Solomons, MD to Fishing Bay, Deltaville, VA

The sunrise that greeted us as we were leaving the Pawtuxet River.

      It has been quite a memorable day.  The storms that had been predicted were minor, but we did have some thunder and rain throughout last night.  We were up before first light.  Our flotilla left the docks at 7 AM, just as the skies were beginning to lighten. As we left the mouth of the Pawtuxet River into the Chesapeake Bay, the clouds were awash with color and the radio was filled with Coast Guard chatter from all over, including Cape May, N.J., Hampton Roads, V.A., Southern New England, as well as our usual, Sector Baltimore! We also had the Navy “requesting” all boats shift their courses east about 3 miles to clear the bombing target range out in the Chesapeake. 

Andiamo, Brunelle, the Coast Guard

and only part of the submarine ...

it was huge!

Andiamo and the Naval Cruiser

much closer then either really wanted.

        As the morning progressed we were able to add sails to our motoring and increase our speed to better than 7 miles an hour. There was always at least 4 or 5 other boat besides our flotilla that could be seen also heading south. As we approached the Potomac River, the north bound traffic became very interesting.  The US Coast Guard Sea Horse “requested” Andiamo to head to starboard and create a safety zone of 500 yards for the ballistic missile submarine she was escorting.  If Andiamo did not move, USCG Sea Horse stated that they were authorized to use deadly force.  John and Betty moved to the right very quickly.  They almost had to move again when the Naval Aegis Class Cruiser was also heading up the bay a few minutes later.  This weekend must be homecoming weekend for the Midshipmen at the Naval Academy. To round off our military encounters today, we were buzzed by TWO F-16s doing a 300-foot, off-the-water (meaning over our boats!), high speed turn, about 5 minutes apart. It was very cool, but the whole boat vibrated.

Once things started to calm down, I wanted to familiarize myself with the radar since it was fairly hazy.  This is when we discovered that we had a problem with the electronics.  We believe that one of the lightning hits last night might have caused a problem with a number of our group.  Thankfully, rebooting the systems seems to have worked.

Dan & Martha visiting
Maureen & Glen.

           It has been 9.5 hours and 86.3 miles and we are now in Fishing Bay, Deltaville, Virginia, which is just south of the Potomac River.  68.7 starting miles from our marina to Solomons + 86.3 miles today = 155 total miles of our journey ~~~  Look for: 86.3/155 Total miles, which will now be a notation that will show our entries on the days we travel.

          We are at anchor for the night in Fishing Bay, Deltaville, VA. As we enjoy the beautiful sunset, we prepare for another long day tomorrow. 

Sunset at Fishing Bay.

                     86.3/155 Total Statute miles 
                                                                      
                           ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete