Chillin or chilly in Solomons Islands!

Life on the water is not all sunsets and cocktails!  Sometimes the captain has to work for his pay!?!?  Before I tell you about what lead to the picture above, let me tell you about Solomons, MD. 

We arrived on Sunday and enjoyed a beautiful day just relaxing in the sunshine at Spring Cove Marina!   Solomons is another town that its focus is on fishing!  Last weekend was the opening of Rock fish season.  We spoke with a couple on the dock that were cleaning a couple big Rock fish.  Requirement is the fish must be 28 inches long and 1 fish is allowed per person!  To catch these big fish the fishermen use planer boards with multiple lines attached.  Many boats had 10 poles/lines attached to these boards.  This is a big deal in this part of the Chesapeake and there were many boats out fishing when we arrived!

Now let’s talk about the Captain and his diving into the chilly waters of the Bay!  We noticed coming back to the boat that the one trim tab was missing its zinc. The zinc acts as a sacrificial anode so rather than the stray electrical current attacking the main parts of the boat it attacks the zincs.  Upon further examination the trim tab hydraulic ram was not functioning properly!  Long story short, it needed to be fixed.  After talking to the marina, it would cost $450 to haul the boat so Ken could work on it on land and in a warm, dry environment!  So, he was going to fix it in the water.  After a couple trips to West Marine to purchase the supplies, it was time to get in the water.  He had already jumped in yesterday to diagnose the problem but this was going to take a little longer!  Water 62 degrees!  Go for it Captain!   After a second and third trip into the chilly water, all is fixed!    Wonderful to have a Captain that can fix everything! 

The Captain's foot!

Time to go explore Solomons!  We headed out on courtesy bikes from the marina and toured the town.  We stopped at one of the local watering holes and then on to dinner! 

These towns on the Chesapeake are all about boating and fishing!  All industry surrounds tourists and fishing! 

Tomorrow the plan is to head further north to Oxford, MD.  The weather is looking iffy so we will wait until morning to make a final check of the weather!  Until then.....time to blow the conch!  Pat