Solomons to Deltaville |
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The sunshine and warmer weather in Solomons Island we enjoyed on Sunday afternoon disappeared Monday. It began early in the night that morning when we were awakened by raindrops on the aft cabin ceiling. Light at first and then heavier as sunrise neared we sleep (or dozed) to the raindrops wondering if we would be able to cruise during the day. Needless to say, we did not hurry to get out of bed. The rain slowed down at about 0700 and was over by 0730. Weather forecasts identified that the weather would fair off later in the morning and that winds would be from the south at about 10 knots with some gusts to 15 knots, favorable for today's planned journey to Deltaville. We were able to leave the floating docks about 0830 and cruised along with some fisherman through the Patuxent River where the water was calm. As we rounded Cedar Point we picked up the southern winds and recognized that a cold rough day was ahead. Our course was roughly parallel to the Patuxent Naval Air Station facility and then along the shores of St. Mary's County west of the navy's target structure in the bay. We encountered heavy seas driven by southerly winds about half way between the target structure and Point No-Point light which slowed our ground speed to less than 7 knots. Remarkably those seas calmed before we reached Point Lookout and the dreaded Potomac River. We've all heard the stories of bouncy waters where the river meets the Chesapeake, but this day the waters were relatively calm with 1+ ft. waves coming from the south. The remainder of the cruise to Deltaville was pleasant. We passed Smith Point Light about 1240 and then cruised more south west to slip behind Windmill Point Light and head more west into the Rappahannock River about 1500. We reached the floating docks of Dozer's marina about 1540 giving Joe the time to wash off the outside of Surprise and Rosa to prepare a wonderful meal. |