Drivin' Dan the Sailing Man June 6-8

Earlier in our trip our friend Dan Mulrooney let us know he was interested in joining us at some point along the journey. As with others who have expressed this interest we let Dan know that coordinating these visits while we are en route is extremely hard and that it would require a lot of flexibility on his part. With the influence of the weather, mechanical issues and and a myriad of other factors it is almost impossible for us to say we will be at a given location on a specific date – unless we are already there. And that’s what happened. When Dan found out we were at Solomons Island he asked how long we’d be there – “A couple of days because of the weather”. Next thing we knew Dan was getting in his car with an extra pair of underwear or two and doing a long overnight drive from Ottawa down here. That’s the way to make it work! We had moved the boat over to the marina dock and in the morning we had to get some groceries. When we returned to the boat Dan was inside having a nap! He was then duly oriented to the boat and its systems by Christopher doing the tour and many of the explanations.

That afternoon ( Saturday) we left the dock and scooted down Back Creek into the Puxatant River hoping to give Dan a sail time. When we got organized to hoist the sails Christopher immediately protested loudly exclaiming that there was not enough wind and demanding we take the sails down. Well, he was right again. We tried painfully for a little while to see if some puffs of wind would move us along but no luck. So what is one to do in such a case? Go anchor and start the sundowner drinks early!!

Sunday was a different scene. Out we went to the mouth of the river and into the grand Chesapeake Bay. No protests this time. The wind was up and the sails were set. And when Christopher did his duty of turning the engine off, the peace combined with the rush of the wind was like magic. It was a perfect combination of wind, sun and small waves and made for exhilarating sailing. Dan took the helm (video below) and tacked us back and forth to the other side of the bay. By afternoon a whole armada of local boats were out as well making for a classic Chesapeake Bay day on the water.
After a great supper of shrimp and grilled tuna followed by a few more sundowners we were able to reflect on this spur of the moment visit as a great example of successfully seizing the moment. And before we knew it Dan was driving off into the sunrise at 6am the next morning.