Tangier Island, VA to Solomons Island, MD

Ten miles north of Tangier Island, Viridian and crew left the state of Virginia and entered the state of Maryland.  Our destination took us northwest 46 miles to the mouth of the Patuxent River, into the Patuxent River and north into Back Creek to our dockage at Calvert Marina, Solomon’s Island, MD.  We left Tangier Island at 0730 and our cruising buddies left Dozier Marina in Deltaville, VA at 0630.  By the time we got to the northern end of the mouth of the Potomac River, we were finally in radio range and identified our group on AIS heading north.  Viridian fell in with the three Looper boats at the mouth of the Patuxent River, and we cruised right into the Calvert Marina and slid alongside the face dock and tied up.  We all wanted to get off the water for the Memorial Day weekend, as that marks the beginning of the summer boating season.  Several other Looper boats came into the area and docked at our marina and other marinas in the immediate area.

After checking in, the crews of Viridian, Second Wave and Dash Away launched our dinghies and explored the upper end of Back Creek and found all the dinghy docks for the various restaurants and museum.  We finally pulled into the dock at the Charles Street Brasserie and had a nice supper at the end of a long cruising day on the Chesapeake Bay.

The next day we tested out Dash Away's new dinghy fuel tank to make sure the hose and fittings all worked and didn't leak.  Later that afternoon we dinghied over the Culvert Maritime Museum and spent an hour or so checking out all the displays on exhibit concerning the history of maritime activities in and around the Solomon area of the Chesapeake Bay.  A bike ride on the gravel roads around the marina and a fine meal at the Hidden Harbor Restaurant ended the day as a storm system moved from the west over our area and brought wind and rain for the evening.  It is expected to continue raining for a few days, so we will stay tied up until the weather breaks and gives us a good travel day to go to St. Michaels next week.

That's the news and here are some views

We are here

Today's route from Tangier Island, VA to Solomon, MD

Early morning on Tangier Island, VA

Crab boats coming and going in early morning

Burgee Flag Pole repaired

Diving Bell?

Out exploring Back Creek 

Supper time at Charles Street Brasserie

Viridian and Second Wave Admarials

Saturday - May 26, 2018

Second Wave, Viridian and Dash Away

Two Old wooden work boats

Captain Mike from Dash Away testing his new fuel tank

Checking out the Lighthouse that once stood over Drum Point at the Patuxent River Inlet

There is also one like this on Mobile Bay that is still in service I believe

View inside lighthouse

Lighthouse sleeping quarters

Lighthouse dining room

This is the mechanical bell ringer referred in the Notice to Mariners above

Later Same Day

 Calvert Marina has traces of the old military base still visible.  You can see some of the old sidewalks and barrack foundations along the shore where we are now docked.

She was worn out from chasing down a gopher rat and too tired to care that we were close by

Once she got her breath the picked up her meal and vanished