Category: Chesapeake Bay

Overnight Fun!

Yesterday we finished up early, we have been working pretty hard lately.
My first thought was what the heck we can jump on the boat and head to our favorite anchoredge!

So off we went yesterday afternoon, it was so nice out. Chips and a few beers on the way.
The place we head to is usually crowded during these months, yes they were all there too.
As we arrived we headed to our own little spot where no one knows it is ok to anchor here.

My second thought as I woke up this morning… There is nothing like being rocked to sleep and waking to a beautiful sunrise!

I told Trina “we could just keep going!” She laughed and said we need to head back we have work to do.

Have a great Tuesday!
Wolfbernz

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Atlantic ICW Chesapeake Bay Farm New post Sailing Top Sites Tuesday

Home Sweet Home

Last Friday around 11:45am we decided to make the jump from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cambridge Maryland. It’s about 150 miles and usually takes three stops. We filled the tanks full of fuel just in case we decided to skip a stop. The wind was screaming from behind us, gusting 25 to 30 mph as we headed into the Chesapeake. The prediction was for the wind to calm as the day went along with a wind shift after midnight. Later in the day about 3:30 the wind

We decided to skip our first stop at Deltaville, Virginia, and head to Solomans Island, Maryland, but this meant sailing into the night. Well rested we decided to go for it and make time, arriving in Solomans at 4:00am. So far this had become a long haul with Trina and me trading out for a turn at the helm to go below to warm by the heater. The heater did make it a bit more tolerable though. After checking the weather, wind conditions and fuel we decided to catch a short nap and go onto Cambridge. The weather had moved in a bit quicker, it was now to rain on Sunday with snow in the afternoon, the bay is not the place to be in these conditions!

Trina and I both had our turn of falling out, going below to rest while the other took over. Finally Saturday afternoon the sun came out, we made the right choice because it was a bit warmer. I raised the pirate flag and Conch Republic flag from the Keys as we made the last five miles into the marina.

We ran twenty five hours and crossed the bay, about 155 miles or so. Tired and hungry we were picked up and taken to eat, now I was much more tired. They were right about Sunday it never really got above freezing. The sun came out for a short time so we headed back to the boat. Some how the boat was parked in the wrong slip… Missed it by that much lol

It was an adventurous trip to say the least but I am glad we made the right decisions and got here before the storm blew in.

My first though when we arrived at the farm was… Holy Crap, it’s still winter what happened to spring? I thought I was seeing things, it was just a joke when I said get out the snow shovels we are almost home!

My second thought after watching the news and seeing the big picture was… It won’t last the sun comes out tomorrow with a warming trend and I really don’t want to be on the water for the April thunderstorms that come up the East Coast.

It’s good to be home spending the rest of the week with the the son and grandson Jacob and getting back in the swing of things. The shop will be opened for business this week and its time to fire up the tractors for another adventure on the farm 🙂

Have a great Tuesday
Wolfbernz

Chesapeake Bay New post Sailing

We are Home

So it was a long run from Hampton VA. to Deltaville. We met up with another friend and anchored up in a small creek – it was so still it was like a mill pond. We slept great and woke early and left before first light it was still dark but we knew our way out back into the bay. I am so glad we left when we did the forecast was total wrong and we took a bit of a beating in the Chesapeake Bay to make it to Solomons Island, Maryland, it was a sixty mile hop and we were in and re fueling by 2 pm any later and it would not have been pretty out there.

So here we are, reality is setting in we are slowly dragging our way to the Choptank River – we called ahead a secured our slip so we can come in when we are ready.

Already the phone rang again today and a customer wants me at his house first thing Monday morning. Wow is this going to be a big dose of reality I might as well take it intravenously and go for the full dose!!!

So we are chilling on the sailboat and wondering already what the next adventure should be… I know you think we are nuts but hey I resemble that!

As for what to blog about…LOL I am a blogger and I read Buds post so watch out world you might just end up on my blog… hehehe

This was a great adventure, one for the books, six months of fun with many moments of shear terror to make sure we knew we were still alive. I wouldn’t change a thing, the good, the bad, or the Ugly (if you have followed this adventure you know why I capitalized “Ugly”)

So as for the next adventure I guess you will have to stop by and check it out from time to time and see which way our path has taken us.

Wolfbernz

Atlantic ICW Chesapeake Bay Sailing Top Sites Tuesday

Final Run To The Chesapeake

Post author By Wolfbernz
Post date April 24, 2012
3 Comments on Final Run To The Chesapeake

We are back on the water after many trials, the new engine is working well. With all new engines it will need some adjustments, we will do this when we reach Elizabeth City, NC.

We had one heck of a first day out… It was blowing a stink 25 knots or better and large swells. The wind was in our favor most of the time so this made crossing the Pamlico Sound a bit easier but not much.

We are held up in a small anchorage just south of Dowery Creek It was so calm after the day I fell to sleep with the computer in my lap when trying to write my post…lol

So My first thought of this beautiful sunrise day is can it all go this smooth the rest of the trip? I really hope so we could use a bit of a break with the “little” bit of trouble we have had going home 🙂

My second thought is Thank God for friends… Without the help of my dear friend showing up who knows so much about the engine and how to get it all back together we would have been there, stuck for weeks longer I am sure. It is true what they say about sailing…. A few weeks of utter joy and fun coupled with moments of shear terror. But isn’t that just life?

Have a wonderful Tuesday
Wolfbernz

Tags Engine, Home, Sailing, Top Sites Tuesday Meme

Atlantic ICW Chesapeake Bay New post Sailing Vacation

Crisfield Maryland to Deltaville Virgina

Post author By Wolfbernz
Post date November 11, 2011
No Comments on Crisfield Maryland to Deltaville Virgina

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So it is day four and so far all is well. We gassed up last night as we pulled in and the guy at the marina gas dock was so cool he took our trash and let us leave the sailboat and run to the store for some bread and a few things we needed. Trina got to make her *must-stop* at the liquor store for some red wine and some whiskey in case it gets too cold it does take the edge off…LOL

We had anchored overnight and then we left at first light.

This was right before dark

I had checked the weather and it said windy and rain. Wind gusts later in the afternoon to thirty knots, I was cool with that, it’s a sailboat nothing better than to turn that motor off and watch her go.

We were really happy with the way she handled the weather when it got super windy. We hit a few sevens and a few eight knots at times – I had no idea she could sail as fast and flat as she did.

It was an overcast day but it seems as though most perfect wind days here are. About half the way here it started to rain so I asked Trina to go down below and just watch the charts for obstructions and let me know if I get off course – no sense in us both getting wet. I had my foul weather gear on and when it finally stopped raining the wind switched for about five minutes and caused me to jibe the boat the wrong direction with a small knock down at the same time. So I was pulling ropes and trying to maintain as Trina came up to lend a hand. We got her back under control but by this time the wind and swells were beginning to crash over the boat. We rolled up the foresail and just used the main…

Trina asked if I had had enough for the day and we could head due west and hide in a small cove. I agreed I had enough. This was a great decision as the wind increased to thirty knots and the swells were breaking over the boat. One covered the whole boat as it went by. We had about two hours to go and we would be in safe harbor.

The hardest part was visibility, it was about a half mile so finding markers was difficult. As we made one of our last turns to starboard we dropped sails and started the motor.

The approach to this harbor was one I was glad to get into as the sun was setting because it looks as though you would beach the boat but you make a hard to port turn at last minute and then carefully follow the markers into the creek and then the marina, very shallow I might add, don’t miss it’s one foot deep on both sides and shoaling.

So we made it in and dropped anchor, we were not the only cruisers that came in so one was giving hand signals as to the best spot. I do love the camaraderie between sail-boaters. So we dropped anchor, I watched to make sure we were good as Trina started hot coffee and dinner. The water makes me Starvingly hungry!

It all looked great so we started to settle in but with the wind so strong we do what is called
“anchor watch”. I usually take late watch… Trina came and got me and said I think we drug anchor but she grabbed so we are ok don’t panic. I agreed we had slipped and we needed to pull the anchor and re drop it… Fun to do in thirty knots with gusts to whatever.

So we pulled up and went back and dropped the anchor and did it over again low and behold the damn thing just bounced across the bottom and didn’t grab and we were blown down back into the channel. So we pulled the anchor and pulled up into the wind in the right spot one more time, we were both frozen by now – we were in our jammies – I yelled “drop it and let it all go out as fast as you can and do twice the line we should have out.” Trina was a champ did exactly as I needed and the anchor just laid in place as we drifted away and then I said “cleat it off there is enough wind she is going to yank and pull us around so hold on”, sure enough it worked she didn’t drag a bit grabbed and pulled us around.

Usually one lays a six to one but I wasn’t doing this again so I did twelve to one on the line and I am so glad it blew so hard last night the boat was almost on it’s side at times when she swung around. Trina marked our spot on the GPS chart and used it to make sure we didn’t move and I took visuals of what was around us to make sure too. I got up a few times in the night and she had not moved a bit so we were both very happy campers – the heater going, full bellies, and knowing we were going to sleep in due to high winds the next day.

So at the time of this post we will be hanging out here today 11/11/11 and doing a few repairs from wind damage and will head out tomorrow at first light for the ICW. This is a nice place to be in a bad northwest it is out of the swell and with the sun shining it isn’t very cold unless you go out into the wind.

Wolfbernz
On the boat with no name!
Any Ideas what to name it? leave it in the comments.