After over 4 years of a long distance relationship, I finally popped the question on bended knee under the B dock gazebo at Fishing Bay Harbor Marina. She said “Yes”. We’ll be married in May and certainly look forward to meeting each of you at FBHM.
Dawn broke at 0700 and the weather over Reedville was deceptively calm. A light, nearly imperceptible breeze stirred and the skies seemed friendly.
We made coffee and shoved off for the final leg of the voyage, roughly thirty miles south/southwest to Deltaville VA.
As we cruised down the Great Wicomico River toward the Chesapeake Bay, we made small talk and took pictures of the area. Reedville is part fishing village, part haven for Washington’s elite. Rusted fishing vessels float in the shadows of massive country estates.
At 0800, we turned out of the river and into the coastal shallows of the Bay. The change in the weather was instantaneous and shocking. Inland, there was very little wind and the waters were calm. The Bay, however, was rocking and rolling due to a frigid 20 knot wind from the east/northeast. Waves were 4 to 6 feet and whitecaps were everywhere. There was no other traffic in our vicinity.
At this point, we had the one real close call that could have scuttled the entire mission. A poorly marked fish trap lay in the mouth of the river. This particular trap was a large net spread out to approximately fifty feet and supported by three orange buoys. The traps are hard to see in perfect conditions and nearly impossible to sea in the heavy seas we were experiencing. We could see the first buoy and The Skipper steered around it. The other two were slightly submerged and we ran right over one of the net lines. Fortunately, the geniuses at Sea Ray built their boats to be somewhat idiot proof (i.e. fishermen) and we didn’t cut the line or run afoul. Had the screw (propeller) grabbed the line and twisted it up, we would have been stalled at sea in six foot swells and heavy winds. You may have even seen us dangling from the bottom of a Coast Guard chopper on The CBS Evening News. Fortunately, our Guardian Angels were with us, the screws ran free and clear and onward we pushed. A frightening moment was had by all!
[Barbie loves Otto the Autopilot]
We plotted a waypoint for four miles east, out of the shallows in order to turn southwest for Deltaville. The Skipper’s confidence ran high. He grabbed the helm, turned off Otto (the autopilot) and started wrestling Dessert First due east, into the biting wind and rolling beam seas (waves and wind hitting us directly from the side). My job was to watch for ‘rollers; large sets of waves that could be seriously problematic to a boat crew. Skipper wrestled and swore and screamed “Come on, ya’ big fat hog!” and willed the boat to comply. He tacked her like a sailboat to the middle of the channel, approximately four miles east of Reedville and turned southwest for Windmill Point. The wind picked us up and shot us forward like a surfboard. The battle took nearly an hour and we were both happy to have a tailwind and following seas. I’ve been at sea dozens of times and this was one of the wilder rodeo rides.
[Skipper takes her from Reedville into the angry Bay]
The rest of the trip was fun. The following seas and tailwinds pushed us along to the southwest at 9 knots and we zipped passed Windmill Point without realizing it. We crossed the mouth of the Rappahannock River, scooted past Stingray Point and turned due west into the Piankatank River. We churned upriver for about an hour and then turned due north into beautiful Fishing Bay Harbor, Dessert First’s new home. Skipper guided her to the slip and we tied up at 1140, just a few minutes over schedule.
[Cajones and Barbie celebrate their arrival]
[Skipper likes his new marina]
Awakened at 0530 by The Skipper, who was bellowing his traditional wakeup call from the other end of the boat: “Wakey Wakey! Hands Off Snakey!”
(I’ll bet the neighbors loved that one)
We made coffee, filled the thermos and made final preparations to put out to sea.
Mac stopped by at 0630 for one last cup of coffee and to see us off properly. He gave us some last minute advice on the generator, and The Skipper briefed him on our float plan.
[Gilligan hoists the colors]
We said our farewells, did one last weather check, shifted colors and shoved off. Officially we were underway at 0720.
It took about an hour to creep out of the West River and into the mighty Chesapeake. We came around to 170 degrees true (heading slightly southeast) and made good for 7 knots. The Bay was reasonably calm, with a little chop and moderate winds from the north, which provided a nice tailwind push. The temperature was 38 degrees, but we stayed warm on the bridge due to the isinglass bridge enclosure.
[Skipper takes her out while Gilligan drinks coffee and watches for crabpots. Notice $7.95 aviator shades]
The tailwind proved to be a real blessing. Not only did it boost our overall speed over ground, it also helped to decrease fuel consumption. We re-calculated our projected time of arrival for day one using a slightly higher groundspeed and realized it might be possible to push beyond the Potomac River entrance on day one of our voyage.
There was very little traffic along the way, mainly commercial barges and an occasional Coast Guard vessel.
[Coasties hard at work on a Saturday morning]
The weather held throughout the afternoon and we reached our original target waypoint (the Potomac River entrance) somewhat ahead of schedule. We crunched a few numbers and decided to make for Reedville, VA and lay up for the evening. The Skipper called a marina there and was happy to learn that they had an open transient slip, restaurant and shore power! No cold boat tonight. We pushed ahead until we reached the mouth of the Great Wicomoco River and then cruised up the channel to Reedville, a cool little fishing town about 25 nautical miles north of Deltaville.
[Fishing fleet near Reedville VA]
[A small cottage (ha) near Reedville VA]
We pulled into Reedville at 1700 after a long nine hours on the Bay. Charles, the manager of the marina and restaurant, met us at the transient dock and helped us tie up and establish shore power. We tightened up the boat and walked ten steps to the restaurant for a well-deserved cocktail and seafood dinner.
We returned to the boat by 2000 hours, reviewed our float plan for the next day and hit the rack for a well earned night’s rest.
[Pier side in Reedville VA. The restaurant is just out of frame left]
Awakened at 0530 to a ruckus in the salon. Shook off sleep, went to investigate. We found Cajones and Barbie drunk and still raising hell. It appears they had pulled an all-nighter, starting with cocktails at Pirate’s Cove the previous evening.
[Sunrise Over The West River]
We departed the marina by car at 0730 and met Mac McKibben for breakfast. We briefed Mac on our float plan and he briefed us on his recent adventures at sea and in the skies. He’s a retired airline Captain and he has some terrific stories. We also discussed the generator on Dessert First, which started fine but failed to pump cooling water overboard. A boat without a generator must rely on batteries and this can be troublesome while at sea. If the batteries die, so does the heat, lights and ultimately, the boat itself. Mac had some ideas, which we promised to check out. He loaned us his truck so that we could return our rental car, pick up supplies for the trip and transfer The Skipper’s new dinghy to the boat.
We spent most of the morning picking up food, marine equipment, boat parts for the voyage and beer for the rigging shop at the marina. One can’t forget the customary Friday evening beers at Hartges rigging shop. At 1300 hours we headed for the marina and off-loaded the dinghy on the fuel pier.
[The Skipper's empty slip! Home for 11 years]
At 1500 we stowed the supplies for sea, then threw off the lines and headed for the fuel dock, just across the marina. We fueled up and heaved the dinghy up on the boat. It’s heavy, cumbersome and took four of us to get it onto the bow. I lashed it down while The Skipper attended to the fuel bill (ouch).
At 1630 we joined the guys at the rigging shop for a couple of beers. The Skipper headed back to Mac’s at 1800 to tighten up some business there while I grabbed a shower and made ready for chow.
At 1900 we met Dodie (The Skipper’s friend) at Pirate’s Cove for a farewell dinner. The views, food and conversation were great and we parted ways around 2100. I returned to a dark boat (see generator issue above) while The Skipper returned Mac’s truck. I’m writing this on battery power and suspect it will be the last chance to post before we arrive in Virginia.
Tomorrow, the plan is to shove off at dawn and push on for nine hours. The target is the north shore of the Potomac River, but if the winds and seas are favorable we could easily make it to Reedville, VA.
The total trip is 108 nautical miles and we hope to make a steady 7 knots underway if not more.
The Skipper picked me up at noon and we drove three hours to Dessert First in Galesville, MD.
We transferred stores from the car to the boat, engaged in a little dock talk with old friends (Michael, Larry and Rob) at The Skipper’s marina and then had an excellent dinner at Thursday’s Restaurant (highly recommend the crab soup).
We returned to the vessel, watched a spy movie and hit the rack at 2300 for a good night’s rest before a long weekend voyage.
Tomorrow we move Dessert First from Galesville, MD to her new home at Fishing Bay Harbor Marina in Deltaville, VA.
We’ll try to update the blog as much as possible. See you soon at Fishing Bay Harbor!
