Solomons Yachting Center

Solomons Yachting Center

I left Cambridge after fueling up and getting fuel for the dinghy. There was quite a bit more fuel in the dinghy fuel tank than I had thought. But it was nice to add about 60% new fuel - the stuff in the tank was getting pretty old.

The first part of the trip was uneventful but warm. There was absolutely no wind and the water was as flat as can be. I made it out into the Chesapeake Bay motoring at a fuel conserving 5 knots. In the process I was passed by Moondance, another of the boats (a Catalina 445) that had been at the Sailnet rendezvous.

As I headed down the Bay things started to pick up. By the time I was on a beam to Solomon Island the winds were 10 to 15 and the waves 2 to 3 feet both in my face. I had slowed down considerably. At that point I said to myself why am I fighting adverse winds and waves. I don't really need to get back to Norfolk any time soon. I headed into the Patuxent River and eventually made my way to the Solomons Yacht Center. I considered going into NAS Pax but decided that I didn't want to be several miles from anything for several days with no car.

The Yachting Center has older fixed docks. It sits on a point with docks on both sides. It was a bit confusing when I came in just exactly where the marina was located. The fuel dock is very easy to get to and close to the entrance to Back Creek. The people are nice, the facilities older but clean, and Happy Hour features $1.00 drafts! Not bad. This morning I moved from the T-head to a slip and decided based on the weather forecast to sign up for a month. In the US transient fees are very high compared to monthly rates. For example break even here is 6 nights. In Europe it is usually 24 or 25 days to break even. With the foretasted winds from the South for at least the next 3 days it made sense to sign up for a month. I now have a mid-Chesapeake Bay base for the next month.

Fair winds and following seas :)