Chesapeake Bay – Norfolk to Solomons
Author: Shirlz
23 July 2015
I don’t have sophisticated gadgetry on board to enable internet access at sea. Normally this doesn’t trouble me in the slightest as I enjoy being able to get away from the frenzied need to be constantly in touch and available. Nevertheless, one of my first concerns when I arrive back in the world of smartphones and the internet, is to locate the nearest wifi hotspot to catch up with missed emails and get weather information. Most towns here in the US seem to have a wonderful public library which offers free internet access, either using their computers, or allowing you to plug your own device into a handy power socket. Norfolk was no exception and I was grateful to relax in an easy chair in air-conditioned comfort and catch up with my inbox. The first emails I looked at brought me rudely back to earth. Carly, the wife of Pete Hill, had been lost overboard their catamaran, ‘Oryx’, while sailing off the South African coast near Durban. An extensive search had failed to find her. Pete is an old friend of mine and I got to know Carly when we spent some time together in Buenos Aires a few years ago. It had happened on 19th June, the day I left Bermuda, so of course I had no way of knowing about it until two weeks later. A most terrible shock.
The Norfolk Naval Station is the largest in the world and there is a proliferation of Navy vessels of all types, all greyly enormous and imposing. I was anchored on the Portsmouth side of the Elizabeth River and a ferry runs every half hour making it easy to cross to the other side.
The ferry has a decorative paddle wheel but I was disappointed to learn that it was not the driving force. Henry, on his boat, Parpar, arrived soon after me, having made his way through the Dismal Swamp and we spent an interesting morning together visiting the battleship Wisconsin which has been turned into a museum.
The town of Portsmouth has a lovely historical district and flags were out for the 4th of July celebrations. On the 4th, Norfolk put on a magnificent fireworks display and towards the evening the anchorage became crowded with small local boats trying to find a good spot to anchor, have a BBQ on board, and view the show. I had a perfect vantage point from my cockpit. Unfortunately my camera did not do justice to the spectacle so I will spare you the blurry results.
The passage from Bermuda had revealed quite a number of imperfections on board and I decided to work my way fairly directly to a small boatyard that I had been to before at Edgemere near Baltimore. I´d be able to haul out there and sort out all the problems. I was not keen to sail in the bay at night as my masthead light had stopped working so I needed to find an anchorage each night.
My first stop was Hampton at the entrance to the Elizabeth River and a comfortable mornings run from Norfolk. In fact, despite the daunting volume of the water traffic, I had a lovely sail there with the current helping me along and found a place to anchor opposite the municipal dock. I spent the afternoon doing a quick tour of the town and enjoying a few hours in the cool of the Air and Space museum. In summer the streets of most towns seem to be deserted as everyone avoids the heat and shelters in air-conditioned buildings.
It took me two days, including at stop in Chisman Creek, to get up to Deltaville, where I anchored in Jackson Creek and visited Jonathan and Anne Hutchings who run a branch of Annapolis Yacht Sales there. They had me round for dinner at the magnificent house that they are restoring at the edge of a small creek up the Piankatank River. Jonathan is the nephew of John Goodwin who owned and sailed Speedwell for many years back in the 60´s.
It was tempting to stay longer as the Deltaville Marina allows the use of their dinghy dock and facilities for a reasonable fee which made it a very comfortable stop. But a forecast for two days of good southerly winds followed by a spell of northerlies sent me on my way again.
Next stop was beautiful Mill Creek a little way from the entrance to the Great Wicomico. When I first arrived I was the only boat there and the surroundings were peaceful and magnificent. Later 3 other boats arrived but the anchorage has plenty of room and it didn’t feel crowded. I was able to enjoy my normal shower in the cockpit to cool off and clean up in the evening. Rather too many small jelly fish floating about made me wary of taking a dip in the water.
The distance from Mill Creek to Solomons which is past the entrance to the Potomac River is about 45nm, quite a long way for me to manage in one day and get in before dark. I work on an average cruising speed of 3knots which is usually pretty accurate. The days are long with the sun only setting after 8, but unlike being offshore, I need to be in the cockpit all the time, mostly hand-steering. No sheltering down below with a book while the Navik takes care of everything. Too much traffic and the occasional shoal patch to catch the unwary. Luckily it was a cloudy day so the heat wasn’t really a problem. We left at first light and, with a good wind, we arrived at Solomons at 7:30pm. I motored up Back Creek hoping to find a place to anchor near the Holiday Inn which allows the use of their dinghy dock and offers wifi. I had anchored there in 2006 but unfortunately these days the area has become totally clogged up with new jetties extending out from a new condominium development. Most boats seem to prefer being tied to a dock and apart from myself, there were only 3 or 4 other boats anchored, which left plenty of space in the rest of the creek. I found a good place opposite Spring Cove Marina next to a wooded bank. Ospreys and herons and mallards were out foraging for their supper.
The water was fairly shallow – only 2m – but it was low tide so I was happy enough, I let out 20m of chain and went aft to back up on the anchor and make sure it had dug in. Oh dear, I heard an odd gurgling sound coming from the siphon break pipe which normally squirts a reassuring flow of water into the cockpit drain. A quick look told me that no water was getting through. Quickly kill the engine to prevent overheating, destroying the impeller and other disastrous effects. A look overboard revealed a shoal of small jelly fish and I suspected that one of them must have been sucked into the raw water intake. There was no way that I was going to jump overboard and clear it. I decided to assume that the anchor was fine and leave it for the morning. The weather was calm and there wasn’t far to go if I dragged anyway. Next morning I checked the filter basket and it was clean, tried to reach the intake from the dinghy with a brush on a long stick but could feel nothing. I primed the hose with water so that the pump wouldn’t start off dry and tentatively tried the engine. To my immense relief water was coming through again. The blockage had fallen away or maybe I had brushed it off.
I spent two more days at Solomons waiting for the wind to turn southerly again. Did some restocking at a convenient Food Lion supermarket and visited the Maritime museum, which has a very interestingly presented display of fossil finds from the nearby limestone cliffs. They also have the restored Drum Point ‘cottage’ lighthouse. I climbed up the spiral staircase to the cosy living quarters and couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be to live in. Surrounded by the sea, with magnificent views, almost like being on a boat.
July 24th, 2015 at 01:34
I enjoyed reading about your voyaging again. You are certainly voyaging in an area that is one of the hearts of yacht, building, design and history!
August 8th, 2015 at 15:50
Great as always to read your blog. Great to stay in touch.