We need to put in a lot of miles so putting the sails
up will give us that extra boost! We probably gained
about a knot and a half!
We averaged 8.5 to 9 knots all day long...it was beautiful!!
We didn't see a lot of "normal" traffic today
In fact, we saw 1 sailboat, 1 powerboat, and 1 trawler
The rest was commercial
Smith Point Lighthouse is in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay at the
mouth of the Potomac River. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was opened in 1897!
Can you see the storm a brewin' ?!!
We made it in just in time...it wasn't 5 minutes after we got in and
started dropping the anchor that the rain and thunder started
....and we think this guy was still out there as he didn't come into
Solomon's and continued up the Patuxent River!!
05 dark 30 we had the hook up and pull out of Hampton Roads. The perfect place to anchor as we only had a mile to go to get out to the Bay and start heading north. With flat calm seas we welcomed the perfect sunrise over the entrance to the Bay from the ocean. The wind and waves were at our backs and we had a perfect morning. We hoisted the sails after coffee but also kept the engines going as we had an almost 100 mile day ahead of us. It was nice with an average speed of 8.4 knots, on up to 9.2 knots.
We passed freighters and plenty of fowl things. The wind started picking up. Bob gave me the wheel while he attempted to nap. His 60 second nap came to an abrupt end. The wind shifted and we conducted an "accidental gybe." This is when the wind, coming from the south, "violently" moves the mainsail to the other side of the boat causing much stress to the rigging. We had the sail tight to the centerline so it wasn't too bad.
But then the winds really picked up and soon enough we had 4, to sometimes, 5 foot seas sneaking up behind us. One of them splashed up and into the dinghy and crawled up the back steps almost coming into the cockpit. We had to tack, but we had a freighter bearing down on us, and we were only an hour or so from Solomon's Island, so we took the sails down and watched the waves chase us up the Bay. Very comfortable with following seas.
As we rounded the corner to Solomon's we saw the blue skies to the west starting to turn gray. We thought we could drop the hook before the rain and we did. By one minute. Bob took his jacket off and it started to rain and then pour. Then he poured himself a Stoli's.
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