The day started off quite early for me. We wanted to leave the dock at 7:00, that meant that I needed to be up at 5:00. I woke up, had a quick shower then went into the engine room which had now cooled down from the previous day, and began my engine checks. Oil levels in both engines, transmission oil level, oil level in the generator, sea strainers for both engines and the generator were all clear, checked the belts and hoses for any signs of wear, checked for major oil leaks and the list goes on. After I was happy with the engine room, I took Tank off the boat and for a walk around the marina looking at several of the homes that were in the area. It was nice and quiet as only the odd jogger was out this early in the morning.
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| The two super-yachts left before we did. |
Tank and I headed back to the boat and I made myself a breakfast shake then headed up to the pilot house. I turned the instruments on, one by one, and started a new page in my log book. Listening to the weather on the VHF radio we were keeping an eye on a storm that was approaching from the south. This would be the first tropical storm to make it's way north along the eastern shore of the USA. I noted the predicted wave heights, wind direction and strength, barometric pressure and current sea state in the log. Then it was time to fire up the two fire-breathing dragons that were sleeping in the belly of Tropical Horizons II. I decided that it was a good idea to fire up the engines from the engine room, this way I could check right away for leaks or any other potential problems as the rumble of the dragons reverberated through the boat. Satisfied, I returned to the pilothouse and while the engines were warming up, we disconnected shore power, started the generator, put away the boarding ramp and started to remove the unnecessary lines.
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| Ready to go! |
Leaving this slip was a bit tricky as I would need to back out a fair amount and that sailboat at our stern would make things that much more challenging. As the bow pushed out I eased her into reverse and using the port side engine I had hoped that we would walk away from that sailboat. Karen started waving frantically as our stern came very close to their hull, but a few hard pushes with the stern thruster and we were off the dock and out of the marina. I guess I got a little close to them but oddly enough they were sitting in their cockpit enjoying a morning coffee and were far calmer than we were. I turned to Captain Steve and asked what I could have done differently and he simply answered, "well you didn't hit him". In hindsight, I should have used the stern thruster to kick out the stern even more that I did, then use the gears to back out of that spot.
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Backed out of our slip and into the port basin.
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We continued our trip down the Chesapeake towards Calvert's Marina on Solomon's Island. This would offer us the opportunity to pump out our waste tanks and meet up with fellow cruisers. This day would be the longest day we would spend on the water travelling with Tropical Horizons II since we had launched her just over a week prior. We would be crossing the bay, keeping an eye out for tanker traffic, crab pots, and fish traps as we made our way down. It felt good to be on the water. Karen took the helm for a while which allowed me to rest up and we just enjoyed a beautiful day on the water.
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| Out on the bay! |
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One of several light houses in the Chesapeake.
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Italy has a tower, the Chesapeake has a light house!
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We often would see the water boiling, these were schools of small fish.
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Besides the many crab pots we had to watch out for there were these floats that would indicate a fish line below the surface. The trick was to find the other one that went with this one and not pass in between the two.
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Solomon's Island light house and Coast Guard station.
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A fire boat salute, indicating our arrival at Solomon's Island.
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Arriving at Solomon's was yet another test as we had some traffic to contend with along with crab pots and even an oncoming yacht that I signaled with the mighty horns that give our Tropical Horizons II a bold voice that we would be passing port to port....they took notice and so did most people in the neighboring marinas.
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I hope they enjoyed our horns as much as I did.
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So many marinas here with a all sorts of boats large and small, power and sail.
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A tidy church on the island.
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Nice houses, big and small.
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More houses of all sizes.
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Arriving at Calvert's Marina, our friends waiting for us at the dock.
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We arrived at Calvert's Marina without too much trouble although I was finding it difficult to know where I was going, once I was closer it was quite obvious. Another slow approach and we docked without much trouble. We pumped out our waste water and pulled the boat back to tie her up for yet another nice and quiet evening. Well at least we thought it would be. Capt. Steve had made arrangements with his friends who were docked across from us to pick up some crab for a nice crab feast.
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| This job often sucks, as it should! |
Karen learned how to break apart and clean out all of the flesh from a crab and a great time was had by all. We headed over the our host boat for after dinner drinks and friendship. That evening, I noticed once again the boat was listing a bit more to Port.... I started to think that it was all of the stuff that Capt. Steve and Diane had brought aboard and stored in the port guest room.
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Yummy Crab.
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Yummy Shrimp!
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And more Crab! Thanks to our hosts and Capt. Steve.
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The next day had us looking at the waste tank arrangement trying to figure out how everything worked. I was sure that we had it mostly figured out but to be sure we would have to try the system once we were out in the ocean past the 3 mile limit. We made a few stops to an auto parts store, a wine store and then back to the boat with a car provided by our new friends. Then I brought the BBQ up to the same patio area where we ate the night before and grilled steaks and burgers for everyone with grilled potatoes and salad. A great time was had yet again as we watched the storm clouds form around us with great anticipation only to have yet another calm night.
Back in my bunk .... this boat is still listing?
