Wednesday, June 17
Deltaville, VA – Solomons’ Island, MD
53.73 nm 8.25 hours underway
As miserable as the first third of the trip was yesterday, the Chesapeake couldn’t have been more welcoming today. We cruised along, lulled by the gentle rocking of the waves for most of the day.
As we approached Solomon’s, we did a last-minute check on our slip assignment. They had us in a space listed at 16.5 feet wide. With a 16-foot beam, that’s…optimistic. In perfect conditions — and with perfectly accurate measurements — maybe. But after failing to squeeze into an “18-foot” slip in Elizabeth City, our confidence was not exactly high.
A quick back-and-forth with the dockmaster (and a polite but firm “we’re not comfortable with that”) worked in our favor, and we were reassigned to a spot on the T dock — a much more forgiving situation. Solomon’s Island Yacht Club is run by volunteer members, and we couldn’t have been more appreciative of the flexibility — and of Randy, who was on duty and there to catch our lines.
Known as one of the friendliest yacht clubs on the Loop, we were excited for our visit — and it didn’t disappoint. Drink tickets in hand, we headed up to the clubhouse for cocktails. The Rear Commodore was one of the first to welcome us, and we quickly found ourselves in easy conversation with others at the bar.
Despite it being $10 taco night at the club, we decided to venture out and try one of the local Solomon’s restaurants instead.
Heather hit the jackpot with hand-breaded gluten-free chicken tenders (a rare and exciting find), while Kevin went for the soft shell crab BLT. Kevin was…underwhelmed. Heather, however, absolutely crushed the chicken tenders and confidently declared the fries the best of the trip so far — which, if you know Heather, is not a statement made lightly. French fry connoisseur status has been well established.
Add in a nice bottle of rosé and a Chesapeake sunset, and it was an easy decision to call it a night.
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