There is a hole where Yume sat the last three months!
We left Ft Washington Tuesday at daybreak. It was chilly, but not too bad. There was enough of a breeze to get the sails up for much of the morning, then it was a motor 65 miles up the river to a place we could take Goose in, then drop an anchor.
They say ” Red sky at night sailors delight” but I think this is for the Southern Hemisphere, because the next day we got pounded!
We left early Wednesday with a goal of getting the rest of the way down the Potomac River (it is 100 miles from the mouth to DC), turn south into Chesapeake Bay, get around the Smith Point Light and into the Piankatank River where I knew we would need some really good shelter.
The forecast was 25-30 knot winds, rain and possibly snow. I just had no clue how big the waves would get.
This video clip will not do the day justice at all. Let’s just say it would have been exhilarating if I was not frozen, if the boat had not been thrown around like a toy, if the wind and waves were not quite so powerful. But it sure makes you appreciate the anchorage!
This is an ocean going tanker less 3/4 of a mile from me and you can barely see him. By 10 am, the wind was gusting over 30 knots, the rain had started, and the waves were becoming fairly large. By the time we turned the corner into the Chesapeake, I had realized the boat was doing much better than we. There were few leaks, when a year ago there would have been water squirting in everywhere.
The cold weather makes Yume sweat like crazy as she has no insulation.
We anchored in a little fishing harbor right next to this old smokestack that was lit at night. Cool! And it was so nice to be still!
Out again early Thanksgiving Day and heading towards Norfolk. After a couple of hours we decided to cut short the day, and made for Deltaville Va so Shelly could manage a nice dinner without having to worry about pots and pans flying all over the place.
We tucked into a very nice anchoring spot, listened to the rain, read books, and cooked. Yum.
You can see the oil lamps burning. With the temps around 30, we keep four or five of these lamps burning for heat, as well as placing clay flower pots upside down on the propane stove. When we get up, and just before we go to sleep, we run the generator to run both reverse AC’s to get it as hot as possible…
We were woken after midnight as the wind changed to the NW and started to blow again. You hear all kinds of noise when that happens and start worrying. At 245 am, we felt the anchor break free of the ground in a really strong gust of wind, and in no time Yume was aground in the mud.
These are the time that try men’s souls too! Ryan and I got dressed up for blustery, wintery, wet weather, and proceeded to make everything all right.
We were very fortunate this time as we could have swept down on another boat that was behind us, or hit the boat on the dock instead of passing through them, and coming to rest on a mudbank that was easy to motor off while pulling in the dragging anchor and 60 feet of chain.
Then we motored back to our original spot and dropped two anchors this time. Of course, the wind was done, and by 7 there was just a 10 knot breeze.
Lucky.
Today we sailed from Deltaville to Norfolk. By 10 the wind had picked up again and the crew were complaining about the rolling of the boat. With the wind coming up behind you at 25 knots, gusting to 35, you can sail as fast as the boat will go ( we hit 10 at one point) but the waves come up behind you to run under the boat creating a interesting rolling motion.
I liked it as we could turn off the engine, save some fuel, and enjoy a sail. But it is a bit chilly at 32 with a strong north wind.
We sailed right into Hampton Roads about 3 pm, right on past the Navy fleet, and up to a fuel dock to make sure we have plenty of fuel for the next several days as we head back into the Dismal Swamp Canal and into North Carolina.
The weather is supposed to be moderating for a few days (in the 60s during the day) before turning cold again midweek.
All we can do is keep heading towards south Florida!
