Solomon's Island to Oxford

We prepared for departure in the morning, and this time I thought that we would try to spring off the dock, well the wind had a different plan for me. We were ready to depart, all the engine room checks had been completed, the dragons roared to life and lines were organized, power cable unplugged crew on deck and before I could practice the maneuver the stern was being blown off the dock. I immediately started in reverse and Karen and Diane were pointing out that I was about to take out the power pedestal, all while the stern was getting closer and closer to a research vessel that was moored across from us. I could see my stern, but could not see the power pedestal. I figured that I needed to clear the dock first then I could correct what was going on with the stern. All of this time I have a panicked crew on the fore deck telling me to watch my stern. In what was not my greatest moment, I blurted out, "Why the hell do I have crew on the bow telling me what my stern is doing?". Once we were clear of all vessels and the excitement was over, Captain Steve calmly said, " you didn't hit anything" he then added "it's your job to keep your crew calm". Wise words and lesson learned. Diane, who was frantically waving as I approached the research vessel was unusually quiet, I think she heard my comment. Karen, who was used to me belting out an off the cuff comment like that when I get overwhelmed, said nothing.

Leaving Calvert's after a rocky departure.

I did learn a valuable lesson, as much as I may be stressed out and feel overwhelmed, I need to remain calm, not just to be able to think clearly, but to keep the crew calm. When the crew is panicking over what they see as a problem, I need to respond back calmly and do my best to reassure them that I will find a way to keep us all safe. This is perhaps the most important lesson that I have learned, keep calm and keep everyone around you calm.

Heading back out towards the Chesapeake Bay.

Steve then told me " you're dong fine, this is only your third time out of a dock with this boat".  When I asked what I could have done differently, he pointed out that I should just maneuver on the transmissions alone and leave the wheel out of the equation. In hindsight that is what got me, the rudders were working against me when I tried to get the boat further away from that research vessel.


There are lots of marinas and yacht clubs here.


Almost every channel marker had an osprey family nesting on it.


Leaving Solomon's passing through an anchorage.

Before long we were back out on the Chesapeake into a bit of a chop, about 2 ft. Tropical Horizons II carried herself well and we were on our way to Oxford back on the eastern shore of the bay and heading north.


Tank has decided he would like to join the captain and help navigate.

The entry into Oxford was uneventful and had us making a turn in the fairway of the marina to allow us to dock port side to. We wanted this so that we would be able to launch the dinghy from the boat deck and the davit location would only allow for launching from the starboard side. As were were entering the marina and were trying to hail the dock master, a coast guard vessel hailed us. This would not be a great time for them to board us now as we were approaching the marina. It turned out that they were looking for another boat that was to take on fuel. They were nice enough to send out a dock hand to show us where to go.


Off the bay towards Oxford.


Nice looking houses.


The Marina under new management is undergoing some changes.


Tied up! Time to relax.

The turn into the slip was tricky and we were dredging up silt from the bottom but we made it in again without much trouble. I kept calm and so did the deck crew. Karen was a bit over whelmed with having to change lines around and her mobility issues with her knee stopped her from being able to quickly change a line from one side of the boat to the other.

With some extra time on our hands, we decided to launch the dinghy. Once we figured out how the spreader bar attached to the dinghy we got it up off the boat deck and over the side. I won't lie, it made me nervous to have all of that weight on the davit and hanging over the side of Tropical Horizons II some 15 feet in the air. We successfully splashed the dinghy with no splash at all and Steve and I were off for a dinghy ride to see just how well it worked. We noticed that the tank was empty so first stop was the gas dock....this was embarrassing. Thinking we had no fuel, we pull in to fuel up and as I was handed the fuel nozzle and squeezed the trigger...click! I thought this can't be, so I tried again with the same result. The tank was already full and we had a gauge that was not working properly. To add insult to injury I only had my credit card with me and had to put a $3.00 charge on my card. The dinghy worked well, it is equipped with a GPS and depth sounder which is great when exploring coves and potential anchorages. We returned to the boat after a short run around the bay and brought the dinghy back up on the boat deck.


Hey look it starts! Do we have a paddle? Just in case.


Didn't need that paddle after all.


Now to load it back up.

The rest of the evening was capped off with a nice supper on the aft deck and we retired later that evening.  We would have another early morning start to the day as we had a long run up the Chesapeake bay to the C&D Canal.


Another end to what was a great day.


Some of the nicest sunsets we have seen on this trip so far.


The sky was ablaze with color!

Still the boat was listing!!!!