Good morning!  Rise and shine!!  Time to hit the road for an 60 mile day today.  Got your dramamine ready?  Ginger ale in the cooler?  Let’s go!!

Leaving Deltaville, VA

Back into the Rappahannock River toward the Chesapeake Bay.  We need to head north.  The Chesapeake Bay may be rougher in the next couple of days due to a cold front moving in – again.

Yep. We are on track.  That is the “Windmill Point Light”.  Right where it is supposed to be.  At least, I think it is.  Let me check the charts….

This freighter is off in the distance.  No problems with us.

Wayne turned around expecting to see absolutely no one behind us as a normal safety check.  He saw these two cargo ships came up behind us rather suddenly.  From our previous experience, Wayne decided to get out of the way of these cargo ships!!  They are in the commercial channel.  We shouldn’t have had to move this far away, but the water is deep and wide.  Surely there is plenty of room for everyone.

Can you tell that this morning the water is flatter than it was yesterday?  It seems that in the early morning, the water is calmer.  By afternoon, the water starts churning and the wind kicks up a few knots.  Right now, blissful!

Really, the water was smooth.  This picture of the Smith Point Light is straight!

Smith Point Light ??

You can also see there are very few other boaters out this morning.  Fascinating.  At approximately 9:46am, we entered the beautiful state of Maryland!  Another milestone.

Now in Maryland!!

We found all the Chesapeake Bay markers we expected.  So uneventful, we were able to get into the Solomon’s Island area just after 1pm.  Wayne is becoming used to no ‘magenta line’ to follow. The magenta line of the ICW will come back from time to time we hear.  There are a couple of places in Delaware and New Jersey.  Really?!

Finding the marina was trickier.  The area was buzzing with activity and noise being Memorial Day.  We hailed the marina on the radio and got no response.  There are over 22 marinas in this protected cove off the Patuxent River in the Solomons.  We are looking for number 18.  They are all jammed in so close.  AND the marina has a very little sign.

Finally, a young lady answered the radio and gave us a wave.  She was in a black dress and fancy flip flops.  It was a holiday, so we figured it was ok.  She handled the lines like a pro, helped us dock for fuel and get our berth for 2 nights.

This is what I was looking for in the water.  I found it on the street as we walked around a bit.  The dock master said the county won’t let the marina put up a bigger sign than they have now.  It is the best kept secret in the area.  All the other marinas had large signs.  By eliminating the others, it should have been easier to find this one?!

Cool wind.  Music in the air.  Beer flowing on all the docks.  Party – On!!  Memorial Day on the Chesapeake!!  We are safe and sound and had a great day on the water.  Ginger ale wasn’t even needed.

Sunset at Solomons Yachting Center