Solomons Island, Maryland

The other day…… and I have no idea what day it is anymore…… Jan says it was the day before yesterday, we left South River for Solomons Island. There was absolutely no wind or waves so it was motor again…… we’ve been motoring since we left Cape May due to lack of wind.
Well, the trip was very uneventful until we were about 10 miles from the turn towards Solomons when we heard this tremendous roar coming up behind us. It was a fleet of 50 foot, high speed racing boats doing as one of the drivers told me, about 130mph. …….. except for the “Miss Geico” racing team. This boat is amazing… twin jet engines in this 55 foot catamarin that sounds like a Boeing 767 taxiing down a runway. The rooster tail was about 20 feet in the air and there was a low flying helicopter right beside it doing the film thing. These boats were here for a Nascar on the water race and boy were they loud. Unfortunately I missed the pic with the helo because by the time I grabbed the camera they were passed us.
Gotta like the towing vehicle they have.

So, today was race day…….. and what happens when you try to round the very last buoy on the course at 180 miles per hour?????? LOOK OUT…… big splash as she flipped through the air. We saw them towing the boat into our marina……. As it was sinking……. with the owner on the bow hanging onto the tow rope. They hooked onto her with the slings ang got it out of the water quickly. Nobody was hurt.

After things calmed down I went for a stroll and found these terrific deals on sailboats for anyone with a good weed eater. Lane…. I think you’re looking for a new boat.

Today was a bit of a down day for us and we found a marina that charges only $1.00 per foot/night. This got us a marina, water & electricity, WIFI, laundry, showers and a pool and a courtesy car for 1 hour to get groceries, liquor, etc.

Not only was this a car…….. it was a black, diesel powered Mercedes Benze. It rode hard and nothing worked in the car but it served it’s purpose.
Tomorrow morning we’re heading south again for Deltaville, Virginia, about 50 miles down the coast and about 50 miles north of Norfolk, Va,
Now, some of the emails we receive are saying…”Is that as far as you’ve gotten??” WELLLLL…. For all you non-sailing types, the entire trip is the better of 2,000 miles and is a lot further than the page in your atlas. You can drive it in under a week……. But try walking it at a quick pace. That’s how fast sailboats go under power…… 50 miles per day if you’re tying up at night.

Right now we’re about 5 days ahead of schedule and holding.

Here’s some pics of the racing boats that were here today.

So here we sit in between some pilings at our berth at Calvert Marina….. nice and peaceful…. And quiet for the night. It was a little tight getting in here and with the fenders out we got stuck between the pilings and couldn’t move any further.

See you in Deltaville,