trip and it was instantly clear how nice it is to have the extra set of hands for getting off the docks. Jasper really hasn’t been of much help other than keeping a close eye on everyone to make sure no one winds up in the drink. I suppose we shouldn’t undervalue the importance of that.
Once we were clear of the harbor we were almost instantly in a quartering sea of two to three footers. OLOH is normally a very dry ride but the confluence of wind and waves and our heading brought a little spray over our freshly washed vessel. Oh well, happy problem.
As we ventured further south conditions got more and more squirrelly, particularly as we passed the mouth of the Potomac. 2-3 footers became 3-4’s with occasional 5’s. A bit rolly polly for sure. Once clear of the Potomac our more southwesterly heading put the seas behind us and the ride became more comfortable over the progression of our last two hours. We all marveled at how wide the Chesapeake gets as you travel further south – more than 20 nautical miles in some spots. It is a huge body of water which is easy to take for granted when looking at a map or chart.
It was also truly great having Captain Pauly available to stand watch and he and I took shifts enabling me to attend to some boat business of planning and getting a few things set up for the coming days. OLOH has been performing wonderfully since this journey began but we have been keeping an eye on a non-critical, slight leak from the coolant drain valve on our port engine. We decided it would be best to have a pro lay eyes on it and give the engines a good visual inspection for anything else we might not be noticing before we get further south. There is a very reputable Detroit Diesel/MTU outfit in Portsmouth, VA, our next stop, and they’ll be coming by the boat after we arrive. It was good to get that scheduled.
I was looking forward to our stop at Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina in Deltaville, our first stop in Virginia, our fourth state so far. The Dozier Waterway Guide is the preeminent printed guide for cruisers and we have been using their publications for all of our boating years. Even though most of our cruising resources are now digital there is something so well-crafted about the Dozier’s guides that transcends the need for it to be on a device and, quite frankly, everyone in our crew enjoys being able to pick it up and read about our cruising grounds and destinations. While the Dozier family no longer owns the publication business, they still own this top-shelf marina and it was a pleasure to meet the guy in charge, the gregarious Jimmy Mackey. What a great ambassador for the marina, the area and what the cruising experience is all about. Thanks for taking such good care of us (and Jasper with treats) Jimmy. (Essential Seinfeld reference – Jimmy likes it when you stop at his marina).
Cruising is also about the great people you meet along the way, whether for a passing moment or more. Being on the water is the common denominator that brings us together when we likely would not have had any other reason to meet. Deltaville gave us the chance to say hello to Claudia, Steve and their pups on board their beautiful Nordhavn Ranger. Nice to meet the four of you!
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