10/17/14
Today is a passage day. We are traveling from Solomons
Island, MD, to somewhere south of the Potomac, which will put us in VA. The
weather is beautiful. The sky is blue, with just a few small white clouds low
on the horizon, and it’s warm and sunny, with a light breeze, about 10 kts.
There is not much to see, since we are out in Chesapeake Bay, with land fairly
far away on all sides. To the east, there is one huge freighter in the channel,
about 5-10 miles away. We hear jets, loudly landing and taking off nearby. We
think it must be a training exercise. Solomons Island is on the Patuxent River,
home of the Naval Air Station. The sun sparkles on the water ahead of us, and the
waves are barely 1 ft high.
A lovely day, and one that could be incredibly boring, one of the few fears I had about
this trip. But as one of my college professors recounted telling her teenage
stepdaughter, (and I paraphrase, after all these years), “Only stupid people get
bored, smart people always have things to do or think about.”
Wanting to stay firmly on the side of the smarties, I’m
exploring my options. Inventory things. Write a post. Read the cruising guide
(which contains descriptions of all of the harbors that a boat like ours might
want to visit). Watch for birds. Today we saw our first pelican, with its huge
beak, on the water. Watch for fish. Occasionally we see a patch of water 10-15
ft wide, all stirred up, which we know to be something feeding on something
smaller. Often birds join in, too.
Chuck is wearing his wonderful “found” hat, which he found
on the street, in the gutter, when he went into a fancy MD town for dinghy gas.
The label said “Hand wash only,” but we ran it through the washing machine when
we did laundry, and hung it to dry. It’s a wonderful cruising hat, with a wide
brim, a long back to cover his neck from the sun, and secure straps to keep it on.
I don’t know how someone lost it, but they probably miss it. Please know, Hat Donator,
that we really appreciate it! We plan to order another one for me, from Amazon,
unless it turns out to be the one item they don’t carry.
Chuck and his found hat
“Point No Point” lighthouse is coming up on our right. How could anyone not love that name? I’m on lighthouse photo documentation assignment for my sister, Sue, who really enjoys seeing them. There is a lot of variety in style here, not just the big cones that we have in New England.
Point No Point Lighthouse
Mark Doyle, co-author of “On the Water Chartguides”, who spoke at the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) GAM, described all of us as “Just cruising along, listening to Buffet, semi homeless and unemployed.”
Mark Doyle
That just about sums it up! And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sandy & Chuck
on s/v Summer Wind
