Deltaville--a welcome sight

As promised, our flotilla of four Catalinas left Solomon's Island at 7:00 on Thursday, hoping to make it to Deltaville, VA by late afternoon.  Sixty miles on a sailboat takes all day. 

Today we departed in a beautiful sunrise and anchored in a beautiful sunset.  It was a splendid day on the Bay.

Fortunately, we had plenty of sunshine and a lovely breeze so we could sail most of the way, assisted by our Universal engine, of course.  Glen fretted about the appearance of strange noises around the engine, and he broached the horrible idea of having to unload all the crates, cases, golfclubs, and scores of other "stuff" in order for a diesel mechanic to get a good look at the engine if we needed a stopover at one of the marines in Deltavilla, a boating town on the Piankatank River.  I ignored the suggestion, invoking the "let's deal with that when the time comes" mantra.  Fortunately, he figured out what had happened just as we all were turning into Jackson Creek to find the mechanic.  Some little "thingy" down low on the left side of the pedestal where you turn the key on, had been accidentally switched from off to on or vice versa. So, much ado about nothing.  But we celebrated neverthless, having been spared the expense of a new fuel pump.  Whew.

This submarine rising from the deep gave our friends on Andiamo quite a scare as they were warned over VHF to "get out of the way"!  We saw a tanker refueling a fighter, and a huge freighter making its way up the Bay as well.  Maybe the Navy is out in force for Academy homecoming weekend in Annapolis?

Alas, no dolphins today.  Maybe tomorrow.  But we'll see really big ships, too, as we pass through Norfolk headed for Mile One of the ICW at Portsmouth.