We left Monday afternoon, sailed out to Whitehall Bay (just North of Annapolis) and anchored for the night. It was calm and we finished putting everything away, continuing to find more space then we thought we had. But it is quickly running out!
Tuesday we got up early. About to start hauling up chain, Grant stepped out of the cockpit for a millisecond and Ker splash! His rig belt, which he had spent months handcrafting from pieces of leather, sank 12 feet to the bottom.
After the initial shock, he put on his wetsuit and dove down. Within 15 minutes he had retrieved it with the tips of his toes. Pretty lucky!
By 0915 we were headed S with the wind NW from 10-15 kts. We set our asymmetrical spinnaker and by 1122 we were just off Thomas Point Light.
Velocir averaged about 5-6 kts, reaching 8 in a good gust. At 1907 we arrived at Solomons, MD to meet our good friend. We docked next to his schooner. We look so tiny next to Heron, you can barely see us!
Wednesday we departed at about 1100, following some great pancakes. Our plan was to get south of the Potomac into Cockrell Creek off Great Wicomico River. Winds were NW 10-15 kts. But after passing Point No Point it died to about 5 kts. We played around with the NAVIK for a while, but it doesn’t seem to like the asymmetrical very much.
We realized it was going to be dark before Velocir made it south of the Potomac. We found another anchorage just north of the Potomac that we liked. But the wind had picked back up, and as we entered the Potomac we were getting huge swells that had been building all day on the West Wind.
Not wanting to fight the waves, we stuck with our original plan and anchored on Cockrell Creek. Unfortunately it is next to a smelly and noisy fishing plant and we would not recommend this location!
Thursday, we left early for Deltaville, VA. Winds were 15-20 N/NE with waves 2-3 ft. We set the Genoa and a reefed main. Velocir got knocked around a bunch in the swell but did a good job. We’re getting a bit of water in the scuppers during swell on the stern that is trickling down into the main cabin along the tabbing. Not a big problem. We plan to reseal the cockpit floor (again) and keep an eye on it.
By 1536 we anchored in Deltaville, VA. Today, Friday, we are exploring the town. It has a public state dock to tie up to. A short walk down a quaint road is a library with free wifi and free books/magazines, a hardware store and a grocery store. It has been a great stop and reminds us a lot of St. Michael’s, MD, but much smaller. Tomorrow we hope to continue farther south, as far as Yorktown area.
VELOCIR 