Magnolia and crew are away from the dock! We have been moored at our homeport ALL summer and though it was a terrific time, sailboats and sailors “need” to be on the water and away from docks. We jumped right in during our first week away from the dock, about 175 miles covered on our way to Hampton, VA.
The first 25 mile leg took us to the Wye River on the Chesapeake Bay’s Eastern shore. The Wye is one of our favorite spots on the entire Chesapeake.
The Admiral loves to swim in the beautiful Wye River and it was also the location for the Pentagon Sailing Club Labor Day Raft Up.
Magnolia Crew in the formal attire to head for over in the dinghy Blossom for a visit to the raft. Appreciate the crew of SV Imagine allowing us to moor Blossom!
Out next planned stop was planned in Solomons to visit Spring Cove Marina and to meet up with some friends we had not seen in way too long. We had a fast 50 mile sail down the bay.
We had a lovely visit. This was the view from our favorite ice cream parlor right on the water.
I highly recommend the Supreme with all chocolate ice cream….oh but I digress…
Meanwhile the Navy was busy invading the Patuxent River…some kind of support craft I assume for the Patuxent Naval Air-Station located just across the river. We ended up staying in Solomons a couple extra days waiting for some weather to pass.
Our patience was rewarded for our next passage the longest of the week was nearly 60 miles down to Jackson Creek at Deltaville, VA. In addition to the length we also cross the mouth of the Potomac River. The shear volume of water enter the bay from this tributary can really make for some rough water in the wrong conditions. If you need some evidence please read “2013-07-11 What we learned on our passage to Reedsville”
We had a terrific northwest wind blowing 15-20 all day long. Magnolia galloped down the Chesapeake Bay! It might not have been the prettiest day but our “girl” was eating it up.
The “Mariner” still guards the this portion of the Chesapeake Bay
As hard as I can, I am never able to capture the shear scale of the ships we pass. This is a car carrier, probably arriving Baltimore from Asia is .85 miles away from Magnolia.
We anchored as usual in Jackson Creek, Deltaville, VA. Perhaps we should learn our lesson because every time we do we end up with at least one significant blow coming through! This time was not exception as the from came through Saturday as expected.
The passage of the front did set us for another terrific day of down wind sailing! We had a truly terrific day coming down the bay to Hampton.
Wolf Trap Light…we give this one a wide berth…we suspect that name was earned!
The Admiral keeping on the straight and narrow….or at least heading the right direction.
We have a kind friend that works for Virginia Pilots. Those the guys that go out meet the arriving ships and navigates them into the port. Ed always keeps and eye out for us from his perch upon high!
Though the ship traffic seemed extremely light to us even for a Sunday you can see we needed to dodge some of the big guys. Ed captured these images for us from his tracking equipment in “upon high.” Its always nice to have a “Pro” watching out for us and thankfully he has never needed to make the call, “Magnolia come right 20 degrees or you are going to run over by the ship (“fill in the blank”) Thank you again Ed!
We are in Hampton for a Memorial Service for Annette’s Uncle who passed away recently. We will also take care of a few chores and if things work we will be be getting my niece and husband aboard for the transit to Portsmouth! Have a good week, be safe, Magnolia and Crew!