Once out on the bay we had a nice sail to Solomons Island. Leonard rigged the main, but with our course between 130 - 170 off the wind, we just ran out the jib and put on the pole to keep it steady in the waves. Lazy man's way, but a lot easier than trying to keep both sails filled running down wind in 2-3' seas, and not significantly slower with just the 135% jib. Unfortunately the sail kept us in the shade most of the day, making it chilly since, when running downwind, there is no ducking behind the dodger to get out of the wind . It was considerably warmer once we were anchored in Back Creek.
Tour boat in Solomons
With the wind forecast to clock through the SE Saturday to the SW-NW Sunday ahead of a cold front, Leonard spent time looking at the GRIB files. While the forecast wind wasn't all that strong, SE was the direction of the next leg, so we planned to stay put Saturday, heading on our way Sunday in the slightly more favorable wind conditions. That meant we could wait to go ashore for provisions and spend what remained of the afternoon, relaxing in the cockpit. Seemed like a good idea to both of us rather than rushing ashore to hike to the store. Seems we've been going full tilt since we decided to head south for the winter in early September.
Loon swimming through the Solomons anchorage
The longer term forecast was for yet another cold front to arrive Wednesday, giving us the opportunity to see how well the side curtains work in the rain (70% probability). So far, we've had beautiful, sunny skies most days, and we're not complaining. We've even kept the decks relatively salt free since washing the boat in Baltimore. The few splashes that made their way onto the decks have gotten wiped down with the morning dew - so we haven't wished for rain to give us an easy rinse.
10/24/15 Re-position to 38 20.255N, 76 27.602W Back Creek Anchorage, Solomons 2.4NM
After the wind switch during the night, Leonard wasn't happy with where we were sitting Saturday morning - too close to some docks - so we motored over to the free town pump out station before re-anchoring and heading ashore. For once it was fairly easy to tuck into the slip alongside the pump out. The tide was way up and I had no problem lassoing a piling. However, when Leonard pushed the on button on the pump, nothing happened. He tried several times, but it appeared to be out of commission and there was no one around to ask for help.
Onward to one of the marinas since a pump out had been planned at this point. I'd noticed a very convenient dock labeled pump out at Zahniser's Marina, so we stopped there. It was a hike to the marina office to alert the staff we were at the dock, but at $5, seemed a bargain, and someone would be right with us. He said the pump would take a minute or two to prime - it was a new system, replacing the old one with more electronics (not sure salt water and electronics are the best mix). He'd used it that morning, but couldn't get it to run and needed time to work out the kinks in the new system. We could wait at the dock, no promise it would work, or look elsewhere.
We continued in our search for a functioning pump out. Spring Cove, next to where we'd been anchored, had a functioning pump, and the dock guy pedaled down on his bike as we tied off. Yes, his was working and free - the State of Maryland provided money a number of years back to help keep the bay clean, but doesn't cover upkeep of the systems, hence the low price. Had we known, it would have saved us an hour. At least I got hot water to do dishes, so it wasn't a total waste of time and fuel. This would have been frustrating if we'd planned on departing bright and early, but proved somewhat interesting, giving us a chance to see what some of the many marinas in the area offer.
Most of the boats that had been anchored by us overnight had departed, so we had our choice of spots to drop the hook. By then it was lunch time, so our shopping excursion got delayed until after we'd eaten. Woodburn's Store, conveniently located just up the hill from the dinghy dock, closed a number of years ago. While on the pricey side, they had nice produce, a good deli, and an interesting bakery. Food Lion, just under a mile further out of town, is now the only choice other than a 7/11 convenience store.
With our fresh provisions stowed on board, we
rowed back in for a walk through town. I'd noticed some
docks along the waterfront by Spring Cove Marina that
shortened the hike a bit and gave us a chance to look at more
boats. Solomons vies with Annapolis providing marinas
and services for the greater DC area, and I'm not sure which
has the most boats. Both are great for those of us who enjoy
looking at boats of all sizes and shapes.
A lovely boathouse by our anchorage - saw a beautifully
restored wooden boat pull in at it
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