Annapolis, MD to Solomons, MD to Deltaville, VA

Our first day of sailing started at 7:30 a.m. Mattias had moved the boat the night before because the tide was so low due to Northerly winds that the boat got stuck in the mud at the dock. He waited until high tide to move it and we left when the tide was high in the morning and we were sure to get out. All the way down the Chesapeake we had a nice west wind and going with the current for most of the day we could go at a nice clip. It was a brisk day and of course I had forgotten to pack my longjohns! The girls and I stayed warmer with blankets.

The GPS and downloaded charts were up on the computer which was strapped to the navigation desk. This has proven invaluable to have available as it makes for easy going in regards to knowing where we are and want to be and since we traveled by a couple of prohibited military zones used for training, we don't want to bump into any bombing practice sights do we? So we are off for the approximate journey of 8 hours by motor and sail to Solomons Island, MD. What do we do for that long? Well, the girls like to do their "homework" on the boat, tie knots, listen to books on CD, take an obligatory afternoon nap if you can,eat and fiddle around. And we watch the traffic that goes by. These days were a parade of boats on the same course headed South as us, some barges and container boats. The second day Solomons to Deltaville, VA., was just as successful. Mattias and Magnus got an early start and were up and out the hatch before the girls and I. I was not aware that on sailing days you really need to be up by 6 a.m. if you want to get a good start to the day. This day they were up by 5 a.m.! Cousin Magnus was at the helm much of the day (despite a cold), and was given the opportunity to assist as much as possible on his second and final day of sailing.
While he was with us, we all missed out on alot of the sailing due to poor weather, but he will have other memories on his vacation to the U.S. from Sweden. So, we arrived Deltaville at around 3:45 p.m. so settle into dock. At the end of the dock was the Godspeed Ship, a replica of the original ship from the Jamestown Settlement. She was en route to a festival up the coast and stayed at our marina for the night. We also saw a Swedish boat anchored outside the marina with a home port of Stockholm on it's stern. Mattias may try to get in contact with them by radio tomorrow and find out how their story.

More later,
Carrie