Saturday, May 30th
Air temp 70, water temp 72, winds W @ 5-10
70nm today, 1,104 total nautical miles from Marathon
I had the alarm set for 5:10am and we woke up quickly - both anxious to continue our cruise north. By 5:35am we had the engine running then pulled in the fenders and power cord. Last night I washed down the boat a bit then filled our water tank before stowing the hose. I like washing the boat first because it cleans out our hose and the marina pipes a bit before putting water into our tank.
A 32' Sportfishing boat had docked behind us last night as I was grilling chicken on the back deck. I chatted with the two gents on the boat who were having a great time moving the newly-purchased boat from the Myrtle Beach area to NJ. I had to laugh because they had left Beaufort, NC and zoomed all the way to Great Bridge in one day. Plus, they had also stopped at Coinjocks for dinner. That trip takes us 3 days.
I could see several boats waiting for the Great Bridge Bridge to open so we tried to hurry so we wouldn't have to wait for the next bridge and lock. Turns out they were waiting for a barge to come from the lock so we just had time to release all of our dock lines and motor up to the bridge. It worked out great for us and by 6am we were entering the Great Bridge Lock.
No problems at the lock which went a little slower then normal because it seemed there was only one lock-tender working. There was a 80' power boat along with 3 sailboats in the lock. We've seen as many as 18 boats go through together so today the lock had plenty of room. Laura took this picture of the single-handed sailboat in front of us with a huge powerboat in front of him.
There used to be 3 bridges between the lock and Norfolk harbor that we had to time and this passage took quite a while. Two of the bridges have been replaced with new high-rise bridges so we can just motor underneath them. Only the Gilmerton bridge was left and we only had to wait about 10 minutes for it to open for us. The rest of our 20 miles from Great Bridge to Chesapeake Bay was very nice. Here is the end (or beginning if heading the other way) of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at Hospital Point. ICW Mile 0 (I think that's the hospital in the background...).
About an hour later, we sailed past the Navy docks. Didn't seem to be as many ships here as normal but still an awesome sight.
By 9:30amm we entered Chesapeake Bay and turned north. Winds were light and just off the port beam. We had our jib and mainsail sheeted in tight which gave us about 1/2 knot of additional speed with only 5-6 knots of wind.
Laura took this video of us motor-sailing on a calm Chesapeake Bay.
The winds died around noontime so we pulled in all the sails. Tidal current was against us so we were only making about 4.5 knots but the day was warm and the bay flat. We just sat back and read or worked a few jobs then around every once in a while. Not very many boats out for Saturday and we had most of the day to ourselves.
Our plan was to make Deltaville tonight then sit for a day or two while the north winds blew. But, we approached Deltaville around 3pm and decided to keep going. It was only another 20 miles to Reedville (on the Great Wicomico River) where there were excellent anchorages and we might be able to stay with our friends Mary and Walter. We had met Mary and Walter last October on our way south. We had just joined the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC). Mary and Walter were members but had retired from sailing and owned a beautiful house in Reedville where they offered their dock to other members. Laura called them and the dock was available. Yea!
During the afternoon the winds picked up a bit from the NE so we were able to run out our main and jib again for a little help. The tidal current changed to our favor around 2:30pm and we averaged over 6.5 knots the rest of the day. We tied up to Mary and Walter's dock around 7:15pm which made for a 13 1/2 hour - 70 nautical mile day from Great Bridge including about 45 minutes at the beginning to get through the bridge and lock. But, it was very relaxing on a calm bay with the winds helping most of the time.
Mary invited us to the porch for after-dinner cocktails and we chatted until after sunset. Laura had baked a Raspberry Tart while underway today for all of our enjoyment. Oops. Forgot to get a picture. Next time...
Back at the boat we both crashed around 9:30pm. I slept straight through to 7am which I (almost?) never do. Guess I was tired!
Mary and Walter offered us their dock for another night so we will stay until Monday morning. North winds are going to blow in tonight and tomorrow so we have a nice place to stay and visit with friends.
Sunday, May 31st.
Air temp 64, water temp 71, winds N @ 15-20
Didn't move the boat today.
Laura was up early (7am?) and I slept in a bit. We took it easy this morning - caught up on some projects but mostly relaxed. Mary had offered to pick up some groceries for us and Laura went with her just after noon. I worked on the blog, worked out a bit and didn't do much of anything else. Life is good!
I took this picture of Second Wind at Mary and Walter's dock later in the afternoon.
We went up to the house for happy-hour. I hauled along my guitar and flute to play a bit. The flute wasn't as good as I've been playing and I realized the chair I was in made me crunch-up. After moving to the edge ot the chair where I could get deeper breaths, it sounded better.
It was a very nice evening with Mary and Walter. Mary had made a Mexican casserole and Laura made a great tossed salad. Here is our after-dinner pic.
After dinner we chatted a bit then headed back to the boat. I've been checking weather for tomorrow and the north winds will be relaxing in the morning so we should be able to head north to The Solomons.
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