We got underway from Solomons at about 6:30am. We are expecting the winds to start from the south allowing us to begin the day on a run. The prediction was to have the wind direction shift by early afternoon to from the west and then from the north by 3pm or so. This would have us tacking against the wind or motoring in the afternoon unless we stop for the night by 1-ish. Three things conspired to change our day from the orignal plan.
First, our anchorage was uncomfortably close to the channel the night before. In order to draw attention to the boat so no one would run into it over night, we left deck lights on. This draw bugs to the boat over night which had to be cleaned and polished out of everything. This task Ian took on with zeal, making the cockpit spotless over the course 3 or 4 hours. While he was doing that, he left me in charge of sailing the boat. I with the favorable winds we had to start with I pushed to get the most distance out of them expecting things to change and work against us later. For the first several hours we averaged 8kts on strong winds behind us and a 1.5 2kts tidal current in our favor!
Second, The wind shift to west came 3 or 4 hours later then expected. By the time the winds shifted to the west I had already passed our planned anchorage for the night. Since we were further along, the charts showed less places to stop for the night that would work for us between Eastern Bay and Annapolis. I guess I can take the credit over-sailing our destination.
Lastly, It was such a nice that what’s a few more tacks into wind on a beautiful day! We decide to go all the way to Annapolis. This put us 2-3 days ahead of schedule. Seriously though after staying on Chesapeake Bay all Saturday I can understand why people love to cruise this area. There were hundreds of boats out, sailboats, fishing boats even pontoons. It just a beautiful day to out on the water!
We arrived at Annapolis before sunset. The bugle played over the Naval Academy as we put the flag away. It was nice to sit at the mouth of Annapolis Harbor and watch the parade of boat return from a day on the Bay!
