Chesapeake - Reedville to Smith Creek

Day 5 – 31 nm (passage total: 147 nm) It rained during the night and the forecast called for more … and more. We heard flood warnings for the local inland areas. The sun rose, but the dark, heavy sky dampened its enthusiasm … and ours. Still, we were up and out of the Cockrell Creek anchorage by 0700. It was chilly and raw and we donned our rain gear. David and Paul raised the anchor while I was at the helm. They seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time on the bow and I wondered if there was a problem. It appears a very large spider had taken up residence in the furler and was rather obstinate about vacating his home. The hose used to wash down the muddy anchor was also used to convince the arachnid to give it up.

Now that we knew some of the history associated with the Cockrell Creek fish factory ruins and the solitary chimney stack, we paid more attention as we passed by. The Morris-Fisher stack “proudly stands over 130 feet from base to crown and is affectionately known by locals and visitors alike, as Reedville’s own “Statue of Liberty”. Evidently, the stack was in bad shape and falling down up until a few years ago when a huge community effort, “Save the Stack”, raised enough funds to have it repaired. “The stack is an iconic landmark of Reedville and the Northern Neck’s menhaden factories.[...] This is the last stack like this of any factory that operated in the Northern Neck. Through the years, this statuesque landmark has served as a visual aid to the watermen and sailors of the past. “When they saw the stack, they knew they were home.” Awesome!

We rounded the bend and headed back out into the Chesapeake. We passed Smith Point Light and then crossed the state line from Virginia into Maryland just as the rain began in earnest. This was a very, very wet day, but we needed showers anyway.

We ran with just the jib and hung a left out of the bay and into the historic Potomac River. The ride was bumpy with wind against current. Our plan had been to head five miles up the St. Mary's River to St. Mary's City, the site of Maryland's first capital. After further investigation, we found the colonial site was closed on this day and since it was pouring we wouldn't go ashore anyway. Instead, we found an alternative anchorage in Smith Creek. Maybe we'd visit St. Mary's City on our return trip.

The entrance to Smith Creek was a tricky dog-leg around shoals which was well-marked and wouldn't have been half so tricky if it wasn't cluttered with crab pots. Why the crabbers have to place the pots in the middle of the channel escapes us, but they do and negotiating around them in a sailboat is not all that easy. We muddled through and then encountered several fish traps. That said, David managed admirably and we had no crab pots nor fish traps on our prop when we finally found a place a to anchor for the night.

Soaked and chilled, we went below to dry off only to discover the head was leaking, as was the forward faucet (new problem) and two of the hatches. Grrrr! A cursory check indicated there was nothing to be done in the midst of the downpour and there was no danger of sinking, so we did the only thing we could think of to do … have lunch and take a nap.

The leaks hadn't disappeared when we rose in time for dinner, but we ignored them while we ate and watched a movie. We'll figure it all out tomorrow.

Mobjack Bay to Fishing Bay

Day 3 - 31 nm (passage total: 80 nm) The guys were up at 0530 removing the old impeller and replacing it with a new one. We hauled anchor by 0715. We were thankful for the thick, black river mud that had held us firmly during the night, but now spent 30 minutes cleaning the muck off the chain and anchor before getting underway.

The new impeller did the trick and the engine temp stayed steady in its normal range. Cups' speed was greatly enhanced without all the barnacles on her prop. All was good. We passed by New Point Comfort Light as we left Mobjack Bay and re-entered the Chesapeake.

It was right about that time that David announced the the forward head pump was broken. Really?

Paul went below and the two guys spent several hours trying to fix it. We had an older spare pump aboard, but when it was installed, it didn't work either. They finally exchanged the aft head pump for the forward pump and all was well … until it was determined that the hose from the head to the holding tank was clogged and the head was still unusable. David tried using muriatic acid, but to no avail. Sigh!

We passed Wolf Trap Light, then headed to port up the Piankatank River. Our destination for the evening was Fishing Bay, a lovely wide open, deep water bay, perfect for an overnight stay. We anchored and the guys got to work on the forward head again. They removed the connecting hose between the head and the holding tank … a mighty effort. It was clogged with thick, hard calcium deposits. Evidently all his regular treatments with muriatic acid along the way had not been all that successful.

They worked for several hours and finally reassembled the whole works with excellent results. Whew! Traveling without a working head would have been a bummer. We have an aft head, but we rarely use it unless we're at sea because it is not connected to a holding tank.

The area was scenic with a lovely little marina and Deltaville, with its shops and museum, was just a short walk across the peninsula. By the time the job was complete, however, it was too late to launch the dinghy and head into shore. We settled for a glass of wine, dinner and a game or two of cards aboard. By 9pm (aka cruiser midnight), we were all ready for our bunks.

Two things to note here: 1) We're not traveling very far each day by choice; and 2) we haven't been off the boat since we left AYB. Tomorrow we're hoping for some shore time to stretch our legs and see what we can see and, please, no more hissy-fits from the sulking Nine of Cups.

Chesapeake -Norfolk to Mobjack Bay

Day 2 – 32nm (passage total: 49 nm)

We spent a relatively calm night in the general anchorage off the loading docks in Norfolk. Huge Hapag Lloyd container ships were a bit noisy in their loading activities, but otherwise no worries, no problems. The plan was to head north to Mobjack Bay on the East River. We returned to the main channel, passing Fort Wool to starboard and the Old Port Comfort Lighthouse to port as we motored into Chesapeake Bay.

The day was lovely and the light breeze was wonderfully refreshing. We motored for a few hours, but by mid-day we were actually able to sail for awhile and enjoyed the quiet and calm of the bay. The lighthouse at Thimble Shoal is quite a different style than most lighthouses we see, but is the typical style lighthouse for the Chesapeake.

We arrived in Mobjack Bay around 3 pm and found a perfect a little anchorage just out of the channel inside the entrance to the East River.

David felt that Cups' speed had been sluggish during the day and jumped in the water to have a look at the prop. The visibility was less than a foot as he scraped a fine collection of barnacles off the propeller. He chastised himself for not doing this at the AYB dock, but better late than never.

Yesterday's coolant hose replacement kept the engine temp down, but it was still running higher than normal. Once the engine cooled down, the guys took a look at the impeller. It was due for a change. They decided to let it wait till morning. We enjoyed cocktails in the cool of the cockpit, ate some dinner, played a few games of gin (David won, but we're sure he was cheating) and then reveled in the beauty of a full harvest moon over a duckpond calm anchorage.