On Sunday morning, October 19, I tidied up the boat, prepared it somewhat for departure from Annapolis and performed some maintenance.
I filled the water tanks for the first time since we
departed on Sept 18. I hosed down the deck to desalinate and readjusted the
port shrouds, as a flag halyard was stuck in the shroud toggle, which might have been squeaking.
I returned the club key to Justin at 10:50 and headed
south, unsure of my destination.
The wind was in my face. I sailed for about four hours, with three hours of motoring. I got to charge the
batteries after four days in Annapolis without any shore power.
It was nice Sailing
Upon arrival at Deale, we found two anchorages - one with a pretty good rating and the other with a very poor one. The latter was also way too shallow.
I got stuck there a couple of times, which made me nervous and
frustrated. I started looking for a marina and came across Shipwright Harbour, which I had seen at the boat show.
I called the office, and they offered me a dock at B5. I
couldn't find it, but eventually, I did. She discovered a boat behind it and found another dock, but I got stuck in the dark area. I managed to find another free wharf, and she helped me dock it. She didn't know how to tie
lines.
While on the phone, I hit a large buoy, which dented my furling foil.
The marina is large and pretty complicated. I tied up and paid $75 for the night. Tomorrow morning is expected to have a weather advisory, with 15 knots of wind and gusts up to 30 knots from the west to east. So I might stay another night.
I borrowed a marina bike and rode around, but all I could
find was more marinas and some hole-in-the-wall joints.
I needed a drink, but decided to try some things I bought
in Maryland. It was very strong. And I had just 1/2 a dosage.
On Monday, October 14th, I spent the day at the marina.
Shipwright Marina is a nice marina, but with the season coming to an end, it was pretty quiet for a Sunday. Monday was about
the same.
I tidied up the boat, did my laundry, and updated my log,
At 1730, I left the marina to anchor in Herring Bay
just outside the inner bay. It was less than a mile away.
Wednesday, October 16, marked the one-month anniversary of my departure from Dorval.
I got up early at 7:30 at sunrise, hauled anchor, and filled up with 45 litres of diesel. I had to leave the dock because someone else was coming in. I
headed out to the bay and set up the main sail, expecting a run south.
It was a great run with one gybe in 20 knots of wind.
It seemed too rolly to try a chicken gybe. But later on, I did two
chicken gybes.
Around 1 o'clock, I realized I couldn't get to Deltaville, so I pulled into Reedville about 15 miles earlier. I tried to turn into the wind, but the motor wouldn't start - there was no noise from the panel. I left the channel for deeper waters and tried the Emergency engine start switch for decompression. That worked, and the engine started.
I motored into Reedville, which took about 40 minutes,
and anchored in Cockwell Creek.
37 miles and just over an hour on the motor.
I investigated the engine, but I couldn't find anything
wrong. I checked the connections for the panel fuse, opened the four
Yammar connectors, sprayed them with WD40, and reseated them.
Thursday, Oct 17
It was another cold morning, so we had a late start. We motored out into the channel and put up the jib sail on a run to Deltaville. I went through the
Jackson Creek channel, which is dredged and anchored at Jackson Creek about 2:30.
I took the dinghy around the creek and ended up parking at Deltaville Boat Yard. I borrowed a bicycle and rode into town, where I found a hardware store. I also visited West Marine and then checked out the maritime museum, which was closed.
I decided to have supper at the Tap and Raw Bar near
the marina and then go back to the boat.
Friday, Oct 18
Today I departed Deltaville at 9:30 for 7 hours on a run
with the genoa.
The winds were much more reasonable than the previous three
days.
I arrived in Hampton at 5 PM and spent an hour looking for an
anchorage, ending up just outside Hampton in a pod field.
Saturday, October 19
On Saturday, I docked at the marina, met with some of the Sail to the Sun boats, visited the city, and explored the Museums.
What a week
146 nm travelled mostly in a run in four days
11 hours of motoring, primarily spent anchoring, docking, and
charging the batteries.
The following two months will be mostly motoring on the ICW.
Map from Dorval to Hampton, VA
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1kePIhnk_Z9-X0-iTCkuGjqfTrC2zdLg&usp=sharing
