Week 3, May 30, 2011

0500 May 30, 2011; We were up early to the sound of ship horns and look out to see the Tugs already at work.  I got everything ready to go and we shoved off at 0600. 

The passage down the Elizabeth River was very smooth and we passed by half a dozen more navy ships.  As we entered the main channel out to the Chesapeake Bay, I had two super tankers in front of me. They weren’t leaving too much of a wake but their engine cavitations was making any headway bumpy.  I pulled past the stern of the tanker and the wave action was quite rough even though I didn’t see any wake.  At one point, I went up on one wave and came down into the leading wave and berried the nose of my boat and the decks became awash!  Whoa, what’s the rush and I let the tanker proceed out of my way.

Once around the southern point of Hampton Roads, I headed north along the VA coast.  The wave action was slightly choppy but when I came to the York River sound, another 12 mile passage, the wave action was just as bad if not worse than the Albemarie Sound crossing.  Fortuntally the waves and wind were coming from my left shoulder but I had to go out further into the Chesapeake in order to ride the wave action. 

The surfing action came back and we were picking up speed over each large wave.  I would hit a wave at 10 mph and cross over two waves at 14 mph.  After an hour of this I made the other side of the sound and started to pass landfall at the southern end of Mathews point. I believe I must have been five miles out into the Chesapeake Bay and started working my way back to shore as the wave action subsided. I made the Deltaville Marina some 50 miles from Norfolk at 1100 hrs.  I made some great time in all of that wave action and instead of going into the marina; I went across the Rappahannock River sound, an additional eight miles and pulled into the Windmill Pt Marina.  I will say that my chrising to the Chesapeake Bay lived up to my expectations and it could have been worse.

The Windmill Marina didn’t have a fuel dock but one of the staff took me into town to full up my gas cans.  I also had to pay, for the 1^st time in many days a slip fee of $35 but I get the use of the pool and lounge.  I gave Chase his first swim of the trip and then his 2^nd bath.  I went to the pool and had a cool dip and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. The temperature is in the high 80’s and the Bay is as flat as glass.  I should be out on it but I need the relaxation. I am told that the Bay will remain calm for the rest of the week and the further north I go the better it gets. I hope to be off by 0600 tomorrow.